‘Clumsy, dumb’: Skipper’s act is latest proof of ‘poor’ Swans discipline amid nosedive

Former Demons captain Garry Lyon and respected commentator Gerard Whateley have shone a light on Sydney’s “poor” discipline in recent weeks following the Swans’ 53-point loss to Melbourne on Sunday.

The Demons recorded 67 more disposals than the Swans at the MCG, 20 more inside-50s, 59 more uncontested possessions, 27 more contested possessions and nine more marks inside 50 in a holistic belting.

And in the loss, Sydney captain Callum Mills earned himself a one-match ban for rough conduct against Demons forward Charlie Spargo, joining suspended teammates Joel Amartey, Justin McInerney and Lewis Melican on the sidelines.

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The Swans’ nosedive from a grand final appearance last year continued in Round 11, with their seventh loss from 11 games consigning them to 13th spot on the ladder as Dean Cox navigates a tough debut season as head coach.

“The conversation, now, is will Dean Cox be able to have the impact on this side that the Sydney Swans want? Tough question,” began Lyon on Fox Footy’s AFL 360 on Monday night.

“It hasn’t been asked up until today, but it has to be now, because this is a side who are paddling … this (was) a really bad loss.

“A week after Joel Amartey comes back into the side, (he) gets suspended in the dying seconds, and then Justin McInerney does it.

“So, you throw all that in the melting pot. That’s enough for Dean Cox to (handle); that’s his week right there, trying to sort his way through that.”

Lyon pointed to the multiple Sydney stars missing from its current side, exposing a lack of depth.

“Their five superstars have a massive say and impact on what they do, and the bottom line is that (Errol) Gulden and (Tom) Papley haven’t been there. That’s 40 per cent of your big guns, and that’s exposed a tail. It’s exposed a pretty big tail I reckon,” Lyon said.

“And who know what the impact of that loss has had, but they aren’t anywhere near where they were.”

Whateley added to Lyon’s initial point about poor discipline that had led to suspension in multiple instances.

“Their effort is conditional, which isn’t something you wouldn’t say about many Swans teams, and Dean Cox all (but) said yesterday that they threw the towel in,” he began.

“Their discipline is poor, as your point around Amartey — long absence, come back, needlessly suspended. McInerney needlessly suspended, (and) Callum Mills has been missing forever; needlessly suspended.

“So, this goes to the overall scenario of where they are, and they don’t have the depth — maybe not many teams do — to cover the list of absentees.

“But it’s the self-inflicted ones that hurt you in a moment like this.”

Lyon said the fact that Mills would have been privy to his coaches’ reaction to the Amartey and McInerney suspensions made the circumstances of his own ban worse.

“(Mills) is the captain … and he sat in the coaches’ box last week and watched the Amartey brain fade in the last minute, and the McInerney (incident), and would have heard everything that was said — coaches’ boxes don’t spare anyone, Gerard, let me tell you,” Lyon said.

“So, he would’ve been acutely aware, and then he comes out and does that? It’s clumsy … it’s almost as dumb as Amartey — and that’s the captain of your footy club.

“So, I’m sorry, there’ll be no sympathy for Callum Mills tonight, as a leader of a club who are in a hole, and who the coach needs desperately to be out there doing everything right — not adding to the problems that he already had coming into the weekend. That was poor.”

Unless Sydney appeals at the AFL Tribunal, Mills will miss his side’s Round 12 clash with Adelaide.

McInerney and Melican — who was dealt a three-match suspension for a strike on GWS’ Toby Bedford — are eligible for return in Round 12, while Amartey will sit until Round 15.