John Longmire expects Friday night’s clash with the Cats to be a true litmus test for the Swans.

In the first game of the second half of the season, Longmire said coming up against last year’s best side would provide a clear assessment of where the Swans are at.

“It’s a big test for us,” Longmire said.

“(Geelong) have won the last three (games) in a row and are last year’s premiers, and if you go through the names in their team it’s the who’s who of the last five years of premiership football.

“They are a hugely talented team but a hugely competitive team as well, and we really respect the Geelong footy club and their players.

“We enjoy the challenge coming up on Friday here in front of a sold out crowd, we’re really looking forward to it.”

With Swans co-captain Adam Goodes a possibility to return this week as well as lively small forward Ben McGlynn who missed last round through suspension, the Swans will be nearing full strength.

Likewise, Geelong will welcome back some big names, including power forward James Podsiadly, to their side this Friday night.

Longmire said taking on last year’s premiers at full strength will be an added challenge for the Swans.

“I noted (Geelong coach Chris Scott’s) comments in regard to Geelong. They will probably be at their strongest for the season this week,” he said.

“One of (Geelong’s) strengths is their talent across the board, their experience, but also their attitude in that they are real competitors and we expect that in Geelong, and know we need to be at their best to beat them.

“They can turn it on any week, any quarter, or any five-minute block.

“We just want to test ourselves against last year’s best team in an important game for both teams.”

This week’s result aside, Longmire said there is still a long way to go before the Swans can be considered true finals’ contenders.

The coach likened the season to a marathon rather than a sprint, and said that his team still has plenty of distance to cover before the end of the season.

“I don’t get too caught up in looking at the ladder at the halfway point of the year because there is a lot of footy to go. I just look at this week and making sure we get off to a good start, taking our chances and playing good, hard, pressure football, because we know we need to be at our best to beat Geelong,” he said.

“We’re only at the halfway point of the season and we’re only at the 21km mark of a marathon, and we feel as though we’ve played some good footy, but also that we can improve as well.

“We feel as though we still have some improvement in the back half of the year, but that’s the challenge, to keep that sort of level up for the rest of the year.

“We know we have to consistently be at our best to beat the best.”