Sydney Swans coach John Longmire said the side that recorded a 34-point win over West Coast at Patersons Stadium would be given another opportunity against the Tigers this weekend.
“It was a terrific win and the players (gave) a really even contribution, which you need over there against a really strong West Coast Eagles team,” Longmire told SwansTV.
“We give the same team a chance to come back here and take on the Tigers who are in really good form and have won a lot of games recently, and we play them on our home deck, which we’re really looking forward to.”
The recent performances of the Swans’ younger brigade including Tom Mitchell, Jed Lamb, Brandon Jack and Harry Cunningham had earned them all another opportunity at senior level at the SCG on Sunday.
“The young kids have been fantastic for us this year and hopefully they can keep playing the sort of footy that they’ve been playing,” Longmire said.
“They’ve been coming into the team and not just taking a spot, they’ve been really contributing and we’re really pleased with the way that they’re going.”
Longmire said Cunningham in particular, who took the field as the Swans’ substitute in the final term last Sunday, had demonstrated what he was capable of when given the chance to play seniors.
“Last week we thought that Harry Cunningham - who only played about 20 minutes in the last quarter - he came on and gave us a real lift and really contributed to a couple of goals,” he said.
Following an impressive win over Fremantle at the MCG last weekend, Longmire said Richmond were improving each week and would arrive in Sydney full of confidence.
“The Tigers are a really talented team and they’ve got a number of really talented players right throughout their list,” he said.
“They’ve been able to top up their talent on draft day with talent from other lists, so they’ve really got some depth in their squad.
“They are really strong all over the ground and they are the number one centre clearance team.
“They’ve got some really skilled players and a couple of gun forwards and are a really even team, so we’ve expecting a real challenge from a team who played really well against a high-pressure team in Fremantle last week.
“The Tigers midfield bats very deep and we know that by looking at their talent and they are able to rotate those mids forwards and give them some goal kicking options as well.
“That is a challenge for our group and our group have been pretty solid for most of the year and have had pretty reasonable years as well.”
Sydney Swans v. Richmond
SCG
Sunday, July 28, 2013
4.40pm
B D.Rampe, H.Grundy, N.Smith
HB N.Malceski, T.Richards, A.Everitt
C J.McVeigh, R.O’Keefe, K. Jack
HF C.Bird, J.White, J.Bolton
F L. Parker, K.Tippett, M.Pyke
Foll S.Mumford, J. Kennedy, D.Hannebery
I/C H.Cunningham, B.Jack, J. Lamb, T. Mitchell
Emg S.Biggs, M.Morton, X.Richards
No Changes
