Sydney Swans captain Callum Mills will make his long-awaited return for his club on Saturday against North Melbourne at the SCG. It has been more than 10 months since his last appearance - in last year’s elimination final defeat against Carlton - and his comeback could not be better timed. On Thursday night, Isaac Heeney’s hopes of beating his one-match suspension for a high fend on St Kilda’s Jimmy Webster were finally ended at the AFL tribunal’s appeals board.
The decision knocked Heeney out of Brownlow Medal contention and also left a significant hole in the Swans’ midfield against a North Melbourne team desperate to cause a shock. Mills now has the opportunity to repay his club’s considerable faith in him as a leader. A Mad Monday wrestling incident gone wrong kept Mills on the sidelines with a shoulder injury, before his comeback was further curtailed with a calf injury.
It wasn’t Mills’ first off-field injury either, in 2018 he broke his foot after tripping in a gutter while throwing an American football. In February, Mills sat beside coach John Longmire as he was announced as the Swans’ sole captain after Dane Rampe and Luke Parker stepped down as co-captains. Mills spoke about the support he had from his coach and his determination to lead the club on and off the field.
“I think I’ve learnt a lot about myself over the period and as a leader as well,” Mills said. “I obviously made a mistake, but I think I’m not going to let it define me, and.