By Ben Collins
Gold Coast SUNS prodigy David Swallow reinforced his reputation as one of the AFL's budding superstars on Saturday night, passing what he regards as the toughest test of his fledgling AFL career to date.
The SUNS midfielder had been under an injury cloud all week for the clash against North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium after suffering a corked hip during the SUNS round-four loss to the Brisbane Lions in the QClash at the Gabba.
Swallow also faced the prospect of drawing more physical heat than usual as he assumed the mantle of his side's chief midfielder in the absence of skipper Gary Ablett and Michael Rischitelli.
It was a stern examination of toughness and character, particularly for a 19-year-old, but Swallow came out the other side a more hardened, wiser player.
He battled manfully through the pain-barrier and against overwhelming odds, gathering 23 disposals (including 18 kicks) at 83 per cent efficiency, and his tally of 13 contested possessions was behind only his brother Andrew's 17 for the Kangaroos.
In the process, the younger Swallow learned valuable lessons about the benefits of being able to play under duress.
SUNS coach Guy McKenna praised his efforts post-match: "For a young kid to learn that … (is) certainly a measurement of the type of character he is."
After the match, Swallow admitted that early in the week his chances of playing had been slim, but that he knew he would be passed fit when he "came good" on Wednesday.
He would have played regardless of whether Ablett and Riscitelli had been available, he insisted.
With limited experience of playing with injuries, Swallow received some helpful advice from assistant coach Shane O'Bree and player development manager Simon Fletcher.
"They told me, 'It's one of the worst places you'll get a "corky". You can play with it, you've just got to block out the pain.'
"I've played with a couple of ankles but this was the hardest injury I've played with because you can’t really protect your hip – it's always in the firing line.
"But I got through it OK and I've pulled up fine."
Of course, there was also the added incentive of playing against his older brother. Perhaps surprisingly, there wasn't any sledging or even lighthearted banter between the pair in the lead up to their clash.
"Andrew gets a bit quiet before we play each other," Swallow said. "I think he gets a bit nervous to stir me up just in case we knock them off. He's obviously captain now so he's probably trying to play it down even more."
Andrew Swallow was also one of the best afield with a game-high 31 disposals, but he didn’t have it all his way either. In the early going, David wrapped Andrew in a tackle that drew a loud crowd reaction. And later he was dazed after copping a knock from Karmichael Hunt.
"I was proud of my teammate for flying the flag," David said. "No, obviously I don’t want to see my brother get hurt but you want to win and he's one of their best players, so it might have slowed him down for a bit."
Durability is clearly a family trait – Andrew has played 71 consecutive games for the Roos while David has missed just one of the SUNS first 26 matches. Add to that David's season average of 24 disposals and 4.6 tackles a game, and a level-headed approach similar to that of his sibling, and he appears a future captain of the SUNS.
And like all good leaders, he quickly diverts conversation to the team, expressing great optimism after their showing against North.
"We believed we could win it and it was exciting for us to match it with them for as long as we did," he said. "We just need to be better for longer. It's a good learning curve for us."
