Don't miss any of the news involving the Swans as we bring you everything from the newspapers around the country from Wednesday 16th September. 

SYDNEY have been served up a triple treat ahead of Saturday’s sudden-death semi-final against North Melbourne with Ted Richards re-signing, Nick Smith set to return from injury and Kieren Jack making a late bid to prove his fitness.

Both Jack and Smith ran well at yesterday’s training session at the SCG but they will have to complete tomorrow’s session to be given the all clear.

Smith is due back from a hamstring injury but Jack’s inclusion would be a massive bonus for the Swans after original fears the medial ligament strain he suffered two weeks ago would keep him out for longer.

Richards is over the moon to have his future secured with a new one-year deal, but his more immediate concern is dealing with North’s star forwards Jarrad Waite and Drew Petrie.

“The Kangaroos forward line is a real strength of theirs,” Richards said

“Our defence has quite a few different match ups which are important for us to get right.”

THE Swans are adamant they haven’t done a deal with the AFL to have the club’s trade ban lifted or eased, and negotiations with the game’s governing body are still at a delicate stage.

Sydney’s football manager Tom Harley has been working with league bosses over recent months to ease the restrictions that limit the club to only trading players earning the average annual salary of $350,000 per year or below.

“There’s nothing concrete about a change to that number,” Harley said.

If the figure of $350,000 remains in place, the Swans would be massively handicapped during the trade period.

FREMANTLE superstar Nat Fyfe has been voted the AFL Players Association’s Most Valuable Player for the second year running. Fyfe, 23, polled 1455 votes from his fellow players to take out his second Leigh Matthews Trophy last night ahead of North Melbourne’s Todd Goldstein (578 votes).

Adelaide’s Patrick Dangerfield and West Coast pair Matt Priddis and Josh Kennedy rounded out the top five.

“Having the respect of your peers is one of the highest accolades we can hope to achieve as players,” Fyfe said.

It was a big night for the Swans. Isaac Heeney was named the best first-year player and teammate Luke Parker took out the most courageous player award.

THE metal bolts at ANZ Stadium that almost ended the season of Hawks star Jarryd Roughead have been removed.

This weekend’s first semi-final between Sydney and North Melbourne will be the first time AFL has been played at the stadium since round 16, when Roughead slid across exposed bolts on the ground’s edge, ripping his jumper and hurting his back.

A spokesman for the stadium told The Daily Telegraph the bolts, which formed part of an emergency fire hose reel and brought the safety of the stadium into question, were removed within days of the dangerous incident and all AFL venues were inspected for any similar hazards.

Sydney defender Ted Richards has signed on for one more season, delaying the succession plan for the Swans' ageing back line by another year, but he says the changeover will be smooth when the time comes.

The 2012 All-Australian spoiler has overcome a mid-season form trough to earn a contract for 2016, his 15th season at the elite level.

But there remain doubts about the future of Lewis Jetta, who has held off contract talks until after the Swans' finals campaign.

Sources have told Fairfax Media the electrifying wingman is only a 50-50 chance of staying. Fairfax Media understands Jetta's parents want to see him return home to Western Australia and that he has promised to talk to them before making a decision.

The Swans will lose Rhyce Shaw at the end of this year and if Richards had joined him in retirement it would have resulted in close to 500 games of experience walking out the door at one time.

He’s a mere pup compared with many of his teammates but dashing Swans defender Dane Rampe has already got his more senior colleagues licked in one aspect of the AFL longevity stakes.

Heading into Saturday’s home semi-final against North Melbourne, Rampe has played 70 games in a row, the longest current streak of any Swan.

That might come as a surprise given the 25-year-old is in just his third season and up against Sydney’s long list of veterans.

Jarrad Waite might be new to North Melbourne’s finals campaign but carries some scars of his own inflicted by their semi-final opponents Sydney.

The 32-year-old has been a valuable addition to North in his first season since leaving Carlton, starring in the Kangaroos’ 17-point elimination final win over Richmond on Sunday.

Waite kicked four goals and laid a season-high seven tackles including a match-sealing hit on Brett Deledio in the final minutes.

The Kangaroos must travel to ANZ Stadium to take on the Swans, who thrashed them by 71 points last year in the preliminary final.

While he wasn’t part of that defeat, Waite said he hadn’t fared too well in finals against Sydney at the same venue either.

“I haven’t had too much luck with Sydney either; they’ve beaten us both times to kick us out of the finals when I was at Carlton so it hasn’t been great for me,” he said.