David Swallow (born 19 November 1992) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Gold Coast Suns in the Australian Football League (AFL). Swallow won the Gold Coast Suns Club Champion award in 2014, becoming the second player to win the award after Gary Ablett Jr. won the award in the club's first three seasons, and served as Gold Coast co-captain from 2019 to 2021. He received a nomination for the 2011 AFL Rising Star award in round 14 of the 2011 season.
| David Swallow | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Swallow playing for Gold Coast in 2017 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | David Swallow | ||
| Date of birth | 19 November 1992 | ||
| Original team(s) | East Fremantle (WAFL)/Gold Coast (VFL) | ||
| Draft | No. 1, 2010 national draft | ||
| Debut | Round 2, 2011, Gold Coast vs. Carlton, at the Gabba | ||
| Height | 186 cm (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Weight | 87 kg (192 lb) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Gold Coast | ||
| Number | 24 | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2011– | Gold Coast | 240 (109) | |
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2024. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Early life
editSwallow was born in Perth, Western Australia to a Dutch mother and an English father.[1] His older brother, Andrew, is a former captain of the North Melbourne Football Club and a dual Syd Barker Medallist.[2] He attended Shelley Primary School and Rossmoyne Senior High School, and played his junior football at Rossmoyne Junior Football Club. Swallow was named on the half-back line of the 2009 Under-18 All Australian team as a 16-year-old, and was awarded the Larke Medal as the Under-18 competition's best player.[3][4]
In 2010, despite not yet being drafted by an AFL team, Swallow was permitted to play in Gold Coast's Victorian Football League (VFL) team prior to the club's inaugural season in 2011. This meant that if Gold Coast wanted to draft Swallow, the club had to select him with one of the first three picks in the 2010 AFL draft.[5] However, it was widely assumed that Swallow would be taken with the first pick in the draft,[6] which was confirmed on 19 November.[7]
AFL career
editSwallow was part of the inaugural Gold Coast Suns team which played against Carlton in round 2 of the 2011 AFL season. He was also part of the club's first victory against Port Adelaide in round 5. After a 21-possession, two-goal performance against the Western Bulldogs in round 14, Swallow was nominated for the 2011 AFL Rising Star award.
In 2014, Swallow won the Gold Coast Suns Club Champion award, becoming the second player after Gary Ablett Jr. to win the award.[8]
In November 2018, Swallow signed a five-year contract extension with the Suns, tying him to the club until the end of 2024.[9]
In February 2019, Swallow was named as Gold Coast co-captain, alongside Jarrod Witts.[10]
Swallow was suspended for one match for striking Port Adelaide's Justin Westhoff following Gold Coast's loss to the Power in round 1 of the 2020 season.[11]
In February 2022, Swallow stepped down from the Suns' co-captaincy, with Touk Miller named in his place.[12]
In April 2024, Swallow took the field at Summit Sport and Recreation Park, becoming the first player to play at 22 different VFL/AFL venues.[13]
In June, he passed a VFL/AFL record set by Trevor Barker in 1989, by appearing in his 231st game without appearing in a final.
