Callum Mills is a special footballer.
In the past two weeks, he has gone into takeover mode, dismantling the Hawks with a four-quarter performance that produced 37 disposals, 11 marks, five tackles, one goal, 162 fantasy points, 214 Supercoach points, and a perfect 10 from the coaches’ votes to sit alongside his perfect 10 from the week before against a hapless West Coast.
The collective team effort in the last quarter from the Swans in the Anzac Day victory over the Hawks, at their Launceston-based fortress no less, was a sight to behold.
Peter Ladhams made Hawthorn’s hybrid ruck, 196cm Connor Nash, look like a ruck bag by spoon-feeding his on-ballers with precise taps and first use from stoppages.
(Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
Chad Warner was enormous and it’s a shame he’s from WA, and was taken with pick 39, and not a product of the Swans academy and its populous city zone, because it would have added nicely to where I’m headed next.
Errol Gulden was busy, Nick Blakey kicked and ran like a lizard possessed, Braeden Campbell was there too, and Isaac Heeney was his usual high-flying, game-changing self.
The Swans were at it, again, cheating with that bloody academy.
In September of 2016, I wrote the following after Callum Mills was named winner of the AFL Rising Star award.
THIS will no doubt bring unwanted negative attention from Sydney supporters, who believe their team’s rise — and sustained success — at the top have come about “the hard way”.
Just like their share portfolio and their harbourside yachts. No insider trading here, move along people.
The Swans used pick No.3 last year to select Callum Mills, who this week was crowned the 2016 AFL Rising Star after a brilliant debut season.
Pick No.3, in the AFL’s eyes, amounted to picks 33, 36, 37 and 43, after the 20 per cent academy discount was taken into consideration.
Let me provide a very famous sporting example of how the Mills draft pick/points swap fiasco might have looked if it had happened in the NBA in, say, 1984:
— Michael Jordan (pick No. 3)
FOR
— Steve Colter (33), Charles Jones (36), Ben Coleman (37) and Greg WiItjer (43)
Yep. This is ugly.
But what came next was just as ugly. I copped it so badly on social media for my satirical use of a cherry-picked draft from another sport that my blood was to be spilled in front of the virtual sex-bots that fill Elon Musk’s new plaything.
Or maybe it was because I cherry-picked the 2009 AFL Draft as the closet to home example of why anyone other than Sydney supporters think the Swans have been gifted the golden ticket to talent by way of the largest city zone to develop their cyborg footballers in an AFL-funded laboratory.
Pick 3 – Dustin Martin
FOR
— Anthony Long at pick No. 33 (delisted)
— Joel Houghton at 36 (delisted),
— Jamie Macmillan at 37 (a very serviceable half back-wing for North Melbourne), and
— Marcus Davies at 43 (delisted).
Keep in mind too, that in 2016, the Next Gen Academies had been implemented, but had not reached a full 12 months for potential draft benefit/equality, meaning the concept of zones and academies were in place to support the expansion clubs Gold Coast/GWS, with Sydney and Brisbane reaping reward too as battle grounds against NRL talent for the growth of the game.
Oh, and at that time, Sydney had finished no lower than 12th in the previous20 years, had a larger salary cap than everyone else, missed the finals only three times in that time and had a four-year run of 5th, 2nd, 4th and a premiership prior to being gift-wrapped a top three talent in the 2015 draft.
Come with us Swans fans, you can understand our jealousy!
And even though the academy system is now based on equality, with each club represented by a Next Gen Academy and region to work in, it doesn’t stop us as fans from using our perceived historic lack of equality, as an excuse as to why the Swans are so damn good.
Departing the game on the weekend as a dejected Hawks supporter, I overheard an equally teary member of the Hawks brethren bemoaning the fact that we’d been smashed by “those bloody Swans Academy kids and their inflated salary cap”.
I know Launceston isn’t quite with the rest of the world in the 21st century – they’re sure excited about the introduction of the Pegasus Network – but come on Launceston based Hawks fans, it’s time to remember the Swans have been on the receiving end of the AFL’s Wheel of Sanctions via a trade ban throughout seasons 2015 and 2016 as a result of the COLA implementation and the league’s perception it was having too big of an impact on their ability to attract marquee free agents after they signed Kurt Tippet to $875k per over four years and Lance Franklin to $1,111,111 per over nine years.
