Sydney Swans coach John Longmire admits there’s some improvement needed before his best 23 take the field in round one of the 2022 season against the Giants.

The Swans fell to their cross-town rivals by 31 points in front of more than 7000 fans at Albury’s Lavington Sports Ground.

“We still have a bit to work on, we need to make sure we take a few learnings into our game against North next week, before we go the Giants again in round one,” said Longmire.

“GWS played to the conditions a little better, both against the wind and with the wind. I thought the second half we were able to get some turn overs but we probably didn’t kick accurately enough when we had the opportunity to score.”

AFL 2022 Practice Match - Sydney v GWS

AFL 2022 Practice Match - Sydney v GWS
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Paddy McCartin enjoyed a strong performance in defence as the 25-year-old looks to revive his senior career following an injury-plagued few years, while recruit Peter Ladhams looked impressive up front kicking two majors.

“(Paddy) McCartin has fit in really well over the pre-season. He was able to take some set intercept marks and now it’s just a matter of him getting some flying hours in that role," said Longmire. 

"We know that with defenders the more they are able to play the better they’ll get and we’re hopeful he can continue his improvement.

"There’s still some area’s that he’ll be working on but he’s able to read the ball in flight and get his hand on it which is a positive.”

“Ladhams had a couple of shots at goal in the second half. We’ll have to go back and have a look at how he went in the first half, how his ruck work was and things like that, but we needed that target up in the front to be able to get on the scoreboard.” he added

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Ladhams impresses in first Swans hit-out

Hear from Peter Ladhams after he kicked two goals in his Swans debut against GWS in Albury.

The Swans escaped without any major injuries, with Tom Papley the only real concern after departing in the first ‘quarter’ with a hamstring concern.

“It was bad enough for him to pull up and not return to play, but we don’t know at this stage. We’ll have to wait and see,” said Longmire.

The Swans take on North Melbourne in an official pre-season fixture as part of the AAMI Community Series at GIANTS Stadium at Homebush on Sunday March 6.