Among 1414 Swans players how many have kicked three goals and been among the Brownlow Medal votes in their first game?

It is a question that cannot be fully answered for various reasons.

The Brownlow Medal wasn’t introduced until 1924 and it wasn’t until 1931 that the 3-2-1 voting system replaced a one-vote system. The medal was discontinued from 1942-45 due to World War II, and not until 1984 are round-by-round votes available for historical study.

But if you could hazard a guess at some players who might possibly fit this stringent criteria who would you think of first?

Without wanting to cast aspersions on the career of a true Swans warrior, particularly on such a special day, the odds are you probably wouldn’t have picked Heath Grundy.

But yes, the man known as ‘Reg’ who tonight will become just the eighth person to play 250 games for the Swans, did exactly that on 22 July 2006.

Grundy was an unlikely 20-year-old product of the AFL rookie draft from Norwood in the SANFL when he stepped onto an AFL arena for the first time against Richmond at the SCG in Round 16, 2006.

He had played the first 14 rounds of that season in the Reserves and had been the emergency for the Round 15 clash with West Coast, when he was picked to join a side that included 17 members of Sydney’s 2005 premiership side.

He was included with Nick Malceski as coach Paul Roos replaced the injured Ben Mathews and dropped Luke Vogels in making two changes to the side that had lost by two points to West Coast in Perth the week before.

Ironically, Vogels was one of five players the Swans had drafted ahead of Grundy in the lead-up to the 2006 season. They’d taken Jarred Moore (#31), David Spriggs (#47) and Heath James (#61) in the National Draft, and Guy Campbell (#12) and Vogels (#28) in the Rookie Draft.

In a game that Grundy fans will never forget, Sydney led Richmond at every change and won 14.17 (101) to 7.11 (53). He had 15 possessions in a side in which only Jude Bolton topped 20, and kicked three goals, equal team-high with Ryan O’Keefe and Michael O’Loughlin. And one more than Barry Hall.

Grundy had 13 kicks, seven marks and two handballs, including eight contested possessions, second only to Bolton’s nine, and sent the ball into the Swans forward 50m zone four times. He took two contested marks and three marks inside 50.

It was a very solid debut against a quality opponent, and when umpires Brett Allen, Steve McBurney and Derek Woodcock awarded the Brownlow votes they went three to Michael O’Loughlin (10 possessions, three goals), two to Lewis Roberts-Thomson (eight possessions) and one to Grundy.

Without any absolute confirmation it is assumed Roberts-Thomson played on Tigers spearhead Matthew Richardson, who was goalless.

Only three times since his debut has Grundy featured in the Brownlow votes. He got two votes in his 62^nd game in 2010, and one vote in each of his 224^th and 230^th games last year. And never again has he kicked three goals in a game. Indeed, in 249 games he has kicked only 23 goals.

But still he had claimed his place in Swans history. It is a very special place, and not just because of this quirky statistical oddity. Or the fact that he is the only player to play 100 games for the club in jumper #39 after inheriting if from, among others, Warwick Capper.

Only Adam Goodes (372 games), Jude Bolton (325), Jarrad McVeigh (312), Mick O’Loughlin (303), Ryan O’Keefe (286), John Rantall (260) and Mark Browning (251) have played more times in the famous red and white.

While it is historically impossible and logistically impractical to go through the records of all 1414 Swans players to confirm who else might have kicked three goals and been in the votes on debut it is highly probable that Grundy is the only one to do so among the 64 players who have played 150 games or more for the club.

Brownlow Medallist Peter Bedford is the only possible challenger among this group, and even he is unlikely. He polled three votes in his first season, when he played 19 games, and had 14 possessions and kicked four goals on debut in a draw with Hawthorn – but Peter Hudson did have 23 possessions nine marks and kicked eight goals, nine behinds for the Hawks.

It is probable that triple Brownlow Medallist Bob Skilton polled his first medal votes in his second game, when he kicked five goals in a 12-point win over Essendon at Lakeside Oval.

Among the 64 Swans 150-gamers only Kieren Jack, Luke Parker and David Murphy definitely polled Brownlow votes in their first 10 games. Each did so in their fifth game, but Jack took 24 games to clinch his first three-goal bag, Parker did so after 21 games and Murphy 22.

Among the club’s four 300-gamers, Goodes was 45 games to his first medal vote, Jude Bolton was 18, McVeigh 77 and O’Loughlin 27. O’Keefe was 24 games, Rantall between 15 and 32 games, and Browning was between 14 and 35 games.

Even captain Josh Kennedy, who has polled a massive 116 votes in the last six years, didn’t register a vote until his 44th game.

Almost inconceivably, and possibly a topic of some locker room banter, while Grundy polled in the medal in his first game his 203-game backline colleague Nick Smith is still waiting on his first votes.

But to feature Grundy’s unlikely three-goal/one-vote debut without delving deeper wouldn’t be fair to the ever-popular defender and the wonderful career he has forged from the most unlikely beginning.

Despite winning All-Australian U18 selection for South Australia in 2004, he was overlooked in the National Draft, and it wasn’t until selection #42 in the 2005 Rookie Draft that the Swans threw him an opportunity.

Thirteen years, 249 games,  18 finals,  three grand finals, one premiership and six top 10 finishes in the club championship, including fourth in the 2012 premiership side and a career-best third in 2016, Grundy is one of the Swans’ all-time greats.

