The Swans ruck combination ahead the team’s round two clash with Fremantle will be one of the key focuses for John Longmire this week.
Fremantle’s 211cm ruckman Aaron Sandilands told Melbourne radio station SEN this week he would be available for the start of the season, and Longmire will explore the Swans’ ruck options ahead of the April 7 match at the SCG.
Longmire said having the bye this week has allowed him time to watch Fremantle in action and devise a game plan to contain their vital big man.
“Our opportunity this week is to have a rest on the weekend and sit back and look at Fremantle and prepare next week for them,” he said.
“(A second ruckman) is something we will consider for next week.
“We’ll sit back and have a look at Fremantle this week and at Sandilands if he plays, and how it goes.”
Longmire was impressed with the form of Mark Seaby, who was a standout in the Swans reserves match against UWS on Saturday afternoon, and said he could come into consideration for the Fremantle match.
“The good thing from our point of view is that we’ve got an option in Mark Seaby in particular, who played really well on the weekend, and this gives us the chance to bring him in if we need to,” he said.
“That’s something we’ll consider next week.
“Mummy (Shane Mumford) got through the game OK and so did Lewis Roberts-Thomson, so we’ll sit down and make the decision next week based on the opposition and what we consider to be the right tactics next week.
“We’ve just got the depth in that area with Seaby, Mike Pyke, Jesse White, and we have those blokes to bring in if we think we need to.”
Last week Roberts-Thomson was utilised as Mumford’s backup in the ruck, but Longmire said that won’t be the only role LRT will fulfil this season.
“(LRT) will still be used at times down back, but against Fremantle they will probably be talking about having a tall forward line, so we need to have that up our sleeve,” he said
“I think that’s the good thing about having Lewis Roberts-Thomson … he can play forward, he can play ruck and he can play down back. That gives us the flexibility.”
Despite recording a 63-point win over GWS last Saturday night, Longmire said his team will need to be better when they face the Dockers in a fortnight.
Longmire identified converting opportunities on the scoreboard as an area for improvement for the Swans over the next week.
“Can we play better? Yes we can,” Longmire said.
“I think we kicked 1.8 in the last quarter…and had six or seven shots from 50-odd metres.
“We had an opportunity to put a bigger score on the board but probably didn’t take it.
“We will need to play better next week against Fremantle but we’ve got four points in the bank locked away and we’ll keep on working on the things we need to keep working on.”
Experience the passion when the Sydney Swans play their first home match of the 2012 Premiership Season at the Sydney Cricket Ground against Fremantle on Saturday April 7 from 2pm.
Tickets are available from just $25 for an adult, or $53.50 for a family of four. Get your tickets here.
