Sydney Swans’ Sam Wicks snubbed by teammates after girlfriend incident
Bizarre footage has emerged of an AFL star getting completely snubbed by teammates just weeks after an ugly off-field incident.
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AFL fans were left feeling slightly confused by a goal celebration, or lack thereof, in Sydney’s 76-point win over Hawthorn at the MCG on Sunday.
The Swans led at every break and cruised to a 18.10 (118) to 5.12 (42) victory — their sixth of the season — to be second on the ladder after Round 7.
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But the match featured an interesting moment in the second quarter when Swans small forward Sam Wicks kicked a goal but none of his teammates went to celebrate with him.
The Swans went coast to coast, with James Jordon finding Joel Amartey on the wing, before Tom Papley noticed Hawthorn defender Sam Frost was sagging off Wicks, who marked easily at the top of the goalsquare and ran into an open goal.
Wicks was virtually by himself inside the forward 50 and the game was over at that stage, with Sydney holding a 44-point lead midway through the second quarter.
But viewers were surprised that not a single Swans player went to give Wicks a high-five.
A fan wrote on X: “Someone explain why nobody went to high five or appreciate Sam Wicks kicking a goal here.”
One person replied: “I mean, I can only see two Swans players within frame of the whole clip and they’re in the centre square. Wicks was so far in behind the defenders no one was near him.”
It was his second goal after he scooped up a loose ball and slotted a classy snap for the first major of the game.
Wicks received a few high-fives and back slaps from teammates for that effort.
It is unclear whether an off-field incident involving Wicks earlier in the year had any part to play in the apparent lack of celebration from his teammates.
The 24-year-old was omitted from Sydney’s Round 3 clash against Richmond due to an alleged dispute between him and a teammate.
“Wicks had been accused of acting inappropriately with the former girlfriend of another Swans player,” journalist Sam Edmund said on SEN at the time.
“A thorough club investigation found that those allegations were categorically false, and that Wicks nor his teammate had done anything wrong.
“While all parties were ultimately innocent, the bad blood, which was brought into the open on a night out involving a group of Sydney players, had threatened to fester in the changerooms.
“As a result of that, Swans officials acted swiftly to take the heat out of the situation by giving Wicks some time off. He didn’t travel with teammates to Melbourne today – instead he’s back in Sydney.”
All parties involved were found to be innocent by the club after an internal investigation, after details of the dispute came to light on a recent night out.
His omission from the Round 3 match was decided upon by club officials to prevent further angst in the dressing rooms while emotions were high.
Swans coach John Longmire addressed the issue earlier this month.
“Most of the things you deal with in football, over my time … has been non-football,” Longmire said.
“That’s just one of those things that you need to make sure you work through. We believe we are working through that well.
“We are mature enough to be able to work through that and get our focus on the footy.”
Wicks had a solid start to the 2024 season, forcing his way into the starting 22 after two energetic performances as the sub in Opening Round and Round 1.
He was drafted as a Category B rookie in 2018 and has played 54 games at the club and kicked 36 goals.
He signed a two-year contract extension last November and is contracted at the Swans until at least the end of 2025.
The Swans take on GWS in a blockbuster Sydney derby at the SCG on Saturday afternoon.
Originally published as Sydney Swans’ Sam Wicks snubbed by teammates after girlfriend incident
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