The Sydney Swans will welcome back defender Dane Rampe for Saturday’s clash with St Kilda.
Rampe, who last played in Round 1 after breaking his arm in a freak training accident, will retake his place in the backline to counter St Kilda’s dangerous forwards at Docklands.
Having trained fully for the past two weeks and with enough conditioning under his belt, coach John Longmire has no hesitation in recalling the All Australian for the Round 9 clash.
“He’s been able to do all the competitive work, he did a lot of it today and pulled up really well so he’s ready to go,” Longmire said with a hint of a smile in this week’s Centrum Team Selection.
“We’re really pleased to get him back in as he’s such an important player for us.”
Rampe, who’ll line up for 100th-game milestone on Saturday, is one of three additions to the side which defeated North Melbourne by 42 points at the same venue.
He joins Kurt Tippett and Gary Rohan in replacing Jarrad McVeigh (hamstring), Sam Naismith (knee) and Harry Marsh (omitted).
Both McVeigh and Naismith’s omissions were forced. McVeigh, who was ruled out earlier in the week, strained his hamstring during last weekend’s clash against the Roos while Naismith didn’t train on Thursday after failing to overcome a knee concern.
Despite his hand being forced in the rucking department, Longmire had the luxury of recalling Tippett who’s coming off a strong performance for the NEAFL Swans.
Tippett tallied 35 hit outs, 22 disposals and four goals against Canberra in his first game back from a hip injury which had sidelined him for the two weeks prior to his comeback game.
Rohan, who returned from his Round 6 concussion via the NEAFL, was also judged among the best in Canberra after kicking four goals and collecting a tidy 19 disposals.
“They played well in the reserves last weekend, we had a couple of others that played well…so that’s a good sign,” Longmire added.
“Gary and Kurt come back in. They’ll be important for us in the roles we want them to play.”
To view the full Round 9 team, click here.
