AFL 2022: Sydney Swans co-captain Callum Mills rewarded for brilliant season with first Bob Skilton Medal

One of the players who took Sydney’s grand final hiding to Geelong the hardest had something to celebrate only five days later.

Swans co-captain Callum Mills won his first Bob Skilton Medal as the club’s best and fairest. Picture: Getty Images

Sydney co-captain Callum Mills has won his first Bob Skilton Medal as the Swans’ club champion, capping his rise to elite status in the AFL.

The 25-year-old has enjoyed back-to-back outstanding campaigns since switching from defence into a full-time midfield role.

Mills polled 662 votes to finish ahead of young midfielders Chad Warner (606) and James Rowbottom (544), with last year’s winner Luke Parker (530) and fellow star Isaac Heeney (529) rounding out the top five.

He was shattered in the aftermath of Saturday’s heavy grand final defeat to Geelong – his second in as many tries on the biggest stage – but it was still a banner year for him.

Mills joined Parker and Dane Rampe as a co-captain for the first time this season after Josh Kennedy stepped down and suggested he be the one to replace him.

Callum Mills won the Swans’ club champion award and was an All-Australian in his first season as a co-captain. Picture: Getty Images

The North Shore product played every game and averaged 24 disposals, six tackles and four clearances while making the All-Australian team for the first time and placing seventh in the Brownlow Medal.

He also inked a six-year contract extension at the start of September that will see him remain in the red and white through the 2029 season.

Mills is arguably coach John Longmire’s most trusted servant, used not only to generate offence but also given tagging jobs on dangerous opponents and even sent back to defence to put out fires on occasion.

“Footy is about people and the relationships you form along the way, and I love the football club and the people in it,” Mills said at the time of his re-signing.

“With the group that we’ve got – everyone from the players, to the coaches and staff – we are building something special and I’m proud to be able to help drive that.”

Chad Warner’s excellent season was rewarded with a second placing in the Bob Skilton Medal. Picture: Getty Images

Warner, who was arguably the Swans’ best player in the grand final, was a deserving runner-up after a breakout season that established him as one of the game’s most promising on-ballers.

The 21-year-old’s mix of toughness and speed helped earn him selection in the All-Australian squad of 40 and he, too, signed an early extension that keeps him at the club until at least the end of 2025.

Warner also received the Paul Kelly players’ player and Dennis Carroll most-improved awards.

Superstar teammate Lance Franklin consoled an emotional Warner in the immediate grand final aftermath and he later revealed the result hurt so much because “I tried as hard as I could”.

Rowbottom, 22, rebounded from an injury-interrupted 2021 season to make a significant midfield impact, averaging a club-most seven tackles per game.

Other winners on the night were Will Hayward (best clubman), Logan McDonald (rising star) and Will Gould (Swans-listed VFL player of the year).

BOB SKILTON MEDAL TOP 10

1. Callum Mills (662 votes)

2. Chad Warner (606)

3. James Rowbottom (544)

4. Luke Parker (530)

5. Isaac Heeney (529)

6. Tom McCartin (493)

7. Errol Gulden (492)

8. Jake Lloyd (489)

9. Dane Rampe (462)

10. Ollie Florent (447)

Originally published as AFL 2022: Sydney Swans co-captain Callum Mills rewarded for brilliant season with first Bob Skilton Medal