'Disastrous': Swans rocked by Errol Gulden blow amid fresh pre-season carnage
Sydney Swans superstar Errol Gulden could become the latest player ruled out for the start of the AFL season after a brutal incident in Friday night's pre-season game against the Gold Coast Suns. Gulden was sent to hospital for scans on his ankle after hurting it during a tackle that saw it twisted back awkwardly in the early exchanges against the Suns.
It was thought at the time that the dual All-Australian had suffered a syndesmosis injury that could potentially rule him out for several weeks. The Swans will now nervously await the results of the scan and hope the injury is not too serious but Gulden's availability for next Friday night's Opening Round match against Hawthorn at the SCG is in serious doubt.
On a night of carnage for both sides, Gold Coast players Mac Andrew (sternum), Charlie Ballard (ankle), David Swallow (knee) and Lachie Weller (hamstring) were also taken out of the game that Sydney won 12.12 (84) to 8.15 (63). Suns star Andrew did not even make it through two minutes of action after being forced from the field in the wake of a nasty collision with Sydney's Taylor Adams in the first marking contest of the match.
Friday night's carnage came hot on the heels of other concerning injuries for Port Adelaide superstar Zak Butters and Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli, who are both set to be sidelined for around six weeks. Port Adelaide confirmed Butters would be sidelined after knee surgery, while Bontempelli's injury was worse than first thought after it was revealed he'd suffered a 'complex' calf complaint.
The Swans will be keeping their fingers crossed for Gulden ahead of their season-opener at home to the Hawks on Friday night, but Swans assistant coach Mark McVeigh admitted the incident 'didn't look good' after it was described as 'disastrous' for Sydney on Fox Footy's coverage. "Obviously when a player comes off like that, your concerns are heightened," McVeigh said. "It didn't look good, but we have to wait on the scan results."
Errol Gulden has been helped off the ground after this incident.#AFLSunsSwans pic.twitter.com/2T9n9h6spe
— AFL (@AFL) February 28, 2025
The spate of injuries across many of the AFL clubs in pre-season has sparked concerns around whether the schedule has contributed to more injuries than usual. Suns coach Damien Hardwick said the structure of pre-season games needs to be looked at after his side were left decimated ahead of their own Opening Round showdown against Essendon next Saturday.
Mac Andrew came from the ground following this contest.#AFLSunsSwans pic.twitter.com/RDcZ4ZoIwE
— AFL (@AFL) February 28, 2025
"We're not quite sure how many bullets we've dodged," Hardwick told Fox Footy after the game. "It was a bit of a night of carnage, unfortunately, for us - it's hard to sit there and take a little bit out of the game when you're trying to put pieces of the puzzle together. A tough night."
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The Suns coach also pointed out that the Friday night game on the Gold Coast meant Sydney would not be able to fly back home after the game - which is far from ideal with their season kicking off in less than a week. "We have to get a a bit better and it's hard, because round zero comes in and then some sides have two weeks off," the Suns coach said.
"We need to put our heads together and figure out what we can do, and get a little bit tighter. Sydney can't get home tonight and they play next Friday, they're stuck here. We just have to get this scheduling better. They have one job, the AFL, let's get it sorted out." Despite the setback for Gulden, Sydney's assistant coach McVeigh said they were fairly happy with the final pre-season hit-out before the 2025 campaign gets underway.
The Swans are set to welcome back stars Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner and Dane Rampe for next week's opener after fielding an undermanned side on Friday night. Tom McCartin booted four goals in one major highlight, with the Swans assistant revealing he could go back to his usiual role as a key defender if that's what the team needs. "That might swap week-to-week, we don't know," McVeigh said. "I don't think we're entirely settled on where he'll play."
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