[1] In 1976, he joined Port Melbourne in the VFA, and was part of the club's senior premiership team in his first season.
Standing at only 173 cm tall,[2] Swan played a variety of roles, before he cemented a position as the centreman in the strong Port Melbourne team which won three consecutive premierships from 1980 until 1982.
[1] He played at Williamstown for five years, winning club best and fairests in 1989 (jointly with Barry Round) and 1991,[8] and won one premiership – the fifth in his VFA career, in 1990.
[11] Like his father before him, Swan's primary career outside football was on the wharves in Port Melbourne, where he was a union delegate.
Swan's son Dane is also a highly decorated Australian rules footballer, who played for Collingwood in the Australian Football League (AFL); Dane's achievements include an AFL premiership, a Brownlow Medal, a Leigh Matthews Trophy,[1] and, like his father, a premiership with Williamstown.