Josh Jones prepares for AFL finale and life after the Swans and Tamworth

At age 27, the Tamworth Swans midfielder is at his physical peak, or close to it - the 2022 Gilles Medal he received this week as AFL North West's best and fairest player confirmation of that.

Joining him at Anzac Park for this interview is his wife, Georgia, a Swans netballer whom he fell for when they attended Charles Sturt University at Albury.

Georgia landing a maths-teaching job at Oxley High resulted in the couple moving from Jones's hometown of Holbrook to Tamworth almost three years ago. At the time, she was pregnant with their first child, Mila.

Read more: 'There's no reason why we can't win': Nomads embrace underdogs tag

The family will soon leave Tamworth and settle in Albury, where Jones - an exercise physiologist - will oversee the setting up and running of a Rural Fit Exercise Physiology clinic. The destination is close to Holbrook.

"I'm very lucky," Jones said. "It's worked out beautifully for me; moved up here and [Rural Fit owners] Andrew Mahony and Paula Murphy have been nothing but supportive to us.

"And it's exciting to move back and create something of my own, I suppose."

Surrounded by loved ones in Albury, Newcastle-raised Georgia will prepare for the birth of the couple's second child, who is due in December.

Read also:

It's a magical time for the family, to be sure, with the possibility of an enriching new element being added to the mix at No 1 Oval on Saturday afternoon.

For that's when Jones has the chance to be written into Tamworth Swans folklore - the New England Nomads intent on stopping that from happening when the sides meet in the grand final.

Thirteen years after the last of their two premierships, and following years of travails, the Swans stand at the precipice of perhaps the most satisfying moment in their history.

And key to that happening is Jones, who returned to playing this year after being sidelined for 18 months with a horror knee injury that he sustained playing for the Swans in 2020. He is also the Swans' assistant coach.

Tamworth, the minor premiers, advanced to the grand final after a no-holds-barred major semi win over the Saints at No 1 Oval. The Nomads got there by beating the Roos and the Saints in the finals.

"It's gonna be a close one," Jones said of the finale. "We've played them three times [this year] and been able to beat them twice ... and all the games have been very close."

The umpires awarded Jones 25 best-and-fairest points throughout the season including six best-on-ground nods in the first eight rounds. He beat second-placed Hayden Chappel, of the Saints, by a whopping nine points.

Winning the Gilles Medal was "exciting", Jones said, "but I've never been one who likes individual accolades". He added:

Football has changed for Jones since the birth of his daughter. He said he now had a "different love" for AFL because he could "see her face" at games.

Swans president Josh McKenzie said Jones had "taken his individual game to a whole new level" this season and had "created" a potent "midfield unit".

"Beyond his obvious value as a player and coach, he is a genuinely good bloke", McKenzie said, adding that the Joneses "quickly" became "valued members of the Swans family".

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: