Sydney forward Sam Wicks snubbed after tensions with teammates over former partner
Sydney rolled at the ‘G on Sunday, but it wasn’t all plain sailing, with a Swan seemingly snubbed as tensions remain over an episode involving a teammate’s former partner.
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Sydney pressure forward Sam Wicks is set to hold his spot against Greater Western Sydney, despite Luke Parker’s availability as the fallout from his issues with a teammate was laid bare at the MCG on Sunday.
Parker’s return to the side against the Giants means there is intense competition for spots ahead of the cross-town clash on Saturday. Parker dominated his rare VFL clash against Box Hill with 34 possessions, in his return from a broken arm.
Sydney had Braeden Campbell as its sub in the crushing victory over Hawthorn and then subbed out Justin McInerney in an illustration of the club’s depth.
Swans coach John Longmire has already forecast a selection squeeze given Parker’s return.
Wicks kicked his second goal in the second quarter and was given footy’s ultimate version of the cold shoulder from his teammates, who collectively failed to acknowledge the effort or even give him a high-five.
Someone explain why nobody went to high five or appreciate Sam Wicks kicking a goal here#AFLHawksSwans#Bloodspic.twitter.com/C9CfQLpPYP
— whispers (@NoahWhispers) April 28, 2024
It is understood there are still levels of tension between Wicks and his teammates after the episode that saw him take some time away from the club and miss an AFL game. That misunderstanding came when he was in communication with the former partner of a current teammate, which led to a fierce verbal argument between teammates away from the club, and saw the Swans ultimately rule that Wicks had done nothing wrong. But he took a weekend off to cool the tension within the playing ranks, returning to kick two goals in each of his past two games.
When he kicked an early goal with a brilliant crumbing effort, Wicks was high-fived by teammates Tom Papley and Logan McDonald. But after his second-term goal from a kick over the top he turned to run back and celebrate with his teammates and found not one of them was within 50m.
A collection of teammates including Joel Amarty, Isaac Heeney, McDonald and Will Hayward instead got drinks from runners and noticeably declined to celebrate the goal with him.
Sydney on Monday was adamant Wicks had been involved in capping a punishing end-to-end play with teammates exhausted and not snubbing him but simply preparing for the next goal as they rotated off the bench and got into position.
The Swans believe his first goal where teammates congratulated him, and last week’s more positive body language from teammates, is more representative of the mended relationships.
Sydney believes it has handled the issue well, but is aware it will take time for the relationship to get back on an even keel.
Wicks denied any inappropriate relationship with the former partner of the teammate of the club, with Sydney’s hierarchy accepting he had done nothing wrong.
Longmire said post-match the club would need to work through its selection quandary during the week, while Sam Taylor, Toby Greene and potentially Stephen Coniglio return for the Giants.
“We’ll sit down this week and see what we need to do,” Longmire said.
“Obviously the Giants are in red-hot form and it’s going to be a massive game. The Giants will probably get a couple of really gun players back as well. So we’ll have to sit down and work it out. It’ll be on, I reckon.”
Longmire said after the Wicks incident came to light, that the club would work through the issue in a professional manner.
“Most of the things you deal with in football, over my time, has been non-football (issues),” 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.”
Originally published as Sydney forward Sam Wicks snubbed after tensions with teammates over former partner
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