In the corner at the 1998 AFL draft camp in Melbourne, dressed in the green and yellow of the North Albury Hoppers, was a lad with longish hair who looked more seasoned than the teenagers trying to impress coaches and club officials.

While he didn't realise it at the time, this was the first time Bolton happened upon his future best mate Brett Kirk.

"I've heard some of the other guys who were there recount the same experience as I had of Kirky back at the draft camp," recalls Bolton, who along with now fellow Swans Nick Davis, Nic Fosdike and Jude Bolton, all attended the 1998 camp. "The first time I saw him, I was 18, and he was 38 … no, it was funny, we all saw this guy over there in the corner with a North Albury jumper on - which nobody knew what it was - and he had long hair and he just looked older than everyone else and everyone is going: 'What is this guy doing here?' That's where I first saw Brett Kirk."

Bolton was snapped up at No.33 by Brisbane in that draft. Davis went at 19 to Collingwood, while Sydney collected top-10 selections Fosdike (three) and Jude Bolton (eight). Kirk was that year undrafted, but would join the Swans the following season.

Fast forward to pre-season 2003. Paul Roos had been installed as coach, and requested meetings with the players about their roles and futures. Sitting outside his office were Kirk, who despite having played 49 games in four seasons, was still to establish himself, and a recruit from Brisbane, Craig Bolton, who had battled to break into the Lions' premiership teams and had played just 29 senior games.

"I remember meeting Kirky when I first got to the club, in the players' lounge, waiting to have a meeting with Roosy," Bolton recalls. "Kirky and I were having a bit of chat and we realised we weren't unalike. We had both played a bit of footy but were both unsure of where we were at. We were both at the crossroads of our careers, and we were both lucky Roosy gave us both confidence and he also gave us big jobs in the next year, and things just worked out for both us, and we ended up becoming good mates.

"It's been really good, he's a very close mate of mine and from a football side of things, he's a pretty good guy to bounce things off and to look at to see how you're going. He's someone you try to model yourself on.

"He's probably a freak but not in the same category as you would call a Goodesy [Adam Goodes] or Michael O'Loughlin, it's just his consistency of efforts that makes you shake your head. We're bloody lucky to have a guy like him, not just because of the acts he does on the field but how that encourages and motivates other guys on a weekly basis. He's really good at getting the best out of others around him, and I think it's pretty well known how good a leader he is around the place."

While he speaks proudly and is full of praise for Kirk, Bolton also has plenty of admirers. He is rated one of the top defenders in the competition, always gets to play on the opposition's key forward - players the calibre of Jonathan Brown, Lance Franklin and Brendan Fevola - has represented Australia in the International Rules in 2004, the Dream Team in the Hall of Fame game this season, and was named an All Australian in 2006. Not bad for a Canberran who could have played another code.

"My dad grew up in Western Australia, and didn't know much about league or union, so it was a no-brainer for him … enrol the kids into AFL," Bolton said. "I enjoyed it and I played it all through my youth but growing up I went to a rugby union school - Joe Roff was at our school - and all my mates played rugby union and, while I enjoyed watching it, I never really moved away from Aussie rules."

The Swans have played 138 matches since Kirk and Bolton met in the players' lounge. Kirk, 31, has played all 138. Bolton, 28 - who joined Kirk and Leo Barry as a co-captain this season - has played 137, missing one due to a hamstring injury in 2006.

"I had a heap of injuries in Brisbane and I also was in and out for selection reasons but it's just gone so quick the last six years," Bolton said. "You think it has been a bit of dream run when you think about the premiership and being able to be fit and play in a successful side which has played in the finals every year since I've been here. There is no way I would have dared dream it would turn out like this. When I came down here all I wanted to do was get a game, and establish a career."