Massive coup for Swans 

 by Jimmy Meiklejohn 

GERALD Clear medalist Riley Irvin is excited to head home to Griffith next season after a standout stint with Barellan. Over four seasons at the Two Blues, Irvin established himself as one of the Farrer League's elite players, capped by his 2026 Gerald Clear medal win.
Last playing for the Swans in 2021, Irvin said he was looking forward to once again pulling on the Griffith guernsey next season. "I am very excited," Irvin said. "It's good to go back home and to support the young group who've been working hard for a few years.
"The plan is for a few of us to come back together and join forces, and hopefully get back to a bit of success like what we were used to a couple of years ago.
Having loved the time playing with the Two Blues, Irvin said it was a difficult decision making the call to sign with Griffith and rejoin the Riverina League for 2027. "It was definitely leaving Barellan," Irvin said. "I've got a lot of connections there, and my wife is still playing netball out there, so I hope to stay pretty close with them.
"Leaving a club like Barellan is always hard with the family and friends I've got there, and just how good of a club it is. "But I've been in talks with the coaches at Swans, and I think it was only a matter of time before I'd return home. "I just felt it was time to get back into gear and join the junior club, and try and work really hard to get some success for the future of the Swans.
"But I always want Barellan and Swans to both do well, and I hope Steely (Curtis Steele) can get a hold of the boys out there and keep pushing for success out at Barellan.  "I'll definitely be following them along every game and going there to watch when I can. "I'm wishing them well."

The return to the Swans allows Irvin to rejoin forces with great mates, Griffith co-coach Jack Rowston and Nathan Richards.
The trio last played alongside one another in 2025 in the Ovens and Murray League with Corowa-Rutherglen and Irvin said he was looking forward to joining forces again.
"That year was awesome playing together," he said. "We all spoke to each other and knew that we were going to separate and go our different ways for a little bit. "But the plan was always to rejoin and play footy together again, and I guess that plan is unfolding now."
It was a mixed season for Irvin, as a superb finish to the season followed a frustrating start to the year in which he missed the first of the season through injury.
Irvin was hopeful of a much smoother start to next season, and he said he had already begun his pre-season preparations. 
"Obviously last season I got stuffed around with a broken foot at the beginning of the year," he said.  
"I didn't have a pre-season, and I virtually missed the first half of the season, but I'm really working with Shaun (Baxter) pretty closely to get the body right and make sure everything 's right for the full duration of next season. "I'm super keen to hopefully put a full season together."

With Irvin set to create a formidable ruck combination with Nathan Richards, Griffith co-coach Jack Rowston said the club was rapt to have him on board for next season. "It's very exciting," Rowston said. "Riley obviously had a great year for Barellan, and I knew him really well.

We went to boarding school together, and I went to his wedding earlier this year. "I played with him in Corowa last year, and I'm not surprised he went well and won the league medal because he's a gun footballer.  "He's a great bloke, and to have someone of his standings and a bloke that's going to drive standards and be a good club person back at the footy club, he's a massive in and we're very happy.

Blake Argus has also returned home to Griffith after a five-year stint in the Farrer League with Coleambally. Argus is coming off a strong season for the Blues, which culminated in him earning a spot in the Farrer League Team of the Year and winning Coleambally's best and fairest. Rowston said it was great to have Argus back on board at the Swans, noting that his family has quite a strong connection to the club.
"He's had an awesome year," he said. "He followed up the Farrer League Team of the Year selection with the best and fairest as well. 
"He kicked a lot of goals in a side that didn't go as well as they wanted to, but he was a shining light for them.
"He's a club junior, and he's played in a senior grand final for us. His dad was a legend of the club as well, and Argus name means a fair bit to the Griffith Swans. To have him back to the team as a local junior, it's real good. 
"He's a very good footballer, and a good person, so we're happy to have him." 

Argus was looking forward to being back at Griffith, saying he was happy to be back playing with the mates he grew up playing alongside.
The additions of Irvin and Argus are a promising start to recruiting for the Swans, with Rowston saying it was a bonus that the duo were one-point players. 

"I think as a footy club you always need to be talking to your local juniors and one-point players to try and get them back to your club," he said. "At the end of the day, they're the core of your club, and I think the more one-point players and locals have in the side, the better off you are.
"I think it was just a matter of when it lined up for those boys. "And they've seen the direction the club is going in. "They're seen what the committee has done and what the coaching staff is looking to do, and they're keen to get on board. "To have those boys back, we're pumped." Source -  Daily Advertiser, Monday November 02, 2026.