Statistics
edit- Statistics are correct to the end of 2024[14]
G
|
Goals | K
|
Kicks | D
|
Disposals | T
|
Tackles |
B
|
Behinds | H
|
Handballs | M
|
Marks |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | Votes | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | |||||
| 2011 | Gold Coast | 24 | 21 | 11 | 14 | 208 | 205 | 413 | 62 | 84 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 9.9 | 9.8 | 19.7 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 2 |
| 2012 | Gold Coast | 24 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 130 | 96 | 226 | 31 | 43 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 10.8 | 8.0 | 18.8 | 2.6 | 3.6 | 1 |
| 2013 | Gold Coast | 24 | 18 | 3 | 2 | 195 | 152 | 347 | 47 | 61 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 10.8 | 8.4 | 19.3 | 2.6 | 3.4 | 1 |
| 2014 | Gold Coast | 24 | 22 | 15 | 20 | 287 | 226 | 513 | 67 | 118 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 13.0 | 10.2 | 23.3 | 3.0 | 5.4 | 5 |
| 2015 | Gold Coast | 24 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 70 | 46 | 116 | 16 | 35 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 11.7 | 7.7 | 19.3 | 2.7 | 5.8 | 0 |
| 2016 | Gold Coast | 24 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 |
| 2017 | Gold Coast | 24 | 18 | 11 | 8 | 213 | 177 | 390 | 49 | 91 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 11.8 | 9.8 | 21.7 | 2.7 | 5.1 | 0 |
| 2018 | Gold Coast | 24 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 243 | 198 | 441 | 73 | 91 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 12.2 | 9.9 | 22.1 | 3.7 | 4.6 | 2 |
| 2019 | Gold Coast | 24 | 22 | 13 | 7 | 282 | 227 | 509 | 87 | 84 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 12.8 | 10.3 | 23.1 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 7 |
| 2020[a] | Gold Coast | 24 | 15 | 4 | 10 | 154 | 116 | 270 | 54 | 59 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 10.3 | 7.7 | 18.0 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 2 |
| 2021 | Gold Coast | 24 | 21 | 6 | 7 | 258 | 202 | 460 | 106 | 99 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 12.3 | 9.6 | 21.9 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 0 |
| 2022 | Gold Coast | 24 | 22 | 8 | 7 | 273 | 170 | 443 | 95 | 77 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 12.4 | 7.7 | 20.1 | 4.3 | 3.5 | 5 |
| 2023 | Gold Coast | 24 | 23 | 14 | 11 | 222 | 160 | 382 | 78 | 101 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 9.7 | 7.0 | 16.6 | 3.4 | 4.4 | 0 |
| 2024 | Gold Coast | 24 | 20 | 9 | 2 | 107 | 95 | 202 | 50 | 34 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 5.4 | 4.8 | 10.1 | 2.5 | 1.7 | |
| Career | 240 | 109 | 96 | 2642 | 2070 | 4712 | 815 | 977 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 11.0 | 8.6 | 19.6 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 25 | ||
Notes
- ^ The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Honours and achievements
editIndividual
- Gold Coast co-captain: 2019–2021
- Gold Coast Suns Club Champion: 2014
- 22under22 team: 2014
- AFL Rising Star nominee: 2011
References
edit- ^ "Lesson 8: Many Players, One Team" (PDF). You Can Kick Goals Too. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
- ^ Gold Coast snaps up David Swallow
- ^ WA dominates All-Australian side Archived 5 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Swallow, Hooper 2009 Larke Medallists
- ^ West Australian Swallow joins Gold Coast Football Club Archived 6 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ How the Coasters enticed a Swallow to take flight
- ^ "Gold Coast SUNS outstanding results at the 2010 NAB Draft". Gold Coast FC. 18 November 2010. Archived from the original on 29 November 2010. Retrieved 18 November 2010.
- ^ "Ablett dethroned: Young Sun a club champ". AustralianFootball.com. 5 September 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
- ^ Bowen, Nick (7 November 2018). "Gun Suns midfielder signs on until end of 2024". afl.com.au. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
- ^ Whiting, Michael (25 February 2019). "Suns shock: Former Pie co-captain, ex-Cat a leader". afl.com.au. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
- ^ Beveridge, Riley (23 March 2020). "Suns skipper cops ban, four players hit with fines". afl.com.au. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
- ^ Whiting, Michael (21 February 2022). "'Childhood dream' for new Suns skipper, foundation star steps down". afl.com.au. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
- ^ "AFL Tables - All Venues".
- ^ "David Swallow". AFL Tables. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
External links
edit- David Swallow's profile on the official website of the Gold Coast Football Club
- David Swallow's playing statistics from AFL Tables