The Swans have spent the past three seasons anchored at the bottom of the Goulburn Valley League ladder and with their next crop of juniors on the rise, this season could see them unshackle themselves from the base of the ladder.
“We have been very happy with how the summer has been,” Shepparton Swans coach Paul Hawke said.
“Last year I always felt that we were closer to the six than the ladder showed.
“And the club has been able to maintain most of the list, there are a couple of changes, but we feel like we are heading in the right direction.”
In player movements, the club has lost Darby Walsh, Rob Staff, Jared Service and Ryan Pfeiffer; however it has acquired former players Matt Keys, Jessie Finnen and Tom Campbell.
One of the biggest names to return is former club champion BJ Squire, who has spent the past two seasons at Congupna.
The silky mover has snared five straight club best-and-fairest awards and will complement the Swans’ engine room which involves Quade Johnstone, Tom Preece and youngster Luke Whyte.
“BJ’s record speaks for itself really, he’s a quality footballer,” Hawke said.
“He is a very good runner and user of the ball and it’s great to have him back.
“And we are excited to have Jessie, Tom and Matty return, they will help share the workload and we’ll rely on their experience to continue to help the younger guys.”
Even though the club has spent recent years glued to the bottom, it has allowed Hawke to blood younger players such as Whyte, Nathan Rachele, Ty Collison, Zac Alderton, Rylen Damianopoulos and Lachlan McMahon.
Hawke spoke glowingly of his club’s rising stars and highlighted that the young crop of emerging talent had impressed him during the summer period.
“It is more of a collective group of them, really,” he said.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing them this year, they have stepped up their fitness and worked hard on their running games over summer.
“Now they should be able to make a lot more contests, but there is still more hard work to do.”
FAST FACTS
JOINED LEAGUE: 1946 (AS LEMNOS FOOTBALL CLUB)
NICKNAME: SWANS
GROUND: PRINCESS PARK
COACH: Paul Hawke
PRESIDENT: Jarrod Sutherland
PREMIERSHIPS: 1959, 1960, 1970, 2014
MORRISON MEDALLISTS: B. TYQUIN (1949), R. ORRMAN (1951, 1954, 1959), N. SMITH (1975), M. LAMBOURN (1996), ALL AS LEMNOS; J. SUTHERLAND (2002), B. DURBRIDGE (2009) AS SHEPPARTON SWANS
2019 FINISH: 12TH (3-14-1)
2019 BEST-AND-FAIREST: Tom Preece
2019 LEADING GOAL-KICKER: Rob Staff (21)
IN: BJ Squire (Congupna), Matt Keys (AFLNT), Jessie Finnen (Doncaster), Tom Campbell (Shepparton United), Russell Eden (Katandra)
OUT: Darby Walsh (Picola United), Rob Staff (Goorambat), Ryan Pfeiffer (Shepparton East), Jared Service (Norwood)
FINISHING RANGE: 6th – 10th
The Swans showcased last season that they had what it takes to go up against most opposition clubs in the Goulburn Valley League, with their three wins and one draw close to being five or six wins.
If two or three clubs that finished above the Swans drop away, it opens the possibility of climbing the ladder.
GAME CHANGER: BJ Squire
The return of arguably one the region’s best midfielders in Squire is a massive win for the Swans.
The classy midfielder joins the club where he claimed three straight best-and-fairest awards after taking out Congupna’s past two top gongs in 2018 and 2019.
The smooth mover will complement an already stacked midfield involving Tom Preece, Quade Johnstone, Luke Whyte and many more
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