John Longmire has answered questions from the media ahead of a Round 19 clash at Optus Stadium in Perth. The Sydney Swans will face Fremantle in their second match-up this season.
On the decision to challenge Dane Rampe suspension
“In this particular context the Bulldogs player was leading the ball, he was pointing at the ball, a left footer was coming out to kick it to him and Dane was doing what he needs to do which is getting in a position to try and get up the ground and spoil. There was a last-minute change of direction, and unfortunately accidents happen in football. It’s unfortunate incident that happen, but these things do happen in the game and you have to look at it closely in the context of the decision that was being made. These things in a 360 degree sport will happen at times.
We understand where the game is going with all of this, and we certainly supportive of that. It’s very hard to legislate against everything, and when you look at this in its entirety in its context of what was actually happening with the player who was leading the ball, and Dane who was trying to do the right thing and get into a position to spoil and a last minute change of direction, it’s just one of those things that can happen and unfortunately these things can happen in the game. The most important thing is that the player is okay.”
On Chad Warner's availability
"He did some training today, and the plan is to train him again on Wednesday and hopefully be available to play. Hopefully he gets through the second training session this week and he’s ready to go."
On Angus Sheldrick
"Unfortunately Angus Sheldrick hurt himself in the first quarter against the Tigers, and had an operation on his ankle. He’s come out and had a pretty severe ankle injury, syndesmosis type of injury in the first quarter against Richmond, had an operation on Friday, so he’ll be out for a number of weeks unfortunately.
He was coming through as a young midfielder. We were really looking forward to seeing how he developed, he was doing a great job. Not too many players play on with a syndesmosis like he did in that game. He was able to keep going, he was positive in thinking it was going to be okay. Unfortunately when we looked at it later in the week we thought it wasn’t going to heal up naturally."
On Lewis Melican and the Swans defence
"Unfortunately Lewis Melican is going to be out for three to four weeks with a hamstring. He’s had a terrible run with soft tissue injuries, so he’ll miss a bit of footy. He was actually going really well. Aaron (Francis) has obviously played that role, Tommy McCartin is great to have back in the team, and the more football he plays the better he’ll go. Aaron is obviously one that we hope to be able to play and do a role for us down back because when he’s done it for us this year he’s done a pretty good job for us."
On Tom Hickey and Peter Ladhams performance in the VFL
"It was Peter Ladhams' first game back from a significant time out with injury, he was just getting going after his ankle. He’s missed a lot of footy this year, we’ll have to see how he feels and how he pulls up and how he’s able to get through his rehab this week. Tom is obviously another option. Ironically we’ve got a few tall’s available, compared to where we were at the start of the year when we had nobody available. It’s flipped a little bit now and we’ve got some tall’s available with Joel (Amartey), and Lance (Franklin) and obviously Hayden (McLean), Logan and those guys what that looks like in a team balance sense, we will have to make some decisions."
On Lance Franklin's selection for Fremantle
"That’s the plan. Because he played on a Thursday it gives us an extra few days break which is important. If it was a six day break, the situation would probably be a bit different. He trained today and looked pretty well, which is a good sign. If he does what he needs to do on Wednesday and pulls up okay from today’s session, he’ll be in line to play."
On Round 19 v Fremantle
"Going over there is a big challenge. I’m not sure whether Darcy plays, they have two quality ruckmen. It’ll challenge us, and we need to make sure we respond to that. They have some very good players, on their home deck, and they’ll be fighting for everything. It’s a tough game, we look forward to it. We’ve got to keep working on our consistency – it was terrific on the weekend, we were able to come back and get our nose in front when it mattered most and that’s a good sign."
