Player Watch #14 Callum Mills (c)

[Kennedy Parker]

Callum Mills

Callum Mills

14

Callum Mills

Age

29

Ht

188cm

Wt

86kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

18.2

5star

K

10.8

4star

HB

7.4

5star

M

5.3

5star

T

2.6

4star

MG

287.0

4star

D

18.4

4star

K

11.5

4star

HB

6.9

4star

M

5.4

5star

T

3.4

4star

MG

293.4

4star

D

17.0

5star

K

9.4

4star

HB

7.6

5star

M

4.4

4star

T

2.8

5star

MG

284.4

5star

is one of the best young players in the AFL. The QBE Sydney Swans Academy graduate won the 2016 AFL Rising Star award and was selected in the AFL Players’ Association’s 22Under22 team in three of his four eligible years. Mills is a small defender with uncompromising courage who’s also capable of shifting through the midfield. The New South Welshman was elevated to Sydney’s leadership group during the 2018 pre-season at the age of just 21, and he’s now a member of a five-man leadership panel alongside co-captains Josh Kennedy, Luke Parker

26

Luke Parker

Age

33

Ht

183cm

Wt

88kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

24.2

5star

K

12.6

5star

HB

11.6

5star

M

3.8

4star

T

5.6

5star

CL

5.8

5star

D

22.1

5star

K

12.3

5star

HB

9.9

5star

M

3.9

4star

T

5.0

5star

CL

5.5

5star

D

21.2

5star

K

11.4

4star

HB

9.8

5star

M

2.0

3star

T

8.0

5star

CL

5.2

5star

and Dane Rampe

24

Dane Rampe

Age

35

Ht

187cm

Wt

89kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

17.0

4star

K

10.6

4star

HB

6.4

4star

M

4.9

5star

T

2.5

4star

MG

358.8

5star

D

14.1

3star

K

9.0

4star

HB

5.1

3star

M

3.4

3star

T

1.5

2star

MG

284.5

4star

D

10.6

3star

K

7.2

3star

HB

3.4

3star

M

2.4

3star

T

1.4

4star

, as well as Lance Franklin.

Callum Mills

14

Callum Mills

Age

29

Ht

188cm

Wt

86kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

18.2

5star

K

10.8

4star

HB

7.4

5star

M

5.3

5star

T

2.6

4star

MG

287.0

4star

D

18.4

4star

K

11.5

4star

HB

6.9

4star

M

5.4

5star

T

3.4

4star

MG

293.4

4star

D

17.0

5star

K

9.4

4star

HB

7.6

5star

M

4.4

4star

T

2.8

5star

MG

284.4

5star

DOB: 02 April 1997
DEBUT: 2016
DRAFT: #3, 2015 National Draft
RECRUITED FROM: North Shore (NSW)

Callum Mills | AFL

Follow Callum Mills's progress through AFL

www.sydneyswans.com.au

 

[The King!]

2022 and most of 23 Midfield Mills was awesome.
Can we just have one ****en season where he and Heeney are 100% fit and firing in the middle together

 

[wills2g]

2022 and most of 23 Midfield Mills was awesome.
Can we just have one ****en season where he and Heeney are 100% fit and firing in the middle together

Would heeney mills even complement each other

 

[The King!]

Would heeney mills even complement each other

They both seem nice , I am sure they would be quite complimentary to each other.

 

[JackHiscoxWasFast]

2022 and most of 23 Midfield Mills was awesome.
Can we just have one ****en season where he and Heeney are 100% fit and firing in the middle together

Agree with 22. He’ll never recapture that form IMO. Heeney can do anything but we need to preserve him, which means drifting forward.

Why I like the prospect of sheldrick as an inside bull who hopefully can read the taps. When I hear he crashes into players, extracts the ball etc and he’s fast, it can allow Heeney a bit of respite. Mills can only work down back, but only if he proves he can shut down players like Jones.

I like fast tacklers.

