Admitting to lacking any direction or belief, he could only manage 31 games in his first three seasons and was close to being booted out of the club on at least two occasions.
In 2003, Kirk played a new run-with role and began to build a bit of confidence.
The arrival of Ross Lyon in 2004 as an assistant coach at the Swans was the beginning of a transformation that today has Kirk widely regarded as one of the most courageous and resilient players to have ever pulled on the boots.
“Ross came on board as a midfield coach and I struck up a really strong relationship with him built around trust and honesty,” Kirk says.
Until Lyon’s arrival, Kirk was considered a one-dimensional shutdown player with limited offensive capabilities.
But Lyon saw more than that.
He picked up on Kirk’s fiercely competitive nature and used it to begin moulding a quality footballer.
“Ross was the one that gave me the belief that not only do I need to stop my player, but if the ball was there to be won, I should get after it,” Kirk says.
“He really helped me develop the two-way running and being able to nullify an opponent and win the footy. I really grew in confidence because of him.”
It comes as no surprise then, that the Fremantle player Kirk thinks reminds him a bit of himself is Ryan Crowley, who won the club’s best and fairest playing as a tagger in Lyon’s first year.
“I really enjoyed watching Ryan Crowley go about his business in 2012,” Kirk says.
“He assumed the role as a run-with player and he did some great jobs for the team.
“It’s quite a sacrificial role, and to win the best and fairest and have such a consistent year from where he’s come from is fantastic.”
Kirk says it was Lyon’s strength of character that he picked up on straight away at Sydney.
“What I love above Ross is that he’s hard but he’s fair,” he says.
“Anytime we were reviewing a game, he always said it the way it was.”
Kirk believes there’s a side to Lyon many aren’t aware of.
“What other people probably don’t see is that he really fiercely cares about you,” he says.
“As a coach he gets the balance right. People outside of footy clubs don’t see that.”
Kirk says, from their time together at Sydney, he had no doubt Lyon would become a successful senior coach.
“Being one of the captains of the club, I saw how he operated in match committee,” he says.
“I was always thinking Ross would head in the senior coaching direction.
“I remember having a conversation with him before he had a chat with St Kilda. I was very strong in my belief that he should have a crack at it.”
Lyon isn’t the only coach Kirk will be reunited with at Freo. He and stoppages coach Mark Stone have a fair bit of history.
“’Stoney’ and I go way back,” he says.
“I grew up in Albury and went to university in Wagga. In my last year of uni, I lived with ‘Stoney' for a while.
“I got to know him and he just loves the game. He sees it really well. Our paths crossed again when he came over to coach in Sydney as a stoppages coach.
He’s just ideal for that position.
“There’s no doubt he helped at Sydney with the structures and I’m looking forward to working with him again”
