The Sydney Swans have been backed by an AFL legend to win the premiership this season, and one of their most exciting up-and-coming players perfectly highlights the playing style that has propelled them into flag contention.
It's been a well-documented 'rebuilding phase' for the Sydney AFL club in recent years, as a handful of stalwarts hung up the boots and the next generation of young Bloods got up to speed with top-level footy.
After a fourth-last finish in 2019 and third-last finish last season, things are finally start to click again for the 2016 AFL grand finalists, as they sit sixth on the table, poised to play finals for the first time since 2018.
And it's a rookie Swan, Eastern Suburbs local and draft pick no.32 Errol Gulden, that has personified the thrilling rise out of the ashes for Sydney.
"Errol is an absolute excitement machine," Swans teammate and fellow rising star Will Hayward exclusively told Wide World of Sports of Gulden.
"We saw it even before we drafted him. He did a few training sessions with us and we were counting down the days we could get him on the list.
"What he has been able to provide it really comes as no surprise. He's a composed, skillful player, and ultra competitive.
"He's only played a handful of games but you can tell he's a bloke you can really look forward to playing with every week."
At just 18 years of age, Gulden has averaged an incredible 15.2 disposals, 10.4 kicks and nearly five marks a game, scoring eight goals in just 10 games in his first year in the AFL. The medium forward is yet another tantilising product of the Swans Academy, and Hayward said there's more just like him coming through the ranks.
"Absolutely [haven't seen the full potential of the talent the Academy can produce]. We've got some absolutely top-shelf players from the Academy like Isaac Heeney, Callum Mills, Errol… so what the Academy does for young footballers in Sydney is really good," Hayward, who hails from Adelaide, said.
"Hopefully there's a few more gems in there that we can add to our list."
Gulden's electric style of play fits exactly to the gameplan that coach John Longmire has been trying to execute with his mix of experience and youth in the side, and it's one of the hallmarks of why the Swans have been predicted to have a deep run in the finals this year.
Hayward too is among the young guns of Swans at just 22 himself and still in the infancy of his AFL career after being picked 21st overall by the Swans in the 2016 draft.
Of the 46 players in the Swans squad this season, 20 players are 22 or under.
"If they can get hot at the right time, I absolutely think they've got enough within their own system to win the premiership," former AFL star Nick Riewoldt told Fox Sports this week.
"They play a style under John Longmire that if they can get hot… we've seen it so many times before, we saw with Richmond in '17, the Bulldogs in '16.
"There comes becomes a tipping point. I think what we've seen them do against some of the really quality opposition – when they beat Richmond it was a demolition, they've done it to West Coast – they've put in some really, really good performances.
"I think it's a style that will stand up (in finals)."
Hayward said the difference this year compared to last was their pre-season and recruiting – such as drafting Gulden – which has helped them find form again.
Their blistering start winning the first four games of 2021 was a warning sign of what was to come. Since then there's been some up and down performances, but it seems the Swans have found a sweet spot at the pointy end of the season.
"We changed a fair bit around the club after last year," Hayward said from the Swans' current base in Melbourne as Sydney battle a recent outbreak of COVID-19.
"We've got some new coaches and good new, young players in. We really honed in on our game plan in pre-season and worked really hard on doing the basics well.
"We implemented them beautifully in the first four rounds and when we haven't played as good as we'd like, we slipped on that a little bit."
The Swans have also found a balance in how they utilise their more experienced players, such as Lance 'Buddy' Franklin, who leads a lethal attack in the forward 50 along with Gulden, Hayward, Tom Papley, and Isaac Heeney.
"We don't want to put all the weight on his shoulders, but he's an absolute superstar and the best player of the modern era," Hayward said of Franklin.
"He's obviously very important to us. He plays with a big presence and takes the best defender and sometimes two every week. When he's buzzing around we're very grateful but in saying that we have other avenues and we try not to put all our eggs in one basket.
"If he's having a quiet day, I've got no doubt we've got other players that can step up."
Hayward said while winning the flag is obviously the end goal, they were not getting ahead of themselves despite the hype.
"We take things week by week and at the moment all our focus is on the Bulldogs," he said.
"There's a lot of water that needs to go under the bridge before we turn our focus to anything like [winning a Premiership].
"Last week we had a nice win over West Coast so hopefully we'll be able to ride that form wave into this week against the top-of-the-table Bulldogs, which will be a big challenge for us but one we're not shying away from.
"I started in the reserves this year and worked my way back into the team playing that half forward role. I just want to keep playing consistent footy and hold my spot because it's an exciting team to be a part of.
"To win a Premiership in such a crazy season, your team and whole squad needs to be resilient and mentally tough. The teams that embrace it are going to have more success so it's the attitude you have with it."
Will Hayward spoke to Wide World of Sports on behalf of the Swans' and Volkswagen's Footy Assist initiative which is giving clubs across Australia the chance to win a share of $50,000 in grants
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