Dane Swan could have won the 2012 Brownlow Medal had it not been for a boozy night out

NOT normally one to wallow in regret, Collingwood great Dane Swan may now wonder what might have been if it hadn’t been for a boozy night out in August 2012.

What might have been: Did a boozy night cost Swan a second Brownlow?

A BOOZY night out at the Barkly Hotel in August 2012 cost Collingwood great Dane Swan a two-game club-imposed suspension.

As circumstances have turned out, the ban might also have cost him a second Brownlow Medal.

The recently retired Magpie has never been one to wallow in regret.

But he might now be wondering what might have been if he hadn’t fronted the worse for wear to an early morning training session after a night out celebrating the birthday of a close friend four years ago.

That didn’t seem to matter too much when Jobe Watson won the 2012 Brownlow Medal with 30 votes.

What might have been: Did a boozy night cost Swan a second Brownlow?

Swan was back in third spot on 25 votes, with Trent Cotchin and Sam Mitchell tying for second with 26.

But the Essendon drugs saga changed all that, Watson finally being ruled ineligible last month due to his year-long ban from the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

With Cotchin and Mitchell set to be presented with new 2012 Brownlow Medals by the AFL Commission at special ceremony on Tuesday week, Swan could also conceivably have won a companion to his 2011 medal had it not been for that big night out. Swan was in white hot form around the time of his club ban in 2012.

In the three games before the Magpies stood him down for a “clear breach of team rules”, he polled seven votes — two against Hawthorn in Round 17, three against Greater Western Sydney in Round 18, and two against St Kilda in Round 19.

Dane Swan announced his retirement in August this year

He then missed games against Sydney, which the Magpies won, and North Melbourne, which the club lost. Two weeks after he returned from suspension, he polled another three votes against Essendon — with Watson failing to poll a vote.

Swan’s ban came about because he was caught drinking six days before a critical clash with Sydney.

At the time Magpies president Eddie McGuire said: “Anyone who thinks they’re better than anyone else needs to be pulled into line and the greater good will outweigh the needs of the individual. This is a giant step forwards ... it shows that no one is above the team rules.

“He’s (Swan) breached the agreed team rules and now he’s copping it.”

Then Pies football boss Geoff Walsh explained in 2012: “There is no doubt Dane is a great player and he will be a great player when he returns. But like everyone he is subjected to, and has signed off and agreed to certain rules and certain protocols. And when they are breached, there’s consequences.”

Given what transpired in the years since, the consequences of that night out at the Barkly might have been bigger than anyone could have anticipated at the time.

Originally published as Dane Swan could have won the 2012 Brownlow Medal had it not been for a boozy night out