SYDNEY Swans coach John Longmire made a mad dash from the club's fan day at the SCG to Albury on Saturday to catch Greater Western Sydney's clash with Gold Coast as the build-up to round one continues.
Minutes after Longmire had introduced the 2012 Swans list to the crowd, he headed for the airport to cast an eye over the Giants, just a fortnight before the two Sydney sides meet at ANZ Stadium.
"I watched them out at Blacktown [in round one of the NAB Cup] and I'll watch them again today," Longmire told AFL.com.au from Sydney airport.
"They've been going along quite well.
"I just need to get an understanding of what sort of players they have in their team and how they're playing.
"We've seen them play a lot of the times as elite kids as they were coming through, but it's obviously different in an AFL environment to see how they're going and how they mix with the older players."
The Swans suffered a two-point loss to Essendon at Etihad Stadium on Friday night, leaving them with a 2-2 win-loss record for the pre-season.
Yet there have been some encouraging signs for the Swans in the NAB Cup, with Luke Parker a stand-out against the Bombers and the rookie-listed Harry Cunningham continuing his impressive pre-season.
With Alex Brown added to the long-term injury list this week, some had speculated Cunningham, who kicked two goals against Essendon, could be elevated to the senior list.
But Longmire said the young Wagga Wagga product still had a way to go to crack the senior side, with a host of big names still to return ahead of round one.
"He's done really well for a young kid and gives us some real speed," Longmire said.
"But the reality is we're hoping to get Ben McGlynn, Marty Mattner, Ted Richards, Dan Hannebery and Ryan O'Keefe start to filter back to the senior team.
"That's the challenge for him."
Swans veteran Jude Bolton, who has enjoyed a stellar NAB Cup campaign, admitted the players were disappointed to lose to the Bombers.
"We were patchy throughout the game," Bolton said.
"We scored well when we got it inside 50 but there's still a few things we need to work on.
"You want to win close games of footy, whether it's a NAB Cup, a practice match or an intra-club, you still want to perform under pressure.
"At times we let ourselves down."
While GWS has hogged much of the spotlight in the harbour city ahead of round one, the Swans were thrilled with the turnout to their fan day.
More than 2,000 fans were at the event, which included player signings, kicking and handballing drills and a presentation on the SCG.
"It's fantastic, the weather was sensational which we were really pleased with," Longmire said.
"It was great to see so many Swans people there and so much red and white and they're all anxious for the start of the season as we all are.
"It was terrific for the players to see."
James Dampney covers Sydney AFL news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_JD
