AFL 2025: Sydney coach Dean Cox hopes to quickly secure Chad Warner

Sydney captain Callum Mills has revealed what he is trying to do to help keep a Swans superstar at the club for the long-term.

New Sydney coach Dean Cox expects talks with Chad Warner to soon pick up pace as the Swans aim to continue an impressive retention streak with their star players.

Both Western Australian clubs are circling the 23-year-old Warner, who made his first All-Australian team in 2024 and comes out of contract at the end of next season.

Cox said the Swans wanted to determine Warner’s future within the “short term” as he weighs a potential move back to his home state.

The Swans were able to lock away quartet Will Hayward (end of 2029), Ollie Florent (2029), James Rowbottom (2028) and Logan McDonald (2028) this year as rival clubs came knocking with big offers, but Warner’s camp was open last month that he was unsure over whether he would stay.

Chad Warner returned to Sydney training for the first day of pre-season with the Swans’ full list on Tuesday. Picture: Phil Hillyard

“Chad is a really high priority of this football club. Not only the way he plays, but obviously his contract status and where it sits,” Cox said as Sydney’s full list returned to training on Tuesday.

“Now is a chance to sit down with him over the coming period and see where his head is at. “We want to make sure that he’s a part of this football club, that he performs for this football club. No doubt he will (perform), and then what the future holds, that’s what we’ve got to try and sort out in the short term.”

Swans captain Callum Mills said creating the “best high performance environment we possibly can” would be the club’s best bet in enticing Warner to stay.

“The environment you create is really important, but it’s not only for Chad, it’s for everyone else in the building,” Mills said.

Swans captain Callum Mills (right) with Dean Cox at training, after the longtime assistant took the reins from premiership coach John Longmire last week. Picture: Phil Hillyard

“He’s obviously a really vital part of our team, but we do this for everyone.”

Mills said the Swans would be cautious about focusing too heavily on the disappointment of a second heavy grand final defeat in three years.

The devastation for the skipper was two-fold after he was ruled out of a return in the decider after missing the preliminary final with a hamstring strain suffered at training.

“It was a tough week, but I think that makes you as a person,” Mills said.

“Everyone has hard times in their careers, but it’s being able to reflect, learn from it, be in the moment and be a different or better player or person because of it.

“I think you’ve got to be careful holding onto that (hurt) for too long. You’ve got to be able to separate yourself from it and move forward.”

Originally published as AFL 2025: Sydney coach Dean Cox hopes to quickly secure Chad Warner