Speaking ahead of the Swans’ Tuesday afternoon training session, Longmire said the pair would headline a host of returning Swans, which could also include Nick Malceski, Shane Mumford, Kieren Jack and Craig Bird.
“We should be getting a few more players back this week,” Longmire said.
“Kieren Jack, Adam Goodes and Rhyce Shaw will certainly be playing if they get through this week training-wise, then they will certainly be playing some part of the game, but how much is yet to be determined.
“Nick Malceski and Craig Bird also need to get through the week training-wise, and Jarrad McVeigh and Ryan O’Keefe didn’t play last week, so they’ll come back into the team.”
Longmire said Goodes, who faced a long pre-season in recovery after tearing his posterior cruciate ligament in last year’s Grand Final, has shown positive signs at training and would benefit from game time this weekend.
“(Goodes) has been training really well over the last few weeks and will come in and won’t play the whole game, but he’ll come into the team and certainly will get some quality game time under his belt,” he said.
“We just look at Adam and what is the best preparation for him to get him right for round one - if we think he’s able to play this week, and is able to play a half this week, then it will be of benefit to him.”
The coach also confirmed that ruckman Shane Mumford is in line to make his return at Blacktown this week, following an ankle injury suffered at the team’s Coffs Harbour training camp last month.
“Mummy is a chance for this week. If he’s able to play this week, it would only be a half, it wouldn’t be a whole game,” he said.
“We will make that decision on whether he plays this week probably after he trains today and trains Thursday.
“He’s been running really well for the last week-and-a-half and doing some ball work, so we’ll just see how he goes this week.”
While a number of senior Swans are likely to take the field this weekend, Longmire said defensive duo Nick Smith and Marty Mattner are still at least one week away.
“They are probably the two who are a little bit later on in their preparations,” he said.
“(They) won’t play this week, but are a chance for next week. How much and whereabouts we’re still trying to work through, but we’ll see how they go at training this week and next week.”
Despite being limited by injury over the first two weeks of the NAB Cup, Longmire said the pre-season competition has allowed the team to trial a number of young players.
The coach said he has been impressed with the efforts of a number of up-and-coming Swans, including Dane Rampe, Harry Cunningham and Jake Lloyd.
“We’ve really been limited by injuries with some players coming back into the team and some little niggles we’ve had over the last few weeks,” Longmire said.
“The good thing about the last couple of weeks has been at least we’ve been able to expose some of our younger kids.
“Some of them have done OK, and on the weekend particularly we thought Dane Rampe did OK down back and Harry Cunningham played alright as well and Jake Lloyd kicked a couple of goals.
“We had opportunities to see some kids in the senior company and they did OK for us.”
