Dwayne Russell believes the Sydney Swans are the leading destination club for any AFL player looking to switch teams at the end of 2024.
The Swans are enjoying their best start to a season since moving to the harbour city, sitting more than a game clear atop the AFL ladder despite playing one less game than 16 other clubs.
The entire club moved into a new $70 million facility at the start of last year and given their stability both on and off the field, Russell believes it’s the most attractive team in the land.
“The Sydney Swans have a bit of an advantage, I reckon, over the rest. Right now you’d want to go there,” he said on SEN.
“Their facility is the best in the AFL, it’s right next to the SCG, you could argue it’s the best city in Australia to live in… there are some clubs who have got a huge advantage when it comes to luring players and keeping players.
“They’re always in the window for a flag, the Swans, always, and they never drop off the perch. They’ve been a solid club well run for years, so in terms of trusting the organization to get it right, they just keep doing it.
“John Longmire has been the coach for almost 14 years now and I think he’s missed the finals twice. In terms of destination clubs, I think the Swans are pretty much number one.”
The restricted free agency market has been gutted in the past 24 hours, with Brisbane’s Hugh McCluggage and Swans forward Will Hayward signing long extensions.
Tim English, Cam Zurhaar, Blake Hardwick and Ben Ainsworth are also restricted free agents yet to put pen to paper.
Essendon great Matthew Lloyd told Nine’s Footy Classified that Hawthorn would be amongst the top destination clubs of 2024 given their style and recent form, and Russell doesn’t disagree.
“Hawthorn’s in a similar vein in that they don’t stay uncompetitive for long. They have become one of the big Melbourne clubs with a huge supporter base who just continue to regenerate,” he continued.
“Every decade they regenerate and win a flag… they’re building a new facility, it might be a bit further out of town than some might like, but they might actually be on the rise as a destination club to a point where come the end of the season, they end up luring a few free agents that maybe the Saints and North Melbourne and a couple of other teams thought they could lure.”