Assistant coach Stuart Dew believes the short turnaround between back-to-back fixtures in Melbourne won’t hinder the Sydney Swans’ aim for a third successive win.
A six-day turnaround is all the Swans have had to regroup after Sunday’s physical clash with North Melbourne and prepare for their forthcoming game with St Kilda.
The shorter time frame has seen the Swans forego their usual program in favour of one main session and lighter skill work before their flight back to Melbourne.
Dew told SwansTV after Thursday’s final session that the shorter preparation shouldn’t affect his side’s ability to run out the match.
“Not really, it’s mainly about fine-tuning in these shorter weeks,” he said.
“When there’s two away trips there’s not much training but rather we fine-tune some aspects.
“A lot of touches of the football (still) but just a bit lighter on the track as we expect it to be red-hot on the weekend.”
It will be the first time since Round 8 and Round 9 last season where the Swans have had consecutive matches in Melbourne split by a six-day break.
Over that fortnight, the Swans were defeated after the siren by Richmond at the MCG before responding with a hard-fought 14-point win over Hawthorn at the same venue.
Time will tell whether Sydney can overcome their third flight six days and keep their winning streak alive.
Sydney enjoyed a week’s break between its Preliminary Final against Geelong and the ensuing Grand Final clash against the Western Bulldogs last season.
Before then, the last time the Swans have had two away games in as many weeks was back in 2013 when they played Adelaide and Port Adelaide back-to-back at Football Park, only they had the luxury of the bye between trips.