{"id":435121,"date":"2026-01-24T20:18:49","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T20:18:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/435121\/"},"modified":"2026-01-24T20:18:49","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T20:18:49","slug":"from-nightmare-matchup-to-training-partner-mccartin-relishing-star-recruits-arrival-afl-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/435121\/","title":{"rendered":"From nightmare matchup to training partner: McCartin relishing star recruit’s arrival – AFL News"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n

Sydney key defender Tom McCartin<\/a> is thankful that he doesn’t have to line up against Charlie Curnow<\/a> on weekends, but instead is forced to tussle with the Coleman medallist at training.<\/p>\n

The Swans made a bold play for the former Blue, packaging multiple first-round picks and Will Hayward<\/a> to secure Curnow.<\/p>\n

The trade has immediately put the Swans back into premiership contention, having succumbed to bulk injuries to miss the finals in Dean Cox’s first year in charge.<\/p>\n

McCartin, speaking to\u00a0Zero Hanger, said the club’s newest recruits have already elevated the standards during the pre-season, making it an intriguing 2026 campaign.<\/p>\n

“I think we did pretty well over the trade period,” McCartin said.<\/p>\n

“It was tough to see good mates go in Will (Hayward) and Ollie (Florent), but the club had a crack at finding players we needed.<\/p>\n

“We got pretty lucky getting Charlie, he’s the best forward in the competition in my opinion, and then Malcolm (Rosas) and Jai (Serong), they’ve been really good. They’ve added a lot.<\/p>\n

“Jai has been good down back and good to work alongside him.”<\/p>\n

The Swans’ social media team has revelled in capturing McCartin and Curnow going toe-to-toe in fiery training battles.<\/p>\n

The key forward is rebounding from an injury-interrupted 2025 season that limited him to 18 games and 32 goals in the navy blue, but he is back to full fitness in his new colours.<\/p>\n

And while the sessions have been demanding, McCartin is already reaping the benefits of working alongside his new teammate.<\/p>\n

“I prefer to train on him during the week than play on him on the weekend,” McCartin said of Curnow.<\/p>\n

“He’s always been a really tough opponent when I’ve played against him. There’s been some stuff that the Swans have posted (on social media) of our one-on-ones, and we’ve been going pretty hard.<\/p>\n

“It’s so good for my development, learning off him. I think it probably goes both ways.”<\/p>\n

The addition of Curnow has meant that McCartin can rest assuredly in the defensive 50.<\/p>\n

Cox experimented with the 26-year-old as a key forward due to mass injuries, but quickly returned him to his rightful place behind the ball.<\/p>\n

\"MELBOURNE,MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JUNE 06: Tom McCartin of the Swans trains during a Sydney Swans AFL captain’s run at Melbourne Cricket Ground on June 06, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Morgan Hancock\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

“I’ve settled down back again, but I actually enjoyed playing forward a bit last year,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I just did what the team needed at the time with injuries.”<\/p>\n

Top draftee Harry Kyle<\/a> is emerging as an early-season debut chance after storming into calculations following an impressive summer to date.<\/p>\n

McCartin’s older brother, Charlie, signed with Collingwood VFL “and is loving the Pies”, while former Pick 1 Paddy is living in Sydney.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sydney key defender Tom McCartin is thankful that he doesn’t have to line up against Charlie Curnow on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":435122,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-435121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=435121"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435121\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/435122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=435121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=435121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=435121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}