Fame and fortune has come pretty quickly for Chad Warner, the breakout star of Sydney’s AFL season.
A few months ago he was just another young player to keep an eye on. Now he’s a bona fide matchwinner, up there with Lance Franklin and Isaac Heeney as a Swans fan favourite, and the subject of a “man crush” from Hawthorn champion Luke Hodge – and, it’s fair to say, plenty of others besides.
With the good, however, sometimes comes the bad. That happened last month, when nude photos of the 21-year-old suddenly emerged on social media, along with videos of him performing sex acts, in an apparent revenge porn attack – the kind of thing that could easily shake a young athlete’s confidence.
Warner admitted he was initially rattled and embarrassed, particularly as it came on the eve of an important game.
But how quickly and easily he was able to move on speaks to his cool temperament and the effect of the famed ‘Bloods culture’ at Sydney, as his teammates swooped in and quickly took the sting out of the scandal for him.
Chad Warner has revealed how his teammates and the club helped him get through his nude photo scandal earlier this year.Credit:Phil Hillyard
“A lot of people kind of said I’ve handled it probably a bit better than they thought,” he said.
“I pretty much just saw it, and then at the time I was like … obviously it’s not great, something you don’t want to happen to you.
“The club found out about it, and the support they showed was massive. All the boys, we’re great mates, they helped me through it really well … [They] had a bit of a laugh about it, which probably helped me a bit.
“I guess I’m the type of person that just moves on from stuff anyway. At the time I had just had to move on from it, and so I didn’t let it affect me. There’s no point feeling sorry for yourself. You’ve just got to get on with business, and that’s what we did.”
Warner last week extended his contract to the end of 2024, along with his brother Corey, who is also on Sydney’s list but is yet to taste AFL action. Chad was also named in the AFL’s 22 under 22 team, but attributes his individual success to the environment he’s in.
“The Bloods culture gets talked about a lot, but I think you only really feel it once you’re in it,” he said.
Chad Warner celebrates a crucial Sydney win and a career-best performance with coach John Longmire against Fremantle last month.Credit:Getty
“As soon I stepped in the door here two years ago, I’ve felt it the whole time. They just give you a massive confidence to play your game and be not afraid to make mistakes. You’ve got a massive family vibe here, too, which is why I’m loving it here.
“At the start of the year I just wanted to see how far I could go. I didn’t really have any limits on myself, which was the main thing. I’ve managed to surprise myself a bit, too.”
Friday night’s qualifying final against Melbourne, in front of an expected crowd of about 80,000 at the MCG, is the biggest game of Warner’s career thus far. He played for the Swans in last year’s bitter elimination final defeat to the Giants – his first game back after two months off – with a stress fracture in his leg, which made it tough for him to play in the same explosive way that has captivated the AFL this year.
“I’ve never played in front of a crowd that big,” said Warner, whose first two seasons at the top level coincided with the worst of the pandemic.
“I can’t wait for it. Hopefully there is that many, all us boys will relish it, and there’s always a massive Melbourne [based] supporter base for Sydney, which is great for us.”
Despite being reigning premiers, the Demons will hold no fear for Sydney nor for Warner, who had 19 touches, five tackles, four clearances and two goal assists the last time they met – also at the MCG, where the Swans prevailed by 12 points.
“I reckon when we move the ball really well and change it up a bit [Melbourne are vulnerable],” he said.
“Change angles a bit on them – we’ll just play the gears, really. Hopefully we can pick them apart a little bit in that way. They’re obviously an amazing team and have been for the last couple of years, and finals is obviously a different game, and they’ve got a lot of experience there – but we’re very confident in what we can do.”