Unfashionable and undersized but such a reliable campaigner since he was switched to defence, Grundy has played the Swans’ first and last game of every season since establishing himself in the side in 2009, and 225 of a possible 231 games in that time.

Of the six games he has missed in nine-and-a-half years, he was an emergency once and missed three (including two finals) with glandular fever in 2011, missed a final through suspension in 2012 and missed one with a minor quad strain in 2015.

Currently on a 77-game consecutive streak, Grundy is the ‘dux’ of what has been a most substantial Swans rookie class.

He has played more games for the Swans than any of their 96 rookies, sitting at the top of a list which includes Brett Kirk (241 games), Kieren Jack (240), Nick Smith (203), Tadhg Kennelly (197), Paul Bevan (129), Dane Rampe (127), Mike Pyke (110) and Jake Lloyd (104).

Astonishingly, 19 members of the current playing list started with the club as rookies – Grundy, Jack, Smith, Rampe, Lloyd, Tom Papley, Harry Cunningham, Sam Naismith, Dan Robinson, Nic Newman, Lewis Melican, Jordan Foote, Harry Marsh, Ben Ronke, Robbie Fox and the yet-to-play quintet of Colin O’Riordan, Angus Styles, Joel Amartey, James Bell and Jake Brown.

Furthermore, since the introduction of the AFL rookie draft in 1997 only seven rookies across the entire competition have played more games than Grundy – ex-Western Bulldogs defender Matthew Boyd (292), ex-West Coast ruckman turned Swans assistant-coach Dean Cox (290),  ex-North Melbourne defender Michael Firrito (275), ex-St Kilda goal sneak Stephen Milne (275), ex-Melbourne captain and inaugural GWS signing James McDonald (264), Fremantle giant Aaron Sandilands (263) and Port Adelaide turned Fremantle utility Danyle Pearce (258).

Of the 77 players taken in the 2004 National Draft, in which Grundy was overlooked, only six have played more games: selection #1 Brett Deledio (250), selection #2 Jarryd Roughead (264), selection #3 Ryan Griffen (250), selection #5 Lance Franklin (280), selection #7 Jordan Lewis (294) and father/son selection Travis Cloke (256).

Swans Rookie Draft Facts

• In total from 1997-2018 the Swans have drafted 97 players in the Rookie Draft, including four players who were drafted twice: Gerrard Bennett, Scott Muller, Matthew O’Dwyer and Scott McGlone. Sixty-one rookies never played an AFL game for the club.
• Nine Swans rookie graduates have played more than 100 AFL games for the club: Heath Grundy (249), Brett Kirk (241), Kieren Jack (240), Nick Smith (203), Tadgh Kennelly (197), Paul Bevan (129), Dame Rampe (127), Mike Pyke (110), Jake Lloyd (104).
• Seven Swans rookie graduates have played in a premiership side with the club: Paul Bevan, Heath Grundy, Kieren Jack, Tadgh Kennelly, Brett Kirk, Mike Pyke, Nick Smith.
• Thirteen Swans rookie graduates have made a total of 24 grand final appearances for the club: Heath Grundy (3), Kieren Jack (3), Nick Smith (3), Tadgh Kennelly (2), Brett Kirk (2), Jake Lloyd (2), Mike Pyke (2), Paul Bevan (1), Harry Cunningham (1), Sam Naismith (1), Tom Papley (1), Dane Rampe (2), Xavier Richards (1).
• Four Swans rookie graduates have won All-Australian selection: Kieren Jack, Brett Kirk, Dane Rampe, Nick Smith (1 each).
• Ten Swans rookie graduates have finished top 10 in the club championship a total of 37 times: Brett Kirk (8), Kieren Jack (6), Heath Grundy (5), Tadgh Kennelly (5), Nick Smith (5), Dane Rampe (3), Jake Lloyd (2), Paul Bevan (1), Harry Cunningham (1), Tom Papley (1).
• Four Swans rookie graduates have finished top three in the club championship a total of 12 times: Brett Kirk (7), Kieren Jack (3), Heath Grundy (1), Jake Lloyd (1).
• Two Swans rookie graduates have won a total of three club championship awards: Brett Kirk (2), Kieren Jack (1).
• Two players have played in a grand final for the Swans after beginning their AFL career as rookies at other clubs: Ben McGlynn (two grand finals), Martin Mattner (one premiership).
• Two Swans rookie graduates went on to play in a premiership side with another club after leaving Sydney: Jonathan Simpkin (Hawthorn 2015) and Shane Biggs (Western Bulldogs 2016).
• Three Swans rookie graduates are currently on the playing lists at other clubs: Shane Biggs (Western Bulldogs), Sam Rowe (Carlton) and Sam Murray (Collingwood).
• Ten Swans rookie graduates have played with other clubs after leaving Sydney: Sam Rowe (89 games at Carlton), Shane Biggs (55 games at Western Bulldogs), Jonathan Simpkin (41 games at Geeong, Hawthorn and Essendon), Dean Terlich (35 games at Melbourne), James Byrne (24 games at Adelaide), Nathan Gordon (21 games at Richmond), Campbell Heath (12 games at Port Adelaide), Simon Phillips (9 games at Port Adelaide), Sam Murray (9 games at Collingwood).
• Swans rookie graduate Brett Kirk is a member of the current Swans coaching staff, while two other Swans rookie graduates are on the coaching staff at other clubs: former Sydney assistant coach Henry Playfair (St Kilda) and Aaron Rogers (Gold Coast).