Sydney coach John Longmire says the key signing of Will Hayward has boosted a plan hatched during Covid to build the “next generation” of players for the Swans who are now on top of the ladder and premiership favourites.
Hayward, who was highly sought after by several clubs, has inked a five-year deal that will keep him in Sydney until the end of the 2029 season.
The standout signature the Swans are now chasing is that of red-hot midfielder Chad Warner, who has put off early negotiations with his price set to rise after some stunning performances in 2024, including a masterful effort against the Western Bulldogs in round 11.
But with Hayward, 25, among a key group of signings, including Errol Gulden, Ollie Florent, James Rowbottom, Brownlow Medal favourite Isaac Heeney and captain Callum Mills, on long-term deals, Longmire said it was all part of a plan put together when the club wasn’t going as well to assemble the club’s next premiership outfit.
“We’ve had a large group of them that we drafted and have come through together and are playing a lot of football together. We invested heavily in them in the early days,” he said on Tuesday.
“We went through a couple of seasons where we didn’t make the finals and then we went into Covid. During that time, we were trying to build the next generation of players to come through and hopefully be consistent AFL senior players for us and be good, high-quality players.
“We know we’ve still got a lot of work to do, but part of that work is actually re-signing them and getting the group together and pushing forward, and that’s what we hope to do.”
The bulk of Longmire’s best side already has grand final experience under their belt, having lost the 2022 decider to Geelong, whom they will encounter this Sunday in Sydney.
Longmire revealed key back Tom McCartin could be back for that clash having not played since round 9 due to the lingering effects of concussion
“We’d expect Tommy McCartin to come back in the team,” Longmire said.
“He would have probably played if the Bulldogs game was on a weekend rather than a Thursday night. He was a little bit short in his prep for that, but he’s been training the last couple of weeks, so we expect him to come in and be available this week, which is terrific.”