Sydney defender Joel Hamling has recommitted to the Swans for the 2026 season, turning down interest from the GWS Giants to avoid joining a record-tying fifth AFL club.
His re-signing maintains the Swans' defensive depth, which conceded the seventh fewest marks inside 50 this season.
The 32-year-old played in 14 games for Sydney this season, performing well in their defensive 50. He averaged over five spoils per game and lost just 19.7 per cent of his defensive one-on-one contests - the best rate among the Bloods' listed defenders.
"Joel is a very versatile player who played on some of the league's best forwards last season and did extremely well," Sydney Swans Executive General Manager of AFL Football, Leon Cameron said on Thursday.
"We are excited about him continuing for another year."
Hamling has re-signed with the Sydney Swans for another season after playing 14 games in 2025 🤝
READ MORE: https://t.co/dQgFDV8Ee3 pic.twitter.com/OIFsWvL9MP
— Sydney Swans (@sydneyswans) September 25, 2025
The Giants, who are losing emerging defenders Leek Aleer and Wade Derksen to St Kilda and Melbourne respectively, have been aiming to bolster their defensive line-up to support star talls Sam Taylor, Jack Buckley and Harry Himmelberg for 2026.
GWS are in a prime position to sign Bombers backman Jayden Laverde when the free agency window opens on October 3, but have lost the sweepstakes for another cheap depth piece in Hamling.
