Callum Mills
Mills playing for Sydney in June 2017
Personal information
Full name Callum Mills
Date of birth (1997-04-02) 2 April 1997
Place of birth Sydney, New South Wales
Original team(s) Mosman Swans / North Shore (Sydney AFL)/Sydney Swans Academy
Draft No. 3, 2015 national draft
Debut Round 1, 2016, Sydney vs. Collingwood, at SCG
Height 187 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight 87 kg (192 lb)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current club Sydney
Number 14
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2016– Sydney 154 (26)
Representative team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
2020 All Stars 1 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of the 2023 season.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Callum Mills (born 2 April 1997) is a professional Australian rules footballer and co-captain of the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). He won the 2016 NAB AFL Rising Star Award for his outstanding breakout season.

Early life

Mills was born in Sydney and grew up on the Northern Beaches. His grandfather, Ray Mills, played Australian rules football for the Perth Football Club and represented Western Australia through the 1960s.[1] Callum was an avid Sydney Swans supporter as a child and idolised Swans' forward Tony Lockett.[2] He began playing Australian rules football at the age of four through the Auskick junior program, but gave the game away at seven years of age to play rugby union with his school friends.[3] He played representative junior rugby with Warringah Rugby Club's underage representative team which won three consecutive state championships (2008-2010) alongside Brad Parker and Simon Kennewell.[4][5]

In 2010, aged 13, Mills was approached by then-Sydney Swans chairman Andrew Pridham to fill in for the Mosman Swans junior Australian rules football team. He impressed enough to be placed in the Sydney Swans talent academy later that year and gave up rugby union. Mills later revealed the Swans' academy was the major influence in his decision to play Australian rules football instead of rugby union when he was a teenager.[6] He won the under 16's best and fairest at fourteen years of age for the Mosman Swans and he was ultimately named club champion in 2012. In 2014–15, he was cleared to play in the TAC Cup competition as a member of the NSW/ACT Rams and during this period he also played four games for North Shore in the premier division of the Sydney AFL competition.

AFL career

Mills was selected by the Sydney Swans with their first selection and third overall in the 2015 national draft. He was initially bid on by Melbourne, however Sydney matched the bid under the new live bidding rules implemented in the 2015 draft.[7] He was given the number 14 guernsey, made famous by three-time Brownlow Medallist and Australian football hall of famer, Bob Skilton and former club captain and Brownlow medallist, Paul Kelly.[8] He made his debut in the eighty point win against Collingwood, recording 18 disposals in round one, 2016.[9] After the 38-point win against Geelong, he was the round 16 nomination for the Rising Star where he recorded 23 disposals, six marks, and four rebound-50s.[10] He was ultimately the winner of the Rising Star, receiving the Ron Evans Medal with 49 votes out of a possible 50.[11] He became the third Sydney Swan to win the award.

Following a promising debut season, Mills re-signed with the Swans on a five-year contract that will see him remain at the club until the end of 2023.[12]

At the start of 2022 he was named one of the Swans co-captains.

In 2022 Mills signed a contract extension with the Swans to keep him at the club until the end of 2029.[13]

Statistics

Updated to the end of the 2022 season.[14]

Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2016Sydney14 2213231177408105500.00.110.58.018.54.82.30
2017Sydney14 2412267148415121590.00.111.36.117.25.02.50
2018Sydney14 9011017217344230.00.111.28.019.24.92.63
2019Sydney14 2210231174405136580.00.010.57.918.46.22.60
2020[lower-alpha 1]Sydney14 150116416427177490.00.110.97.118.15.13.32
2021Sydney14 1861256239495107950.30.114.213.327.55.95.318
2022Sydney14 251033602506101651580.40.114.410.024.46.66.321
Career 13519111610116727777554920.10.111.98.620.65.63.644

Notes

  1. ↑ The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Honours and achievements

Team

Individual

References

  1. ↑ Twomey, Callum (7 July 2015). "Code-swapper might be 2015 draft-topper". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  2. ↑ Sygall, David (14 November 2015). "Sydney Swans set on securing prodigious talent Callum Mills at AFL draft". The Age. fairfax Media. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  3. ↑ "Welcome Callum Mills". sydneyswans.com.au. Bigpond. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  4. ↑ [Mills destined for leading role] By Sydney Swans Media 4 February 2022
  5. ↑ Sydney Swans star Callum Mills was a great junior rugby talent by Neil Cordy for the Daily Telegraph 9 September 2016
  6. ↑ Cordy, Neil (7 May 2016). "Sydney Swans academy kept Callum Mills in the code". The Daily Telegraph. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  7. ↑ Whiting, Michael (24 November 2015). "Callum Mills makes history as draft bidding system makes its debut". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  8. ↑ Cordy, Neil (3 December 2015). "Callum Mills says it's a 'massive honour' to wear the No.14 jumper made famous by Paul Kelly and Bob Skilton". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  9. ↑ Cordy, Neil (23 March 2016). "Sydney Swans' teen Callum Mills was destined for AFL debut after request to be called Tony Lockett". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  10. ↑ Landsberger, Sam (11 July 2016). "Callum Mills finally earns his Rising Star nomination after impressive Round 16 performance". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  11. ↑ Lane, Samantha (6 September 2016). "Callum Mills wins 2016 AFL Rising Star award". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  12. ↑ Cordy, Neil. "Callum Mills signs five-year contract extension". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  13. ↑ Black, Sarah. "Done deal: Swans co-captain inks monster deal". AFL. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  14. ↑ "Callum Mills Stats". AFL Tables. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
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