Malcolm Rosas Jnr will bring a rich and proud Indigenous history to the Sydney Swans after five years in the AFL with the Gold Coast Suns.

Traded to the Swans this week, Rosas Jnr, 24, is the grandson of AFL Indigenous Team of the Century member and Australian Football Hall of Famer Bill Dempsey MBE.

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Swans welcome Malcolm Rosas Jnr

Originally from Darwin, Rosas Jnr was the first player signed by the Suns from their NT Academy In November 2019.

He played 49 games from 2021-25 with the Suns for 46 goals from limited game time.

Averaging 62 per cent game time throughout his career, he only played more than 70 per cent on 15 occasions.

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A look at new Swans recruit, Malcolm Rosas Jnr

Enjoy new recruit Malcolm Rosas' standout VFL performance in Round 19.

Rosas Jnr had a four-game taste of AFL football under Stewart Dew in 2021, and was pretty much a regular in 2022-23, playing 34 AFL games and only eight VFL games, but he did not get the same opportunities in 2024-25.

Wearing jumper #41, he played Rounds 9-11 and Round 22 this year, starting as the sub in his last two games.

He had a career-high of 15 possessions twice, averaged 2.9 tackles when he played 70 per cent game time or more, and kicked a personal best of four goals against Melbourne at Carrara in Round 7, 2023, when the Suns lost by five points. Six times he has kicked three goals.

Born and raised in Darwin, Rosas Jnr played his junior football with the Darwin Buffaloes and the NT Thunder in the NEAFL. He was claimed by the Suns as a rookie under an AFL assistance package which gave them priority access to players from their NT Academy.

His grandfather, a Legend in the NT Hall of Fame and a member of the WA Hall of Fame, was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2022, along with new Sydney Swans CEO Matthew Pavlich, AFL games record-holder Brent Harvey, and ex-Carlton captain turned AFL chairman Mike Fitzpatrick.

An undersized ruckman who played 343 WAFL games with West Perth and more than 100 games in Darwin, Dempsey was named in the back pocket in the Indigenous Team of the Century, which includes Swans pair Adam Goodes and Michael O’Loughlin at centre half back and full forward respectively.