Former Fremantle defender Joel Hamling will make his long-awaited debut for Sydney when they take on Brisbane at the SCG on Saturday.

Hamling, 31, is at his fourth club having started his career at Geelong where he did not play a game in three seasons after being drafted in 2011.

He then moved to the Western Bulldogs where he won a premiership in 2016 among his 23 games in two seasons.

After winning the flag Hamling returned to WA to play for the Dockers, where he suited up 68 times in seven seasons but managed only six appearances in his final four years because of injury and form.

Hamling crossed to Sydney at the end of 2023 as an unrestricted free agent but spent the entire season in the VFL, where he played mainly as a forward despite being known predominantly as a defender.

He would kick 31 goal from 17 games including five against Geelong’s VFL side to put him in the frame for selection last year.

Hamling will now debut alongside mature-age recruit Riley Bice, who was drafted out of Werribee who won the VFL premiership last year.

“It’s really exciting for the footy club to have a mature-aged recruit to come in and play the second game after his first pre-season, it’s a really good effort,” Sydney coach Dean Cox said.

“He’s got some real dash and uses the ball really well so hopefully he can set us up for some attacking moves and also defend really well when he has to.

“And Joel, he’s been at a couple of footy clubs and he’s waited a long time for this opportunity at the Swans.

“The work he put in last year and through the off-season, we know what he can do behind the ball which is really important for us, we know that Brisbane play some talls and some real marking threats ahead of the ball so hopefully he fits in really well.”