Sydney Swans coach John Longmire addressed the media at the SCG on Monday.
Sydney will face North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Here are some key quotes from the press conference.
The fitness of Tom Papley (hip flexor) and Isaac Heeney (concussion)
“Tom is tracking okay so far this week. The plan is to train him as the week progresses a bit harder and then fully train later in the week. So he’s progressing in a positive manner so far and Isaac is the same. He’s looking to do some training on Wednesday and Friday and he looks positive at the moment as well. It would be good to see those two players back. It was an interesting nine days from our Richmond game through to our NEAFL game on the weekend where we lost eight senior players. Those challenges present themselves and now it’s just about overcoming them.”
How Jarrad McVeigh (collar bone), Sam Reid (Achilles) and Lewis Melican (hamstring) are tracking
“Jarrad’s surgery went well. He’s looking at about five weeks at the moment. Sam Reid is having an Achilles operation so he’s probably going to miss about six weeks and Melican’s going to have a hamstring tendon operation and will probably miss about eight weeks.”
Spirits among the squad
“We had a meeting this morning. We reviewed the game and I said it’s not about the players we haven’t got but about the players we have got. None of the things we saw on the footage was about talent – it’s all about aspects of our game we know we can do regardless of who’s available. The players get on with it very quickly. All players are very resilient. There are some players in our NEAFL side who have been super for a fair while and they look as though they’ll get some opportunities.”
Young players stepping up
“Our young players, and particularly for the first half of the year, have played key roles for us. They’ve been really important for us. It’s just a matter of them continuing to do what they’ve been doing. Whether you’re a young player or a player that will get an opportunity this week who’s been playing in the NEAFL, it’s just about playing the role we want them to play in the senior team. We’re confident those guys we bring in this week will provide us with that.”
Thoughts on the Geelong game
“We just have to make sure the transition side of the game, both in offence and defence, is a bit better than what it’s been. We need to make sure we force the opposition into turnovers and then turn those turnovers into scoring opportunities for us and then make sure when the opposition have the same go at it that they don’t score. That’s basically the game in a nutshell. It’s a transition game and making sure you’re good with and without the ball is a real key. Regardless of personnel that’s how we’ll be looking at it.”
