‘Next man up’: Why Papley is confident Swans can overcome Mills absence to reach grand final

Tom Papley was part of a Swans side that beat Brisbane in week one of the AFL finals without five key players, and insists they can overcome the added absence of injured captain Callum Mills to repeat that feat at the SCG on Friday night.

With a spot in the grand final on the line against Fremantle, Papley and the Swans are ready for whatever the Dockers throw at them after their stunning 53-point win over the Lions 10 days ago gave them the belief that anything is possible.

While Dane Rampe was on Monday named as stand-in captain, it’s still uncertain who will replace Mills in the back line.

While he acknowledged Mills’ crucial role both as a player and leader, Papley said the team had been forced to adopt a “next man up” mentality after the suspension of five players last month for breaching the club’s behavioural standards. Being backed into a corner, Papley said, had prepared them to deal with the worst.

“Like we fielded five others on the weekend, it’s next man up,” Papley said of Mills’ absence. “Would love for him to be out there, but it’s a squad mentality, and someone’s got to step up and fill his role.”

That mentality was key to the Swans’ victory in the qualifying final despite losing Mills in the first quarter. Papley, who contributed five goals and is no stranger to preliminary finals, is confident his team can go all the way.

“It’s obviously very different with everything that’s gone on, but just the way we played on the weekend and the way we’ve trained is to elite standard,” he said. “I think it’s a full squad mentality and full team – 23 of us – that’s what we needed on Saturday, and we’re going to need that again.”

“I’m confident [that] if we play like we did on the weekend, we could beat anyone.”

Rather than be weighed down by the loss of yet another body, Papley said the replacements had been key to the team’s success since events at the Pullman Hotel threatened to torpedo their season. One example is 21-year-old Tom Hanily, who was singled out at a team meeting last week.

“He ran 50 metres to give someone a high five,” Papley said. “They’re the little things that we love. He’s only played 10 games and for him to do that, and reward other players, it was just fantastic to see.”

After the emotion of such an enormous win, Papley said the team had been glad of the week off. He spent the day after the Brisbane match with his family at a Father’s Day lunch, then attended a barbecue at the house of teammate Tom McCartin on Friday to watch the semi-final that would determine the Swans’ next opponent. Sunday afternoon was spent at Henson Park, watching the Swans’ AFLW team beat derby rivals GWS.

“It was obviously a very, very big win and a lot of emotion and stuff after the game, and it was nice to know we had a week off, and you could sort of sit in that for a couple of days,” Papley said.

Papley said that, since the Brisbane win, he had been approached by numerous Swans supporters keen to voice their support.

“I live in Bondi, so here and there, there’s people coming up saying, ‘Well done on the weekend’. I had coffee on Monday morning and got a few ‘well dones’. Especially their support over the last three weeks has been really important,” he said.

“It’s just like a 19th man,” he said. “It doesn’t go unnoticed what they do for us.”

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