THE RISKS associated with Callum Mills' hamstring issue outweighed any temptation to play him in Saturday's Grand Final, Sydney coach John Longmire says.
Despite the captain getting through training this week, Longmire and the club's medical staff ruled Mills out of the game, leaving the 27-year-old tearful and disappointed, and his emotional teammate Dane Rampe "shattered".
Mills missed the Swans' preliminary final win against Port Adelaide after suffering a minor hamstring injury at training in the week following the qualifying final.
He trained on the day of last week's preliminary final and got through the main session this week, but Longmire said the tough decision was made as a group by key officials.
"When we sort of weighed it all up and the risks going into a game like this, it just seemed to outweigh and go against Callum in that moment, even though he trained well," Longmire said at Friday's Grand Final press conference alongside Brisbane coach Chris Fagan and the club captains.
"You sit down as a group with your medical and conditioning staff and you go through everything, and you talk about it and then you've got to deliver the message.
"It's tough, because Callum's a great person and a great leader of our footy club. But he also understands that decisions need to be made and then jobs need to be done after that.
"We had that discussion as a group, made the decision as a group, and then we get on with things."
Asked how Mills had reacted to the decision, Longmire said: "As you'd imagine. I probably don't need to describe it, but he was disappointed. That's what happens sometimes.
"He came down obviously with us yesterday and he's absolutely behind the team ready to go and that's just the sort of person he is, he's a wonderful person."
Mills played in the Swans' losing Grand Finals against Geelong in 2022 and the Western Bulldogs in 2016, with stand-in captain Dane Rampe supporting his teammate after the selection news was delivered this week.
"I'm shattered for a mate, one of my great mates, and a leader of our club," Rampe said.
"We've been through a lot together, but we've had to push that aside. Me and him had a cry after the news on Wednesday afternoon, but as soon as that was done and the way 'Millsy' would want it, it's just moving on and business as usual, and that's what it had to be.
"I've been doing what I can in terms of a leadership sense all year and nothing for me changes. I'll be going out and doing what I need to do."
Rampe will be playing in his fourth Grand Final after losses in 2014, 2016 and 2022, with the defender taking comfort from his ability to continually fight back from the devastation of missed chances.
"I've experienced the worst, let's be honest, and so there's a little bit of peace knowing I've experienced that and been able to work through that and get back," he said.
"What I've learned probably over the couple of losses that I've had is that no one cares about your story really.
"It would be great for us to get back there and win after 2022. 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, and that's the way it is. So we have to go out there and make it happen ourselves and that's probably the main thing I've learned."
