Star Sydney Swans defender Aliir Aliir addressed the media ahead of training at the SCG on Wednesday afternoon.
Sydney will be on the hunt for its second win of the season in a clash with Essendon at the SCG on Friday night.
Here are some key quotes from the press conference.
Feeling at the club
“There’s still a lot of energy around the team. Tom Papley and a lot of other young boys have been leading that. We’re trying to bring a lot of energy to training and put some strong work into our skills.”
Lance Franklin’s availability
“We have a training session tonight and it depends on how he goes with that. He’s a great leader. He’s been great for myself and a lot of the younger boys, especially the forward line in terms of trying to help. He’s a superstar of the game and we want him out there playing, but there are a few things he’s got to tick off tonight.”
Nullifying star Essendon forwards Joe Daniher, Jake Stringer
“It’s not just going to be one person on them; it’ll be down to our whole back six to stop them. I know I’ll find myself on Daniher and I’ll find myself on some small forwards too. It’s just about helping each other out and sticking together down back. They’ve both had a strong start to the year and it’s going to take our whole back six to stop them."
Aliir the leader
“I have to step it up because we’re missing a few guys in Jarrad McVeigh, Heath Grundy and Nick Smith, who’ve all played a lot of games for the club. Myself, Dane Rampe and Jake Lloyd are the new on-field leaders in defence, and everyone really has to stand up because the other guys are going to be out for a while.”
Aliir backs the team
“I’ve got full faith in our group. If we can bring that pressure for four quarters, which we brought in the second quarter last week before it dropped off, we give ourselves every chance.”
