SYDNEY Swans midfielder Ryan O'Keefe has backed teammate Adam Goodes to produce a breakout game sooner rather than later - perhaps as soon as this Sunday's clash with Richmond at the MCG.
Goodes failed to boot a goal in the Swans' 25-point loss to Collingwood in round 13 but O'Keefe said the Swans' co-captain wasn't far from a big performance his new key forward role.
Having made the transition from one part of the ground to another, O'Keefe said he knew the challenges Goodes faced.
"It's probably easier to go from forward to mid than mid to forward … especially the way today is played where all the teams zone back, you have to be more of an impact player as a forward," he said.
"Adam's a class player, he's a top-line player. You don't win two Brownlow Medals for nothing. You're going to see some brilliant footy from him to come.
"He has one down game and everyone's on his back, but he's a good player and he'll bounce back for sure."
O'Keefe celebrates his 200th game on Sunday and he said the Swans needed to win more of the ball and use it better if they were to get across the line against the resurgent Tigers.
Goodes failed to boot a goal in the Swans' 25-point loss to Collingwood in round 13 but O'Keefe said the Swans' co-captain wasn't far from a big performance his new key forward role.
Having made the transition from one part of the ground to another, O'Keefe said he knew the challenges Goodes faced.
"It's probably easier to go from forward to mid than mid to forward … especially the way today is played where all the teams zone back, you have to be more of an impact player as a forward," he said.
"Adam's a class player, he's a top-line player. You don't win two Brownlow Medals for nothing. You're going to see some brilliant footy from him to come.
"He has one down game and everyone's on his back, but he's a good player and he'll bounce back for sure."
O'Keefe celebrates his 200th game on Sunday and he said the Swans needed to win more of the ball and use it better if they were to get across the line against the resurgent Tigers.
"We turned the ball over too much and against good sides, they hurt you. Collingwood kicked a lot of easy goals against us so we've got to really make sure our defence is sound. That's our all-over defence, not just our backmen.
"We've just got to go get the ball, really, and make sure we use it well."
Now a key part of the Swans' midfield, O'Keefe said he adopted a forward role in his early days at the Swans to ensure he got a game.
"I always wanted to be a midfielder. I started off in juniors playing a bit of midfield and then I got here and half-forward was a position that was vacant. I said, 'I'll have that one, please' just to get myself into the team," he recalled.
"As I developed, I kept pushing my cause to play in the midfield for a couple of years and finally last year, they let me."
The Melbourne-born O'Keefe said several of his family and friends would be there to watch his milestone game and he conceded he'd had a sneaky look at the fixture to see when it would fall.
"Once you get your first [game], you're just so happy just to play one and get off the mark. Those sorts of milestones, you never really think about them," he said.
"All the hard work I've put in over the years has paid off. Not too many players get to play 200 games and to get to that achievement is something to be proud of."
At 29, O'Keefe has plenty of footy left in him but he brushed away talk of reaching the 250 or 300-game marks.
"It'd be nice. I think Goodesy will make 300 pretty easy, but I'm just happy to get to 200. We'll get through this week's training and get to the game first."
