Bradshaw, who this week will resume a full training program after undergoing surgery in February to remove floating cartilage in his knee, “looked sharp” during an intense one-on-one training session late last week.
“He’s been running for quite a few weeks and his fitness levels are very high, but he hasn’t done a lot of ball-work,” Blakey said. “On Friday he had a one-on-one session with Lewis Johnston, so we did 20 minutes of ball-work with him under fairly intense sort of pressure and he came through very well.
Bradshaw will rejoin the main training group this week, alongside fellow forwards Adam Goodes and Jesse White.
“He did a lot of work with Adam Goodes and Jesse White before he went in for the surgery, but he’s very eager to get back into the group setting and really feel part of a team again, so hopefully he’ll tick that off this week and be able to run out with them in round one.”
The rivalry between the two teams has grown markedly in the last 12 months, with the Swans’ past two meetings with the Saints decided by just one point. However, Blakey says the coaching staff aren’t paying too much attention to the hype.
“We’re not particularly looking at the NAB Cup (St Kilda defeated the Swans 79-78 in round two of the NAB Cup this year) game as an indication of how this weekend might go. They fielded a strong side and we had a strong side; we tried a few different things and I’m sure the Saints tried a few different things as well. But we know what sort of year they had last year, they’re a terrific side and we’ve had some good contests with them over the last few times we’ve played them and they’ve beaten us, so we’ve got our work ahead of us.”
Instead, Blakey is looking forward to seeing how the 2009 recruits will continue to gel throughout the season, as up to nine new players appear in what many are calling the ‘new-look Swans’ side.
“We’ve got two solid training sessions to come but really there’s some real excitement about the place with some new faces in the side, probably Shane Mumford and Mark Seaby will play, and Josh Kennedy, Ben McGlynn - all of those guys that we’ve recruited over the summer,” he said.
“We’re very much a different side to the side that ran out in round 18 and lost by a point against St Kilda, there could be up to nine different faces in the side since that last meeting, so it’s an exciting time for the boys.”
The Sydney Swans clash with St Kilda this Saturday night under lights at ANZ Stadium. Our last two contests with the Saints have been decided by only one point, so this game is guaranteed to be a thriller! Grab your tickets now at www.ticketek.com.au