 

[Millky95]

Would heeney mills even complement each other

I think so. Mills being a great 2 way mid would allow Rowy/Heeney to be more see-ball-get-ball

 

[Slingshot Footy]

I think Mills already has middle aged man legs. Hamstrings, calf, achilles and now plantar fascitis. Doubt we will ever get a full season from him again.

His whole kinetic chain is stuffed and every new injury seems to be symptomatic of the previous injury's rehabilitation process.

I'm not an expert but I am a patient with similar issues to what Mills has and it is incredibly frustrating to maintain the body in working order and I don't even have to perform the physical tasks that he has to.

I remember reading about a former rugby player, Stephen Hoiles, who had persistent issues like Callum did and it turns out that he had some floating bone fragment in his foot that was causing his whole leg distress. Once it was identified and removed he returned to form after being stuck in the rehab dungeon for years.

Former Wallaby back from the wilderness

Former Wallaby and one-time Brumbies captain Stephen Hoiles is at the Waratahs hoping to revive his rugby career after three years in the wilderness.

www.smh.com.au

You just wonder if Callum's issues are a genetic defect like the Reid brothers had or if there is simply something the doctors and physios are missing that is preventing him from returning to full fitness.

Regardless, it seems that Mills requires meticulous care, rest, and management just to play and it doesn't bode well for his future long-term. I don't think you'll see Callum play two consecutive seasons of elite football again though. A deep campaign puts his body in major distress and he can't sustain the rigors year in and year out.

 

[The King!]

Fortunately we only him signed for 5 more years…

 

[Nuggetz]

Happy if we get elite output for 20 games this season & hopefully finals. I still don't think we need to rush him back but I don't think he's cooked either. Amartey played close to a full season after his injury plagued career. He's a massive unit, would help our midfield big time.

 

[Superstar swan]

Time to at least appoint a co captain.

Unfortunately mills spends more time in the sheds these days

 

[caesar88]

I wish I could look at his latest setback as just an isolated thing, but unfortunately it's hard for the mind not to veer towards thinking this is going to be another one of those years for Mills.

The most concerning part is that he keeps suffering setbacks while he's recovering/doing rehab from injuries.

 

[zyzzbruh]

It's time to move to Half Back permanently. Less load on his legs for longevity, and fulfills a much needed interceptor role whilst still being reliable in the clinches at ground level. Would fulfill both our intercepting and and ground ball issues down back.

 

[Superstar swan]

I think we can rule his midfield days out now. His body won’t be able to hold up long term with that workload, and he’s too valuable to have on the sidelines constantly .

Would like to see him exclusively move to defence where his iq will shine and should be a little less taxing on his body

 

[The King!]

This is frustrating but I don’t think we need to panic and go no midfield etc, like playing back is less gruelling anyway and it’s midfield that has hurt him ? I don’t think so.

Just get the body right and now it’s a longer period has to play twos first IMO no matter what for his own sake.

Re the Captaincy, at the very least , we could announce the leadership group and solidify the Vice Captain, I’d suggest Heeney, Rowbottom , Gulden, move away from Rampe.

No need to panic on that, if Mills gets back and plays 20 games and leads well then it’s all fine.

Frustrating to say the least but we have him signed for half a decade so let’s not panic

 

[Superstar swan]

This is frustrating but I don’t think we need to panic and go no midfield etc, like playing back is less gruelling anyway and it’s midfield that has hurt him ? I don’t think so.

Just get the body right and now it’s a longer period has to play twos first IMO no matter what for his own sake.

Re the Captaincy, at the very least , we could announce the leadership group and solidify the Vice Captain, I’d suggest Heeney, Rowbottom , Gulden, move away from Rampe.

No need to panic on that, if Mills gets back and plays 20 games and leads well then it’s all fine.

Frustrating to say the least but we have him signed for half a decade so let’s not panic

Being signed long term is the precise reason we need to be more cautious moving forward. Playing down back should be less impact and less strenuous

 

[The King!]

