Dane Rampe is brutally unsentimental about reaching another AFL grand final. Three losses on the last day of September will do that.

While the Sydney veteran shared a tear with Callum Mills when his old friend was ruled out of Saturday's game because of injury, otherwise Rampe is coldly practical on what lies ahead when they play Brisbane today at the MCG.

Rampe has played in Sydney's past three losing grand finals — 2014, 2016 and 2022.

Sydney's last premiership was 2012 and Rampe made his AFL debut with the Swans the next season.

Indeed, only three players on Saturday have played in a premiership — Brisbane's Josh Dunkley (Western Bulldogs, 2016), and Sydney's Luke Parker (Swans, 2012) and James Jordon (Melbourne, 2021).

"I've experienced the worst to be honest, so there's a little bit of peace knowing I've experienced that and been able to work through that, and get back here," Rampe said.

"What I've learned over the losses I've had is no one cares about your story, really.

"It would be great for us to get back and win after '22. It would be great for Brisbane to get back and make amends for last year.

"But they don't care about our story and we don't care about theirs. That's the way it is — we have to go out there and make it happen ourselves, that's probably the main thing I've learned."

Mills and injured Brisbane ruckman Oscar McInerney will have permission to sit on their teams' interchange bench for the game.

Rampe will captain the Swans in place of Mills, who was ruled out on Wednesday because of the hamstring injury that kept him out of their preliminary final win over Port Adelaide.

Mills has only played seven games this season because of his off-season shoulder injury, but Rampe and the other Swans leaders have covered for him superbly.

Coach John Longmire said younger players had also assumed more leadership responsibility.

"We have a strong core group of players … Dane, some of the other more experienced players, Lloydy, (Jake Lloyd) those guys, who've been around a bit," Longmire said.

"It's also our younger guys, (who) have played a bit of footy together. So they've taken the responsibility as well, it's not just the more mature, older guys.

"We rely upon our younger group as well, coming through, who are able to lead in their own way. Sometimes that's in a bit of a different way, but we've found that really beneficial this year, that those guys have been able to do what they need to do.

"That impacts the team in a really positive way."

Mills's inability to prove his fitness means Sydney will take an unchanged side into the grand final.

Logan McDonald has a sore ankle, but the Swans are adamant he will play against the Lions.

AAP