Only days before he was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame, ex-Collingwood captain Dane Swan was a long way from the hallowed turf of the MCG. 

Instead, he was in far west New South Wales for a two-hour venture with the South Broken Hill Kangaroos, the latest in a series of marquee games he plays each year at local AFL clubs across the country.

Scheduled to appear at 12 games this year, the 40-year-old said, beyond the fee arranged between his management and the clubs, he enjoys giving back to regional fans.

He said they could find it harder to travel to high-level games in metropolitan areas.

“It’s a pleasure for me.

“I’ve been out of the game eight years, so to still have an impact [and] people still wanting me to come around and do these things is nice.”

Marquee games an ongoing tradition

The Silver City is no stranger to bringing in marquee players.

Fellow ex-elites like Carlton’s Anthony Koutoufides and Brendan Fevola, and Jason Akermanis of the Brisbane Lions, have also laced up their boots for the league’s North, West, and Central clubs in recent years.

South Broken Hill Football Club President Michael Purcell said having former AFL professionals playing for country sides is fantastic for local morale.

“There was nothing [Dane] wouldn’t do, he wore jumpers, he met with the kids,” Mr Purcell said.

“There wasn’t a time where you felt ‘I’ve got to save him’, because he actually wanted to be there.”

The 2011 Brownlow medallist’s presence was also felt on the field, playing all four quarters, each in a different position, and kicking six goals in the club’s 116-point win over the Central Magpies.

“I still love getting out there [and] five minutes into the game, I’ve forgotten that I’m in Broken Hill, Swan Hill [or] Adelaide,” he said.

Roosters expect ‘grand final’ worthy crowds

Meanwhile on the Eyre Peninsula, the remote coastal community of Elliston – 170 kilometres north-west of Port Lincoln – will get to watch St Kilda alumni Steven Milne and former Brisbane Lions and Carlton player Mitch Robinson play for their local team this weekend.

Milne and Robinson are the latest ex-AFL players to get a run for the Elliston Districts Roosters, with Swan also donning the club’s red, white and gold guernsey last year at Poochera Oval near Streaky Bay.

Club President Zack Wilson said last year’s fixture with Swan “dragged in another two to three hundred people” to the tiny town of Poochera, which has a resting population of 67 according to the 2021 census.

“It was more like hosting a grand final than a regular season game,” he said.

Mr Wilson said his club had a connection to a player agent who managed all three players, which made the arrangement possible.

He said the players’ fees were funded by the club’s sports centre, which was also used by other local sports clubs.

“It means we don’t have to fundraise for the players, which other clubs probably do,” he said.

A worthwhile investment

These types of games do not come cheap, with Mr Purcell estimating the weekend’s expenses, including Swan’s fee, to be more than $10,000.

However, he said several local businesses came on board as sponsors to help offset some of these costs.

He also said the day’s various fundraisers, which included raffle tickets for Swan’s playing guernseys and auctioning his signed club gear, would generate a larger income than they could have raised on a single weekend event.

“And the money gets to go back straight into our juniors, [and making] any changes to the club for our members.

“It costs a lot of money to run clubs … so it’s come at a great time for us.”

As for Swan, he said while the glory days are behind him, he loves playing the game while he still can.

“I don’t care if I have one [kick] or I have 100 … as long as the footy club that I go to have a great day, make some money and have a couple of decent memories of me, that’s all that matters,” he said.