Dane Swan has without a doubt had a troubled past, since becoming an AFL player he hasn’t given himself a squeaky clean image and by no means has he gone along without making mistakes, yet does he deserve the media attention that he gets? Dane Swan has been attacked again and again in recent times through the media, for a whole lot of reasons ranging from rumours about drug use, causing troubles for his football club and more. Is Dane Swan really as bad as the media portray him, or do they need to just focus on the way he plays his football? Teammate Luke Ball has come out and defended Swan saying that the AFL needs him and it would be boring if every player was like Ball himself.
Dane Swan just can’t seem to catch a break in the media, and only a week after his heavily speculated interview with The Footy Show which saw the Collingwood Football Club fine him, former Sydney Swans coach Paul Roos has spoken up about his opinion on Swan’s behaviour.
“I would suggest that there would be some players within the Collingwood Football Club that would be getting sick of Dane Swan” Roos said during the first 2013 episode of On The Couch.
Players and officials within the Collingwood camp, including the clubs captain Nick Maxwell were quick to come to the the defence of Swan.
“We’re extremely happy with the last four months that Dane’s put forward” Maxwell had to say.
Dane Swan’s coach, former Collingwood great Nathan Buckley who in the past has been reported to be involved in bust ups with Swan has also came to the defence of the Magpies Brownlow Medalist. Buckley spoke about plenty of things in relation to Swan, including the interview he was fined for, although in the end spoke of how people need to come to realise that Swan is performing in a fantastic way on the track.
“Do you know Swanny’s going really well? Does anyone out there know that Swanny’s training really well” Buckley told Nova 100.
Supporting Nick Maxwell’s comments about how well Dane Swan is performing, Buckley went on to say that he believes they handled Swan pretty well and that he enjoys the environment.
“In the end Dane Swan is training really well at the football club” Buckley noted.
So should the media really be attacking Dane Swan as heavily as they currently are and have been over recent months? Should certain profiles in the media find something else to write about rather than consistently follow Swan, looking for the smallest thing that they can blow into a big story? Maybe it’s time that these people sit back and lay off Swan for a little bit, and see just how great of a pre-season he has put in and watch what really matters most to the Collingwood Football club – How Dane Swan performs for them on the field.
Speaking to Mike Sheahan, Collingwood President Eddie McGuire supported Swan and said that he has a lot of love for him, and while sometimes it needs to be tough love, he has full trust in Swan.
“He’s a good guy, he’s got a good heart and I just want to make sure he has enough people around him who genuinely are looking after him” Eddie said on Open Mike.
If you want to see just what Dane Swan is capable of, watch out for Collingwood’s Round One match against North Melbourne and expect Swan to shine. With a good history against the Kangaroos and evidently showing that the media attention isn’t affecting his footballing ability, Dane Swan will look to start a what could be a great season with the Collingwood Football Club.
