A POSTCARD from Dane Swan, received this week by his coach.

Dear Mick,

First up I want to thank you for this tremendous opportunity to fly to the US. While I know people like to say that the Pies never travel, this was one heck of a way to shatter that myth.

Probably our first win was getting out of Melbourne airport before that Chilean volcano kept the flights grounded.

I saw that Richmond and Essendon got stuck in Sydney and Perth but given the way the Bombers played, I'm sure their fans are quite content to leave them on the other side of the country.

Anyway, you're no doubt keen to hear about this altitude camp in Arizona that myself, Darren Jolly, Brent Macaffer and Nathan Brown are undertaking. First thing I can tell you is that it certainly beats running up the Dandenongs in winter!

I was hoping it'd mainly involve tours of old-school western towns and playing Duelling Banjos with Browny but our sports scientist has had us training almost every day in blazing heat. Not exactly something I'm accustomed to in the middle of June.

I saw you mention we'd been in contact while I was away via the "power of the Internet" which was nice. Hope that Skype chat wasn't took spooky for you but you're welcome to follow me on Twitter if you'd prefer the conversation to be a bit more concise.

In the meantime, given we'll be out training again tomorrow, I was hoping you could see if I've kept my spot in Greatest Team of All. I know I'm on a bit of an extended break from real AFL action, but my numbers were still very much in the elite level until last week.

Speaking of numbers, can you believe the vein of form that Gary Ablett is in? So much for the idea that he'd cop a brutal tag each week given the thinner spread of talent in the Suns' midfield.

If his opponents are sending numbers at him to slow the little master down, it isn't showing. An injury-free Gazza is just carrying on doing what he does best, racking up a ton of quality possessions. Someone told me he's averaging more than 35 touches a game in the past month.

I heard his old teammate Joel Selwood got four weeks for that swipe at Brent Guerra from Hawthorn. Four weeks is a fair break so I guess Joel's likely to get a rest from Greatest Team of All and may be in doubt for All Australian selection.

I'm trying not to feel too hurt by the fact that our boys looked like they didn't miss my midfield drive at all in Monday's demolition of the Demons. Tell Sharrod Wellingham not to get too comfortable. Myself and Dale Thomas will be back in that midfield straight after the bye and you know how good our record against the Swans is in Sydney.

I saw that Harry O got to meet the Dalai Lama, which must have been fantastic for our favourite defender. I guess the protocols for paying a due sense of respect and deference to a spiritual figure were probably pretty similar to the ritual our boys undertake when they meet Eddie McGuire.

Anyway, must sign off now. Macaffer's just come up with yet another LeBron James choking joke and I'm keen to hear it.

Thanks in advance for checking Greatest Team of All for me - even a spot on the bench would be fantastic.

Cheers

Dane Swan
 



The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs