Gold Coast’s inaugural No.1 draft pick David Swallow will call it quits at the end of the season along with defender Sean Lemmens
David Swallow celebrates a goal with Matt Rowell during round five, 2024. Picture: AFL Photos
GOLD Coast veteran David Swallow has announced he will retire at the end of the season, while defender Sean Lemmens has also confirmed the 2025 campaign will be his last.
Swallow, now 32, was the first player ever drafted to the Suns, with the first overall pick in the 2010 AFL Draft, and has played 247 games across 15 AFL seasons.
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Gaining permission from the competition’s governing body, the West Australian made the move east 12 months before being officially drafted, playing in Gold Coast’s VFL team in 2010 before hitting the big time.
Swallow has been the one playing constant throughout Gold Coast’s turbulent history, co-captaining the club with Jarrod Witts from 2019-21 before passing his role over to Touk Miller.
The combative midfielder missed the best part of two full seasons from 2015-16 after a serious knee injury, but he returned to be a consistent performer for the Suns and, through the second half of his career, a source of much-needed experience.
“I’m just grateful for what the footy club has been able to do for me,” Swallow told reporters on Tuesday.
“It’s been a long journey, that’s for sure, one that’s had a lot of challenges, a lot of ups and downs.”
While a lot of his fellow draftees left the club, Swallow was a constant, knocking back big offers to stay at Carrara.
“I had a few injuries in the middle of my career, and I felt like I still hadn’t given the club my best and I wanted to be loyal to them for giving me that opportunity,” he said.
“I knew it was going to be a challenge, but I wanted to be part of that and try and see it through as best as I could.”
David Swallow is seen during a Gold Coast training session on August 12, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos/Getty Images
Swallow is the longest-serving player to have never played a final, and only Melbourne champion Robert Flower, with 269 games before his September debut in 1987, has played more games without ever playing in a final.
There is a chance that could change this weekend, with the Suns preparing for their first ever finals game, against Fremantle in Perth. Swallow has played just seven games this season and has been out of the side since round 19.
“I’ve been keeping the body going as best as I can … we’ll see what happens,” he said. “I’d obviously love to wear the jumper one more time or as many times as I can.”
Lemmens, initially drafted in 2013, has played played 149 games for the Suns, including just four in the past two seasons.
Originally from South Australia, he landed landed at Gold Coast with pick 27 in the 2013 draft and quickly established himself as a regular player early in his career.
Sean Lemmens in chased by Alwyn Davey jnr during Gold Coast’s clash against Essendon in round 22, 2024. Picture: AFL Photos
He played 69 games across his first four seasons but fell out of the senior side early in Stuart Dew’s tenure as coach.
But he was moved into the backline in 2021 as a permanent lockdown defender and flourished, playing 21 games and finishing seventh in the club’s best and fairest that year.
He played a further 20 games in 2022 but has not been able to get a regular game under Damien Hardwick.
“I’ve had a lot of time over the last couple of months to reflect on the last 12 years here. I am so truly grateful that this amazing club gave me an opportunity to live out a dream and achieve so many special things,” Lemmens said.
“I have made so many lifelong friends along the way, there are so many people at the club today that I absolutely love.”