Jude Bolton Biography

Lenny Hayes sayd he could have played out his magnificent career with the Sydney Swans if discussions at the end of his debut season had led to a trade.

Former St Kilda coach Tim Watson, who was in charge at the end of 1999, said the idea of trading Hayes for Bolton had been floated by the clubs, with Bolton hailing from Victoria.

"At the end of the first year there were discussions [with] Sydney, with the potential to swap Lenny for Jude Bolton," Watson told radio station SEN.

"One was a Melbourne boy and one was a Sydney boy, but they were both great players, so nobody would have lost."

Recently retired Swan Jude Bolton says he will explore other options in media and player management before entertaining offers to coach.

"I'll never say never. I do love that side of it; I just feel like it can wait for a couple of years anyway," Bolton said.

"I'm really excited about hopefully establishing a media career as well as a little bit of player management and also a corporate role at the Swans.

"I'd like to keep my options open, but also delve into a career pretty much straight away because you wait a little bit of time and you're long gone in this game."

Jude Bolton calls an end to his AFL career following Sydney's preliminary final loss to Fremantle at Patersons Stadium.

"It's just you're so close to the big one, you can sort of taste it and now you have to be those envious people that sort of sit back in the stands and watch it," Bolton said after the loss.

"I'll have to find another competitive outlet or release somewhere. I'll miss the camaraderie of the boys and competing week in, week out."

As he nears the end of his AFL career, Swans veteran Jude Bolton admits he has concerns over the affects of concussion post-football.

"I still remember my grandfather saying 'it's better to wake up in an ambulance than pull out of a contest'," Bolton said.

"But after I suffered a couple of concussions, even he changed his attitude. Now he says 'you don't want to be a dribbling mess when you're an old man'.

"I've looked into some of what has been happening in the States and depression and different mental illnesses post-football is a shocking thing."

Sydney stalwart Jude Bolton says the Swans would love to have Heath Shaw at the club if the Magpies are willing to trade him.

"Heath is an unbelievable player and the Swans would love to have his talents at the club," Bolton said.

"I don't know exactly the process at the moment, we'll wait and see. But there's obviously been a few grumblings down at Collingwood, so we'll work that out."

Jude Bolton announces his retirement at the end of the season, attributing his longevity to his good run with injuries.

"I've avoided some of the long-term injuries guys have gone through," Bolton said.

"I think three games was my longest stint out of footy and that was last year when I hurt my knee. It's been an unbelievable journey."

Dual Sydney Swans premiership star Jude Bolton has decided he will play on in 2013.

"I just love the competitiveness," Bolton said.

"I love footy, it's the sport I grew up with and I've always had this passion to play. You hear people say 'you're a long time retired' and I still think I can really compete at this level."

Michael O'Loughlin wants Jude Bolton to play on and overtake him on the club's all-time games played list.

"My gut feel is that he'll play purely because the year that he had was an extraordinary one," O'Loughlin said.

"The way he goes about his footy is first class and it's always been first class, so I don't see any reason why he won't continue to play."

Sydney Swans midfielder Jude Bolton is expected to play on next year after stating his desire to win another flag.

"The fire still burns to win another premiership. Once you get the taste for it, it's a pretty addictive feeling," Bolton said.

"We just have to work it out and I still want to be able to contribute week-in, week-out and I think my body is in good enough shape to do that."

The Sydney Swans have offered 300-game veteran Jude Bolton the opportunity play on next season should he choose to.

"We've said to him, 'You go and have a think about it, there's a spot there if that's what you want to do, but you shouldn't rush into something where you might have other opportunities'," Sydney CEO Andrew Ireland said.

"If he says yes, that's fine. We'll have a spot there for him."

Jude Bolton says he will take several weeks to consider his future after defying injury to claim his second flag with the Swans.

"The PCL will heal, the ACL is always going to be a little frayed, but that's all right. The ACL could have gone at any stage. It could have gone when I started out as a 19-year-old. It's just one of those freak incidents," Bolton said.

"I will weigh up (my future) and could say it's a great way to finish up, or maybe I want to be part of what the boys are building. It's something where I will sit down with the club. Hopefully we will work it out. Once the emotions settle down we will go from there."

Swan veteran Jude Bolton will play the Grand Final with partially torn knee ligaments, an injury he suffered against Carlton in round 19.

Jude Bolton is on the verge of becoming a rare 300-gamer and will reach the mark having paid little heed to self-preservation.

"He's carried plenty of structural injuries in the past, AC joints, collarbones, all sorts of things," Swans physio and rehabilitation co-ordinator Matt Cameron said.

"He's got that quality of being able to carry injuries.

"Even his most recent one, his knee, must've been affecting him to some degree, but he was able to put it to one side and will himself through.

"Whether that's his pain threshold or his ability to not let it affect his speed or agility, it's been a great effort."

Swans veteran Jude Bolton is playing some of the best football of his career as he races towards 300 games.

"I've been on one-year deals for a while and I don't mind that," he said.

"It keeps you on edge and you don't look too far forward. I had a bit of an open chat with the club the other day and it's just about playing it by ear.

"There's a lot of pressure from the guys in the reserves as well and I have to keep playing good footy. That's the same for all positions across the ground and we're really excited with the strength of our list."

At the age of 32 and with 289 games under his belt, veteran Swan Jude Bolton collected a career-high 41 possessions in the wet against the Bulldogs.

"For us bigger guys, we curse the rain, but he's special in the rain and it was no different tonight," Jude's teammate Sam Reid said.

"He seems to be getting better. Every pre-season he's at the front of the group and he works so hard and he's a great leader. When you're getting older there's still no limits on how well you can play."

Sydney Swans veteran Jude Bolton played 145 straight matches dating back to 2005 before he hyper-extended his knee during the warm-up for the game against Gold Coast in round 16.

"I don't like missing games at all, but I have to be a little bit smarter at the back end of the year," Bolton said.

"I don't want to come back for one and then miss a stack of games. It was actually good to sit up in the coach's box and see how it all operates up there and get involved in that way."

The meals served to Swans greats at their hall of fame dinner were ruined by Sydney's ten-goal loss to Carlton, Jude Bolton believes.

"To be over-run like we were against Carlton was really disappointing, especially before a hall of fame dinner," Bolton said.

"It was a really disappointing effort. To put a sour taste in everyone's mouth at the function was pretty disrespectful for all the players who have played beforehand."

Jude Bolton wins the 2007 AFL Community Leadership Award in recognition of his contribution to various charities and his work with the homeless over the last four years.

As part of the award, Bolton will receive $10,000 which will in turn be donated to charity organisation Street Swags.

"We've spent the last year trying to set up and consolidate the charity and get it all registered, and this $10,000 will definitely be a good kickstart to get us going," Bolton said.

"Getting out among the street people is an eye-opener and a pretty humbling experience. You get to meet a few interesting characters.

"We're very lucky to have a lifestyle because of our jobs, so it's good to get out there and give something back."