The Sydney Swans’ destiny is in their own hands this weekend according to coach John Longmire.

With just one round remaining in the home and away season, Longmire said the equation is simple for the Swans, who need to win against Geelong to secure a home final.

“We go down to play Geelong in Geelong and if we win we stay in Sydney the next week, so it’s very simple,” Longmire told reporters today.

“I think we’ve got to this point with some pretty good form and we go down to Geelong this week to try and take on a terrific team on their home ground.

“We know what’s at the end of it, and what’s at the end of it is if we win this week we’ll obviously play at home the next week.”

While the Swans have won their last two clashes against the Cats, Longmire warned that a lot has changed since Sydney’s round 13 win over Geelong at the SCG.

“I think we can take something out of the fact that we can be competitive against (Geelong) regardless of whether that’s at the SCG or on their home ground,” Longmire said.

“We certainly played some really good footy there last year but I’m always a bit wary of looking too far back and thinking just because we’ve done something once doesn’t automatically mean we’re going to do it again.

“I think our players know the sort of footy that we need to play and what we have to play to beat Geelong in Geelong, which is four quarters of really hard, intense, pressure footy.”

Longmire said the Cats, who have won six of their last eight matches, have made vast improvements in the second half of the season and added that Geelong’s recent finals experience would have prepared them well for this time of year.

“I think Geelong’s form in the second half of the year has probably made a few people sit up and take notice,” he said.

“They are obviously an experienced finals’ campaigner who know how to play well in September and have started to really play some good footy in this second half of the year.

“We respect the fact that the Geelong Footy Club know what this time of year is all about and they’re in good form at the moment as well.”

Reflecting on Saturday afternoon’s seven-point loss to Hawthorn at the SCG, Longmire said the Swans had taken plenty from the experience.

He said the ‘finals-like’ atmosphere of the game was perfect for the Swans’ September preparations.

“I thought Hawthorn then really cranked it up and then had their run (of momentum) as well, and in the end the lead changed six times in the last quarter,” he said.

“That’s what you’re going to get when you get teams at this end of the season with a lot on the line and at the top of the ladder, you’re going to get those types of games.

“We’ve been fortunate enough to play a couple of those sorts of games where the pressure has been enormous.”

Meanwhile, the Swans could receive a midfield boost at Simonds Stadium this weekend with veteran midfielder Jude Bolton a chance of making his return.

Longmire confirmed that Bolton will return to full training tomorrow and would be assessed as the week progressed.

“At this stage with Jude we’re going to try and train him tomorrow and hopefully he’ll get through that OK then we’ll look forward to training him on Thursday,” he said.

“If Jude is able to get through those two training sessions, he’ll certainly play this week.

“He’s still got those two hurdles to jump yet.”