Paddy Dow, Tess Lavey, Brendan McCartney among Swan Hill's greatest

Herald Sun

04-07-2025

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It might only be a small community in northern Victoria but Swan Hill has a rich history of creating national sporting stars.
Here are some of Swan Hill's greatest sporting heroes.
Emma Berg
Berg is a five-time national shot put champion and recently set a new personal best earlier this year.
Ian Borchard
A West Adelaide great who captained the Bloods to the 1983 SANFL grand final and won the best player on the ground. Borchard played 145 games for the club and is in their hall of fame. He also guided the team to finals in 2001 and 2002 as coach.
Kevin Coombs
One of Australia's greatest Paralympians. Coombs was the first Indigenous Australian to compete at the Paralympics and represented Australia in basketball at five Games. He captained the team at the 1972 and 1984 games. Coombs is part of the Paralympics and Australian basketball hall of fame and is also an Order of Australia Merit holder after being recognised for his services to sport and Indigenous Australia health. He died earlier this year.
Paddy Dow
Dow has carved out a solid AFL career for himself after being taken with pick 3 in the 2017 national draft. He started with Carlton before joining St Kilda in 2024.
Fred Flanagan
A centre-half forward who was one of the best players ever for Geelong. He played and captained in two premierships for the Cats, in 1951 and 1952, and won one best-and-fairest in 1949. Flanagan also played 21 games for Victoria in State of Origin. He is part of the Australian Hall of Fame and Geelong's team of the century.
Tessa Lavey
Lavey has played at the national level in two sports, basketball and AFL. The Swan Hill native has played 25 games for the Tigers since being recruited to Richmond in 2020. In basketball, she's played in the WNBL for multiple teams, winning a championship in 2014 and also representing Australia. She was part of the Opals gold medal team at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and has played for Australia at two Olympics in 2016 and 2020.
Dale Lewis
While most of Lewis' career happened in Ballarat, he was born in Swan Hill before moving to the gold rush city at the age of eight. Lewis played 182 games for Sydney during his career and was influential in helping the Swans rise up the ladder. After his career he became part of the media.
Margie Masters
Was the first Australian to join the Ladies PGA in 1965 after winning an Australian Amateur title in 1958 and multiple Victorian Amateur titles. In 1967, she won her only PGA title and also finished second at a major in 1966. Masters was a pioneer for golf in the country and is in Victoria Golf's hall of fame.
Brendan McCartney
A coach in AFL and local footy for more than 30 years. In the 90s he guided Ocean Grove to four straight flags in the Bellarine league. McCartney then went into the AFL and was an assistant at Richmond, Geelong and Essendon before coaching the Western Bulldogs for three seasons. He is now Port Melbourne's VFL coach.
Glenn O'Shea
A multiple Australian and World Champion in track cycling. O'Shea has won three world titles, two in the team pursuit and one in the Omnium in Melbourne in 2012. He st has won 14 national titles and also won a gold medal in the team pursuit at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and a silver in the same event at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Geoff Raines
A VFL champion who played over 254 games for four different clubs, most notably spending 134 with Richmond. He won a premiership with the Tigers in 1980, winning the best-and-fairest in the same year. He is part of the club's hall of fame and team of the century.
Colin Rice
Played 97 VFL games for the Cates and in that time had a big impact in the club. He won Geelong's best-and-fairest in 1959 and captained the club for part of 1960. His last game at the level was in the 1963 grand final victory. He then moved to the SANFL to play with Glenelg before returning to Victoria with South Bendigo where he won the Michelsen Medal.
Ross Smith
One of Australia's best badminton players. Smith has competed at two Olympic Games and four Commonwealth Games. At one stage he was on the fringes of the top-30 in the world in the men's doubles. He is also an eight-time Oceania champion in three disciplines.