Sydney Swans coach John Longmire addressed the media at the SCG on Monday afternoon.

All eight finals-bound teams are set for a bye this week, before the Swans and Giants meet in an elimination final at the SCG on Saturday, September 8.

Here are some key quotes from the press conference.

Finals football

“A new season starts now for all the eight teams in the finals. We’re really thrilled to be a part of it again and we have an opportunity to reset, refresh and in two weeks’ time get stuck into it. We’re looking forward to it.”

Lance Franklin and Luke Parker

“Both he and Luke are important players for us. We believe we had a real crack on the weekend without them and to our players’ credit they had a real go, which was fantastic. We think we’re every chance to get them back next week. We expect them to both do training next week and be available next week. We’re really looking forward to that and improving our team once again.”

Dan Hannebery

“He’s a bit sore from the corky. He got a pretty hard Ben McEvoy foot into his quad and he pulled up a bit sore from that. But he’ll be right to train next week.”

Nine-year finals stretch

“I’m really pleased for the players and the supporters, board and staff that we’re able to keep playing finals. It’s not an easy thing to do. It’s very tough to do when you’ve got equalisation and things counting against you in that regard. I’m very pleased to be able to coach a group that we’ve got, which is a pretty fierce, competitive group that wants to give themselves every chance every year. We don’t get it right all the time – we understand that. But we generally get in there and have a crack and give ourselves a show." 

Western Bulldogs winning premiership from outside top four in 2016

“It’s something all the teams outside the top four think about because you have to do it that year. It doesn’t mean it’s impossible, which is what that proved. You have to do a lot right. If you’re going to pick where you want to be you’re in the top four. We’re not in the top four but we’ve played some teams over the last month that are playing finals football and we haven’t been too far away. That gives us some degree of confidence but we also know we have to do a lot right from here on in.”