Sydney Swans coach John Longmire addressed the media ahead of training at the SCG on Wednesday afternoon.
Sydney is set for a clash with Hawthorn at the MCG on Friday night.
Here are some key quotes from the press conference.
Will Lance Franklin play?
“He’s a chance – depending upon how he goes tonight at training and then how he pulls up tomorrow. He’s done what’s required so far and then he takes it up a level tonight. We’ll wait and see tomorrow when the teams get announced and if we name him the expectation will be he plays. If he’s able to get through a certain amount of training and feel good about that and contribute and then it’s about he pulls up tomorrow. But we won’t know that until tomorrow. He’s been running and having a kick and pulling up well from running but we know change of direction is another level on top of that. So we’re not sure yet but he’ll do a bit tonight and we’ll see how he goes.”
How the expected huge rainfall affects Franklin’s chances
“We’ve actually packed the flippers and a couple of boats as well. We’ll get to the point where if he’s right to play he’ll play. From the weather report it’s going to be really wet and we’d plan whether it’s dry or wet to go through the same process.”
A strong Hawthorn outfit
“Their pressure around the ball has been huge. They’re the number-two pressure team in the competition around the physical side of it, so they’re applying really good pressure. They’re playing really consistent footy in all three phases of the game and they’ve got the ability to hit the scoreboard. But their ability to be able to win the ball in tight and put the pressure on the opposition when they’re winning it has been elite.”
To tag or not tag star Hawks midfielder Tom Mitchell
“It’s a consideration. You don’t go into a game knowing what Tom’s been able to rack up and not consider it. What you do know is regardless of whether you’ve got anyone on him or not he’s going to get 15 or 20 possessions and that’s at the very least. So you understand that’s he’s always going to get the ball. Like any opposition player, and they’ve got a few of them, you try to nullify their influence. It’s very hard to nullify those players that go in and pick it up from the bottom of the pack, which Tom is very good at.”
How Sydney addressed North Melbourne’s ability to find open targets last Saturday
“We just talked about it at quarter-time. Obviously that’s what they were trying to do and we made some subtle changes to it. But the quick transfer of play they were able to do from one end of the ground to the other was what we were disappointed in. Once we addressed the slow-play aspect you can’t let the quick aspect get on top of you either. If you allow Hawthorn to be able to do that with Luke Breust and these guys to get out the back you’re asking for trouble. So you’ve got to be mindful of that.”
The Swans’ SCG form
“We’ll worry about what we do here next week. This week is all about going to the MCG and playing the Hawks. We’ve had some great games in the past and the rivalry has gone on for a long time. We hope it’s a wet, very contested game this week.”
