With Opening Round tickets going on sale today, Sydney Swans star Errol Gulden addressed the media, hear what he had to say about the opening round clash with Carlton, Charlie Curnow's pre-season training and Errol's own leadership.

On Charlie Curnow’s training standards: 

“His training standards have been amazing. I think on Wednesday, it's a bit of a lighter day for a few boys, but Monday and Friday, yeah, he's been going pretty hard on the track and he's definitely lifted the training standards already and I've been absolutely blown away with how hard he trains, to be honest, and it's helping lift a few of the other boys around him, you know, Logan and Joel and Doss. So, yeah, the impact he's made in such a short time has been really pleasing.”

On opening the season against Carlton: 

“Once the trade period turned out the way it did, obviously, to play against Will and Ollie first up will be interesting, and any game that you get to play against Carlton at night, you know, a big club, a big night game, and let alone to open the season is one you'll pencil into the diary. So, yeah, looking forward to it in three months. 80 odd days or something, so not that we're counting, but, yeah, it's going to be awesome, and it'll be good to see those boys as well.”

On having a new forward target:

“Yeah, I mean, he's just come in, and he's telling us what he wants, which is, you know, something pretty new, like where he wants the ball to go and how he wants us to play and deliver the ball inside to him. I guess similar to Lance, he's just a massive presence and, obviously, he's a pretty big unit,  so seeing him come out at the square is pretty good.”

On Charlie’s off-field impact:

“Obviously, he's a supreme competitor, but he's in a new environment. He's been great value off the field and, you know, contributing a lot in our meetings. He is obviously a little bit older than the draftees that have just come in and whatnot so he's a lot more sure of himself as a person and, yeah, he's contributing a lot in our meetings and our cultural stuff too and, you know, he spoke about one of the reasons he wanted to come here was because of the Bloods culture and, you know, he's already contributed to that massively.”

On adjusting as a midfielder: 

“Yeah, as I said, it is obviously quite early. It's December. We're doing kind of drills where it's, you know, five on four and stuff so it would be no doubt different once the real stuff rolls around and there's a bit more intensity and whatnot but it definitely helps having him come to us and give us a clearer picture of what he wants and it's up to us now to get the ball down to him (Charlie Curnow).”

On Simon Goodwin: 

“Oh, Goody's been amazing. I've had some really, really great discussions with him, and he's come in, and he just wants to help us get better as a team and help a lot of us boys improve. Yeah, I had a coffee with him last week, which was really pleasing just to kind of pick his brain and learn from him. Obviously, the coaching side of things, he's won a premiership as a player as well, I think, five-time All-Australian and won two premierships for Adelaide so he's got a wealth of knowledge and it's just amazing to have him around.”

On personal goals for 2026:

“Yeah, to not miss half the season would be really nice. But yeah, just get back to consistency and playing my role for the team. I just want to work on being the best teammate I can be and helping steer the boys around. I think it's an area I can improve on is using the way I see the game to help my teammates and, at times, letting other boys shine and have their moment. That's something I really want to work on and just play my role for the team wherever that be, on the field or whatever time of the game it is. I just want to be a good teammate and play my role and get back to being consistent.”

On leadership aspirations: 

“Yeah, definitely. It's something I'm working on consciously. I look up to Millsley, I look up to Ramps, and boys like this around the club. They're great examples for me of what I want to strive to be like when I'm a little bit older. It's a challenging thing being a leader. It's extremely hard, and you've got to always be setting the right example and know the right time to say the right things. It's something I'm definitely working on, and I've got a lot of scope to improve.”

On injury recovery and improvement:

“Ankle's feeling good.  It's feeling really good. I obviously had a bit of a longer break than we would have liked, not playing finals. Yeah, it's healed pretty well. So back to pretty much full fitness now, which is good.No, I think it was a disappointing year for the club as a whole not to be playing finals and I think that's the ultimate drive for me as a player, I want to be playing in finals and be part of a successful team. So I don't know about making up for lost time.  I learnt a lot from this season, well, the last season, and there's definitely some things I've tinkered with and changed around in the way I prepare and how I look after my body. But ultimately, I just want to be here for the team and as a team we want to be playing in finals and so that's what's driving us this year.”

On Callum Mills’ leadership despite injury: 

“No, he's been great. The thing about Millsy I admire so much is you wouldn't be able to tell whether he's just done a hammy or whether he's on top of the world. He's got such a level head and as I said, he's one of the most amazing leaders you could ever think of. He's been amazing and the input he has in meetings and just around the club with standards, he drives those standards better than anyone else and yeah, it's a little setback but no doubt he'll attack it as he does and he'll come back out there and make us a better team.”

On Charlie mentoring young forwards:

“I'd say it's a mixture of both but obviously the way they best train as well, that just lifts the level around them and he goes out there and he doesn't leave anything on the track and the way he attacks the conditioning blocks for a big man and his aerobic running is insane but then when they're doing one-on-ones and forward craft, kind of sitting back and watching the intent in which he does that, it certainly lifts the boys around. Much the same as it does when Isaac's in training with the mids and his body work and craft, it makes us other boys switch on and want to be like him.”

On off-season travel:

“Yeah, I had a really good time off. I went over to Europe for a bit and watched Liverpool play two games and saw two wins, so pretty lucky this year considering the run they've been on. But yeah, I went over and watched a lot of football around Europe and then went to South America with my girlfriend, which was lovely too, and I was over there at the same time as Will and Ollie, so I spent some time over there with them, which was a bit different. We didn't get to any football over there unfortunately, but yeah, super trip. But I guess one thing I've realised is how much I love being here, and I was certainly happy when pre-season rolled around again to get stuck into all the work and just being back with the boys here. It's an amazing place to come in every day.”

On giving and receiving feedback as a leader: 

“I think you've definitely got to tailor it to each person, but also, each situation is very different. I'm not going to, if we're out there in the middle of the field and it's a prelim final and something needs to get done, I'm not going to go and wrap my arms around someone, and you need to hit them between the eyes. But equally, if we're in a meeting and it's a one-on-one thing, you can probably tailor it to be a little bit more personalised. It's something we're doing a lot of work on, I think as a group and giving feedback, but also the way we receive it and take it on board is also a huge part of it too. It's a two-way street. It's something that's ever-evolving, and I'm certainly not perfect in that aspect. I want to try and become a lot better in that regard too. It's something we're definitely working on as a team and it's a really important part of high-performance environments is being able to take feedback on board and give it, whether it be positive or negative.”