AFL legend Wayne Carey has defended Collingwood's Dane Swan after the midfielder was attacked in a South Melbourne nightclub following the Magpies' win over St Kilda at the weekend.

Collingwood has cleared Swan of any wrongdoing over the incident, which left the midfielder with minor damage to his teeth.

Speaking in his backpagelead.com.au podcast, Carey joined Pies coach Mick Malthouse in praising Swan for walking away from a 'very unfortunate situation'.

"Dane's done nothing wrong," Carey said.

"I know there are a lot of people out there that say that players, well they just shouldn't go out, and even clubs I'm sure would love players not to do anything, but they certainly have to live their life."

"There's young 18- and 19-year-old players playing at AFL clubs now, and we certainly don't expect them to play Monopoly every Saturday night."

"They do have to go out and live and meet people - okay, albeit knowing the consequences when they do go out."

Those consequences not only include unprovoked attacks from 'nitwits', Carey said, but also the risk of a trial by media should players defend themselves.

"The other part that people should be aware of is that if Dane Swan then goes to protect himself - so he reacts to being punched - then all of a sudden it's 'Dane Swan in a brawl' not 'Dane Swan's been hit'," he said.

"If they get hit they can't even really defend themselves otherwise it blows into an even bigger story."

"You've basically got to cop it on the chin. That's the price you pay for being a footballer."

Carey suggested a self-imposed curfew might help young footballers avoid unwanted attention on a night out.

"Players are generally saying 'I just can't go out at all' and if you don't go out at all then you can't get into any trouble," he said.

"But as I said before, there are events and things that lead to players going out."

"It could be a best mate's birthday, and you can't say 'oh mate, I can't go to your birthday'."

"It's been said a number of times now - nothing good happens after two o'clock (in the morning)."

"You just have to let people know that you've got to be home at a certain hour. I think that negates a few of the problems."