Wayne Schwass

Wayne Schwass (born 27 November 1968) is a former Australian rules football player in the VFL/AFL who debuted in 1988.

Wayne Schwass
Personal information
Nickname(s) Swatta
Date of birth (1968-11-27) 27 November 1968
Place of birth New Zealand
Original team(s) South Warrnambool
Height 180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight 80 kg (176 lb)
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1988–1997 North Melbourne 184 0(97)
1998–2002 Sydney Swans 098 0(57)
Total 282 (154)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2002.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

He is notable as one of only a few New Zealand-born players of Māori heritage[1] in the history of the VFL/AFL.

Schwass moved from New Zealand at the age of 10 to Warrnambool in Victoria, Australia area where he began playing Australian Rules before being recruited by VFL club Kangaroos.

"Swatta" was a champion wingman, known for his blistering pace and courage who played in the Kangaroos' 1996 premiership side before becoming a leader in the Sydney Swans side.

In 2006, Schwass announced that he had suffered from depression during his successful AFL career. In 2006, Schwass set up The Sunrise Foundation to help other athletes who suffer from depression.[2] On December 13, 2017, Schwass posted on Twitter an image of himself celebrating when receiving his 1996 premiership medallion with the caption "this is what suicidal looks like". He goes on to describe his smile as "fake" and his feelings of isolation in what was the highlight of his career.[3]

In 2012, Schwass was a player-coach for the New Zealand representative AFL side, the NZ Hawks, against the Australian AIS-AFL Academy team.[4] He has long been a great supporter and ambassador for the game in New Zealand which has had several AFL and numerous Australian State league players play in the past five years.

Schwass is now founder and CEO of PukaUp, a social enterprise who state their vision is "to create the environments for every person to have authentic and genuine conversations about mental health and emotional wellbeing.” [5] A regular on the public speaking circuit, Schwass also hosts the PukaUp Podcast with PodcastONE. Schwass is still involved with AFL, as a commentator for Triple M on Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons.

Statistics
[6]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
AFL playing statistics
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
1988 North Melbourne 46734953412921200.40.613.64.918.43.02.90
1989 North Melbourne 222141026517744240510.60.512.08.020.11.82.310
1990 North Melbourne 2157617312129427270.50.411.58.119.61.81.83
1991 North Melbourne 22181030614745375460.40.514.67.021.63.62.213
1992 North Melbourne 214752099130041370.50.414.96.521.42.92.62
1993 North Melbourne 21914531312443732490.70.316.56.523.01.72.614
1994 North Melbourne 224151335317753054610.60.514.77.422.12.32.519
1995 North Melbourne 225191438117155277500.80.615.26.822.13.12.013
1996† North Melbourne 217352148930346330.20.312.65.217.82.71.96
1997 North Melbourne 220752648935353460.40.313.24.517.72.72.38
1998 Sydney 22223638012750761381.00.317.35.823.02.81.715
1999 Sydney 2239942918461398490.40.418.78.026.74.32.119
2000 Sydney 2221214347195542102650.50.615.88.924.64.63.08
2001 Sydney 22212829515244779540.50.413.46.920.33.62.57
2002 Sydney 2911755513014150.10.18.36.114.41.61.70
Career 282 154 115 4099 1933 6032 820 641 0.5 0.4 14.5 6.9 21.4 2.9 2.3 137

References
  1. Māori overseas – Retaining Māori culture in Australia – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand
  2. "Men in Blue". The Bulletin. 7 June 2007. Archived from the original on 14 October 2007. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  3. WATERWORTH, BEN (14 December 2017). "Wayne Schwass opens up on most difficult period of his life in powerful social media post". FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA. Fox Sports. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  4. De Kretser, Chris (31 January 2013). "Wayne Schwass helps New Zealand against AIS-AFL Academy team in Wellington". Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 5 October 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  5. https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/afl/more-news/wayne-schwass-driving-mental-health-awareness-in-society-through-professional-sport/news-story/d6d3d6b28308b39fa962a3d4c0be8c15
  6. Wayne Schwass' player profile at AFL Tables
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