Isaac Heeney and Brodie Grundy each will be chasing a special place in football history as the Swans gather for the 2025 Club Champion awards night on Thursday, October 2.
Heeney, winner of the coveted Bob Skilton Medal last year, is in line to become just the 10th player to go back-to-back in the club’s most prestigious award.
And Grundy, in his second season at the club, will be hoping to become just the 16th player since the birth of the national competition in 1987 to win a best and fairest at two clubs.
The annual ‘night of nights’ shapes as a tight showdown between this pair – at least according to the All-Australian selectors and the AFL coaches.
This is after Heeney and Grundy were chosen in the 44-man All-Australian squad, and only Heeney won a place in the All-Australian team, and Grundy edged out Heeney to top the Swans vote in the Coaches Association Player of the Year.
It was Grundy (77) from Heeney (66), Chad Warner (44), Nick Blakey (35) and James Jordan (24) in an award decided on the 5-4-3-2-1 votes of each coach in each game.
The Club Champion, awarded annually since 1926, was named in Bob Skilton’s honour in 1995. He was the club’s best and fairest a record nine times, which is an all-time AFL record he shares with nine-time Fitzroy best and fairest Kevin Murray.
Skilton OAM was Swans Club Champion in consecutive years six times, winning in 1958, ’59, ’61, ’62, ’63, ’64, ’65, ’67 and ‘68. He was beaten in 1960 by Frank Johnson, who played only 64 games for the club from 1960-64, and in 1966 by Max Papley, grandfather of current star Tom Papley and a 59-game player from 1964-67.
Five-time winner Herbie Matthews went back-to-back twice in 1936-37 and 1939-40. He was beaten in1938 by 1933 premiership teammate Len Thomas, who had previously won in 1931.
Paul Kelly also went back-to-back twice in 1992-93 and 1996-97, while Peter Bedford (1969-70-71) and Gerard Healy (1986-87-88) won three in a row. Completing this list are Billy Williams (1946-47), Ron Clegg (1948-49), Paul Williams (2011-12) and Josh Kennedy (2015-16).
Grundy, fourth in the 2024 Bob Skilton Medal, was a dual best and fairest winner at Collingwood and finished top 10 six times. He won in 2018-19, was fourth in 2016, fifth in 2017, sixth in 2021 and seventh in 2020.
The top 10 in the 2024 Skilton Medal were:
1st – Isaac Heeney (956)
2nd – Errol Gulden (888)
3rd - Chad Warner (813)
4th – Brodie Grundy (750)
5th – Nick Blakey (648)
6th – James Rowbottom (639)
7th – Ollie Florent (628)
8th – James Jordon (622)
9th – Jake Lloyd (605)
10th – Tom Papley (576)
Join players, staff, fellow members and supporters for an evening not to be missed. Tickets are now on sale, with Afterpay now available.