Being signed long term is the precise reason we need to be more cautious moving forward. Playing down back should be less impact and less strenuous

Based on what? they still run around and contest for the footy, they still push up the ground. I mean go to a game , 34 players are usually around the ball anyway with a pair standing off

Footy is hard in every spot, him playing half back versus midfield isn’t why he is hurt IMO. Some of his injuries are just stupidity for a start.

 

[Superstar swan]

Based on what? they still run around and contest for the footy, they still push up the ground. I mean go to a game , 34 players are usually around the ball anyway with a pair standing off

Footy is hard in every spot, him playing half back versus midfield isn’t why he is hurt IMO. Some of his injuries are just stupidity for a start.

Based on he won’t be running 15km per game

Based on he won’t be at 50 contests per game

Down back players zone off and he can read the play and get to the contests he can influence.

 

[The King!]

Based on he won’t be running 15km per game

Based on he won’t be at 50 contests per game

Down back players zone off and he can read the play and get to the contests he can influence.

But look at just random samples of our games and his own career , he and other defenders cover 13-15k a game plenty , same as the midfield . They also get to contests around the ground.

I mean by all reports (guess they could be BS) he was training the house down all summer then got hurt, wasn't playing midfield then, wasn't being a midfielder that got him hurt wrestling. He got injured late 2021 v the Suns playing down back.

I just think it's unrelated, he has injury concerns but a midfield v defence role is not why he has them . I don't think you idea changes anything but that just my opinion .

 

[Syd]

Targeting a return after the Round 3 Bye https://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news...nzSxFqXaOM1aahD3jg_aem_iibZAMDt04P9qMv2l483JQ

 

[caesar88]

But look at just random samples of our games and his own career , he and other defenders cover 13-15k a game plenty , same as the midfield . They also get to contests around the ground.

I mean by all reports (guess they could be BS) he was training the house down all summer then got hurt, wasn't playing midfield then, wasn't being a midfielder that got him hurt wrestling. He got injured late 2021 v the Suns playing down back.

I just think it's unrelated, he has injury concerns but a midfield v defence role is not why he has them . I don't think you idea changes anything but that just my opinion .

I feel like the difference between midfield and defence is probably cumulative wear & tear. A midfielder is probably more sore and banged up by the time they hit 30 than a defender or a forward, but I don't think there's any greater risk of actually injuring yourself playing in the midfield vs defence.

Mills hasn't even played two whole seasons in the midfield though, so I don't think his position has anything to do with his injuries. His body just seems cursed.

 

[Jewelsbon]

I think he should play back for the simple reason that we have a plethora of very good mids and a dearth of very good backs.

 

[Superstar swan]

I think he should play back for the simple reason that we have a plethora of very good mids and a dearth of very good backs.

Agree let’s face it. He isn’t as good as heeney , Warner or errol as a mid

 

[DAZZA_75]

Sam Reid has finally handed over the baton to Mills as the player always finding a way to get injured
Have we seen the best of Callum? Only time will tell.

 

[caesar88]

When I think about our midfield since 2021 (so ignoring the rebuilding seasons of 2019 & 2020), whilst it has mostly been underwhelming, there are three periods that stand out to my memory as it being pretty damn good:

1. The first 2-3 weeks of 2021.

2. The last 8-9 weeks of 2022.

3. The first 13-14 weeks of 2024.

Mills had his fingerprints all over the first two, so I think the talk that we're better off with him in defence, or that he's not as good as other mids, is hyperbolic and I dare say the result of some recency bias.

With his injury history now starting to pile up I think it's of course worth considering other ways we can use him. But geez we don't have to rewrite history and dismiss what a player Mills has been for us at times.

 

[Dan87]

Need to do the work and not take out my frustrations on this bloke

 

[RedBloodBlackSwan]

A fit Mills is definitely a top line mid. But he rushes himself back from injury and doesn’t know his limits (his parents talked of him I jurying himself all the time as a kid).

Force him to take the time he needs to get his body right. He needs to train within himself. Take the captaincy off him until he is right, release some of the pressure. He comes back through the reserves, then he plays under his captain when he comes back to seniors. He can be co-captain once he is 110% cemented.