Callum Mills call divides AFL world as Joel Selwood questions Swans over grand final decision

Geelong champion Joel Selwood has questioned whether the Swans could have at least waited another day to make the final call on captain Callum Mills. On Wednesday, Mills was ruled out of this weekend's AFL grand final, so the Sydney side can ramp up their preparation without the distraction of a key player racing the clock to be fit.

The 27-year-old leader was delivered the heart-wrenching news despite getting through Wednesday's full training session without a problem. Ultimately Swans coach John Longmire opted not to risk him in Saturday's decider against Brisbane - which comes just 18 days after he suffered a hamstring strain. Dane Rampe is poised to step up as skipper, with defender Robbie Fox likely to hold his spot in Mills's absence.

Wednesday's closed main training session was D-day for Mills, who was challenged with a full session and put himself in contention after successfully navigating the session without fail. Mills fronted the media after training and insisted he had trained at "100 per cent" but the club still opted to rule him out.

"Sydney Swans captain Callum Mills will not play in Saturday's AFL grand final," the club said in a statement. "Mills trained this morning and after taking everything into consideration a joint decision was made by the club's medical staff and the coaches to rule him out."

But Selwood says while he understood why the Swans wanted Mills' situation to not be a distraction in the lead-up to the big dance, he feels it was a call that at least could have waited another day to see how he pulled up from the hard session. "The player probably would have had a little bit of a say (in whether or not he played) being the captain in this instance," Selwood said on 'Talking Footy' on Channel 7 on Wednesday night.

"(But) I just thought maybe the decision could have been held over a bit longer to see how he pulled up from the session and then into the weekend. But maybe they just wanted to let the playing group know... He'll hold himself in great character... But he'd love to be out there and they'd love to have him out there."

The decision to rule Mills out has divided Swans fans. Many supporters are of the belief that it was the right call to make given the fact he would be lacking match sharpness. But others noted the skipper's leadership qualities are irreplaceable.

Swans take lessons from 2022 Sam Reid mistake

The call to not rush Mills back into the side for the grand final is a stark contrast to 2022 when Sam Reid's bid to play off an adductor injury was a talking point in the lead-up to the decider. The severely hindered big ultimately struggled in the grand final and had to be substituted soon after halftime in Sydney's embarrassing loss to Geelong.

Addressing the Mills situation earlier on Wednesday, Longmire said Mills had trained at "110 per cent" but added he had not decided whether to recall the skipper. But a couple of hours later, Mills was ruled out, with the Swans erring on the side of caution.

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Longmire knows better than anyone how risking an injured player can badly backfire. He admitted it was a costly mistake to pick Reid for the 2022 decider and has seemingly learnt from his mistake by making the tough call on the Sydney skipper for the 2024 grand final.

The decision means Mills is the first captain to miss out on a grand final since GWS co-captain Callan Ward in 2019. Mills has played just seven games in what has been an injury-marred campaign.

with AAP