'It was nice to tick that one off': Cruickshank celebrates 50 games for Swans

It was a relief for Cruickshank, and the occasion was celebrated by a 19-point Swans victory over the Inverell Saints at No. 1 Oval.

"It was a really good moment," Cruickshank said.

"I've made a lot of really good memories there, and it was a point to relive it and have a think about the games I've played there and the memories I've made.

"It's a really good team, it was a really good win, and we celebrated after it. It was nice to tick that one off, I've been waiting a while to get to 50."

His half-century match would have come sooner had the 2021 competition not been cut short by COVID-19 lockdowns.

The weather did not intend to make life easy for the Swans, as rain early in the day and dreary conditions overhead left the field wet and the ball slippery and difficult to control.

"We knew it was going to be hard from the get-go with the weather," Cruickshank said.

"Bog tracks always make it hard on the legs, running in the heavy conditions with a slippery pill, too. It wasn't easy to handle out there."

Concerns were raised when Cruickshank copped a high tackle in the first quarter, for which he received a 50 metre penalty, but he quickly shook it off.

"He got me good, but it was alright," Cruickshank said.

The match see-sawed consistently, and after Inverell took an early lead, Tamworth hit back in the second quarter with a flurry of goals.

The back-and-forth trend continued in the second half, but the Swans steadily built a three-goal lead by the end of the third quarter which they maintained until the final horn.

The Best on Ground award was given to Josh Jones, and the Players' Player was Luke Neal.

However, Cruickshank's teammates did not think it right that he leave his milestone game without some kind of recognition, so he was given the Green Ant award, which is presented to the player who made the biggest gaffe on game day or throughout the week.

"Unfortunately, we didn't have anyone do anything stupid throughout the week or in the game, so they decided to give it to me for taking so long to get to my 50^th game," he said.

"Which I think is a bit ordinary, but it's probably a good sign that nobody's doing anything stupid off the field."

The 14.11.95 to 11.10.76 win was an excellent start to the season for the Swans, and to celebrate his 50^th game a sterling team effort brought to mind exactly what Cruickshank loves about the club.

"[The highlight has been] the mates I've made along the way," he said.

"A lot of my mates started playing footy when I started playing, so it was good that we could all do something together after school finished.

"Meeting new people that have come to the club throughout my time here ... they make it all the better."

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