Mitch Small making deep connections in Tamworth

Early last year, the 23-year-old from regional Victoria arrived in Tamworth for the final placement of the occupational therapy degree he was studying at Charles Sturt University at Albury-Wodonga.

The placement was "completely random", he said

As fate would have it, Small's boss at IPAR Rehabilitation was Hannah Tomlinson, the sister of Tamworth Swans president Josh McKenzie, and the co-founder and driving force behind Tamworth Swans netball.

On the first day of Smith's eight-week placement, he expressed his desire to hook up with an AFL club.

Read more: Tomlinson steers Tamworth Swans netball to new heights

"And she [Tomlinson] said, 'I have a contact. Here's his number. Training's tonight.'"

That contact was McKenzie.

"It worked out very well for me," said Small, who played the first eight rounds of last season, helping the Swans claim the minor premiership.

He then returned to uni, before coming back to Tamworth for the finals - which ended with the Swans' loss to the Nomads in the grand final.

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When the full forward - who hails from tiny Numurkah, near Shepparton - returned for the finals, his father Doug was in tow.

Doug had watched his boy develop his game at a number of clubs, primarily the Katunga Swans and the Shepparton Swans.

Upon finishing uni at the end of last year, Small relocated to Tamworth after landing a job at IPAR Rehabilitation.

And at Bellevue Oval in Armidale on Saturday, he will play his 200th AFL game (juniors and seniors) when the Swans meet the Nomads in a grand final replay.

"It's a great club," Small said of the Swans. "And it's good to have that friendship group now and just build from there."

McKenzie said Small was "a great asset" for the Swans - someone who had "fitted in superbly" and had showed "a strong commitment" to the club when he returned for the finals.

Small was a "hard-working but fair player with a sense of humour and a likeable personalty", McKenzie said, adding that the Victorian mentored younger players.

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