Speaking to SwansTV for Centrum Team Selection in Perth on Friday afternoon, Swans coach John Longmire said he hoped to see the 22 who made it ten successive wins last weekend improve again against the Eagles on Sunday.
“Everyone got through pretty well after that (GWS) game,” Longmire said.
“We were pretty happy with our performance for the majority of the game, we still think we can improve a bit, but for the majority of the game we were okay.
“We play West Coast this week on their home deck, it’s never an easy task - it’s one of the biggest jobs in footy – so, we’re over here to hopefully have a competitive game.”
While ruckman Tom Derickx flew with the side to his native Western Australia last night, Longmire opted to stick with an unchanged ruck division led by Mike Pyke, with support from Sam Reid and Kurt Tippett, to take it up to West Coast’s star pairing of Nic Naitanui and Dean Cox, as well as Scott Lycett who has been included in the Eagles' final 22.
“It’s a challenge for (Pyke), we don’t deny that,” he said.
“It’s a challenge for him to ruck against two quality ruckman, but we’ve also got Sam Reid and also Kurt Tippett in the team as well to be able to go in the ruck if we need to, so those guys (Reid and Tippett) will, at different times, both spend time on-ball.
“So, between the three of them, we think that they can go into the ruck and give us some time there, but we know it’s certainly a big task; they’re (Naitanui and Cox) two very good players.”
Another player who made the trip across, but didn’t make the final 22, is 18-year-old George Hewett.
Longmire said he has been impressed with the form Hewett has shown in the NEAFL in his first season at the club, and the experience of travelling with the senior team will hold him in good stead as he continues to stake a claim for a senior debut.
“We’re really pleased with how George has gone,” Longmire said.
“He was the youngest kid taken in last year’s Draft and he had an injury-interrupted pre-season, but since he’s been back training and playing, he’s been improving every week.
“We’re happy to get him over here to Perth, and to come with the senior squad and experience what the trip’s about, and it’s been good for him.”
Should the Swans emerge victorious on Sunday, it will be an eigth straight win against the Eagles, including a fifth successive win at Patersons Stadium.
But Longmire said those figures would have no bearing on the result of the contest against a West Coast side who pushed their fourth-placed, cross-town rivals, Fremantle, all the way in last weekend’s Derby.
“I don’t pay much attention to the records previous, whether they’re good or bad,” Longmire said.
“I just make sure that we look after what we can look after.
“We get over here and we train on (West Coast’s) ground and enjoy that fact it’s a big ground, so we need a little bit of time to get used to that, which we’ve been doing for a number of years now, and hopefully get through that training session and be able to come out and perform well (on Sunday).”
West Coast have made two changes ahead of Sunday's clash with forward-ruckman Lycett and running defender Jacob Brennan coming in to the side for tall defender Mitch Brown (ankle/knee) and Jamie Bennell.
Sydney Swans v. West Coast
Patersons Stadium
Sunday, July 6, 2014
1.20pm WST
B N.Smith, T.Richards, D.Rampe
HB J.McVeigh, H.Grundy, J.Laidler
C C. Bird, J.Kennedy, N. Malceski
HF B. McGlynn, S. Reid, L. Jetta
F K. Tippett, L.Franklin, A. Goodes
Foll M.Pyke, L. Parker, K.Jack
I/C H. Cunningham, B. Jack, Z. Jones, J. Lloyd
Emg T. Derickx, G. Hewett, G. Rohan
No change