Only the AFL could implement a rule and then punish you for following it.
With the implementation of the Next Gen Academies for all clubs, even though some club zones are laughably small – spare a thought for St Kilda, whose zone starts at the Fennel Street Café and follows the Moorooduc Highway south, along the coast, and ends at the Frankstown South Maccas – it is time to place the Swans Academy and COLA benefits into the lessons learned history pile.
The Swans know footy.
If you are going to feel sorry for anyone, it shouldn’t be yourself, make it Tasmanian kids, they’re being courted by North Melbourne… when they’re not playing basketball. #jackiesonthemarch.
Hayden V
Guest
Blah blah blah great team management all the way through the club Up the swannies
Paul
Guest
Wow. If you want to talk historical how about you also talk about the players Sydney lost because they were sent to Sydney with no following and nearly went broke. Why don't you talk about when they had to sell Wayne Carey and John Longmire to North for about $20k as teenagers to pay their player wages. Or about when they all their top draft picks left as soon as they could because nobody wanted to go to Sydney including Ricca and Grant. How about you look a little deeper at the swans list and recognise their success over 25 years was built on brilliant drafting and trading and rookie selections, Almost 10 Swans players who are now stars were picked as rookies or after pick 30 or smart trading Parker, Papley, McCartin, Lloyd, Rampe, Kennedy, Cunningham, McInerney, Warner, Rowbottom. Just because a kid is an early draft pick doesn't mean they become great players. How about you give credit for the swans ability to develop talented players into great footballers. Have a look at Melbourne draft picks over 2008 to 2017 and how many 1st round picks they had but not many made it. How about you mention nobody really wanted Gulden. No bids until pick 32 and if anyone bid on him in the teens swans wouldn't have matched as didn't have the points. Talk about a bad loser. How about you look at your own club and it's recruiting and trading performance and wonder why you have no young talent when you trade away most of your picks
Stuart lee
Guest
I live in Newcastle and it is a lonely place as an afl fan. But the youngest generation are pretty keen and ripe for the picking if there was an increased profile. The local comp is very poor but much improved and a much younger profile than it used to be
Roger of Sydney
Roar Rookie
Its an expanded VFL, you think the next CEO will be from SA or WA. nup
Dan M
Guest
Sad that someone could be this oblivious to the way grass roots development actually works in the sport they write about.
Seymorebutts
Guest
I dont care if Swans have an academy or not.. but since they do, why cant West Coast have one?? Or Carlton? Developing young players used to be something clubs did.. they would bring 16 year olds into their Colts team, mentor them, train them and a few of them would end up in the senior team. So nobody has a problem with anything the Swans are doing if its equal for everybody. How many Flags have they won since Cola was abolished?
Pope Paul VII
Roar Rookie
I don't wish to get in the middle of a Geeves family feud but Sydney has had an Aussie rules comp since about 1881.
BM
Guest
Is the academy the reason for the swans talented list? Rampe, Papley, Lloyd, Ronke, Cunningham, P McCartin, Bell, McLean, Armetey were picked by the swans via the rookie list. Parker, T McCartin, Warner, McInerney, Reid, Rowbottom (even Hewett & Dawson!) were picked using 2nd rounders. Kennedy, Ladhams, Hickey we’re traded in using late 2nd/3rd round picks. Maybe we should recognise it for what it is. Fantastic recruitment and outstanding player development.
