The Sydney Swans are preparing to face Essendon on Saturday night at the SCG.

Senior coach John Longmire appeared in a weekly press conference and answered questions on the upcoming opponent, Brodie Grundy's presence both on and off the field and our ladder position.

On the start to the season

 “Our expectations at the start of the season weren’t so much about the results but about how we wanted to play. That’s what we worked on over the summer months is trying to get our style of footy going, players in different positions and trying different things. For the first couple of weeks, it’s been good. We have some real flexibility in our team, and we’ve been able to run strongly throughout the games. That’s been a positive for the first couple of weeks and something we’re mindful of.”

On a four-quarter effort

“For a couple of games, it was about halfway through the third quarter when we were well up. We just have to stick to our processes then. What we’ve been able to focus on this preseason is no matter what the scoreboard is, we’re able to stick to what we know works and stick at that for longer periods. That’s the real key.”

On out-running Collingwood

 “We’ve made some subtle changes around different things in our lineup and that’s really helped and contributed. Hopefully that continues. We need to make sure we continue run out games and put numbers through our midfield that can allow that.”

On Isaac Heeney

“The plan was to play him a fair bit in the midfield this year and certainly in the first part of the year which is what he’s been doing and doing it really well. He can go to the goal square, take marks and I’ve been on the record saying he’s got a great ability to know where and when to change it up."

On Lance Franklin

 “I have great respect for Lance. I said it after the game that one of his great legacies is that he’s been able to give to this footy club. One being his ability to be a star player for a long time and another that he allowed our younger key forwards to come through. Lance was able to take key defenders from the opposition for so long and allowed Logan and Joel to come and develop physically. That’s really important to know. His legacy at this footy club is far reaching and he’s contributed in a number of different way - not just on the scoreboard.”

On the young forward line

“The natural progression of young key forwards is different than midfielders and you see that across the competition consistently. If you track Logan's progression, it has been about getting bigger and stronger and playing senior football along the way. Our young three key forwards have been good for us. The week before on a slippery night they might have copped a bit of criticism – they were good last week – so you might get a bit up and down. But that’s to be expected. The more footy they play the better they’ll get.”

On Brodie Grundy

“Brodie’s presence around the footy has been really good. To have him come up and give us ground-level presence and aerial presence has been really important for us. It gives our midfielders confidence.

“He’s enjoying his time, and you see that in his footy. The last couple of years have been a challenge for him but he sees a clear role. He’s able to come in and contribute and play really well.”

On Taylor Adams and Luke Parker

 “They’re going ok. Still a couple of weeks away. Taylor is out of the brace and is moving around and Parker has been able to run with the arm injury. Their preparation will ramp up in the next week or so.”

On Essendon

“Essendon have some real depth in their team, and they’ve got young midfielders. Their young midfield group were really good. Goldstein in the ruck was important for them. They’ve got some real threats all over the ground. They have some recruits that they needed over the summer months. They were stoked with their win and rightly so. Hopefully we get a big crowd here, we’re looking forward to it.”

On the ladder

“It’s been a great start for footy in NSW. I think it’s really important for the code up here to have Opening Round. It was a great initiative from the AFL and generates real interest for the game. We want to back that momentum in this state. It’s great for the clubs but it’s also great for the code.”

Watch the Sydney Swans take on Essendon this Saturday night at the SCG. Get the best seats in the house with a membership today.