- Dane Swan enjoyed a great night on Tuesday
- Collingwood legend joked about partying late into the night
- Swan made everyone laugh during his Hall of Fame speech.
Collingwood cult hero Dane Swan enjoyed a big night following his Australian Football Hall of Fame gong, with the legend forced to miss a press conference the following morning.
Swan was the fourth member of Tuesday night’s gala event in Melbourne and lived up to his reputation as one of the AFL’s true larrikins when he had the house in stitches with several wild anecdotes.
Much loved by a legion of fans in the Magpie Army, Swan was a leader of Collingwood’s famous “rat pack” during their successful period under coaching legend Mick Malthouse and his successor Nathan Buckley.
Swan gave a masterful speech and sent the room into hysterics, reflecting on his many off-field controversies.
He thanked his girlfriend Taylor Wilson and couldn’t resist making a cheeky comment.
Dane Swan (pictured with girlfriend Taylor Wilson) was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame
“I’m not a clever linguist… Luckily I got it out, it could have been dangerous,” he joked.
‘Without you I don’t know where I would be. I love you so much. Please remember these kind words when I refuse to go to bed in about 10 hours and I won’t kick anyone out of the after party.’
Wilson, who shares three children with Swan, could be seen laughing in the crowd, but appeared to give him a cold stare at the comment.
After the ceremony concluded, News Corp claims that attendees gravitated towards Swan’s table, where he was on his way to having a good night with fellow rat pack members Heath Shaw, Chris Tarrant, Ben Johnson and Alan Didak.
The group apparently had a good night when Swan apologized to AFL bosses on Wednesday to politely withdraw from his media duties that morning.
Swan did not hesitate to point out the fork in the road that led him to a brilliant AFL career and, ultimately, his induction into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.
“When they arrested me,” he said.
‘That was fun.’
A self-confessed “shithead” during his youth who criticized authority, Swan initially believed football was about fun and games off the field when he first arrived at the country’s biggest club.
Swan and his long-term girlfriend, Taylor, have three children together
The 2011 Brownlow Medal winner was a key contributor to the Magpies’ 2010 premiership.
Swan (pictured in his hotel room before the ceremony) was an Australian for five consecutive seasons.
“I thought playing AFL was about getting cards to drink on a Saturday night,” he said.
‘I would try very hard; It was all on a Saturday night.
“There was no effort during the day and he didn’t deserve to be on an AFL list.
“I got into that blue and I got in trouble and I thought they were going to fire me.
‘You do not know what you have, until you lose it. It’s a cliché, but it rang true to me.
Swan was arrested for fighting with bouncers in late 2003, his second year at Collingwood.
His father, Bill Swan, a Victorian Football Association great, told the young player to leave if he was not interested in an AFL career.
The club’s leaders, including legendary manager Mick Malthouse, sat Swan down and told him some brutal truths while urging him to repay their faith.
He turned it around and went on to become a Magpies great, starring in the famous 2010 premiership and winning the Brownlow Medal a year later.
Swan was an All-Australian for five consecutive seasons (2009-2013) and won the Collingwood best and fairest award three times (2008-2010).