There has hardly been a longer and more eventful build-up to a Round 1 match in Swans history than the season-opener of 1976. And right in the middle of it, 43 years ago today, was Barry Round.

Later named first ruck in the Swans Team of the Century and one of the club’s all-time favorites, Round made his debut in red and white against Geelong at Lake Oval on 3 April 1976.

The powerhouse 26-year-old, who had played 135 games with Footscray from 1969-75, had 13 disposals, nine ruck hit-outs and kicked three goals in a game that has been fondly remembered by Swans fans despite a four-point loss by the home team.

The Swans kicked 23.15 (153) to the Cats’ 25.7 (157) in their first game under coach Ian Stewart.

At the time it was the highest losing score in AFL history, and even today it sits sixth on this list just 10 points behind Geelong’s 15.13 (163) in an eight-point loss to Hawthorn in 1989.

But it was much more than just a statistical standout. It was the culmination of a string of off-field dramas that were pivotal to the Round story.

At the centre of it all was John Pitura, a rangy wingman from Wagga who had played 99 games for South Melbourne from 1969-74.

The dramas had begun two-and-a-half years earlier when, at the end of the 1973 season Pitura requested a trade to Richmond. Amid a media furore he insisted he would sit out of football if he didn’t get his way, and it wasn’t until Round 17 of the ’74 season that he returned to play the last six games.

In the lead-up to the 1975 season he still wanted out, threatening to take South Melbourne to court, and after being linked to Geelong and Collingwood he trained with Richmond wearing a Tigers jumper on the eve of the season.

Angry South officials asked the League to investigate how Pitura had trained at Richmond without permission, and after Pitura sat out Round 1 Richmond were fined $2000.

It dragged on as then VFL president Sir Maurice Nathan was asked by the controlling body to mediate in an effort to find a resolution satisfactory to both parties.

Not until Round 7 did South agree to let Pitura train with Richmond but insisted he be insured for $100,000. A week later he was cleared to the Tigers in return for $40,000 and two players – Richmond ruckman Brian ‘Whale’ Roberts and full forward Graham Teasdale.

Roberts, the only player in football history to have represented Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia, was 30 and had played 78 games for Richmond, including five of the first six games in ’75. Teasdale, 20, hadn’t played since six games in 1973.

Roberts and Teasdale each played the last 15 games of the season as Graeme John completed a three-year Swans coaching stint before standing aside to pursue burgeoning business interests.

Stewart, a triple Brownlow Medallist who had played 205 games with St Kilda and Richmond, was appointed coach but Richmond, still fuming over the Pitura affair, refused to clear him unless South paid a $5000 fee.

South refused and insisted Stewart would coach from the opposite side of the fence if necessary.

While all this was going on Stewart, already in charge at Lake Oval, was preparing to sack ruckman Roberts, who in 15 games had finished sixth in the Brownlow Medal in the year previous, only three votes behind medal winner Gary Dempsey.

It was a huge call at the time, but according to Stewart the big-name recruit had not measured up at training.

Stewart even tried to sell Roberts back to Richmond before eventually Roberts retired and Stewart was cleared to South. Pitura went on to play 40 games with Richmond from 1975-77.

But Stewart now had another big problem. Without Roberts he didn’t have a recognised ruckman.

So, all focus turned to Round. He had been strongly tipped to join Geelong to partner Sam Newman in the ruck, but, in one of the club’s great recruiting coups, Round was lured to South Melbourne.

Not only did Round replace Roberts but he took on his #25 jumper, and in the brilliant 193-game career that followed he wore it more often than any Swans player except Ted Richards (228 games).

Round’s debut for the Swans was a memorable day for all sorts of reasons.

John Rantall, a 174-game Swans favorite who had left the club to join North Melbourne under the contentious 10-year rule at the end 1972 in search of a premiership, was back. Having won his flag with North in ’75, he was welcomed with open arms.

South also debuted Robert Dean, a 121-game forward recruited from Collingwood, Peter Morrison, a one-game utility from Footscray, plus Port Melbourne defender Syd Anderson and Benalla rover Chris Elliott.

While Anderson and Elliott played only 12 games between then, Dean was an immediate hit. He kicked eight goals in a losing effort to set a club record for most goals in his Swans debut that still stands today. He played 66 games for the club from 1976-80.

Morrison, too, became a valuable player, playing 90 games from 1976-81, while Teasdale won the Brownlow Medal and the Swans club champion award in 1977 in a 121-game career at South.

Later in the season Francis Jackson, a six-game Richmond defender in 1973-74, also debuted for South after having been nabbed from Punt Road in a deal separate to the Roberts/Teasdale trade but often mistakenly included. He went on to play 100 games for the club.

But Round was the big recruiting coup of this turbulent period.

He played 193 games from 1976-85, shared the Brownlow Medal with ex-Footscray teammate Bernie Quinlan in 1981, won the club championship in 1979 and 1981 and captained the club from 1980-84, including the challenging period of the relocation to Sydney.,

Only four players have played more often for the Swans after starting their career elsewhere – Ted Richards (228), Rod Carter (217), Josh Kennedy (216 and counting) and Stuart Maxfield (200).

Inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame in 2001, named in the Swans Team of the Century in 2003, and an inaugural inductee to the Swans Hall of Fame in 2009, Round is now 69 and enjoying retirement on the Gold Coast. He remains a committed Swans man and relishes every opportunity to reconnect with the club and catch up with old mates.