Bill Swan

Bill Swan (born 1956) is a former Australian rules footballer who was a star of the Victorian Football Association (VFA) during the 1980s over an eighteen-year senior career with the Port Melbourne and Williamstown Football Clubs.

Career Originally from Port Melbourne before moving to Broadmeadows at age 14, Swan was zoned from Broadmeadows to the Carlton Football Club in the Victorian Football League and played under-19s and reserves football there from 1973 until 1975, before walking out on the club. Swan played a variety of roles, before he cemented a position as the centreman in the strong Port Melbourne team which won three consecutive premierships from 1980 until 1982. but was later made a joint-winner of the award when the countback was retrospectively eliminated; he won the 1983 award outright by a margin of three votes. Altogether, in thirteen seasons with Port Melbourne, Swan played 219 games, won four premierships, two club best and fairest awards (1982 and 1986) and served as club captain from 1986 until 1988.

In 1989, at age 32, Swan left Port Melbourne after he and the club were unable to come to terms for a new deal, in large part because the club believed that he was too old for the deal he was requesting. As a result, he moved to the Williamstown Football Club, Port's bitter rivals. In August 1993, Swan played his 301st VFA game, passing Fred Cook to become the all-time VFA games record holder; he played one more match before retiring at the end of the season. He held the games record for almost thirty years, until passed by Ben Jolley in 2023.

Personal life Like his father before him, Swan's primary career outside football was on the wharves in Port Melbourne, where he was a union delegate. Swan's son Dane is also a highly decorated Australian rules footballer, who played for in the Australian Football League (AFL); Dane's achievements include an AFL premiership, a Brownlow Medal, a Leigh Matthews Trophy, and, like his father, a premiership with Williamstown.