Sydney Swans defence coach Tadhg Kennelly has praised the “shining” season of young star Callum Mills.

“His form wasn’t great at the start of the season, but he fought through it and came out shining,” Kennelly told SwansTV.

“After Round 7 or Round 8, his year was not dissimilar to Jake Lloyd’s; his level was that high.

“He played on some of the best forwards in the country and was really our main lockdown small defender for a lot of the year. But he even played on big forwards like Harry Himmelberg as a fullback when Dane Rampe was out.

“He defended desperately and had a really strong year. I think he learned a lot from the year and it’s quite exciting to think what we could see from Millsy next year.”

Mills finished fifth in the Bob Skilton Medal voting behind Dane Rampe, George Hewett, Luke Parker and Tom Papley.

The 22-year-old topped the Swans in average marks per match (6.2) and disposed at an excellent efficiency of 80.2 per cent per game.

A switch to the midfield didn’t eventuate in 2019 despite the fact Mills had trained with the on-ball department for much of the pre-season.

Coach John Longmire said during the pre-season that the QBE Sydney Swans Academy product’s success as a defender made it difficult to move him.

As Mills lifts his eyes to the 2020 pre-season, he says the team will have one goal on its mind: laying the foundation for a return to finals footy.

“It was obviously pretty disappointing not playing finals this year. Everyone wants to play finals,” Mills told SwansTV.

“I think we learned a lot this year – myself personally and as a group – about what it takes to play finals. Hopefully we can have a good pre-season and get back there." 

Sydney hadn’t missed finals since 2009, meaning Mills had featured in September every year since being drafted to the Swans ahead of season 2016.