BRAEDEN BOOST FOR THE SWANS
SYDNEY has locked in a major piece of its future, with impressive first-year Swan Braeden Campbell adding three more seasons to his draft contract.
The extension means Campbell, who was the second of four Sydney Rising Star nominees this year, will remain at the club until at least the end of 2025.
The Swans also confirmed new one-year deals for Colin O’Riordan and Callum Sinclair, while a multi-year contract for Sam Wicks is imminent.
Their attention now shifts to Isaac Heeney, Ollie Florent, Justin McInerney, Logan McDonald and Campbell’s fellow Academy product Errol Gulden, who are all off contract next year.
Deals for important quartet Lance Franklin, Dane Rampe, Jake Lloyd and Josh Kennedy will also expire at the end of the 2022 season.
Sydney already extended Joel Amartey (2023), Nick Blakey (2024), Tom McCartin (2023), Luke Parker (2025), James Rowbottom (2024), Dylan Stephens (2023) and Chad Warner (2023) this year.
Campbell, 19, was the fifth pick in last year’s draft after Hawthorn unsuccessfully bid for him.
He played eight games in his debut season but promises to be a bigger part of the Swans’ plans next year, especially with Jordan Dawson (Adelaide) and George Hewett (Carlton) set to leave.
Campbell overcame a tibial stress reaction in his right leg to appear in the final two matches of the home and away season.
“My first year has definitely been a highlight of my life so far,” he said. “The first half of the season we were in Sydney and I was just trying to be a sponge with all the older players and absorb as much as I could; just to improve myself as a player.”