Swans coach John Longmire hopes the addition of another strong body up forward will strengthen the Swans forward line this week.

Irish recruit Tommy Walsh has been named to make his AFL debut this Saturday at the SCG against Melbourne, and Longmire believes another big-bodied player will add to the team’s forward structure.

“We’ve been looking at our structure for a while and it’s a bit like what we did last year when we brought (Matt) Spangher into the team,” Longmire said.

“We were able to have another bigger body there to help out our forward line and help out (Sam) Reidy, and just make a strong contest.

“That’s what we did last year and we thought that was OK for us, and we’ll do the same again this year.

“We were just looking at the set-up of our team and we think (bringing Walsh in) will help our forward set-up.”

Longmire said the team are keen to make amends for their poor round seven performance, which saw them go down to Richmond by 29 points at the MCG.

He said the Swans need to give a lot more than what they did against the Tigers last Saturday.

“We’re after a lot better performance than (last week),” he said.

“The players are determined to come out this week and do it, but we need to make sure our preparation has been good and we’ve got to wait and see how we go on the weekend, that’s the real challenge.”

Despite Melbourne’s winless start to the season, Longmire said the Swans will not be taking this Saturday’ match lightly.

“This week we’ll prepare as we do any other week,” he said.

“We look at the opposition and look at their strengths and what they can provide at their best, and that’s what we’ve done this week.”

One of the Demons’ players who will be on the Swans’ radar is Mitch Clark, who has been a stand-out performer for Melbourne this season.

Longmire said containing the big man will be an important task for his team this week.

“Mitch Clark has been a terrific recruit for Melbourne,” he said.

“He’s kicked I think 17 goals for the year and has provided strong contests and certainly has looked really dangerous in all the games he has played.

“His marking ability is well-regarded across the AFL and he provides a really strong contest and he provides that second ruck option too, so he’s been a good recruit for them and has been a vital player for them.”

Swans midfielders Luke Parker (knee) and Dan Hannebery (corked thigh) will both be tested at today’s final training session along with Lewis Robert-Thomson, who missed last week’s match with a bruised heel.

“They’re the three we’re looking at today and we’ll just see if they get through the session that we’ve planned for them,” Longmire said.

“We’ll see how Lewis Roberts-Thomson goes at training in a physical sense, but also in his preparation sense and what his work load’s been like.

“He’s missed a little bit of footy so whether he comes straight back in or not (will be decided after training).”

The final Sydney Swans team to face Melbourne on Saturday evening will be announced on sydneyswans.com.au at 6.25pm tonight.