There’s a wave of calmness that has descended the Swans HQ ahead of the side’s seventh Grand Final in 20 years.
The building almost feels quiet, something much different from a weekly press conference where players are often eager to talk business and prepare for an outing to keep them on top of the AFL ladder.
But in between the flashing cameras, demanding questions about whether the Swans can win their first Grand Final in 12 years or fans lining up outside to catch a glimpse of their favourite players, the men are composed.
Errol Gulden, Chad Warner, Isaac Heeney, Nick Blakey and Tom Papley nestled into the back of their chairs, looking like they’d just returned from a long walk down Bondi Beach.
But on Saturday afternoon, after Katy Perry roars her presence across the MCG, the Brownlow’s have wrapped, and after a week’s worth of parading and celebrating the AFL’s most successful season finishes, relaxation will turn into fury.
For the five players, they’ve experienced preliminary final tribulation before, and it was cheer, cheer for the Red and White once again when they powered past Port Adelaide 95-59 on Friday night.
But, they’re also used to Grand Final heartbreak, with an 81-point loss to the Cats two years ago and a 22-point downing in 2016 to the Western Bulldogs lingering in the back of their minds.
Papley is one of those players who experienced the heartbreak of two grand finals.
Longmire threw me in the back to teach me a lesson, which was the value of defence.
But after enduring a season where he slotted goal after goal, found pockets of spaces to explode or weaved and winded his way around tall defenders, the small forward said that he didn’t think he would even receive an opportunity to play for the Swans.
When the 28-year-old entered Swans HQ eight years ago, Papley secured pipes, drained toilet water and connected gas.
He was intimidated by Luke Parker and Jarryd McVeigh; now he’s one of them, a senior leader of the side.
“If the Swans didn’t pick me up, I would probably still be plumbing,” he said.
“I might have played in the VFL, but I might not have. I didn’t really think I was good enough.
“I would wake up at about 5 o’clock in Bunyip. My mate would pick me up. We would finish at four, and then it would take about two hours to get home.
“It’s a pinch-yourself moment when you get drafted, but once you get settled in the team, you want to win a Premiership, and I’ve played two grand finals but haven’t got that job done.”
Alongside Papley, Sydney Swans star-boy Heeney has also felt the elation of making two grand finals, but for him, 2024 may be his best season yet.
With standout performances against the Giants in round one of the finals and throughout the season, Heeney has been compared to Superman, but for him, he sees himself as a boy from Newcastle.
He took the heartbreak of those two grand finals as opportunities to refocus his energy and not get caught up in the week of the AFL Grand Final.
“I’m not letting it take control and losing too much energy because of the whole significance of this week,” he said.
“This can be pretty consuming and self-indulgent.
“[The key is to] make sure you got that balance and escape it.”
Isaac Heeney in full flight. Picture: courtesy the Sydney Swans.
Although Heeney is staying level-headed before this Brisbane clash, for Nick Blakey, he’s thinking about a journey that started with him running around on the opposite 50 to where he is now.
Two-time premiership winner John Blakey and Nick’s coach, John Longmire, were best friends before Nick was born.
Longmire had watched Nick boot goal after goal and run around in his signature lizard style as a junior footballer.
Blakey thought he could become a Buddy Franklin or Matthew Lloyd until the man he’d known his entire life, made him a defender.
“Longmire threw me in the back to teach me a lesson, which was the value of defence,” he said.
“I didn’t really value defence as a kid… all I wanted to do was run around and kick goals.
“My dad was a defender, but now I’m one, and I wouldn’t see myself anywhere else.
“To play in a Grand Final and to have a chance at winning one with him as a premiership coach will be something that I’ll hold on to for the rest of my life.”
Errol Gulden, someone who has borne the brunt of attention this season, coming from the Swans academy and becoming one of the breakout stars of the competition, added that without Longmire, the Bloods wouldn’t be about to board a flight down south.
“The way that football’s played now, compared to 2012 when we won the Grand Final, is very different,” he said.
“Longmire’s ability to stay ahead of the game and get the right emotional reaction out of players makes him a good coach.
“He’s got a different theme for each game; whether it’s a quote from another sports coach or something completely random, he relates that to our game plan.”
They’re really going to come and try and rip our heads off.
However, although Gulden’s coach has helped him navigate the rampaging atmospheres of grounds across Australia, it has also been his love for the Liverpool Football Club that has helped him the most.
“I love Alexander Arnold, and you know the amount of scrutiny and pressure he’s under week in and week out. I think he does an amazing job,” he said.
“I’m a massive fan of the football club, so I can have a lot of sympathy and respect for our fans and what it means to them.”
As for Warner, he’s been buzzing around the midfield this season, finding forwards from picture-perfect kicks and opening defences up through handballs and creative plays.
However, his focus, similar to Heeney’s, was a lot more on Saturday afternoon’s clash, where this time, instead of playing in front of his family, his younger brother Corey Warner will play alongside him.
“Brisbane has a lot of experience in big games too, and they’re going to be so hungry and will come out like firing, just like Geelong did a couple of years ago,” he said.
“They’re really going to come and try and rip our heads off.
“[Having a brother play alongside you] is something not many people get to experience, so I’m very grateful.”
The Swans will take on the Brisbane Lions at the MCG at 2:30pm on Saturday, where one team will bask in Premiership glory, and the other will suffer their second Grand Final loss in three years.
Main image of Tom Papley courtesy Wikimedia.
