In the age of fake news, it was heartening to see that Australians could still indulge in the spirit of April Fool’s Day.

Whether it was footballers trolling the net, or companies pulling the legs of its customers in the name of shameless commercial promotion, there were some goodies.

Here’s a selection of some of Australia’s better pranks.

Collingwood legend Dane Swan to return to AFL

Collingwood legend Dane Swan pulled arguably one of the better April Fool’s Day pranks, convincing fans he was ready to “pull the boots back on again”.

Swan made the announcement in a home-recorded video posted on the Facebook page of Sportsbet.com.au.

Dane Swan as he appeared in the video. Source: Facebook

The 33-year-old retired footy player said he had a hectic first quarter this year, but had time to reflect on his life and what he wanted to do moving forward.

“So I went out and had a kick with my mate’s local footy side last week.

“The foot felt pretty good … (I’ve) dropped a lot of weight from being in the jungle, so this is my playing weight and I played at when I was about 22, so (I’m feeling pretty good actually, so I think it’s the right time,” Mr Swan said.

“See you out there on the G.”

The Brownlow medallist retired in August last year after suffering a leg injury.

Swedish furniture giant Ikea launches low-cost airline

Ikea fooled the world their new airline FLIKEA would offer non-stop flights from Australia to Sweden in 2019.

The Swedish furniture superstore said the airline’s blue and yellow fleet would boast five dimensions of “democratic design” unique to Ikea and specialised in exceptional form, quality, sustainability, function and price.

The “world famous IKEA meatball” was also promised to be available in the in-flight dining menu.

“Whether it’s reducing shipping emissions by revolutionising the way we design and package products or using new wedge dowel designs to cut assembly time, innovations that benefit our customers are at the heart of our business,” Ikea Australia spokesperson Spencer Keeble said.

“Not only will our planes offer unparalleled comfort, but they will get you from Sweden to Australia a full five hours quicker – all for a fraction of the cost.”

Melbourne CBD keeps daylight saving to bolster trade

Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle announced the city would retain daylight savings to increase autumn trade on April 1.

The Herald Sun’s April Fool’s story detailed Cr Doyle’s plans to forgo turning back the clocks, and support a one-month pilot program to extend daylight savings in the CBD to boost local trade.

“We know in warmer months and during daylight savings more people go out for a meal after work, catch up with friends.

Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle. Source: Twitter

“We should continue to embrace that,” he said.

Extreme deliveries: burgers dropped from the sky

Delivery service Deliveroo’s contribution was an announcement it had engaged skydivers to deliver food to remote locations.

The company shared a video of the “Extreme Delivery” service showing a skydiver collecting a take-away bag of burgers from Melbourne restaurant-chain Huxtaburger before boarding a plane and dropping from the sky.

The video ends with the skydriver landing on an Australian beach to make his delivery to a couple finishing a day of surfing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ23CrzPowM

Mark Latham to be new Free Speech Commissioner

Easily the most clever and most topical effort was that by The New Daily which reported that the Turnbull government had appointed “loud-mouthed” former Labor leader and media commentator, Mark Latham, as Australia’s first ever Free Speech Commissioner.

Its “exclusive” story reported the controversial appointment came just days after Mr Latham’s sacking by Sky News for making a series of offensive on-air comments about fellow presenters, ABC broadcaster Wendy Harmer and a Sydney schoolboy.

“He is expected to begin the new role in time for April Fool’s Day, 2018,” The New Daily wrote.