The 2017 AFL season was the 121st season in the Australian Football League contested by the Sydney Swans. The team's reserve side also participated in the 2017 NEAFL season. Sydney made the finals after losing their first six matches, the only team to do so under the AFL final eight system.
Squad for 2017 Statistics are correct as of end of 2016 season. Flags represent the state of origin, i.e. the state in which the player played his under 18 football. Senior list No. State Player Hgt (cm) Wgt (kg) Date of birth Age (end 2017) AFL debut Recruited from Games (end 2016) Goals (end 2016) 1 James Rose 185 85 16 April 1996 21 2015 Sturt 7 5 2 Alex Johnson 193 91 2 March 1992 25 2011 Oakleigh (U18) 45 1 3 Jarrad McVeigh (lg) 184 82 7 April 1985 32 2004 NSW/ACT (U18) 287 192 4 Dan Hannebery (vc) 181 76 24 February 1991 26 2009 Oakleigh (U18) 170 82 5 Isaac Heeney 185 85 5 May 1996 21 2015 Cardiff, Sydney Swans Academy 38 44 6 Jordan Foote 183 82 2 January 1996 21 2016 UNSW-Eastern Suburbs, Sydney Swans Academy 1 0 7 Harry Cunningham 181 77 6 December 1993 24 2012 NSW/ACT (U18) 70 36 8 Kurt Tippett 202 105 8 May 1987 30 2008 Southport, Adelaide 169 318 9 Will Hayward 185 75 26 October 1998 19 North Adelaide 10 Zak Jones 181 79 15 March 1995 22 2014 Dandenong (U18) 31 4 11 Jeremy Laidler 190 91 5 August 1989 28 2009 Calder (U18), Geelong, Carlton 84 7 12 Josh Kennedy (c) 188 94 20 June 1988 29 2008 Sandringham (U18), Hawthorn 183 115 13 Oliver Florent 183 74 22 July 1998 19 Sandringham (U18) 14 Callum Mills 188 83 2 April 1997 20 2016 North Shore, Sydney Swans Academy 22 1 15 Kieren Jack (lg) 177 77 28 June 1987 30 2007 NSW/ACT (U18) 210 144 16 Gary Rohan 189 91 7 June 1991 26 2010 Geelong (U18) 79 67 17 Darcy Cameron 203 101 18 July 1995 22 Claremont 18 Callum Sinclair 199 102 23 September 1989 28 2013 Subiaco, 45 28 20 Sam Reid 196 97 27 December 1991 26 2010 Murray (U18) 98 94 21 Jack Maibaum 192 92 27 March 1998 19 Eastern (U18) 22 Dean Towers 188 86 4 May 1990 27 2014 North Ballarat 30 18 23 Lance Franklin 199 106 30 January 1987 30 2005 Perth, Hawthorn 247 787 24 Dane Rampe (vc) 188 88 2 June 1990 27 2013 UNSW-Eastern 98 6 26 Luke Parker (vc) 182 85 25 October 1992 25 2011 Dandenong (U18) 127 103 27 Daniel Robinson 184 85 3 July 1994 23 2015 Mosman Football Club 11 3 28 Nic Newman 187 82 15 January 1993 24 Frankston 29 George Hewett 187 81 29 December 1995 22 2016 North Adelaide 24 18 30 Tyrone Leonardis 182 84 22 February 1997 20 Northern (U18) 31 Harrison Marsh 188 86 13 January 1994 23 2016 East Fremantle 7 0 32 Michael Talia 192 94 11 February 1993 24 2012 Calder (U18), 31 3 33 Brandon Jack 182 81 25 May 1994 23 2013 Pennant Hills 27 16 34 Jordan Dawson 190 84 9 April 1997 20 Sturt 35 Sam Naismith 206 105 16 July 1992 25 2014 North Shore 13 3 36 Aliir Aliir 194 95 5 September 1994 23 2016 East Fremantle 13 0 39 Heath Grundy (lg) 192 105 2 June 1986 31 2006 Norwood 213 23 40 Nick Smith (lg) 183 81 12 June 1988 29 2008 Oakleigh (U18) 167 10 41 Tom Papley 177 77 13 July 1996 21 2016 Gippsland (U18) 20 29 44 Jake Lloyd 180 77 20 September 1993 24 2014 North Ballarat (U18) 69 17 Rookie list No. State Player Hgt Wgt Date of birth Age Debut Recruited from Games Goals 19 Shaun Edwards 190 85 13 December 1993 24 2012 St Mary's (NTFL), Essendon 24 10 25 Ben Ronke 181 73 18 December 1997 20 Calder (U18) 38 Colin O'Riordan 186 86 12 October 1995 22 Tipperary GAA 42 Robbie Fox 185 84 16 April 1993 24 Coburg VFL 43 Lewis Melican 193 95 4 November 1996 21 Geelong U18 45 Sam Fisher 181 78 23 February 1998 19 46 Sam Murray 187 88 2 September 1997 20 Wodonga 47 Toby Pink 193 85 11 August 1998 19 Glenelg Senior coaching panel State Coach Coaching position Sydney coaching debut Former clubs as coach John Longmire Senior coach 2002 Stuart Dew Senior assistant coach (midfield) 2009 Josh Francou Assistant coach (stoppages) 2015 Brett Kirk Assistant coach (forwards) 2016 (a) Henry Playfair Assistant coach (defence) 2010 Sydney Swans (NEAFL) (s) John Blakey Coaching director/head of development 2006 (a) Nick Davis Development coach 2016 Rhyce Shaw Reserves coach 2016 Jared Crouch Academy coaching director 2011
For players: (c) denotes captain, (vc) denotes vice-captain, (lg) denotes leadership group. For coaches: (s) denotes senior coach, (cs) denotes caretaker senior coach, (a) denotes assistant coach, (d) denotes development coach.
