Add Category
Gun midfielder Chad Warner is feeding off high-profile Sydney teammates as he seeks to maintain focus during the biggest week of his football life.
Warner has shot to super-stardom this season, earning his first All-Australian blazer and playing a key role in the Swans' march to the minor premiership and grand final.
The 23-year-old's career-best campaign has heightened speculation about his playing future, with West Australian clubs increasingly eager to lure the prolific ball-winner back to his home state.
Another influential performance on the grandest stage of all would further intensify the battle for Warner's services, and possibly help drive his annual salary into seven figures.
The spotlight could throw some players off their game but Warner, who has one year left on his contract, has put simply his head down, saying scrutiny comes with the territory as his standing in the game grows.
His attention is better served on the more pressing issue of trying to out-muscle a talent-stacked Brisbane Lions midfield with the premiership on the line at the MCG on Saturday.
"It obviously comes with it but it helps having a lot of boys at this club who have been in the same boat — whether it's this year or previous years — like Isaac Heeney, Errol Gulden and Logan McDonald," Warner said.
"They've all been a part of that as well, so bouncing ideas off them — and I guess just having them to talk about your feelings and their experience as well — has helped a lot."
Like Warner, sought-after key forward McDonald faced the pull of family ties in WA before signing a new four-year deal with the Swans.
But Warner already has a slice of home in Sydney, residing with brother and second-year teammate Corey, who is likely to miss out on grand final selection.
If Chad has his way, talented younger siblings Ashton, 17, and Troy, 15, could also make their way to the Harbour City in future.
"I've been talking to them (Sydney's recruiting team) a little bit about it, so hopefully they can get something done there," Warner said.
"Without having to pump them up too much, I think they are going to be better [players], to be honest, so I'll have to look out for them."
The four brothers grew up honing their skills while playing their own hybrid sport in the family's front yard.
"It'd get pretty nasty at times but that's what it's all about," Warner said.
Loading..."You play football but then you score in the basketball hoop … it's pretty much just tackle-basketball.
"[Our parents] never get involved. They just let you go for it."
Warner has developed into one of Sydney's best contested ball winners over the past three seasons, with an attacking flair averaging 23.6 disposals and 1.4 goals a game this year.
The hard-running midfielder looms as a potential game-breaker in Saturday's season decider.
But he was a touch below his scintillating best in the Swans' most recent meeting with Brisbane, when John Longmire's side lowered their colours in a tense two-point defeat at the Gabba in July.
"Our midfield battle was pretty good that day but they got a couple of goals out of the centre bounce, which we'll need to sort out," Warner said.
"We lost a few players [to injuries] during that game too, which hopefully doesn't happen this week.
"But their midfield and the goals they kicked from, that's going to be something we need to fix up."
Warner was arguably Sydney's best player in the losing 2022 grand final against Geelong, when he tallied 29 disposals, 10 clearances and two goals.
He intends to take a relaxed approach in the build-up to this year's decider in an attempt to produce a similar individual performance — albeit with a much better result for the team.
"The one thing is just your energy and where your energy goes, just so you're not wasting that before the weekend as well," Warner said.
"On the away games, we like to go and sit at the cafe, have a coffee together so that we just chill out a bit.
"Just being around the boys and the other players helps me a lot, helps me calm down a bit."
AAP