The feats of Collingwood champion Dane Swan have been recognised by his TAC Cup club, the Calder Cannons, who inducted him as an inaugural member of its Hall of Fame.

Swan was one of seven current or ex-AFL inductees, joining Sydney pair Jude Bolton and Ryan O’Keefe, Paul Chapman (Geelong and Essendon), James Kelly (Geelong), Jason Johnson (Essendon) and Darren Milburn (Geelong) on a night the Cannons celebrated their first 20 years.

The players were joined by ex-Magpie Robert Hyde, Calder's first region manager Ross Monaghan and trainer Phil Dunk.

If that wasn’t enough, Swan was also named as the ruck-rover in Calder’s Team of the First 20 Years.

He was the only Magpie to be named in the 22-man team, although Hyde, winner of the 1976 Copeland Trophy, led the club to three premierships.

Swan’s early years
Many wouldn’t realise Swan was a member of Calder’s TAC Cup premiership team a decade prior to his Brownlow Medal season of 2011.

You would never have guessed it, but the boy from Westmeadows actually found himself outside the Cannons’ starting line up midway through the year.

A mid-season turn around on the training track helped propel him onto the MCG on Grand Final day and, soon enough, through the doors at Victoria Park via the 58th selection in the November National Draft.

"The second half of the year, in particular the finals series and the grand final, he just ran his a--- off, like he does now,” Hyde told the Herald Sun’s Tony Sheahan in August 2010.

“He played on (Nick) Dal Santo and (Rick) Ladson (from the Bendigo Pioneers) and he finished up third best on ground (on Grand Final day).

“He stuck with him (Dal Santo) and carried the ball in space on the MCG and would've racked up high 20s (disposals).”

“I didn't have a great year," Swan reflected as he explained his rise to the top to The Age’s Greg Baum in July 2010.

"But before the finals, Mick (Malthouse) came down and spoke to us, because Robert Hyde was the coach. Mick said: 'Forget about what's done. What matters now is how you play on the big stage.’

Swan was named Calder’s player of the finals.

He was added to Collingwood’s list later in the year.

The rest is history.

Calder Cannons Team of the First 20 Years

B: Mark Johnson (Essendon/Fremantle), Tom Lonergan (Geelong), Daniel Talia (Adelaide)
HB: Andrew Welsh (Essendon), Jackson Trengove (Port Adelaide), Darren Milburn (Geelong)
C: James Kelly (Geelong), Jude Bolton (Sydney), Ryan Crowley (Fremantle)
HF: Paul Chapman (Geelong/Essendon), Ryan O’Keefe (Sydney), Jason Johnson (Essendon)
F: Eddie Betts (Carlton/Adelaide), Jake Carlisle (Essendon), Richard Douglas (Adelaide)
R: Ivan Maric (Adelaide/Richmond), Dane Swan (Collingwood), Tom Liberatore (Western Bulldogs)
Int: Zac Dawson (Hawthorn/St Kilda/Fremantle), Dion Prestia (Gold Coast), Brent Reilly (Adelaide), David Rodan (Richmond/Port Adelaide/Melbourne)