Sydney Swans cop blow as another star to miss start of AFL season

The Sydney Swans will be without two of their best players for the start of the AFL season after a key veteran was struck down.

Luke Parker will miss the start of the AFL season. Photo: Phil Hillyard

Sydney Swans talisman Luke Parker will miss the start of the AFL season after suffering a broken arm in a pre-season game.

Sydney announced on Monday Parker sustained the injury during last week’s match simulation against the GWS Giants.

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The Swans said Parker broke his arm in the last quarter of the game, but didn’t reveal how exactly he suffered the injury.

The 31-year-old will meet with specialists again this Friday to determine his return to play date.

Parker, a 283-game veteran and 2012 premiership player, would be hoping to reach his 300-game milestone this year.

It’s a huge blow for the Swans, who were already without new stand-alone captain Callum Mills for their first game of the season following his shoulder injury caused by a Mad Monday pub wrestle gone wrong.

Luke Parker will miss the start of the AFL season. Photo: Phil Hillyard.

The absence of arguably Sydney’s two best midfielders will open plenty of opportunities for the younger brigade to step up in the Opening Round clash against Melbourne at the SCG on Thursday March 7.

Errol Gulden and Chad Warner will likely be the main men in the middle for the Swans, while new recruits Taylor Adams and James Jordon will be thrown straight into the thick of things.

Young guns Angus Sheldrick and Matt Roberts could also benefit from Mills and Parker’s injuries.

Brodie Grundy and Max Gawn will face off in the AFL’s Opening Round. (Photo by Morgan Hancock/Getty Images)

The Demons are also set to field a different looking side in next month’s season opener, following the off-season departures of Jordan and James Harmes, as well as Angus Brayshaw’s retirement due to concussion.

It’s unclear if Clayton Oliver will suit up for Opening Round after the star midfielder’s troubled 2023 and delayed start to pre-season.

Premiership captain Max Gawn will take on his old teammate Brodie Grundy in the ruck after Grundy moved to Sydney following his failed one-year experiment at the Demons.

Melbourne have finished in the top four in the last three seasons but have lost in ‘straight sets’ in the past two final series.