Dane Swan, one of the greatest players in Collingwood history, is in line to play his 250th senior game this weekend.

The 31-year-old is the oldest player on Collingwood's list, having arrived at the club via the Calder Cannons and Westmeadows Football Clubs in the 2001 National Draft.

Across 249 games, Swan has built a reputation as one of the finest footballers of his generation.

Debuting in 2003, it took three years before his game began to flourish. But since enjoying a breakout season in 2006, Swan has gone on to feature in five All-Australian teams, win three Copeland Trophies and clinch a Brownlow Medal, as well as playing a key role in the 2010 premiership triumph.

Should he play against Port Adelaide, as expected, Swan will draw level in tenth position on the club's all time list of games played, alongside none other than Lou Richards and Peter Daicos.

Dane Swan: In a nutshell

Dane Swan represents one of football's most remarkable rags to riches stories in many years. Taken deep in the 2001 National Draft, Swan was considered to be little more than a battler with limited ability after his first four seasons at Collingwood. With a laid back approach to the game, the boy from Westmeadows in Melbourne's north-west suburbs was on the verge of the football abyss before a heart-to-heart with coach Mick Malthouse and some strong leadership from teammate Ben Johnson helped reshape his attitude ahead of the 2006 season.

In the eight years since, Swan has made incredible improvement to the point where he became the 2011 Brownlow Medalist, and earned the label of 'untaggable' from many commentators. A strongly built midfielder who is dangerous if released to half forward, Swan's unique ability to repeatedly out-sprint his opponents, allowing him to power from contest to contest, has made him Collingwood's most consistent player of the past eight seasons. Criticised by some for his occasionally errant kicking, Swan's disposal is now considered to be as good as any other.

His barrel chest means he can hunt down the ball at the stoppages and explode away from them courtesy of his deceptive pace. Far from a front runner, Swan averaged 84.4 tackles between 2007 and 2011. He also has the ability to make himself a threat in attack, be it around stoppages, outrunning his opponent when the side's in possession and when isolated one-out where his underrated ability overhead makes him the complete package.

Although he is now aged 31, Swan still has plenty of high class football to come and is keen to make amends for a 2014 season that was a shade below his lofty standards.