In 2012, when Sydney won their most recent premiership, the club had a well-earned reputation for turning rocks into diamonds at the trade table.
Few players left the club, and those who arrived inevitably improved.
Sydney are hunting for a flag in the next two years adding experience to their talented listCredit: Getty
Five of their premiership 22 in 2012 were imports seeking greater opportunity who found it at the Swans.
Josh Kennedy, Martin Mattner, Ted Richards and Rhyce Shaw became fine Sydney players while Mitch Morton had a great finals series and important patch in the grand final. He played just 12 games at the club, but made his mark.
If not for injury Ben McGlynn, another import, probably would have been a premiership player that season.
Two seasons later, free agency was introduced, Lance Franklin arrived, and then a year later the academy started delivering a yield with Isaac Heeney joining the club at the bargain-basement price of pick No.18.
The club made three grand finals in Franklin’s time. Unlucky to lose in 2016, they were well beaten in 2014 and 2022, matching Geelong as perennial finalists with their point of difference being the academy, rather than trading.
But after their elimination final loss to Carlton this year, it was clear John Longmire wanted to trade in experience, and for the club to become more involved in the trade period.
He noted post-match his team’s inexperience compared to Collingwood, and also the fact the Swans had traded in fewer players via trades or free agency than any other club in the past decade, with just a dozen arriving.
What he did not mention, and what few have noticed, is that during that period Sydney also seemed to lose the ability to trade in players they can alchemise into excellent players. Many of the players they have lost during this period, for a range of reasons, have since thrived at other clubs.
Sydney did not want Jordan Dawson to leave and he has exceeded most expectations at Adelaide.Credit: AFL Photos
The arrival of academy players Heeney, Callum Mills, Nick Blakey, Errol Gulden and Braeden Campbell and good drafting that’s kept them in the finals frame has hidden this trend.
In that 2013 off-season, Shane Mumford, Jed Lamb, Andrejs Everitt and Tony Armstrong left, with Mumford a victim of the salary cap squeeze after the AFL’s reaction to Franklin choosing the Swans. The League removed the cost of living allowance (COLA) and, indefensibly, put an unjustifiable trade ban on the club, which they removed after one season.
Starting with the arrival through trade last season of the serviceable Aaron Francis, the club has brought in Peter Ladhams, Tom Hickey, Lewis Taylor, Sam Gray, Kaiden Brand, Jackson Thurlow, Ryan Clarke, Dan Menzel, Michael Talia and Callum Sinclair. They also added Paddy McCartin as a pre-season supplemental selection.
Only Hickey would be a massive tick (and was the only player from another club in this year’s elimination final line-up), while Sinclair did a good job overall. Clarke found a role in 57 games before being delisted, but there was a potential opportunity lost in using him as a defensive forward. McCartin was excellent before he had to retire due to concussion. Ladhams appears on his last chance and Francis has been reasonable.
Runner-up in the club best and fairest Nic Newman has thrived at Carlton.Credit: Getty Images
None of them cost much in trade terms but few excelled either.
Sydney’s departures since 2013 make an interesting list. They have left for a variety of reasons – some inside, some outside the Swans’ control – but most have thrived at their new home, with four premiership players, a Brownlow medallist, two captains and a few All-Australian selections.
Jordan Dawson is the standout, but the Swans can’t take any blame for that. They were as desperate to keep him as he was to get back to Adelaide where he is now captain.
They drafted untried youngsters Cooper Vickery, Caleb Mitchell and had picks to facilitate this year’s trades in return for Dawson, while Jacob Konstanty also arrived. None of those three players has played AFL yet.
Hawthorn poached Tom Mitchell at a time the Swans’ midfield was stacked before he went to the Magpies while Toby Nankervis – a triple-premiership Tiger who is now co-captain – left that season too. They drafted Ollie Florent, Will Hayward, Jack Maibaum and Darcy Cameron that year when they threw the picks they received – 14 and 46 – in the mix.
Cameron played one game for Sydney before ultimately becoming a Collingwood premiership ruckman. George Hewett and Nic Newman are at Carlton. Corey Warner was selected with the compensation pick for Hewett in 2021 while the future fourth-rounder gained for Newman got swallowed up in the Bermuda Triangle of pick swaps that helped the club secure Braeden Campbell and Errol Gulden.
Aliir Aliir wanted the security of a four-year deal and Port Adelaide could offer it. They pick the Swans received for him was caught up in the deal to get Hickey to the club plus draft points. The All-Australian has been excellent at his new home.
The Swans had a win in offloading Dan Hannebery to the Saints with three years left on his contract. They cleared cap space and landed Justin McInerney with one of their picks. Gary Rohan was effectively traded to Geelong for Clarke, a steal for the Cats in hindsight as the speedster wanted to return to Victoria.
Taylor Adams and Brodie Grundy will be excellent additions at Sydney.Credit: The Age
Now with two years remaining on John Longmire’s contract the club have gone all in during this trade period adding four players from other clubs to their list in their biggest – by volume – trade haul since Mumford, Kennedy, McGlynn and Mark Seaby joined in 2009.
Brodie Grundy and Taylor Adams, albeit experienced, are all quality.
Similarly aged, Joel Hamling is hoping to be revitalised at his third club after playing for the Bulldogs in the 2016 grand final when they defeated the Swans. James Jordon is seeking the opportunity many used to find at Sydney, however Dylan Stephens has headed to North Melbourne after flirting with a move the previous time he was out of contract.
They finally had some room to move in the salary cap and did very well to attract players as Sydney is disadvantaged relative to many other clubs because of the high cost of living in the harbour town.
It’s clear the club is all in on winning a flag in the next two years but the academy, drafting and, most importantly, retention must remain the centrepiece of the Swans’ strategy because that is their competitive advantage in the modern era. The past 10 years have shown it’s no longer trading.
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