AFTER a two-year hiatus, the Southern Peninsula Swans Reclink football team are officially back this season.
The Reclink Footy League is key program of Reclink Australia, which has been running for more than 30 years. Currently, the league has 14 teams across Victoria and is open to all genders and abilities, emphasising participation over competition.
The Swans’ return marks the culmination of months of hard work and a group of “spirited community members” coming together to make this season possible. “COVID-19 created difficulties in maintaining the team and unfortunately the Swans were forced into temporary liquidation as associated supports fell away and we saw our gear being placed into storage and key items repurposed,” the team’s manager Ross Leonard said. “With the support and encouragement of Reclink founder Peter Cullen AM, the management team developed the attitude of “…if you build it, they will come” and pushed ahead with their efforts to reinstate the Swans into the Reclink competition.”
The News visited the team’s training session in March at Olympic Park Reserve in Rosebud with new coach Tony Edwards, a former premiership league, where an air of excitement was certainly present.
Leonard noted, “We couldn’t be better rewarded than to see the many new faces wishing to be a part of the resurgent Swans going forward”. The team, so far made up of 40 women and 60 men, will play on alternating Wednesdays beginning 16 April while training every other Wednesday.
The Swans were founded in the Reclink competition in 2009 by local Victoria Police officers “wanting to offer an alternative to mainstream competitive football to engage our local youth, homeless and disaffected,” Leonard said, but it had since grown and diversified in its player base as with the growth of the Reclink competition. “We are about providing a judgement free space to chat about ‘what’s going on in life’ and supporting each other as best we can through our common interest of AFL football but ultimately through the friendships we form,” he said.
“It is encouraged to talk about mental health challenges and our experienced mentors navigate these conversations in a mutually supportive fashion. We recognise the freedom offered in open, honest conversation about life’s struggles and the commonality of these often ‘swept under the carpet’ experiences.” “Also, we are aware that we’re not playing for sheep stations but for friendship, connection and improved physical and mental health … our ethos is if you knock your opponent over help him back up onto his feet.”
Leonard said there was “always room for more” players, and off-field roles such as timekeepers, drink carriers, coaches’ runner, and more. To enquire call Ross Leonard on 0447 378 000 or visit the the Southern Peninsula Swans Facebook page.
First published in the Mornington News – 8 April 2025