High-flying forward Sam Reid has been named in the Sydney Swans extended squad ahead of Sunday afternoon’s clash with the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium.
Swans coach John Longmire said Reid, who has missed the last two matches with a knee injury, should be fit to make his return this weekend in Melbourne and would be a valuable inclusion to the forward line.
Swans coach John Longmire said Reid, who has missed the last two matches with a knee injury, should be fit to make his return this weekend in Melbourne and would be a valuable inclusion to the forward line.
“He trained well on Wednesday and we expect him to train well tomorrow and get through, and then play on Sunday,” Longmire told sydneyswans.com.au.
“Hopefully he is able to get through training as we expect him to because he is an important player for our forward structure and would be a significant in for us.
“He is a good player because he doesn’t necessarily need to kick a bag of goals to help us in our ball movement and our forward defensive pressure.”
Forward options Mitch Morton and Matt Spangher have also been named in the 25-man extended squad, as well as midfielder Brett Meredith.
Longmire said the trio have all also shown significant promise in the reserves this season, particularly Morton, who has kicked 75 goals in the NEAFL this year.
“Those players have been playing well in the reserves and in the end they have forced themselves into the squad through their consistent performances,” he said.
“Mitch (Morton) is definitely a chance (to be selected).
“He’s been consistent in our reserves for a long period of time now and he’s been working on the areas we wanted him to work on and is improving in those areas all of the time.”
Small forward Trent Dennis-Lane is the only omission from last week’s side at this stage.
Longmire said Dennis-Lane would benefit from increased game time in the reserves this weekend.
“It will be good for Trent to play in the reserves on the weekend, who play Brisbane - a really good side,” he said.
“It will just give him another hit-out and more game time, and he is certainly still in the mix to play senior footy for us this year, there is no doubt about it.”
Looking ahead to Sunday’s clash, Longmire said the Swans will need to be wary of the Bulldogs, who are expected to recall a number of experienced players this weekend.
“We expect the Bulldogs will bring in some absolute quality into their team, who will no doubt give them a real lift, so we’ve got to be aware of them.”
Visit sydneyswans.com.au tomorrow at 4:30pm for the Swans’ final squad.
Western Bulldogs v Sydney Swans
Sunday August 19, 2012
3.15pm AEST
Etihad Stadium, Melbourne
B R.Shaw, H.Grundy, A.Johnson
HB N.Smith, T.Richards, M.Mattner
C N.Malceski, J.McVeigh, L.Jetta
HF D.Hannebery, L.Roberts-Thomson, R.O'Keefe
F C.Bird, S.Reid, A.Goodes
Foll S.Mumford, J.Kennedy, K.Jack
I/C (from) T.Armstrong, B.McGlynn, B.Meredith, M.Morton, L.Parker, M.Pyke, M.Spangher
In: M.Morton, M.Spangher, B.Meredith, S.Reid
Out: T.Dennis-Lane
