Sydney Swans forward Joel Amartey is expected to leave the club and join Carlton on a lucrative deal.
In the aftermath of the Swans’ preliminary final loss to Fremantle on Friday night, 7NEWS sports reporter Xander McGuire said there is a “good chance Amartey has played his last game for Sydney”.
The former Sandringham Dragons product has a big offer on the table from Carlton and his position in the pecking order at Sydney may have changed sine he’s been injured.
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Amartey last played in June, Round 16, where he suffered a partial Achilles tear.
He had been keeping fellow tall Hayden McLean out of the line-up with Sydney reluctant to play their four forwards in Charlie Curnow, Logan McDonald, McLean and Amartey.
Despite being on the bench pre-game and remaining around the group, his absence has opened opportunities for the other forwards to shine.
McGuire said if the contracts were equal, Amartey would love to stay at Sydney. He loves his teammates and enjoys living in the Harbour City.
However, Carlton’s deal is described as “much more lucrative” and potentially too good to refuse.
It is thought the Blues have a five-year deal on the table worth about $1 million a season. Sydney also have an offer on the table but cannot match the Carlton money.
“He likes living up here (in Sydney). He was a Sandy Dragons product when he came through the draft. But it’s a much more lucrative deal that’s on the table from Carlton. And I think there’s a really good chance, although that’s not to say he’s made up his mind, that he will go to the Blues,” McGuire said.
While Amartey, 27, has been on the sidelines, McDonald, 24, has started to emerge.
McDonald had an excellent finals series and finished the year with 51 goals.
“It’s tough when you’ve been a pivotal part of a forward line, a pivotal part of a club. And through injury you miss, and opportunity presents,” star Channel 7 commentator Dale Thomas said.
“And we’ve seen in his absence that McDonald is more than serviceable and capable. He was the best forward tonight. McLean’s doing a pretty good job up there. And Charlie’s Charlie.”
Matthew Richardson said: “You get one crack at this. You have a short career, and if you get an offer that is too good to refuse, then that’s just the nature of the beast, the way that footy is now.”
While Amartey hasn’t made a final decision, McGuire said a move to Carlton is looking increasingly likely as a career at the Blues appears “more enticing” than when the offer first arrived at the start of the year.
Amartey’s best season was in 2024 when he played 25 games and kicked 43 goals.
He has, however, had history of soft-tissue injuries and managed just eight games in 2025 and played just 15 this year for a 28-goal return.
His best outing in a game came in 2024 when he booted nine goals against Adelaide.
In other news, Chad Warner has reportedly told Sydney he wants to stay at the club and not seek a move back home to Western Australia.
Warner is one of the “Pullman five” who was banned for the final game of the season and the finals series.
Warner, an All-Australian midfielder, signed a two-year contract extension with Sydney in April, 2025.
The deal, at an estimated $1.4 million a year, takes him into the restricted free agency window. Warner turned 25 in May this year.
Warner, Isaac Heeney, Riley Bice, James Jordon and Nick Blakey have all been stood down by the Swans for failing to meet club standards.
The club suspensions are separate to an ongoing police investigation into sexual assault allegations made by women at the Pullman Hotel.
No charges have been laid and 7NEWS.com.au is not suggesting any wrongdoing.
Blakey is considered the most likely to leave the Swans and is reportedly unhappy with how he’s been treated by the club.
