Alan is a hard marker, but he says the Sydney Swans “may well be the most accomplished sporting organisation in Australia”.

The team has played in 15 of the last 16 AFL finals.

And their success on the field is equally matched by their off-field accomplishments.

This year, the Swans smashed their own membership record with more than 60,000 paying members, more than double the largest Sydney NRL team.

“They can’t fit them in the Sydney Cricket Ground,” says Alan.

But it hasn’t always been an easy run, with calls to get rid of the Swans as they weren’t competitive enough.

Swans senior player Kieran Jack says the team’s history is “something that we try and instil in all of our young players”.

“Those times in the early 90s, I mean 92, 93, 94, we won the wooden spoon. It was some really dark times.

“Thankfully we’re still here.

“The transition has been mighty.”

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Jack also touches on a particularly interesting “unwritten rule” within the club.

The ‘no dickheads policy’.

“We want to have good people at the club, good morals.

“We want to know where we’ve come from.”