300 of the very toughest

By Alison Zell

They nicknamed themselves the ‘Blood Brothers’ – the Sydney Swans of 2005 who quite literally spilt blood for each other en route to the AFL Premiership.

And no one was more committed to the cause than Jude Bolton who ended that Grand Final with blood streaming down his face, stemmed only by a black helmet that just a week earlier had adorned the head of teammate Brett Kirk.

In 299 games and 14 seasons in the AFL Bolton has been known for one thing; putting his head over the ball.

As the AFL record-holder for most tackles in a career, most tackles in a game and most contested possessions in a game, Bolton only knows how to play his footy one way.

Asked whether that was without common-sense, he replied: “If you asked my wife about the common-sense, I was probably born without it.”

“But I think growing up down in Victoria … we used to get sniped by the opposition teams pretty regularly and you learned to put your head over the footy.”

For someone known more for his grunt and work ethic than silky skills, Bolton was a highly regarded junior footballer, picked at number eight in the 1998 AFL Draft.

“I knew back then I might be going in the top 10 of the draft and most of those teams were interstate teams,” Bolton said.

“I was a Melbourne boy growing up so I was prepared to move away from family and I was just glad I came to such a great organisation and got to be part of a great club like the Sydney Swans.

“When I turned up we obviously had some superstars playing back then – Paul Kelly, Tony Lockett – and I was very blessed to play alongside those guys.”

A proud product of St Bernard’s College in Essendon, he was the 33^rd footballer drafted from the well-known footballing school and this week becomes just the 67^th man in VFL/AFL history to play 300 games.

He is the third Sydney Swans to reach the milestone, alongside teammates and great friends Adam Goodes and Michael O’Loughlin.

“It’s crept up on me but it’s certainly something I’m really proud of and to be alongside Goodsey and Mick as a 300-game player will be pretty special,” he said.

“I’m lucky enough to call them good mates and that’s probably the best thing for me.

“It’s purely a number in terms of games and if it all ends tomorrow I’ve enjoyed a great career but certainly just focused on getting the result we want this Friday night.”

Bolton has played 21 finals in the red and white and a win in Friday night’s Preliminary Final against Collingwood would land Bolton in his third Grand Final.

The Swans have been one of the most successful clubs in the competition over the last decade but Bolton said he had seen a drastic change in the Sydney Swans since he first arrived.

“In a way we probably accepted a little bit of mediocrity as a team,” he said.

“We came into finals and got bundled out first week and I think the club really made a stand … we had a nucleus of players who really wanted to stand for something and build a better culture and we certainly got on board.

“[It’s] something I’m proud of; to be able to see that change in organisational behavior and something that’s also provided and lot of success on the way.”

Bolton tasted the ultimate success in 2005 and unsurprisingly named the club’s first Premiership since 1933 as the highlight of his career.

“Nothing surpasses that … It was a pretty incredible time for the guys going through that and also for the club,” Bolton said.

“72 years is a long wait for any ultimate success and it was just great to be part of a club that brought that to South Melbourne and Sydney Swans team.”

But it was only a few weeks ago that Bolton thought that this year’s Premiership campaign, and perhaps even his career, were over after seriously hyper-extending his knee against Carlton in Round 19.

“It probably dawned on me sitting there icing it up on the sidelines,” he said.

“I thought it was probably all over at that stage when I thought I had done my knee.”

But for a player who has barely missed a game since making his debut in Round 12, 1999, he was always focused on recovering as soon as possible.

“I think a lot of it’s between the ears I think sometimes you can be pretty negative about injuries or illness and things like that,” he said.

“But if you try and get yourself out of bed and put on a smile and get out there and get amongst it, I think quite often it will lead to a good outcome in terms of your injuries.”

Bolton missed just three games before returning to face Geelong in the final round of the home and away season and says the Swans’ build up to finals has been just about perfect.

“There was probably no better lead in to the finals series having played some really quality teams and you learn more from your losses than you do from some of your wins,” he said.

“We’ve seen the way Collingwood came up against West Coast, it was a brutal game and we want nothing different this Friday.

“Our guys are a little fresher and we want to really take them on and get stuck into it.”

The Swans face Collingwood with the weight of history hanging over their heads and the ‘Pies having won the last 11 straight against the Sydney side.

But the Swans will be out to honour Jude Bolton, the fearless warrior who has probably spilt more blood for his club than anyone else over 299 games in the red and white.

“You don’t set out your career and think about 200 games or whatever, you sort of think about just getting your first game,” Bolton said.

“I said to (coach) John Longmire, I don’t really care about the milestone as such, I’d rather just make sure we win so I get to play [game] 301 as soon as possible.”

Be there for Jude Bolton’s big game and cheer on the Swans on Friday night – Click here to purchase your tickets now!