The Sydney Swans are preparing for a fiery clash with the GWS Giants in Round 8.
Ahead of Sydney Derby XXVII senior coach John Longmire answered questions from the media and discussed the upcoming opponent, Luke Parker and Dane Rampe's imminent return, and Isaac Heeney's role in the team.
On the GWS Giants
“I’ve been focussed on Toby Green, Stephen Coniglio and Sam Taylor coming back into the team. That's where my energy have been directed because this is a team that last week defeated last year's grand finalists by nine goals and had those three guys out…
"They're playing super footy, we were able to play them out here in a practice game early in the season, but they're a great team at the moment. They've got some young players that have come in and done a great job. I've been looking at that and trying to move our magnets around as well.”
On this week’s Sydney Derby
“To be able to play in what we expect to be a sell-out crowd - or hope to be a sell-out crowd - is a great thing for both clubs and a great thing for the code in NSW.
"We obviously know the Giants well and they know us well… Because you play each other a fair bit. We're lucky to have the club up here in the Sydney market to be able to play during pre-seasons. Our VFL teams play each other a lot which is terrific."
On Luke Parker and Dane Rampe returning from injury
“We’ve got Parker and Rampe and we’ll see how training goes this week. We've got a couple of blokes that we need to get through the week as far as how they pulled up. We've got a six-day break obviously so hopefully those guys pull up okay and are feeling good this week.
“I think that Parks has pulled up okay [from VFL]. They'll have another session today, but the important one will be on Thursday. We'll sit down Thursday after training and pick the team hoping that those two are available.”
On Luke Parker
“He's a quality player. We've just got to make sure we've set him up for the season. It's about this week - we want to win this week. But it's about the season and we know he can play. The good thing is he's been able to keep running. He had a bit of time off when he had the operation, but the good thing is he's been able to keep running.
“He plays a combative style. That's the only way he knows about it. We'll look at the weather this week and see how he feels and have a chat to him later in the week.”
On Isaac Heeney
“I think the real challenge in playing AFL footy is if you're playing at a high level every week, that's a real challenge. I said after the game that we've been highlighting how much of a team role he's been playing behind closed doors.
“He's worked great to help other players look better. He's worked great to be a good teammate. Clearly he's playing well but he's doing it on the back of a foundation of really looking after his team and doing some team orientated acts every week. That's why we're so respectful of what he's doing.
"It's not going to get any easier. If you look at [the Giants] midfield this week, they're in red hot form. Their midfield is as good as any going around… It's going to be a real challenge to win that midfield battle for both teams this week.”
On the season so far
“I don't really sit there and assess too much as far as the first block. I look at what happened last week and some things that we did well. We did a few things well, but we've still got some areas to improve. My focus this week is on the Giants. We usually don't get to that stage until the halfway point of the year.
On Braeden Campbell
“I'd like to be able to play him at senior level. He was a little bit quiet for a couple of weeks, but we know he can be a really flexible player. He's able to go a couple of different roles, which is what we love about him. That's part of the discussions we'll have this week as well. We'd like to get him some more game time.”
The Sydney Derby XXVII is the first of three blockbuster home games at the SCG. Make the most of it with a three-game membership in the Red Zone for not only great footy views, but the great Merivale dining options too.
