Text by Chris Rees

Swansea is a handsome town on Tasmania’s east coast, with a famous football ground. This is because the boundary line takes a dogleg around the neighbouring cemetery.

Boundary umpires need to keep their heads up when sprinting the line, and also be prepared to venture into consecrated ground to retrieve the Sherrin.

Things are pretty quiet on both sides of the fence since the Swansea football club went into recess after the 2020 Oatlands District FA season.

Despite missing the 2021 season, the off-field club survives. Swansea was a late withdrawal after the 2022 ODFA roster was announced. They are again not on the 2023 roster but fundraising and recruitment efforts continue; it would be wonderful to see them rejoining the resurgent ODFA in 2024.

The scoreboard at Swansea is a recycled highway sign, with more than its fair share of shotgun pellet damage. It’s fairly certain that this happened during it’s first life out on the roadside.*

The Swansea Swans/Bulldogs have travelled far and wide to play over the years – including an infamous boat trip home after beating Maria Island, when the sails caught fire.

The club were traditionally the Swans, but changed to the Bulldogs on admission to the Fingal District FA where the St Helens Swans had precedence. They are nowadays represented by a savage swan wearing the familiar blue with red and white hoops – although a more naturalistic and benign swan graces the clubhouse facade.

See also: https://australianfootball.com/clubs/stats/Swansea/1559/

Plus excellent reminiscence at The Footy Almanac

*The only instance Scoreboard Pressure knows of especially foul play involving a scoreboard is a storyline from Midsomer Murders.