Dane Swan tries to find a way past Dale Thomas at Collingwood training. Source: Herald Sun
DANE Swan is not one to get sentimental.
He says his 200 game milestone doesn't mean a lot to him and expects nothing more than "a handshake from most of the boys'' in recognition of his achievement at the MCG tomorrow.
He still doesn't like team meetings and isn't keen on the media scrutiny that comes with being a star of the game.
But he does love his mates, a couple of whom - teammate Ben Johnson retired defender Chris Tarrant - he credits with turning his career around.
So it is with a touch of disappointment, Swan said today, that he will run out on to the MCG to face Richmond without Johnson by his side after the veteran midfielder was ruled out with a calf injury.
"He's the bloke I warm up with every week and have trained with every week that I can remember,'' Swan said.
"So it's a little bit disappointing to not have him out there, but I have no doubt he'll help me celebrate when the time's right.''
In 2005 Swan was on the brink of exile with his unprofessional approach to training testing the patience of coaches and off-field issues testing the patience of administrators.
And while he admitted the negative publicity he has drawn over time hasn't made him totally change his ways - "I've kept making blues so obviously not, I keep getting put on the front of the paper'' - his on-field exploits have taken an unquestionable turn for the better.
Dane Swan has a laugh with good mate Ben Johnson at Collingwood recovery. Picture: Colleen Petch Source: Herald Sun
And he said that is largely thanks to Johnson and Tarrant.
"Johnno has always been a great runner and a great trainer out on the track so in the pre-season (of 2005-06) he just said, 'Run with me for as long as you can'.
"I'd ... drop off pretty quickly, but just try and hold on to Ben for as long as possible.
"For those that know Ben he hasn't lifted a weight in his life, and Chris Tarrant clearly has lifted weights before so I just hopped in to the weights room with him. He made me do everything he did.
"So I can attribute a lot of my success towards those two because they wanted me to be around, they obviously liked me and thought I had something to offer ... they forced me to do things that I wasn't necessarily doing.''
The 29-year-old said he has no immediate plans to retire when his current contract expires at the end of next season.
"I can't look any further than that because so many things can happen, no one might want me and I might have no choice but to finish up,'' he said.
"But if I'm still going well, all things being equal I'd like to play on for a couple more years. Once I get to that age it's probably going to be only one-year deals, I'm not going to be silly like Trav (Cloke) and ask for a five-year deal.''
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