Weekly Times | The Swans’ senior games record holder, Paul Nicholls, watched on Saturday as his 19-year-old-son, Jesse, made his senior debut for the Ballarat Football Club.
Nicholls Snr, who played his whole career at Ballarat except for a few seasons with West Adelaide, played 249 senior club games, while Jesse was one of two debutants on Saturday alongside Will Garner.
Jesse donned the No. 11 guernsey, the same number his dad wore, as last year’s runner-up broke its season duck after six unsuccessful starts, bouncing back from a bye with a 20-goal win against Sebastopol.
Paul said he was “very proud” to see his son’s debut.
“I was probably more nervous than him, I’d say,” he said.
The Swans endured several departures after last year’s grand final, including coach Ash Baker, who retired from playing.
Baker said the Round 4 loss to Redan by 84 points was the most crushing defeat for the side, describing it as “the only game we were well-beaten”.
Four of the other five losses were by less than six goals — the Swans lost to East Point in Round 2 by just eight points, and to Bacchus Marsh by two goals in Round 5.
Baker said the side needed to shoot for consistency for four quarters in the remainder of the season.
“We’re just trying to do that on a consistent basis and where we land with that, time will tell,” he said.
While the Swans celebrated, the loss consigned Sebastopol to its 48th straight loss.
The Swans were one of seven Victorian clubs to kick off the mark last weekend.
