Swans Senior Coach Dean Cox addressed the media in his weekly media conference on Thursday. Hear what he had to say on the return of Justin McInerney, Joel Amartey's injury and whether Logan McDonald will feature at AFL level this weekend.
On the mindset of injured players
"The players have been really good, even the ones that are injured, Joel was up and about throughout the opposition meeting this morning and ever since he found out. That makes it a lot easier for the playing group and the dynamic around that, we need to make sure that they're contributing in some way. They get their rehab done, but they can still add their advice or opinions and pass on as much of their knowledge as they possibly can to players who are younger than them or getting an opportunity as well."
On Callum Mills
"Callum will be out here, that's a good thing as well, he's building into a training block now. We know Callum's missed a lot of footy over the past couple of years, he's trained solidly on the weekend, and now he has an opportunity to build into the next week or two."
On Port Adelaide's win over Hawthorn last round
"I think what they've shown over a long period of time, certainly under Ken, is that they play with a lot of emotion. We don't expect anything different, knowing Ken briefly, he can get his players up and about, and the care he has for his players. No, I wasn't really surprised, they played some phenomenal football, we've got to be ready for that."
On whether Logan McDonald plays this weekend
"That's something we've got to look at again through the main session and then have a really good discussion. We're still three days out from a game, we'll look through everything. One thing I've said is I want to make sure that the players, when they come back in, can perform at our level. Logan's done a solid training block, we'll get all that data in front of us and we'll make a decision from that in the next couple of days."
On Hayden McLean
"That's one thing you want to try and do, you talk about contested positions all over the ground, but ahead of the ball is just the most important. So, Hayden at his best, that's what he does, he showed on the weekend that when he did that, he still left some out there as well. So, there's still some growth in that area, but the excitement has been back, he's played for now for five or six weeks, so three or four AFL games, but the VFL before that has shown that he's ready to go."
On Chad Warner
"Depends on what the game is telling us, I think the state of the game is really important and how many mids we do have that can roll through there. Obviously, with Callum, Errol and Justin and the like that have been out, he's been spending a little bit more time on ball. We understand the damage he can do centre-forward but he's also done that, certainly last year, from being a midfielder as well. So, there's not too many in the comp that can play midfield to the level that Chad does and then also go forward. I think you saw danger and the like, but you want to be able to have a few weapons and Chad's one that has that."
On Justin McInerney
"He's a really strong two-way runner that can play on ball or around, whether it's wing or half-forward or half-back. So, he's really versatile for our playing group, I think one thing, he has missed a month of footy, but he's trained really hard through that period, knowing that he can come back into the team and play his role, which is really important for our team."
On John Longmire's thank you match this weekend
"I think it's certainly something that he deserves, whether he's waving or smiling, I'm not quite sure but it's a great opportunity for the loyal Sydney Swans supporters to be able to thank him for the contribution he's made to the footy club. He deserves a lap or a couple of laps for what he's contributed."
