Sydney superstar Chad Warner’s contractual situation will be one of the talking points of the 2025 season. Photo: AFL MEDIA

SYDNEY
2024 record: 19 wins, 7 losses (2nd)

THE INS
Ben Paton (St Kilda), Jesse Dattoli (Northern Knights), Ned Bowman (Norwood), Riley Bice (Werribee), Riak Andrew (Dandenong Stingrays), Blake Leidler (Oakleigh Chargers)

THE OUTS
Luke Parker (North Melbourne), Sam Reid (retired), Jacob Konstanty (North Melbourne), Cooper Vickery (delisted), Harry Arnold (delisted), Jaiden Magor (delisted), Lachlan McAndrew (delisted)

THE STRENGTHS
You are clearly doing a lot right if you make it to a grand final. At one stage last year, it seemed like the only question about the premiership was how much Sydney was going to win it by. The Swans were the pacesetters for a large chunk of 2024, winning 10 games in a row at one stage to start their campaign with an impressive 13-1 record. In fact, they were three games clear of the competition as late as Round 16. Their midfield is jampacked with stars such as Isaac Heeney, who took his game to another level last season, Errol Gulden, Chad Warner and Callum Mills. With seven players kicking 27 goals or more, the Swans boasted the best attack in the league in 2024. The brilliant Tom Papley is the main man in that part of the ground, but the emergence of Joel Amartey as a reliable key target was also very welcome. With the seventh-ranked defence, Sydney isn’t too shabby down back either, with the likes of Nick Blakey, Jake Lloyd, Oliver Florent and Tom McCartin setting up a formidable wall to penetrate. James Rowbottom, Brodie Grundy, Heeney, Gulden, Warner and Papley were the major reasons why the Swans came in fifth for tackles, seventh for contested possessions and seventh for inside 50s. Sydney might not have been up at the pointy end of the list for forward entries, but that didn’t stop it from being the most efficient team in the league in that part of the ground as it ended up No.1 for scores per inside 50.

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THE WEAKNESSES
Undoubtedly, the biggest question mark over Sydney heading into 2025 is whether or not it can recover from the significant mental scarring it has suffered on grand final day in recent times. Having now lost their last four grand finals over a 10-year period by an average margin of 57 points, the Swans are the modern day version of Geelong from the late 80s and early 90s. Apart from their performance against the Bulldogs in 2016, they have absolutely embarrassed themselves on the biggest day of the year. Many pundits tipped Sydney to beat Brisbane last year, but yet again, their stars just did not show up when it mattered most. The likes of Grundy, Warner, Blakey, Heeney, Papley, Amartey, McCartin, Hayden McLean, Will Hayward and Logan McDonald, who was subbed out early due to injury, are going to have wear that uncomfortable fact until the next time they’re back at the MCG on the last Saturday in September. It was a dismal way for former coach John Longmire to finish up his career. Perhaps a fresh start with new coach Dean Cox will assist in exorcising those significant demons. Besides, they only have to look as far as the very team which beat them on grand final day last year as a prime example of a side that overcame major frequent finals heartache to finally achieve the ultimate. The second-last team who defeated them in the premiership decider, Geelong, is a great example of persistence as well. But grand final day wasn’t the only time the Swans were humiliated last year. They suffered a 112-point thrashing at the hands of Port Adelaide in Round 21 in a game which was the nadir of a very rough patch that saw them lose five out of six matches. The Swans didn’t feature prominently in ball-winning stats, finishing 14th for contested possessions, 10th for disposals and ninth for marks, but similar to the Cats, they probably won’t be too fussed considering they were one of the dominant sides for most of 2024. Finishing 12th for marks inside 50 wouldn’t faze them either as they were the most potent attacking force in the competition, but they would probably want to improve their ranking of 18th for contested marks. The good news for Sydney is that if it chooses to change the way it plays this year, which it undoubtedly will, it has plenty of categories to pick from in which it can improve dramatically.

ONE TO WATCH
Warner is an undisputed star of the competition, but he will be one to watch for a different reason this year. He is strongly rumoured to be heading back to his native WA at the end of the year. Will the increased speculation over his future help him take his game to new heights in 2025? Or will he buckle under the pressure?

UNDER THE PUMP
If ever there was a bloke who owed his team one, it’s Mills. The captain did anything but lead by example in the 2023 post-season when he suffered a serious shoulder injury during ‘Mad Monday’ shenanigans. Luckily for him, the team coped very well without him before he made his first appearance in Round 18. But a calf injury in the qualifying final against GWS brought his season to an end. After just seven games in 2024, one would expect Mills has a massive point to prove.

BEST 23
B: Dane Rampe, Tom McCartin, Lewis Melican
HB: Jake Lloyd, Nick Blakey, Oliver Florent
C: Errol Gulden, Isaac Heeney, Justin McInerney
HF: Tom Papley, Joel Amartey, Braeden Campbell
F: Logan McDonald, Hayden McLean, Will Hayward
R: Brodie Grundy, Callum Mills, Chad Warner
Inter: James Rowbottom, Harry Cunningham, James Jordon, Matt Roberts, Robbie Fox
Emerg: Taylor Adams, Sam Wicks, Aaron Francis

Unfortunately for Mills, his run of bad luck has continued, and he is not expected to return until Round 4 due to a foot injury. With Luke Parker departing, an opportunity could arise for Braeden Campbell, Taylor Adams or Sam Wicks to make a position up forward their own. Adams, of course, played that role well at Collingwood in 2023, before injury robbed him of a chance to play in a premiership.

*all team stat rankings mentioned are based on differentials, not totals (apart from overall offence and defence).