The Sydney Swans have named an unchanged side for Friday night’s preliminary final against North Melbourne at ANZ Stadium.

Speaking to SwansTV for Centrum Team Selection, John Longmire said he would stick with the side that got the job done in the 24-point qualifying final win over Fremantle a fortnight ago.

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“We go in unchanged this week,” he said.

“It’s a good spot to be in as far as players available.

“We thought that the team who played against Fremantle did a pretty good job, so we go in unchanged this week.”

Longmire confirmed that Nick Malceski, who suffered a minor hamstring injury against the Dockers, would be fit to face North Melbourne.

The coach said the All-Australian defender benefitted from the week off, and would hit the ground running on Friday night.

“To be able to have that weekend off helped him enormously and because we subbed him off early in the game, there was no damage in his hamstring,” he said.

“He’s had a good couple of weeks and ran on Monday, and ran pretty fast and did all the agility.

“He then trained fully on Wednesday and trained flat out and pulled up really well, so he’s right to go.”

The Swans will face an in-form North Melbourne side, who have won their last six matches, including finals victories over Essendon and Geelong.

Following the Kangaroos’ six-point win over the Cats, which was set up by a blistering opening term, Longmire said the Swans could not afford to let the Roos burst out of the blocks on Friday night.

“They got off to an incredible start,” he said.

“They just ran hard, they were clean, and they tackled well and put enormous pressure on the opposition.

“They did everything you have to do in a final and they did it for the whole four quarters.”

Preliminary Final Match Day Information

Longmire said North Melbourne had made significant on-field improvements this season and posed a tough challenge in this week’s preliminary final.

“They’ve got a good mix of inside and outside players, their defence is really sound, and up forward they’ve got some different varieties in attack,” he said.

“They are a really good team and they are running hard and working for each other and there’s a reason that they’re in the top four as far as the end of the season is concerned, and that’s because they are playing good football.

“We understand what their strengths are and they have some terrific players in their team, and we know what the challenge is ahead.”

Preliminary Final preview

Longmire urged all fans to attend Friday night’s preliminary final at ANZ Stadium and help the Swans as they aim to reach a second Grand Final in three seasons.

“It’s great to be able to play another home final and it’s a terrific position to be in,” he said.

“We need our supporters there, as many as we can, because we want to see as much red and white as we can possibly get to the stadium.

“We need every bit of help we can get against a strong Kangaroos team.”

North Melbourne have made one change for Friday night's preliminary final with Ben Jacobs returning to the side in place of Jamie Macmillan who was ruled out with a hamstring complaint.

Jacobs last played for the Kangaroos in their elimination final win over Essendon.