'The scalps are massive': Why unheralded Swan deserves more love

Sam Wicks has shut down some of the best small forwards in the league this season

Sam Wicks during the round 16 match between Sydney and Western Bulldogs at Sydney Cricket Ground on June 27, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

YOU WIN some, you lose some, and Sydney coach Dean Cox's call to move Sam Wicks into defence has been a big win, according to AFL.com.au reporter Josh Gabelich.

While Cox copped some heat earlier in the season for his failed experiment of key defender Tom McCartin as a forward, Gabelich says he should be lauded for his potentially career-reviving move for Wicks.

After 66 games over five seasons as a high-pressure forward, Wicks has reinvented himself in 2025 as a small lockdown defender, playing every game in the Swans' backline.

Since keeping Hawthorn dynamo Nick Watson goalless in Opening Round, Wicks has quietly been quelling many of the League's best small forwards.

Gamebreakers Shai Bolton, Jack Higgins, Darcy Jones and Isaac Kako are among those who have been held goalless under Wicks' watch.

Gabelich told AFL.com.au's The Round Ahead that he doesn't believe Wicks is "getting the love he deserves".

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"This is a guy that was used by John Longmire as a pressure forward across his first five seasons in the comp, and he was on the fringe of selection for a long time," Gabelich said

"But Dean Cox has used him as a lockdown defender this year, and look at the jobs he has done, the scalps are massive.

"Put a line through Bobby Hill (three goals), that wasn't a great day for him, but every other match-up he has won and some of those players have been some of the best small forwards this year.

"Look at Paul Curtis, Jack Higgins, Seth Campbell has been a revelation this year, Nick Watson, we know the player he's going to be, and Shai Bolton - look at those roles.

"(Against Hawthorn) is where it started, he got the job on Nick Watson in round zero and it really did set the tone.

"Dean Cox has worn a lot of criticism for moving Tom McCartin in the first half of the year, but this has been the role change that has been one of the most effective in the competition."

Sam Wicks' major match-ups Match Opponent Minutes Disposals Conceded Goals Conceded R0 v Hawthorn Nick Watson 90 4 0 R2 v Fremantle Shai Bolton 46 6 0 R5 v Collingwood Bobby Hill 71 10 3 R8 v GWS Giants Darcy Jones 51 1 0 R9 v Essendon Isaac Kako 75 3 1 R10 v Carlton Jesse Motlop 81 4 0 R13 v Richmond Seth Campbell 43 2 0 R15 v Port Adelaide Willie Rioli 46 4 1 R16 v Western Bulldogs Rhylee West 54 6 1 R18 v St. Kilda Jack Higgins 78 5 0 R19 v North Melbourne Paul Curtis 65 5 0 R20 v GWS Giants Darcy Jones 96 12 0 R21 v Essendon Isaac Kako 65 3 0

Wicks' 2024 season was marred by injury, a four-week suspension, and an internal issue that saw him omitted early in the season, and he watched from the sidelines as the Swans surged into the Grand Final.

But Wicks, who earned a three-year contract extension in May, has gone from being on the brink of selection to one of the Swans' most critical cogs and those in the know believe that recognition is coming.

"Every year there is a player that just shocks you when you look at best and fairest results and I think Sam Wicks will be that player this year," Gabelich said.

"I do think from speaking to people in and around Sydney that he might be one that finishes on the (best and fairest) podium this year."

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