Sydney Swans coach John Longmire and co-captain Adam Goodes have spoken of their excitement in leading a regenerated Swans outfit into Saturday night’s Elimination Final against St Kilda at Melbourne's Etihad Stadium.
The Swans have only missed the finals twice in the last ten years, and Goodes and Longmire are both buoyed by the prospect of embarking on yet another finals campaign.
“I’m definitely really pumped to be playing finals football this year and be able to lead the group out on Saturday night into enemy territory,” Goodes said.
“Anytime that you play and it’s the last eight teams is exciting, and this what we play for. It’s a bit warmer outside and the grass is always a bit greener, it’s just that time of year.”
Longmire, who will take part in his first final as a senior coach on Saturday night, shared similar sentiments to his captain.
“I guess I’ve been fortunate to be a part of a few finals series both as a player and as an (assistant) coach, and it’s a great time of the year to still be going,” he said.
With players such as Craig Bird, Alex Johnson, Luke Parker, Sam Reid, Gary Rohan and Matt Spangher having never played a final before, Longmire said he was eager to see the next generation of Swans perform on the big stage and grow from the experience.
“We’ve lost a lot of premiership players over the last couple of years and it was important for us to re-generate the list,” Longmire said.
“We should have five players that are 20 years and younger, a couple of teenagers running around playing their first finals game, and that’s really exciting for us.
“It’s exciting for the older players, the coaching staff, and hopefully the supporters, and the team gets a real lift out of that those kids are experiencing what it’s all about at such a young age and hopefully they give a really good account of themselves.”
Goodes said the pressure of some of the home and away games during the season should put the inexperienced campaigners in good stead.
“We’ve definitely played in a few games this year where it has been finals intensity, so it won’t come as a complete shock to them,” he said.
“The leaders have been fantastic in showing the way for our younger players, and there’s no doubt that when our leaders are getting in there, tackling, and putting the pressure on, it makes it so much easier for our young players and everybody else to jump on.”
The dual Brownlow medallist emphasised the importance of the opportunity at hand for the players and said he was confident of progressing through the finals if the team can execute their brand of football with some strong crowd support behind them.
“It is a huge opportunity for us, and if we do stick to our game plan and our trademark and play four quarters of football, it holds up at this time of year and we can go as deep as we possibly can,” Goodes said.
“That’s’ the opportunity, and the challenge is for us to find the 22 blokes who can go out and get the job done.
“I know there will be a lot of Swans supporters down there supporting us at Etihad, it will be a great atmosphere, in perfect conditions - what more could you want for a final?”
Goodes and Jude Bolton are set to break the Club record of appearances in finals matches when they face St Kilda on Saturday night. They will both play their 19th finals match, going past the record they currently share with Brett Kirk and Michael O'Loughlin.
