The old South Melbourne faithful will provide the Swans with the bulk of their local support at the MCG on Saturday, but Xavier College will run a close second.
The exclusive Catholic school, located a couple of torpedo punts away from the suburb of Hawthorn, will have four of its alumni representing the Swans in the AFL grand final.
Ted Richards, Josh Kennedy, Daniel Hannebery and Alex Johnson all took varied paths to the harbour city and are a diverse group of men on and off the field, but their football dreams were all reared at Xavier.
For Hannebery and Johnson, who went through Year 12 together in 2009, the memories of it are more recent.
“We played in the first 18 for a couple of years together, and 9 and 10s as well. I’ve grown up with him, since Year 7 I think we’ve played in the same team together,” Johnson said this week.
Hannebery was drafted shortly after completing Year 11, while Johnson was young for his year and had a season in the TAC Cup before having his name read out by the Swans in 2010.
But it’s his school football days that Johnson remembers most fondly.
“It’s something that I see as a good achievement of mine, to reach the first 18 at Xavier,” he said.
“That’s something I always aspired to do from Year 5.
“I’m glad I went there. The other (Xavier) guys at the club are really good people, it seems that good people come out of there.”
It’s a sentiment shared by Wayne Reed, who is now at Mentone Grammar but coached Richards and Kennedy at Xavier.
Reed recalls Richards being termed the ‘x-factor’ for his goal sense, and Kennedy’s hard work on the field.
But above all, Reed notes “they were great kids, really nice kids. Both tremendous characters from wonderful families”.
“They were both really strong Xaverians, really loved the school and loved playing for the school.”
Being the most senior of the Swans’ Xavier clique, which also includes Matt Spangher, Richards is the natural mentor to the group.
Reed couldn’t think of a better man to guide them.
“It was great for the others to have someone like Ted there, because he is very strong on the Xavier connection,” Reed said.
“He loved his time there and he’s always been someone that looks after others, he’s a well-rounded young man.”
