circati is set to get a lift after the bye, with Errol Gulden expected back from a shoulder reconstruction. Sydney has five mainstays nearing returns, and that matters now because the ladder position and the schedule are tightening at the same time.
Gulden after round two
Gulden has not played since round two in mid-March, and Dean Cox said the midfielder will, at this stage, look to play post-bye which is really good. Sydney’s coach gave the clearest sign yet that the club is moving toward more choice, not less, in the weeks ahead.
That return would add a player who has been absent since the shoulder reconstruction, while Sydney sits second on the ladder and trails Fremantle on percentage. The 14.9 to 13.12 away win over Port Adelaide on Saturday night kept the Swans in that position while the injury picture began to tilt the other way.
McCartin and the next wave
Tom McCartin is also set to return from concussion, and Cox said he is progressing really well. In the same group, Tom Papley and Dane Rampe are on the verge of comebacks from calf injuries, while Braeden Campbell is closing in after shin stress fractures.
“Tommy McCartin is progressing really well, so they're probably a couple, and then we'll work our way through Rampe and Papley and Braeden Campbell in the weeks to come after that.” That sequence gives Sydney a clearer order of operations after the bye, with the selection squeeze likely to grow before it eases.
Port Adelaide and the bye
Sydney’s immediate calendar now runs through next weekend’s bye, then into a stretch where the club can start adding names back rather than patching around them. The useful part for Cox is not just that five players are nearing availability; it is that the list covers multiple lines and gives Sydney more flexibility on how it balances form against fitness.
“Errol will, at this stage, look to play post-bye which is really good.” If that timeline holds, Gulden becomes the first major return in a broader wave that could reshape Sydney’s rotation just as the contest for top spots tightens.
