AFL grand final 2024: Sydney’s grand final injury calls examined

An injury cloud hovered over the Swans all GF week. But while there was no risk taken with Callum Mills, Isaac Heeney and Logan McDonald played hurt. Right call? Lachlan McKirdy unpacks it.

It’s the decision that Sydney Swans coaches lost “sleep over”, but the choice not to play captain Callum Mills in Saturday’s grand final is harder to grapple with the more it is dissected.

Mills did everything that was required of him in the lead-up to the match. He trained at “110 per cent” according to John Longmire, putting his hamstring to the test in a rigorous training session on Wednesday morning.

In the end, it was decided the risk would be too great to carry him through the whole game.

Understandably, the skipper was left devastated. In isolation, it made sense. The Swans had the fresh memory of taking Sam Reid into the 2022 grand final with an adductor injury before he had to be subbed off at half time.

But the chairman of the Swans, and close family friend of Mills, Andrew Pridham made a point of singling out the decision in his remarks at the club’s post-match function on Saturday night.

The Sydney skipper was not risked in the GF. Photo by Phil Hillyard

“I wanted to touch on one thing of significance that happened this week,” Pridham said.

“That was the decision not to select Callum Mills because the risk of re-injuring his hamstring was too great.

“I cannot understate how difficult that decision is to make. It is something people lose sleep over.

“It’s easy to make easy decisions. It’s hard to make hard decisions. But I can assure you (Callum) is a magnificent human being and he did a fantastic job as our captain.”

He also described the call as one of the hardest in his more than two decades involved with the Swans. But in the cold light of day, given the other injury clouds that surrounded the team, did it land the right way?

Logan McDonald only had one touch in his two quarters, clearly hampered by his ankle injury. He also trained through the week at 100 per cent but didn’t have any impact against Brisbane – McDonald wasn’t alone in that regard.

The young key forward was the one who missed out on a grand final berth as a result of Reid playing in 2022. It’s incredible how those narratives find a way of repeating themselves.

Then there was Isaac Heeney who said post-game he had a stress fracture in his ankle throughout the finals series. Following two best-on-ground performances against GWS and then Port Adelaide, Longmire was confident his superstar could stand up again. Unfortunately, an early knock scuppered those plans.

Longmire said Mills trained at “110 per cent” last week. Photo by Phil Hillyard

These decisions are difficult, it’s why coaches get paid the big bucks. But looking at how Chris Fagan managed the likes of Lachie Neale and Oscar McInerney over the past fortnight, it feels like a direct contrast. If the call was as tough as Pridham claims, it means Mills must have only narrowly missed out on a start.

There’s no doubt Mills carried himself with dignity in the days that followed the decision. He was there for each of his teammates and acted as a powerful voice on the bench throughout the match. So was Taylor Adams, brought to the club to provide experience in the big finals matches but left on the sidelines for the entirety of September.

But being the competitor he is, Mills would have given anything to pull the boots on and run out there to try and ensure history didn’t repeat itself.

Because it wasn’t just the nature of the defeat that felt similar, it was almost a carbon copy.

Braeden Campbell was named as the sub, just like he was in 2022. Will Hayward kicked Sydney’s first goal, as he did against the Cats. McDonald was unable to play out the game in the forward line after carrying an injury through the week. Sam Reid says hello.

Logan McDonald was a non-factor. Photo by Phil Hillyard

It’s unlikely a fit Mills, Heeney and McDonald would have stopped the Brisbane juggernaut. They went from 44 points down in the semi-final against GWS to a remarkably dominant grand final win. It would have taken something truly special to halt their momentum.

Meanwhile, as Pridham stated, it won’t stop the Swans from doing everything in their power to bounce back and contend in 2025.

“I can confirm there is no hearse and there will be no coffin on the stage,” he said. “Nobody has died that I’m aware of.”

Yet, for a team that was so confident they had exorcised the demons of two years ago, their actions suggested otherwise. And if their mauling at the hands of the Lions was anything to go by, the team was crying out for leadership when their best man was sitting on the bench just metres away.

Originally published as AFL grand final 2024: Sydney’s grand final injury calls examined