Callum Mills has dispelled doubts surrounding his fitness to resume his place in defence as part of an unchanged line-up for Saturday’s clash with Gold Coast.
Mills’ selection was under a cloud earlier in the week as the Club looked to closely monitor the extent of 20-year-old’s concussion, suffered in Friday night’s win against Melbourne.
Senior coach John Longmire was confident his talented youngster would receive the green light from the medicos to take on the Suns at the SCG and that came to fruition on Thursday after completing the team’s main training session.
“We were confident for the whole week that he’d be right to play,” Longmire said in Centrum Team Selection.
“Our doctor always has the final say and he was also confident throughout the week.
“But you’re never quite sure until you see how he goes at training.
“He trained really well and pulled up well so he’s fine.”
Mills’ courage, which has been on display throughout his brief but brilliant 37-game career, had no bearing on the decision given how seriously the Club handles concussions.
“He’s courageous but he’s also really smart,” Longmire added.
“He knows it’s a really serious thing, concussion, and to make sure he’s absolutely right.
“I spoke to him afterwards and he said, ‘I can guarantee you, if there was something wrong I’d tell you,’ and I absolutely believe him so he’s right to go.”
It is the second time this season the Sydney Swans have gone in with an unchanged line-up at selection time.
The last time though, in the lead up to the Round 8 clash with North Melbourne, Nic Newman replaced Ollie Florent as a late change.
Longmire was pleased with his side’s performance against the Demons and has rejected the urge to make any changes despite several in-form players pushing their case.
“It’s obviously good to have a reasonably settled team, we were really happy with what they were able to deliver last week,” Longmire said.
“We still want to get better, we know that, (and) our reserves played at really strong level as well, but we’ve decided to go in with an unchanged team.”
Jordan Foote, Jeremy Laidler and Dan Robinson have been named as emergencies.
To view the full squad, click here.
