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Swans' greatest
By RAY KERSHLER
07aug03
EVEN a Swans fan who joined the club in 1982 when South Melbourne relocated to Sydney can see the immediate danger in the selection of the Swans Team Of The Century.

Go straight to the six nominations for the position of rover.

With all due respect to Terry Brain, Mark Tandy, Billy Williams and Stevie Wright, the decision comes down to a battle between Bob Skilton and Paul Kelly.

Skilton, a legend. Kelly, an inspirational leader.

Could one of them miss out?

Happily, no.

A quick check of the selection criteria for the Swans, circa 1874 to 2003, indicates a loophole for the panel who will "generally select, but shall not be confined to select, players in the positions in which that player most frequently played".

That gives the selectors the opportunity to move one of the two, probably the more versatile Kelly, in a final Swans team which will comprise 18 players, seven others on the interchange as well as a coach.

Ah, yes, the coach. Given that the Swans have only ever won three premierships, the nominations are . . . a bit thin.

Jack Bisset (1933-36) won the 1933 flag for the Swans, the last time the red and white reigned supreme. Three more grand finals in his other three years would appear to give him the nod ahead of the more modernist Rodney Eade.

The selection criteria are critical to any analysis of the team that is eventually named:

Players must have played 75 games or more for the South Melbourne-Sydney Swans Football Club.

They must have contributed to the club and VFL-AFL other than by playing, that is, leadership, club awards, All Australian, Brownlow Medal or state selection.

Selectors may take into account the ability of the player to perform in other positions.

Consideration should be given to the fact: players who played earlier in the century did not have the same opportunity to play the same number of matches as today's player.

The difficulty the selection panel faces is encapsulated in one small statistic. During a period of 129 years, a total of 10 Swans players have won 12 Brownlow medals.

How do you fit them all into one team? Or do you actually leave a Brownlow medallist on the interchange bench?

If there are to be any shocks rather than surprises when the team is announced tomorrow night, that may be the key.

Of course, you don't have to be a Brownlow medallist to be a household name in Sydney.

What are we to make of Warwick Capper's claims? Famous footballer or fabulous fashion icon?

Many might think Capper does not deserve a place in front of or even alongside such forwards as Peter Bedford, Tony Lockett, Laurie Nash, Len Mortimer, Bob Pratt and Graham Teasdale.

But if he truly doesn't, where does that leave Roy Cazaly who, statistically at least in the broad spectrum of this quest, could be regarded as his equal. As heretical as it may seem, there are some in the game who suggest the Up There Cazaly song is more famous than the man who inspired it.

How do you compare Arthur Hiskins (1908-1923) with Paul Roos (1995-1998), Jim Caldwell (1909-1919) with Stuart Maxfield (1996-2003), Tony Lockett (1995-2002) with Bob Pratt (1930-1946), Bruce Sloss (1910-1914) with Gerard Healy (1986-1990)?

That is the problem with these assessments. To avoid missing the bleeding obvious, the criteria need to be so broadly based that they create problems themselves.

On reflection, though, do not expect too many of those Brownlow medallists to be missing from the final line-up.

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