Sydney Swans coach John Longmire said his side would need to be at their best to overcome an in-form Essendon side at the SCG this Saturday evening.

Following what was arguably the Swans’ best all-round performance for the year against Collingwood last Friday night, Longmire said his team could not afford anything less than a four-quarter performance against the Bombers.

“We’re focusing purely on Essendon and what they can bring to the table this week and they are playing some of the most exciting brand of footy going around the competition,” Longmire said.

“I think in patches this year we’ve been playing some pretty good footy, but we hadn’t quite put together a four-quarter performance like we did on the weekend.

“We were really pleased with the effort we produced on the weekend, but I was at the MCG on Saturday night and the Bombers were probably as pleased with their performance as they’ve been all year as well.

“This week it’s two teams that have come off a couple of good wins and we go head-to-head at the SCG.”

Not only are the Bombers currently one of the competition’s in-form sides, they also boast the services of 2012 Brownlow medallist, Jobe Watson.

Following Watson’s 28-possession and three-goal performance against Richmond last weekend, Longmire said it was critical to limit the influence of the Essendon captain at the SCG.

“His form last year to win the Brownlow was pretty good you have to assume,” he said.

“This year, if possible, he’s probably gone to another level.

“His performance on Saturday night was extraordinary. He played midfield, he played forward and really he had an impact on the game and his leadership skills are incredible.

“He’s a really strong leader, he’s a strong player and he’s one of the better players, if not the best player, going around at the moment.”

The coach admitted that the Swans’ match committee had not yet decided who would get the job on the star midfielder this weekend, adding that Watson’s versatility made him one of the most difficult match-ups in the competition.

“It just depends on where he plays on the ground and you’ve got to have some flexibility to that,” Longmire said.

“When he goes to the goal square it’s very difficult to have a midfielder on him, just because he could probably make a career and a living out of being a full forward.

“You’ve got to be mindful of that, but at the same time you’ve got to get the same match up on him in the midfield.

“Those discussions are happening at the moment and we don’t have an absolute solution just yet but hopefully that happens over the next 24 hours.”

With Swans forward Sam Reid out this week with injury, Longmire said that Tommy Walsh and Jesse White were likely front runners as his replacement, while defender Rhyce Shaw could also be up for selection following almost two months on the sidelines with an abdominal injury.

“Shawy is a chance this week and hopefully if he is able to train today and Thursday that will give him a chance for selection,” he said.

“Whether that’s seniors or reserves we’re yet to make that decision and we’ll probably make that decision based upon seeing how he trains.”

Longmire added that young midfielder Tom Mitchell was also a step closer to making his senior debut following another stellar performance for the Swans reserves.

“He’s played seven weeks now and he’s doing a lot right and that’s the challenge now for the match committee, I guess, that he’s doing a lot right, he’s getting a lot of the footy and he’s been tackling really well and doing the things we want him to do,” Longmire said.

“That’s our next challenge, I guess, to sit down at the match committee table and see how far away he is because he’s doing a lot right.”