Craig Bolton
2003-2010
170 games
15 goals
Premiership Player 2005
Co-Captain 2008-2010
All Australian 2006, 2009

Since 1911, Australian rules football has significantly contributed to Canberra’s sporting landscape. Two of the game’s biggest names, Alex Jesaulenko and James Hird, hail from the nation’s capital, and when Craig Bolton first laced up his boots for the Weston Creek Wildcats, another storied career began.

At his induction into the ACT Sport Hall of Fame in 2015, Bolton said, “The great thing about Canberra, the unique thing, is that it’s for all sports. It’s a fantastic place to grow up playing sport. All in all, I look back with a lot of pride and feel very privileged with the opportunities I’ve been given. When you’re growing up, you play for the love of the game, and I certainly had a good time playing footy as a youngster in Canberra.”

He attended Marist College, renowned for its football program, and progressed into the NSW/ACT Rams TAC Cup program. In a team that included Mark McVeigh, Nick Davis and Lenny Hayes, they played every week in the elite Victorian Under 18 competition, with the squad actually relocating to Canberra to utilise the Australian Institute of Sport’s training facilities.

Bolton believes without that program, he’d never have been drafted. And, after also playing with the Eastlake Football Club during his final year of school, the Brisbane Lions called his name with pick 33 at the 1998 National Draft. Bolton worked his way into the emerging Brisbane side as a fledgling, wiry defender, debuting against Carlton in the first round of the 2000 AFL season.

He played 15 senior games that year, including two finals, but only 14 across 2001-2002. Constantly on the cusp, Bolton was named emergency for victorious Grand Finals during both of those years, with his confidence and self-belief taking a substantial hit.

At the time, the Swans, under new senior coach Paul Roos, were looking to replace recently retired champion Andrew Dunkley in the backline, and they zeroed in on Bolton.

In his autobiography Here It Is, Roos said, “Craig had always been on the edge of the champion Brisbane Lions team and was an emergency for the 2002 Grand Final side. Andrew Ireland knew him well and believed he could be a real asset for us in defence if we gave him game time and built his confidence.”

Immediately, Bolton found a place in the Swans’ defensive division, playing every match of the 2003 season, placing sixth in the club’s best and fairest count. The Swans were undoubtedly on the rise, and their Qualifying Final win against Port Adelaide will go down as one of the club’s greatest. Bolton faced his former Brisbane teammates two weeks later, but the Swans were overrun, bowing out one game short of a Grand Final.

However, the team values they’d created built fortitude, and Bolton played all 24 matches again as Sydney played in two more finals in 2004. At the end of that season, Bolton was selected in the Australian International Rules team to tour Ireland alongside Swans teammates Jude Bolton, Brett Kirk, and Jared Crouch.

Unconditionally trusted by his teammates, Bolton grew in confidence each week. A relentless defender displaying supreme courage and strength, he thrived under Roos’ approach, saying, “There’s no doubt Roosy’s helped my game. I’ve been able to relax a lot more before games. Roosy’s cracking jokes before a game; as he says, it’s only footy.”

As the 2005 season progressed, the team built an unshakable synergy all over the ground. The Swans had to defeat the Kangaroos in round 21 to secure a top-four spot. However, their journey towards a drought-breaking flag was challenging, requiring them to travel to Perth for their first finals match and play every week throughout September. After the initial loss to the Eagles, victories over Geelong and St Kilda ensured a Grand Final place, facing off with a powerful West Coast outfit.

The Swans claimed their first premiership in 72 years in an epic encounter, winning by four points. Bolton and his teammates had reached football’s pinnacle, taking many thousands of devoted Bloods supporters with them. In The Age, Peter Hanlon expertly described their method, “The essence of this Sydney team was what carried it into history yesterday—the inspiration of its leader, the heart of its warriors, the daring of its defenders, the sum of its many parts.”

At centre half-back, Bolton played a crucial role in repelling the Eagles’ attacking raids, as the Swans’ defensive unit restricted them to 54 points. Afterwards, for Bolton, the highly emotional victory celebrations represented years of graft, near misses and persistence. After watching his teammates celebrate the ’01 and ’02 flags, he finally received his own premiership medallion.

“It was an incredible feeling,” Bolton later said. “Particularly after so long, to give something back to the supporters who’d waited around for all those decades. It was a great period; it was a great time of my life and something that I’ll forever be indebted to the Swans for.”

Bolton was among a group of Swans players who used meditation practice as part of their weekly preparations. Playing with a clear mind enabled him to reach superior concentration levels while playing on some of the game’s most dangerous forwards. That focus helped him claim third place in the Swans’ 2005 best and fairest, and Bolton’s premiership teammate Michael O’Loughlin marvelled at the defender’s versatility.

“Craig had the rare ability of playing on ‘talls’ or ‘smalls’ and getting the better of many quality opponents. For example, I saw him take on and beat champion St Kilda centre half-forward Nick Riewoldt and the Lions’ big man Jonathan Brown (who listed Bolton as his toughest opponent) and, maybe just a week or so later, shut dangerous Carlton small forward Eddie Betts or nippy Collingwood goal kicker Leon Davis out of a game. Few footballers can be this flexible, but nothing seemed to faze Craig.”

The following year, West Coast defeated Sydney by a point in another extraordinary Grand Final. Bolton’s outstanding form earned him selection in the 2006 All-Australian team, and in 2007, he again finished third in the Swans’ best and fairest. Then, before the 2008 season, Bolton joined Brett Kirk and Leo Barry as the Swans’ co-captains.

Upon the appointment, Bolton said, “I’m really proud to be here, and it’s obviously a huge honour to accept this role. I think I’ve probably evolved as a leader over the last few years. Hopefully, I’ll grow into the role and become a better leader.”

The co-captaincy suited Bolton, and in 2009, he earned his second All-Australian blazer. But, after missing just one match through injury across his first seven seasons in red and white, chronic Achilles tendonitis ruled him out for most of 2010. Then, after a severe ankle tendon injury early in 2011, Bolton announced his retirement after 199 AFL games.

He said, “I’m just so glad to have been part of this club; it’s given me so much as a person and as a footballer. I came here from Brisbane as a fringe player, and my career was at a crossroads. I never thought I’d walk away with a premiership and having helped captain this place, so it has been a huge honour.”

Sydney Swans chief executive Andrew Ireland thanked Bolton for his leadership and contribution to the club. “He has given wonderful service to the Swans in every way since he arrived more than eight years ago. He will be remembered as one of the great leaders of this club who played a big part in re-shaping the culture.”