Aliir consistent in push for starting spot Australian football Tom Decent Aliir Aliir is eager to be a regular in the Swans main team.
Photo: Getty Images Swans defender Aliir Aliir says it has been frustrating not to be able to lock down a consistent spot in Sydney's main team this season but is taking solace from the fact his performances have been more consistent overall.
Aliir made his debut in round six against the Brisbane Lions but, in the two months since, has chalked up just one other game, against the Demons in round 13. 
He has turned heads, however, in the NEAFL with strong showings for the Swans' reserves. There has been debate about whether Aliir may replace Swans stalwart and defender Ted Richards.
Asked if he thought his form warranted a return to the Swans senior team, the 21-year-old said: "I think I've been more consistent this year. My first two years I've been up and down. It's a little frustrating being in and out but all I can worry about is controlling what I can control and that's the way I go about it, training and playing consistent footy in the reserves."
Aliir, the second AFL player of Sudanese heritage, was on deck to launch the Multicultural Round at the Parramatta Campus of Western Sydney University on Tuesday.
He did not want to comment on the rift between Kieran Jack - who is due to play his 200th game at the weekend - and the co-captain's parents. Jack has become embroiled in a feud between his father Gary - a star rugby league fullback for Balmain in the 1980s and '90s - and his mother Donna.
Jack's mother tweeted him saying: "@kjack-15 so sad. Dad 200 RL you 200 AFL & you dont want us there, your parents. No appreciationfor all the yrs helping you get there."
Neither the Swans nor Aliir wanted to discuss the issue, saying they would support both Jack and his brother Brandon, 22, who had also been caught up in the drama.
"That's a family matter, that's for Kieran and his family to sort out and I'll just leave it at that," Aliir said. "[The 200-game milestone] is pretty huge. I haven't been there for his whole career but the past three years, the way he's gone about it and come to the club and just wanting to learn and engaging with the young fellas, have been terrific and to see him to reach 200 games is a huge achievement."
Aliir isn't the only one making his family proud: his cousin and NBA No.10 draft pick Thon Maker has captured headlines as well.
The footballer said he had spoken to Maker since the Milwaukee Bucks picked him up.
"I gave him a call [on Monday] because I sort of wanted to let it settle down because his phone would have been going off from everyone," Aliir said.
"I said, 'congratulations, you've made all of us proud, it's great to see what you're doing' and he said, 'whenever you're down in town let me know and I'll sort you out with some tickets'. I said that's the only reason I'm calling."
And it appears Maker is a keen AFL fan, too. "It's a different sport but he and his brother over there, they do give me a call sometimes and ask how I'm going, how footy's going," Aliir said.
Giants midfielder Stephen Coniglio, who is of Italian heritage, was also on deck for the launch and said he was proud to be a part of "a great initiative for the game to celebrate different cultures and different countries that make up this great sport and great country".