After finishing second in the Gold Coast SUNS Club Champion, co-captain David Swallow has instead shone the spotlight on his teammates who finished in the top three for the first time.
The skipper was edged for the top honour by fellow co-captain Jarrod Witts who enjoyed a record-breaking season, with Darcy Macpherson soaring up the leaderboard to finish third.
“It’s obviously nice to get the acknowledgement and be alongside Darcy and Jarrod who had fantastic seasons themselves as well,” Swallow told SUNS Media.
“I felt like I was reasonably consistent throughout the year.
“Obviously as there always is, there’s areas to improve.
“That’s the nice thing just to go away knowing there’s still lots to improve on and I can come back hungrier next year again.”
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Swallow said he was pleased his teammates were being recognised for their outstanding efforts in 2019.
“It’s great to share (the podium) with Witta, we’ve obviously been through a fair bit this year with sharing the captaincy,” he said.
“It couldn’t happen to a better bloke so I’m so happy for him.
“Darcy has improved a lot over the last few years and externally he’s starting to get a bit of recognition which is nice.
“We love him internally so it’s an exciting young bunch and we’re looking forward to 2020.”
The 26-year-old was his usual consistent self on the field in 2019, but believed most of his development occurred off the field this year after he was elevated to the co-captaincy alongside Witts.
“Every day and every week is different and you’re just learning all the time,” he said.
“I guess the challenge is just trying to stay up, especially at times this year when things haven’t been going our way.
“But I’ve taken a lot out of the year and looking forward to next year.
“I’d love to see the footy club playing finals, obviously I haven’t played one myself so I’ll just continue to be hungry and drive the group and see where we can go.”
