Sydney captain Callum Mills has been ruled out of the 2024 Toyota AFL Grand Final, just hours after testing his injured hamstring at training and declaring himself fully fit and available to play.
Mills told reporters outside the SCG, where the Swans held a closed training session on Wednesday, that he hoped he had done enough to prove he was ready to tackle the Brisbane Lions on Saturday afternoon – and even coach John Longmire said Mills had trained at “110 per cent” of his capacity.
However, Longmire has made an early call not to bring in the 27-year-old, who originally hurt his hamstring at training a fortnight ago, days after Sydney’s qualifying final win over the Giants.
The club’s medical staff and coaching panel jointly agreed not to play him in the grand final, a decision reached “after taking everything into consideration”, according to a Swans statement released on Wednesday.
The Swans had until 6.20pm on Thursday to reveal Mills’ fate, but have instead gone early in announcing he will not take part. The decision will come as a relief for defender Robbie Fox, who loomed as the most likely player to make way for the skipper.
Earlier on Wednesday, Mills had told reporters outside the SCG: “I trained 100 per cent. It feels good. It’s over to ‘Horse’ [Longmire] now.
“Hopefully that’s enough.”
Longmire’s verdict had seemed to be even more promising, statistically speaking.
“He trained 110 per cent, which was good,” he said. “Good signs, so we’ll see how it goes. We’ll make a call when we make a call … he trained flat out.”
Small parts of the Swans’ training were captured by television cameras between the gaps in the grandstands, showing Mills changing direction and speed with no issues.
But Mills was ruled out not long after both he and the coach spoke to the media.
Hamstring injuries typically require a minimum recovery period of 21 days. Wednesday was the 15th day since Mills sustained his strain, while the grand final will fall on the 18th day. The Swans had said Mills’ injury was on the minor end, raising hope he could have busted sports science conventions.
The discussion around the 27-year-old was undoubtedly coloured by the club’s experience of two years ago. A crestfallen Longmire conceded after the Swans’ 2022 grand final hammering he had made the wrong call in picking Sam Reid, who injured his adductor muscle in the preliminary final. Reid was subbed out just after half-time.
“I guess one of those things is to make sure you train 100 per cent, get through training and train flat out,” Longmire said. “That’s one of the things you learn.”
On the other side, defender Ted Richards overcame a serious ankle issue to line up in the Swans’ victorious 2012 grand final team despite struggling to walk after an injury in the preliminary final. Richards required painkilling injections at every break.
One of Richards’ greatest concerns that week was making sure he did not put himself above the team.
“I can remember being very concerned I was being selfish, but the medical team gave myself and John enough confidence that we could do it,” Richards said.
“I didn’t want to put myself in front of the team. What made it harder, I couldn’t test it out. Between the prelim and playing in a grand final, I ran 50 metres in a straight line. That was just to give off the perception I was fine.
“That’s what made me so nervous – relying on painkilling each quarter to play on arguably the most athletic player of all time [referring to Lance Franklin].”
Forward Ben McGlynn was the heartbreak story in that grand final after a hamstring injury from the qualifying final. McGlynn’s hopes of making it back were dashed on the Tuesday of grand final week when he failed to get through a running session.
“If I had my time again, maybe I could have waited a few more days,” McGlynn said. “But we’ve seen the recent history of that happening. It doesn’t really work.
“For me personally, I was confident until I failed the test. Looking back now, for the playing group, it was the right decision to train, test it and push 100 per cent.”
Longmire on Tuesday gave forward Logan McDonald the green light to play after an ankle scare in the preliminary final, as the Swans shoot for their first flag in 12 years and the second in the coach’s reign in the red and the white.
Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan had his first win for the week after being named coach of the year at the AFL Coaches Association Awards on Tuesday night.
His peers voted in his favour ahead of Longmire, while Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell finished third.
Fagan won the award after coaching his team into back-to-back grand finals after they won just two of their first seven matches in 2024.
“Coaching is full of interesting and unique challenges but overall is an immensely rewarding job,” Fagan said in a statement.
“I’m thankful to the Brisbane Lions hierarchy for showing faith in an old bloke like me to be their senior coach eight years ago. It’s been a fun ride and I’m very proud of the consistent club we have become.”
Daniel Pratt won assistant coach of the year after crossing from West Coast to the Western Bulldogs this season, while North Melbourne’s Michael Barlow won development coach of the year. John Worsfold was given a lifetime achievement award.
- with Peter Ryan
