The quintet trained strongly during the club’s final session at the SCG on Thursday morning, and made the side at the expense of Dean Towers, Shane Biggs, Tom Mitchell, Zak Jones and Sam Naismith.
Franklin and Pyke return to the side after missing one match with soreness and illness, respectively, while Kennedy (hamstring) and Bird (knee) return after missing two matches, and McGlynn (calf) three.
Speaking to SwansTV for Centrum Team Selection, coach John Longmire said the five returning players, who have featured in 46 finals games between them, would inject valuable experience into the team for Saturday’s final.
Sydney Swans 2014 Finals Hub
“It’s good to get them back,” Longmire said.
“We were confident during the week, but you’re never 100 per cent sure until you see that last training session, and the good news is that all the players that missed out last week will come back into the team."
With five senior players available for selection for Saturday’s home final, the match committee faced several tough decision following impressive performances from of a number of younger players.
Despite not featuring this Saturday, Longmire said he felt confident knowing he could call on players of the ilk of those omitted if the need arose.
“Those blokes have come in and played quite well for us, and it certainly is good to know that they’re there if needed,” the coach said.
“Certainly a couple of them just missed out, and they’ll be putting pressure on and that’s a good thing and if we need them to come into the team they can certainly come in because they’ve played those type of roles in the last couple of weeks.”
The Swans host an in-form Fremantle outfit in Saturday’s final, with the Dockers coming off a hard-fought victory over Port Adelaide at Patersons Stadium last week.
Longmire described this week’s opposition as a quality team and said he expected the game to be a played at the highest intensity.
Sydney Swans v Fremantle preview
“They are a grand finalist from last year, so they’re a good team, and they put enormous pressure on the ball carrier and they’re strong defensively, but they’re also scoring heavily over the last month,” he said.
“They’ve added that (scoring) dimension to their game as the year has progressed and it’s come on the back of players coming into their team.
“They are a well-balanced team and they play both sides of the ball really well and are obviously a team that we respect enormously.”
Longmire highlighted the return of star midfielder Nat Fyfe and the recent form of ruckman Aaron Sandilands as some of the Dockers’ strengths heading into Saturday’s match.
“If they get their game up and going they are a very good team,” he said.
“Their midfield is as good as any midfield going around, and with Fyfe coming back in, they’ve got some big bodies with Sandilands in the ruck, who gets his hand on the ball an enormous amount of times.
“They get some real momentum out of that part of the ground, so it’s up to our midfield group, and not just one or two, to play really strongly and make sure it’s a real battle in that part of the ground.”
Qualifying Final Match Day Information
With the Swans set to host their first home qualifying final in Sydney for 18 years, Longmire urged all Swans fans to come out to ANZ Stadium and show their support on Saturday afternoon.
“We want to get as many people out to the ground on Saturday,” he said.
“It’s a great thing to be able to host a final, so to be able to do it in front of your home supporters is really important.
“Getting as many people and as much red and white out there as we can is critical, so hopefully there is a big crowd there yelling nice and loudly for the whole game.”
Fremantle have made three changes of their own for Saturday's qualifying final with star on-baller Nat Fyfe, defender Alex Silvagni and ruckman Jon Griffin recalled to the side in place of injured pair Michael Johnson (back), Nick Suban (ankle), and the omitted Hayden Crozier.
The 201-centimeter Griffin will play just his second senior game of the season, while Crozier, Matt De Boer and Alex Pearce have been named as their emergencies.
First Qualifying Final
Sydney Swans v Fremantle
Saturday, September 6
ANZ Stadium
2.45pm AEST
B N.Smith, T.Richards, D.Rampe
HB N.Malceski, H.Grundy, R.Shaw
C D.Hannebery, J.Kennedy, G.Rohan
HF L.Jetta, L.Franklin, J.McVeigh
F A.Goodes, K.Tippett, H.Cunningham
Foll M.Pyke, K.Jack, L.Parker
I/C C.Bird, J.Lloyd, B.McGlynn, S.Reid
Emg J.Laidler, T.Mitchell, D.Towers
In: B.McGlynn, L.Franklin, J.Kennedy, C.Bird, M.Pyke
Out: T.Mitchell, S.Biggs, D.Towers, S.Naismith, Z.Jones
