Jack, Buddy passed fit to play against Richmond
Neil Cordy
Daily Telegraph, August 26

KIEREN Jack is back and Lance Franklin has also been given the green light to play in Saturday’s clash with Richmond at the SCG.

But the Swans have lost Callum Mills to a calf injury picked up at training with the young gun replaced by Harry Marsh.

Mills copped a corked calf early in the week and is expected to miss just one week.

“Callum was touch and go as to whether he’d be right to play,” Swans coach John Longmire said.

“He couldn’t train and there was a risk he could re-injure himself if we played him on the weekend. It was too big a risk to take, he’s a very good player for us.”

Pilates, Tippett vital for Naismith
AAP, The Australian, August 26

Pilates and the mentorship of Kurt Tippett have helped Sydney ruckman Sam Naismith achieve a rapid rise this season.

Injury and illness stalled the ruckman’s progress after he joined the Swans via the 2013 rookie draft but the 24-year-old has played the past seven games for the ladder leaders and shapes as a key to their premiership push.

“It’s not great to come in as a new player and have about three years of injuries set you back. That’s pretty frustrating,” Naismith said yesterday.

“But I’ve learned a lot in that time and the big thing that came out of that was resilience and trying to get my body right to withstand AFL footy.

“I’ve done a lot of stuff with the strength and conditioning guys, off-site training with pilates.”

Naismith signed a three-year deal with the Swans last year.

Mills to miss as Swans push for minor premiership
Andrew Wu
SMH, August 26

Sydney will be without young gun Callum Mills this week as they aim to shake their Richmond hoodoo and secure a second minor premiership in three years.

The return of captain Kieren Jack should offset the loss of Mills for the Swans, who will not get many better opportunities to correct a three-game losing streak against the maligned Tigers.

Unlike the corresponding game two years ago, the Tigers are out of the finals race while there is still much on the line for the Swans, who must win to ensure they stay in the top four.

There are not many sides that John Longmire cannot boast a winning record against but the Tigers are one of them.

The Tigers have not had much to cheer about this year but they boast a victory, after the siren no less, over the premiership favourite. In fact, they are up 5-3 since Longmire assumed the reins from Paul Roos in 2011.

Sydney finals derby still on AFL's agenda
Andrew Wu
SMH, August 26

The AFL is working on a model with ANZ Stadium that would see a potential blockbuster Sydney derby final played at the venue while also allowing finals football to return to the SCG for the first time in 11 years.

Under the mooted plan, the Swans and Greater Western Sydney would play at ANZ Stadium with other finals involving the two clubs to be played at their respective homes – the SCG and Spotless Stadium – provided they earn hosting rights.

Should the favourites all win in round 23, the Swans would finish top of the ladder while the Giants would remain in fifth. A derby could occur in the second week if the Swans lost their first final and the Giants win theirs.

Talks are continuing between ANZ Stadium and AFL officials over how the league can secure an early exit from the finals agreement that is due to expire at the end of this season.

Rightful grounds for anger
Richard Hinds
Daily Telegraph, August 26

WE have been promised ANZ Stadium will be transformed into a wonderful, modern rectangular venue that will provide an intimate atmosphere regardless of crowd size.

Time will tell.

But for the AFL, whose investment meant the ground was built on dimensions that contributed to its lack of appeal for smaller drawing games, ANZ Stadium is now a footballing mausoleum.

When the Swans joyously cut their contract with the stadium short at the start of this season the AFL’s rocky relationship with the venue should have come to an end. The stadium operators were happy to wave the game goodbye.

As of Thursday it seemed common sense would prevail and the Swans would get a real home final at the SCG.

But that the Sydney Swans were even faced with the possibility of playing a final at ANZ Stadium, rather than being rewarded for a likely top placed finish with a final at the SCG, is both absurd and unfair.