Gary Ablett has been a late omission from the Gold Coast Suns' side ahead of this week’s clash at the SCG on Saturday afternoon.
Having cracked the 300-game milestone last week, Ablett will now miss his second game in three weeks due to a hamstring injury. The Suns skipper and dual Brownlow medallist is averaging 32 disposals this season, so his absence is likely to leave a significant hole in the dominant Suns midfield.
The Suns are, however, coming off a 19-point win over North Melbourne last weekend and are showing some promising form over the ground. Jarryd Lyons had a fantastic game in the midfield, racking up a game-high of 39 disposals, and 2016 All-Australian Tom Lynch showed his fantastic form up front kicking five of the Suns’ goals.
Half-back Trent McKenzie is set to play his 100th game of senior footy and his first for the season after suffering a plethora of injuries over the last 12 months.
McKenzie told Suns Media he was looking forward to finally reaching the 100-game milestone.
“It’s been a long time coming, I’m really looking forward to it,” he said.
“I’ve had about four or five games back now so [the] body’s feeling good, feeling confident.
“Sydney are in very good form so it’ll be a big challenge but the boys will give it our best shot and we’re pretty confident we can get the four points.”
They were tough conditions when the Swans met the Suns in Round 11 at Metricon Stadium last year. The Swans played a steady game of football during the downpour to finish with a 38-point win, retaining their undefeated record of seven wins from seven games against the Suns.
So far this year, the Suns are sitting just one win behind the Swans on the ladder and are the number one team in the league for overall disposals and uncontested possessions.
Coach John Longmire described earlier in the week how important it was for the unchanged Swans side to go out and execute on Saturday.
"We need to put some pressure on," Longmire said.
"They are a very good ream at transitioning the ball from one end of the ground to the other. They’ve got great skills and got some real excitement throughout their play, particularly in their back half."
Longmire is hopeful the team can deliver, like they did against Melbourne last week, in the scheduled 4.30pm Saturday afternoon clash against the Suns.