Collingwood star Dane Swan might have retired at the end of the last AFL season if he had been out of contract.
Instead the 2011 Brownlow Medal and 2010 Magpies premiership star will play his 250th game in Thursday night’s match against Port Adelaide.
Swan struggled badly with injury and form last year, but he said on Tuesday this is probably his most enjoyable season since 2010-11.
“If I had been out of contract last year, I probably would have seriously thought about giving it away because I was going nowhere quickly,” Swan said.