David Swallow

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David Swallow
Swallow playing for Gold Coast in 2017
Personal information
Full name David Swallow
Date of birth (1992-11-19) 19 November 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth Perth, Western Australia
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
Playing career
Years Club Games (Goals)
2011–2025 Gold Coast 249 (111)
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

David Swallow (born 19 November 1992) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Gold Coast Suns in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Swallow was the number one draft pick in the 2010 AFL draft, making him the first player ever drafted by Gold Coast. He received a nomination for the AFL Rising Star award in round 14 of the 2011 season, his debut season. 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.

Early life

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Swallow 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

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Swallow 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]

In February 2022, Swallow stepped down from the Suns' co-captaincy, with Touk Miller named in his place.[11]

Having played exclusively for Gold Coast during the club's mostly unsuccessful 15 years in the competition, Swallow did not play a finals match until 2025, where the Suns reached the top eight for the first time. Having waited until his 248th match to make his finals debut, it stands as the second longest wait in VFL/AFL history, behind only Melbourne's Robert Flower.[12] In the lead up to the finals series, Swallow announced he would retire at the end of season.[13] Named as the Suns' substitute for the elimination final against Fremantle, he kicked the winning behind with nine seconds remaining to give the Suns a one point victory.[14] Swallow played his final match the following week, as the Suns were eliminated from the finals series in the semi finals by the Brisbane Lions, finishing his career on 249 matches.[15]

Swallow is the first and, as of 2024, only player to play premiership matches at 22 different VFL/AFL venues, owing largely to the number of low-crowd Gold Coast away matches which opposing teams schedule for their home-away-from-home country venues.[16]

Statistics

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Statistics are correct to the end of 2024[17]
Legend
  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

  1. ^ 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

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Individual

References

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  1. ^ "Lesson 8: Many Players, One Team" (PDF). You Can Kick Goals Too. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  2. ^ Gold Coast snaps up David Swallow
  3. ^ WA dominates All-Australian side Archived 5 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Swallow, Hooper 2009 Larke Medallists
  5. ^ West Australian Swallow joins Gold Coast Football Club Archived 6 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ How the Coasters enticed a Swallow to take flight
  7. ^ "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.
  8. ^ "Ablett dethroned: Young Sun a club champ". AustralianFootball.com. 5 September 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  9. ^ Bowen, Nick (7 November 2018). "Gun Suns midfielder signs on until end of 2024". afl.com.au. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  10. ^ Whiting, Michael (25 February 2019). "Suns shock: Former Pie co-captain, ex-Cat a leader". afl.com.au. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  11. ^ Whiting, Michael (21 February 2022). "'Childhood dream' for new Suns skipper, foundation star steps down". afl.com.au. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  12. ^ "Miscellaneous Player Records". AFL Tables. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  13. ^ "Suns champion, veteran defender announce retirements". afl.com.au. 2 September 2025. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  14. ^ "Swallow the hero as Suns hold off Dockers for first finals win". afl.com.au. 6 September 2025. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
  15. ^ "Lions back to their best to end Suns' season". AFL Media. 13 September 2025.
  16. ^ "AFL Tables - All Venues".
  17. ^ "David Swallow". AFL Tables. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
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