Lewis Jetta will be injected into the Sydney Swans side for Friday night’s qualifying final against Hawthorn at the MCG after almost three months on the sidelines.
Jetta is just one of the big inclusions for the Swans this week with Kurt Tippett, Dan Hannebery and Nick Smith also returning for the first final, with Harry Cunningham, Brandon Jack, Shane Biggs and Mitch Morton all omitted from the side.
Swans coach John Longmire confirmed that Jetta, who made his return via the Swans reserves last Saturday after missing 12 matches with a shin injury, was likely to wear the green vest in Friday night’s match.
“Obviously (Jetta) has had an injury-interrupted back half of the year and he’s only just been back the last few weeks,” Longmire told SwansTV.
“He’s been training really well and he went well in the reserves on the weekend.
“It’s more than likely that he’ll play the sub role and hopefully he can give us a real lift when he comes onto the ground.”
The coach also welcomed the inclusion of experienced senior players Tippett, Hannebery and Smith, for Friday night’s match up against the Hawks.
“They are quality players who were out of the team from last week and we know that all three of those players in particular can give us something,” Longmire said.
“They’ve got some big-game experience and they are really vital members of our team, so it’s good to have them back.”
The Swans have three players set to play their first AFL final this Friday night, including 2013 debutants Dane Rampe and Tom Mitchell, as well as Andrejs Everitt, who will play his first final after seven seasons in the league.
Longmire said he was confident the trio were prepared for their first finals experience, adding that the club’s senior players would help guide them along the way.
“You never know what they are like until you actually play in them,” he said.
“It’s one of those things and I’m sure the senior players can talk to them and help them as much as they can, but ultimately you have to experience it for yourself and get out there and have a taste of what it’s about.
“You have to enjoy it for what it is and it’s a great thing to be playing football at this time of year and it’s much better than not (playing).
“You have to keep the basics of the game right and really enjoy what this time of year is about, which is high pressure finals footy.”
Looking ahead to Friday night’s qualifying final, Longmire said his team had been working hard to rectify the areas where they fell short in round 23, which saw the Swans fall to Hawthorn by 12 points after leading the match at every change.
“There are still areas of the game we need to get better at,” the coach said.
“We let them get a few easy goals and we think we can get that a little bit better or we need to get that better for this week.
“There’s no doubt that Hawthorn will get a couple of players back as well so we’ll both have teams who are looking a little bit different, but I’m sure it will be another high pressure game, which finals always are.”
While four-time All-Australian forward Lance Franklin will miss this week’s match through suspension, Longmire said there was still plenty of Hawks’ talent to cover.
The coach highlighted the form of Coleman medallist Jarryd Roughead, who collected 19 possessions and kicked four goals against the Swans last Friday night, as one of the Hawks’ most dangerous players.
“He’s one of the best players in the competition and he’s had a super year,” Longmire said.
“He’s obviously been the leading goal kicker and he’s also played on ball and is a dangerous midfielder.
“He’s probably the most versatile player in the competition at the moment so we’ll have to make sure whether he’s midfield or forward that we don’t let him off the leash.”
Sydney Swans v. Hawthorn
MCG
Friday September 6, 2013
7.50pm
B D.Rampe, H.Grundy, N.Malceski
HB J.McVeigh, T.Richards, N.Smith
C A.Everitt, K.Jack, G.Rohan
HF D.Hannebery, J.White, B.McGlynn
F J.Bolton, K.Tippett, S.Mumford
Foll M.Pyke, J.Kennedy, R.O'Keefe
I/C L.Parker, L.Jetta, T.Mitchell, C.Bird
Emg S.Biggs, H.Cunningham, M.Morton
In: D. Hannebery, L. Jetta, N. Smith, K.Tippett
Out: H. Cunningham (omitted), S. Biggs (omitted), B. Jack (omitted), M. Morton (omitted)