Ruck'n'Roll
Guest
YAWN On the one hand the anti expanists complain there' s not enough talent for existing clubs. Then they complain about the northern academies - which is the talent expansion tool that has ever proven effective (all the other failed dismally). Click-bait pandering to parochail Victorians YAWN
Chris M
Guest
NO, NO, NO!!!!!! Academy players listed since 2014 currently still on list include: Isaac Heeney (2014); Callum Mills (2015); James Bell (2017); Nick Blakey (2018); Sam Wicks (2018); Braeden Campbell (2020); Errol Gulden (2020); Mark Sheather (2020); Lachlan McAndrew (2021). It's not that many players, in fact 9 in 8 seasons. They are not all currently top tier players and they won't necessarily turn out to be. If there were any other former Academy players, they have been delisted because they just were not up to the standard required in comparison to interstate players who were available for selection in later drafts. No other club was interested in almost half of the above players if they nominated for the draft. Some may not stay on the Swans list for many years or have long careers. In the case of the yet-to-debut Sheather and McAndrew, there is no certainty that they will graduate from the VFL to play many or any AFL games. Only Heeney, Mills, Blakey, Campbell and Gulden were selected using the bidding system in place at the time of the National Draft. At the moment only these five Academy players are fairly certain be in the the first 22 players selected. Bell and Wicks are competitive but are not guaranteed selection at this stage of their careers. The Swans put a lot of time, money and effort into developing players in their Academy. Wouldn't you want the Swans and Giants Academies to be able to produce enough quality NSW players to theoretically fill two AFL lists before diluting any advantage that the Academies bring those clubs via a discounted bidding system?
Brett Geeves
Expert
Ha. Come on Uncle Col!! I was trying to give the Swans a little love. They know footy!! The academy system is excellent now that there is a level of equality across the comp. Every club has a patch to work in.. if Callum Mills2.0 pops up at Frankston South Maccas, then the Saints get benefit of cashing in a bunch of dirty picks to get their cream. Doggies benefited. But that wasn’t the case in 2015/2016… and that’s the point for every supporter of a club that isn’t Sydney. Jealous and bitter? Sure. All in the name of equality. Just sucks we have to side with Eddie !! See you at Xmas x
Colin geeves
Guest
Brett, I am probably your cousin so it hurts me that a relative of mine has no idea about Sydney, cost of living , real competition from NRL and rugby and a clear anti Sydney bias from the AFL ( look at umpiring stats). When I came here in 1969 you could not find a ground on which AFL was played, today that has dramatically changed because of the Swans. Their popularity feeds into the AFL coffers. Don’t knock them ,praise them and put your efforts into a Tasmanian Team. Will you complain if that team is heavily subsidised
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
Every odd year in Melbourne, every even year the other Capitals. They'd get 70,000 at both Adelaide and Perth if they had the capacity. Probably even Sydney.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
Yes, Swans got Tippett and the Crows got a world of pain. Self-inflicted but nonetheless Adelaide copped a lot of crap. Sydney got s kurt. (I couldn’t fix that typo up :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:)
Pope Paul VII
Roar Rookie
Dejected Hawthorn Supporter? Lol good one Bretty.
Terre Wohling
Guest
...might be fair to say that the Crows piqued his interest in the game, being a Crows supporter. Could also ask....what did Swans contribute to Tippett....Buddy...etc
Knackaz
Roar Rookie
Sydney invest million$ in their Academy in a non-AFL state. They should be lauded for this, developing the code in NSW, getting kids to play AFL. Whingers from other clubs (Eddie Everywhere was the worst) should put up or shut up. If someone takes the risk and invests in a business or crypto or the stock market for example, has skin in the game, and one day has a good pay day, that's good for them. You can't grow a garden if you don't plant the seeds and nurture the plants. Same as investing in the Sydney Academy. Look at how many players have benefited from the Academy to the very small number that actually make it. And remember, without it stars like Isaac Heeney, Callum Mills etc would have been playing rugby ...
Munro Mike
Roar Rookie
It was Sheedy's suggestion. As it is I've been advocating that Tassie be incorporated with NZ; and have #20 as FNQ/NT/PNG-Pacific Islands. However - Sheedy was talking up Newcastle population growth (not sure whether his parameters were inclusive of the Central Coast as well?). As it is - - I certainly agree with academy system running and if we do NOT have even a 3 yearly SoO; then NSW/QLD lads (arguably as well as Tassie lads) should have effectively a first option of living/playing local.
Angela
Roar Rookie
' if the AFL and VIC clubs are serious about a national comp and level playing field.' They're not...
Angela
Roar Rookie
Led by Eddie :angry: