Sydney superstar Errol Gulden left shattered after suffering a shoulder injury in win over Brisbane

Sydney superstar Errol Gulden left shattered after suffering a shoulder injury in win over Brisbane

Sydney have made it two from two to start to the season, but will be sweating on injuries to superstars Errol Gulden and Isaac Heeney.

The Swans kicked the first seven goals of the match and were never really troubled in the comfortable 44-point victory.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Gulden leaves the field after McCarthy tackle

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But the win was soured by a double late blow to Gulden and Heeney.

Gulden was crunched in a tackle from Lincoln McCarthy and hit the turf hard, immediately wincing in pain.

He was able to walk from the field, but went down to the rooms for further assessment.

It wasn’t clear what the injury was, but he later returned to the bench with a tracksuit on and his arm in a sling. The club then confirmed it was a shoulder injury.

The gun midfielder looked shattered at the potential of another long-term injury.

Gulden missed the first half of last season after suffering an ankle injury during a practice match. He returned to play 10 games with the Swans winning seven of them.

He looked set for a big year in 2026 after a faultless pre-season and a brilliant performance in the Opening Round win over Carlton.

“It will be what it will be, unfortunately. Hopefully it’s quick, but if it’s longer than normal then so be it,” coach Dean Cox said after the match.

“We’ve got to make sure we do everything to get him right as quickly as we can.”

Heeney also finished the game on the bench after appearing to tweak a hamstring.

The club said it was a just “tight” and he was taken off as precaution, but he will undergo scans in the coming days.

“It was something that we don’t want to risk at all,” Cox added.

Aside from the two injuries, it was a brilliant performance from the Swans as they cruised to the 42-point win.

The victory was achieved despite superstar forward Charlie Curnow failing to kick a goal.

Instead, it was Joel Amartey, who bagged five goals, while Logan McDonald bobbed up with two.

Brisbane, without the suspended Harris Andrews, Zac Bailey and Darcy Gardiner and the injured Hugh McCluggage, dropped to 0-2 in their season start.

The Lions trailed by 34 and 48 at the first two breaks and didn’t kick successive goals until the third quarter, which they won by seven points.

They got within 29 in the final quarter, before successive goals to Justin McInerney and Brodie Grundy and Amartey blew the margin back to 47.

Star recruit Charlie Curnow was well contained by Richard Lester, kicking 0.2, but Sydney had plenty of other weapons.

Amartey kicked and marked with authority and Isaac Heeney and Logan McDonald each booted two goals.

Tom McCartin racked up a career-high 27 possessions for Sydney.

Brisbane won 22 more clearances but lacked the polish going forward.

The Swans early pressure paid dividends as they kicked four of their first five goals from turnovers and piled on the first 31 points of the game.

Nick Blakey goaled from 50 inside the first minute and Sydney added further majors from Malcolm Rosas and Heeney before Brisbane recorded a single disposal inside their forward 50.

Brisbane’s first goal came after the quarter-time siren, when an accurate Charlie Cameron set shot cut the deficit to 34 points.

Brisbane were more competitive and effective in quelling the Swans’ threat In the second quarter but had no more joy offensively, again kicking just 1.3.

Sydney’s haul of 3.5 gave them a 48-point buffer at halftime, even though the Lions were ahead in clearances and contested possessions.

Dayne Zorko tallied a match-high 30 touches for Brisbane and Lachie Neale 28 and Cameron and Bruce Reville both kicked two goals.

– With AAP

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