Sydney Swans bristle over ‘low brow’ GWS social media jab as Chard Warner contract talks continue

GWS’ cheeky vibe at Isaac Heeney’s video this week ruffled feathers, while JON RALPH reports the Swans are closing in on a deal with Chad Warner.

Sydney chief executive Tom Harley is brimming with confidence star Chad Warner will remain at the club despite West Australian interest as he continued the turf war with cheeky cross-town rival Greater Western Sydney.

Harley slammed a GWS parody video that saw captain Toby Greene making fun of Isaac Heeney’s social media apology after his failed appeal as “lowbrow” on Saturday.

Heeney is believed to be furious with Greene’s conduct given the Swans star, suspended for a week, had been genuine in his intent to reach out to Sydney fans after his failed appeal.

Warner is in no hurry to sign on at the Swans given he has a contract that runs to 2025 but Sydney will be desperate to secure him before round 1 next year.

The Swans will need to pay up for Warner given the Dockers and Eagles would move heaven and earth _ and offer multiple first-round picks.

But Harley said the Swans were confident after signing up a raft of priority players including James Rowbottom, Errol Gulden, Will Hayward, Ollie Florent and Logan McDonald.

Asked about those contract talks, Harley said: “They sit really comfortably at our end. Chad is out of contract at the end of next year”.

“Without going into the specifics of the conversations we are having with him, his family, his management, we are in conversations about his future all the time.

The Sydney Swans are in talks to re-sign Chad Warner. Picture: Morgan Hancock/AFL Photos/via Getty Images.

“So you can take out of that what you will and then clearly from a club point of view, from my point of view, I look at Chad’s engagement with the group, I look at his commitment on the field, the work he does off the field in Sydney in the city, to see a young fella who is really invested in what we are doing.

“We will control those things the best we can, we would love to have Chad play for us forever, and I feel really bullish about Chad’s long term future at the Swans.”

Harley said on SEN radio he didn’t want to fuel the fire over the Greene video but his displeasure was clear against a Giants club that continually pokes fun at the Swans on social media.

Sydney has twice beaten GWS this year but the Giants will not let up in attempting to engage their fans while baiting the Swans.

“I did see the Giants one. I am not going to give it any air. Pretty low brow …. Isaac is a champion of our club, champion of the game, Talk about growing the game, brought up on rugby league (before crossing to the AFL) I wouldn’t have done it,” Harley said.

Originally published as Sydney Swans bristle over ‘low brow’ GWS social media jab as Chard Warner contract talks continue