“I don’t think he can play forward anymore”: Bartel calls for positional switch for Swans veteran
Jimmy Bartel has given his take on Sydney’s season, suggesting the time has come to throw a key forward down back.
The Swans defied expectations in 2021 to surge up the ladder, recording 15 wins to finish just percentage outside of the top four.
It was off the back of a wave of youth, with Errol Gulden, Braeden Campbell and Chad Warner – among others – showcasing enormous potential.
Callum Mills and the now-departed Jordan Dawson also took the next step to become genuine A-grade players, with the Swans looking every chance of contending in 2022.
Bartel saw another reason for Sydney’s impressive season, dubbing Tom Hickey as a crucial cog in the team.
“He’s probably the recruit of the year,” Bartel said on Sportsday.
“He’s super consistent, his contested work, his ruck work and he’s resilient.
“When the game got tough, I think a lot of us didn’t see that in Tom Hickey, when the game was in the balance he was one of the ones who lifted and rose to the occasion.
“He played 21 games for the year and averaged 17 disposals, which is high for a ruckman … kicked ten goals, (averaged) ten contested possessions and five clearances a game.”
On the flip side, veteran Swan Sam Reid once again struggled with his body in 2021 to play just 10 matches.
It follows an inconsistent trend, the forward playing ten games in 2020 and polar opposites with one and 22 games in 2018 and 2019 respectively.
He averaged less than a goal a game this year and just 11 disposals, and Bartel believes it’s about time the 29-year-old moves back to rejuvenate his career.
“It’s an interesting time for him … I think they need to re-tool him as the full-back,” Bartel said.
“You’ve got Tom McCartin down there, he can take the other big forward, he can be an intercept player.
“If McCartin gets his hands tied with a forward who’s getting off the chain, at least then Reid can be the next one to step in and be the interceptor.
“You always need two options to intercept the footy because if you get really good at it with one then the opposition puts time into them, or they might have to go play on someone.
“I don’t think he can play forward anymore.
“You took Logan McDonald as a very high draft pick, Buddy (Franklin) is back, then you’ve got a resting ruckman maybe if they play (Peter) Ladhams and Hickey together and (Callum) Sinclair is still on the list.”
While the signs were positive for the Swans in the immediate aftermath of the season, the departures of Dawson and George Hewett in the AFL Trade Period brought the club back down a peg.
All things considered, while Bartel acknowledged the club is on an upward trend, the 37-year-old believes the loss of the two stars will be too much to overcome to progress much next year.
“I don’t think so (that Sydney will make the top four),” Bartel said.
“I think they had a fantastic year, and they played really well and we saw some emerging young talent.
“If it was just Dawson or just Hewett (who left), yeah you could cover that.
“But I think the collective of those two take away from your best 22 and your mix.
“If you put them together, I think it’s probably one or two (wins that will cost them).
“But that’s not to say the likes of Gulden or Campbell or Warner (can’t lift the team next year).
“I have incredible faith in the Swans development.
“They train them up the right way, they teach them to defend first, they play team football and they build their game out from that.”
Sydney has picks 16, 31, 39, 70 and 88 in this month’s National Draft.