Longmire impressed by development
Swans coach John Longmire says he has been impressed with the development of players such as Josh Kennedy and Lewis Jetta to start the season...
Swans coach John Longmire said he is pleased with the continued development of some of the club’s young talent.
Longmire said the performance of Josh Kennedy, who amassed 36 touches, 22 contested possessions and 11 clearances in Saturday’s win over Fremantle, was one of the stand-out performances for his team.
“(Josh Kennedy) is developing into a really good player and his last couple of years for us have been really good and he seems to be getting better,” he said.
“We’re thrilled with how he is developing and he’s still only 23, so he’s young but he’s able to be an important part of our midfield and is now a key player for us.
“Hopefully he can continue because he is so important.”
Another player who has caught the attention of the coach this season is Lewis Jetta, who produced a career-best three goals, along with 13 disposals on Saturday afternoon.
Longmire said Jetta’s improvement since last season is a true testament to his work rate over the pre-season.
“Lewie has done a lot of work with us over the pre-season and his ability to run is well-documented and he is really starting to use that now,” he said.
“He’s also importantly improved his tackling immensely and his contested ball work has really shot through the roof.
“As long as he keeps going along those lines and makes sure he really broadens his game out then that is all we can ask.”
The Swans recorded their second win of the season over Fremantle on Saturday, winning by 13 points against a fast finishing Dockers side.
Despite leading by eight goals early in the third term, Longmire said he was pleased with his team’s ability to lock the game down when it really mattered to come away with the win.
“They’re a good team, Fremantle and I’ve said a number of times that we really rated them so I thought our players really dug in when they needed to,” he said.
“We knew what they were going to try and do but we didn’t execute what we wanted to as planned.
“We spoke about that (at three quarter time) as a playing group and I think they really addressed that well in the last quarter, and I thought the players’ ability to dig in was really good.”
Longmire said his team will need to remain on their game ahead of the Swans first road trip for the season this Saturday against Port Adelaide.
He said the Power have improved on their 2011 form, and will be tough competition at AAMI Stadium this weekend.
“(Port) have really improved in a lot of areas,” he said.
“They’ve got some really good players, both young players who have come in and made an impact straight after the draft, but also players from other clubs.
“Their contested ball work has been really impressive and the last time they played at AAMI they did a real number on St Kilda in the contested ball work and clearance work, so that’s something we’re expecting this week on their home deck.”