COLLINGWOOD star Dane Swan's plan was to gradually build his form this AFL season, but it's hard to imagine it can get much better.
The reigning Brownlow medallist turned on a midfield master class against Essendon on Wednesday, giving Anzac Medal judges the easiest of jobs.
With 42 possessions, 13 clearances and three goals, one from a dazzling third-term pack mark, he was the clear standout in the Magpies' one-point win.
Swan has had 30-plus possessions in every game so far this year, so the 28-year-old has hardly started the season slowly, although he admitted in the early rounds he did not have quite the impact he wanted.
But he said his pre-season preparation and in-season training program were tailored towards finishing the year stronger than he started.
"That was the plan. I don't want to be flying at the start of the year. I want to be doing my best towards the back end of the year," Swan said.
"I'd like to play well every week, don't get me wrong. I try as hard as I can every week.
"But looking at the bigger picture, I'd like to be going as good as I can later in the year.
"But I wasn't going great early, so I had to pull my finger out."
Coach Nathan Buckley said each week he had demanded something extra from Swan and the star kept delivering.
"Today I wanted him to kick a few goals and he's gone and done that," Buckley said.
"Last week it was clearances and hard ball gets and contested possessions and he performed.
"There's no doubt that 'Swanny's' performances have improved more than incrementally.
"Today was an exceptional game against a pretty good midfield and some good clearance players - 20 contested possessions, plenty of clearances and three goals - he's done very well.
"We're looking forward for that improvement to continue," Buckley added with a hopeful grin.
"I hope this is just an ordinary game and I can get better," Swan deadpanned.
Teammate Scott Pendlebury won the Anzac Medal the previous two years, and Essendon coach James Hird said that with tagger Heath Hocking assigned to Pendlebury on Wednesday, the Bombers couldn't hold everyone.
"It seems like whoever we tag ... if you tag Swan, Pendlebury wins the medal for best on ground. If we tag Pendlebury, it's Swan.
"That's the difficulty of playing Collingwood."
Medal voting
9 - Dane Swan (Collingwood)
2 - Ben Johnson (Collingwood), Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood), Steele Sidebottom (Collingwood)
1 - Dayne Beams (Collingwood), David Zaharakis (Essendon), Dyson Heppell (Essendon)
How they voted
Tony Shaw (3AW, chairman) - Swan, Pendlebury, Beams
Luke Darcy (MMM) - Swan, Sidebottom, Heppell
Martin Blake (The Age) - Swan, Johnson, Zaharakis