Playing list changes
The following summarises all player changes between the conclusion of the 2015 season and the beginning of the 2016 season.
In Player Previous club League via Oliver Florent Sandringham Dragons TAC Cup Pick 11, 2016 National Draft Will Hayward North Adelaide SANFL Pick 21, 2016 National Draft Jack Maibaum Eastern Ranges TAC Cup Pick 45, 2016 National Draft Darcy Cameron Claremont WAFL Pick 48, 2016 National Draft Ben Ronke Calder Cannons TAC Cup Pick 17, 2017 Rookie Draft Robbie Fox Coburg Lions VFL Pick 34, 2017 Rookie Draft Shaun Edwards AFL Pick 49, 2017 Rookie Draft Toby Pink Glenelg SANFL Pick 54, 2017 Rookie Draft Sam Fisher NEAFL Category-B Rookie
Out Player New club League via Tom Mitchell AFL Trade Toby Nankervis AFL Trade Ted Richards Retired Ben McGlynn Retired Tom Derickx Retired Abe Davis Delisted Kyle Galloway Delisted Jack Hiscox Delisted Xavier Richards NEAFL Delisted
List management Player Change Tom Papley Promoted from the rookie list to the senior list Harrison Marsh Promoted from the rookie list to the senior list Jordan Foote Promoted from the rookie list to the senior list Nic Newman Promoted from the rookie list to the senior list
Season summary Pre-season matches Rd Date and local time Opponent Scores (Sydney's scores indicated in bold) Venue Attendance Home Away Result 1Sunday, 19 February0.8.15 (63)0.9.11 (65)Lost by 2 pointsCoffs Harbour International Stadium (H) 3,040 2 Friday, 3 March (7:40 pm) 1.4.9 (42) 0.8.6 (54) Won by 12 points Blacktown International Sportspark (A) 2,695 3 Sunday, 12 March (7:10 pm) 0.10.14 (74) 0.11.11 (77) Won by 3 points Lavington Sports Ground (A) 6,893
Home and away season
Rd Date and local time Opponent Scores (Sydney's scores indicated in bold) Venue Attendance Ladderposition Record Ref. Home Away Result 1 Saturday, 25 March (4:35 pm) 12.10 (82) 17.8 (110) Lost by 28 points Sydney Cricket Ground (H) 33,129 14th 0–1 2 Friday, 31 March (7:50 pm) 16.14 (110) 13.9 (87) Lost by 23 points Etihad Stadium (A) 42,834 15th 0–2 3 Friday, 7 April (7:50 pm) 11.13 (79) 11.14 (80) Lost by 1 point Sydney Cricket Ground (H) 35,310 16th 0–3 4 Thursday, 13 April (6:10 pm) 13.13 (91) 10.5 (65) Lost by 26 points Domain Stadium (A) 38,065 16th 0–4 5 Saturday, 22 April (7:25 pm) 9.9 (63) 15.15 (105) Lost by 42 points Sydney Cricket Ground (H) 34,824 18th 0–5 6 Saturday, 29 April (2:10 pm) 15.7 (97) 11.12 (78) Lost by 19 points Melbourne Cricket Ground (A) 32,678 18th 0–6 7 Sunday, 7 May (1:10 pm) 20.15 (135) 12.9 (81) Won by 54 points Sydney Cricket Ground (H) 25,619 17th 1–6 8 Sunday, 14 May (4:40 pm) 11.12 (78)18.12 (120)Won by 42 points Etihad Stadium (A) 21,58915th 2–6 9 Saturday, 20 May (1:45 pm) 10.8 (68) 18.10 (118) Won by 50 points Etihad Stadium (A)29,77812th 3–6 10 Friday, 26 May (7:50 pm) 11.9 (75) 12.9 (81) Lost by 6 points Sydney Cricket Ground (H) 36,22115th 3–7 11 Bye16th 3–7 12 Thursday, 8 June (7:20 pm) 12.16 (88)6.6 (42)Won by 46 points Sydney Cricket Ground (H) 20,692 14th 4–7 13 Saturday, 17 June (1:45 pm) 10.11 (71) 12.8 (80)Won by 9 points Melbourne Cricket Ground (A)58,72112th 5–7 14 Friday, 23 June (7:50 pm) 11.20 (86) 12.13 (85) Won by 1 point Sydney Cricket Ground (H)34,57510th 6–7 15 Friday, 30 June (7:50 pm) 7.8 (50)11.19 (85) Won by 35 points Melbourne Cricket Ground (A) 47,464 9th 7–7 16 Saturday, 8 July (4:35 pm) 17.16 (118) 7.9 (51) Won by 67 points Sydney Cricket Ground (H) 32,987 8th 8–7 17 Saturday, 15 July (7:25 pm) 12.11 (83) 14.12 (96) Won by 13 points Spotless Stadium (A) 21,9246th 9–7 18 Saturday, 22 July (7:25 pm) 14.17 (101) 9.5 (59) Won by 42 points Sydney Cricket Ground (H) 35,7736th 10–7 19 Friday, 28 July (7:50 pm) 10.12 (72) 9.12 (66) Lost by 6 points Melbourne Cricket Ground (A) 52,1816th 10–8 20 Friday, 4 August (7:50 pm) 8.13 (61) 16.11 (107) Won by 46 points Simonds Stadium (A) 30,833 6th 11–8 21 Saturday, 12 August (1:45 pm) 22.11 (143) 5.9 (39) Won by 104 points Sydney Cricket Ground (H) 39,281 5th 12–8 22 Friday, 18 August (7:20 pm) 11.14 (80) 13.5 (83) Won by 3 points Adelaide Oval (A) 51,466 6th 13–8 23 Saturday, 26 August (4:35 pm) 21.12 (138) 8.9 (57) Won by 81 points Sydney Cricket Ground (H) 38,965 6th 14–8 Source
Finals matches Round Date and local time Opponent Scores (Sydney's scores indicated in bold) Venue Attendance Ref Home Away Result EF Saturday, 9 September (4:20 pm) 19.7 (121) 8.8 (56) Won by 65 points Sydney Cricket Ground (H) 46,323 SF Friday, 15 September (7:50 pm) 15.8 (98) 5.9 (39) Lost by 59 points Melbourne Cricket Ground (A) 55,529
Ladder
Awards and records
VFL/AFL records
The Swans became the first team ever to make the finals after starting 0-6.
Bob Skilton Medal The Bob Skilton Medal is an annual award presented to the club's best and fairest player throughout the season. It was given to Luke Parker for the 2017 season.
Bob Skilton Medal Rank Player Votes 1 Luke Parker 696 2e Lance Franklin 650 2e Jake Lloyd 650 4 Josh Kennedy 580 5 George Hewett 571 6 Heath Grundy 569 7 Tom Papley 556 8 Dan Hannebery 546 9 Zak Jones 543 10 Isaac Heeney 518
Rising Star Award: Lewis Melican
Dennis Carroll Trophy for Most Improved Player: George Hewett
Barry Round Shield for Best Clubman: Callum Sinclair
Paul Kelly Players’ Player: Josh Kennedy
Paul Roos Award for Best Player in a Finals Series: Heath Grundy & Kieren Jack
All-Australian Team The 2017 All-Australian team included two Swans players in the initial 40-man squad, before naming just Lance Franklin in the final team. All-Australian Team No. State Player Status Position 23 Lance Franklin In Team Centre-half forward
Milestones Milestones No. State Player Milestone Round 20 Sam Reid 100th career game Round 2 23 Lance Franklin 250th career game Round 3 23 Lance Franklin 800th career goal Round 5 18 Callum Sinclair 50th career game Round 7 24 Dane Rampe 100th career game Round 9 5 Isaac Heeney 50th career game Round 17 12 Josh Kennedy 200th career game Round 19 10 Zak Jones 50th career game Round 21 26 Luke Parker 150th career game Elimination Final 3 Jarrad McVeigh 300th career game Semi-final
Debuts Debuts No. State Player Round 13 Oliver Florent Round 1 9 Will Hayward Round 2 28 Nic Newman Round 2 42 Robbie Fox Round 2 34 Jordan Dawson Round 3 43 Lewis Melican Round 5 1Had previously played for another club but played their first match for the Sydney Swans.
AFL Rising Star Each round during the season a different eligible player is nominated for the annual award of AFL Rising Star, with a panel of experts voting on the nominated players at the end of the year. In 2017 two Swans players received nominations for the award. AFL Rising Star No. State Player Status Round 43 Lewis Melican Nominated Round 18 9 Will Hayward Nominated Round 23
22 Under 22 Team The 22 Under 22 team is a selection of the best team of AFL players under the age of 22, as selected by fans in an online poll. Three Swans players were selected for the team in 2017. 22 Under 22 team No. State Player Status 14 Callum Mills Back pocket 41 Tom Papley Forward pocket 5 Isaac Heeney Interchange
Reserves
Regular season