The Sydney Swans have made one change to their side to face Richmond at the MCG on Saturday afternoon.

Young forward Hayden McLean comes in to replace Lance Franklin (managed).

Franklin made a successful return from a 19-month layoff in round two but coach John Longmire, as he has previously stated, said Franklin's workload will continually be managed throughout the 2021 season.

“Lance is feeling good. It was part of our original plan, about a month ago when we sat down, that this might have been a possibility, but we still wanted to see how training went this week," Longmire said.

“We sat down after training and went through the pros and cons and it is about the longer game with Lance and making sure we get him through the season."

The Swans Saturday afternoon fixture against the reigning premiers will be the first time playing at the MCG in 597 days and the challenge is not lost on Longmire.

“They have been the best team in the competition the last few years, they do a lot well and have some great players and they also play a great system,” Longmire said.

“This game has an amazing ability of keeping you on your toes. We go and play the three-time premiers on their home deck on a Saturday afternoon, that’s a pretty simple way of making sure you’re on your toes, they are a great team so we look forward to that.

Seven of the Sydney side have not played a senior AFL game on the MCG (Braeden Campbell, Errol Gulden, Logan McDonald, Chad Warner, Hayden McLean, Justin McInerney and Sam Wicks) .

Whilst several other Swans in the 23 or under bracket have had limited experience on the MCG: Ollie Florent (5 games), Tom McCartin (4 games), Jordan Dawson (3 games) and Nick Blakey (2 games).

The game kicks off at 1.45pm AEDT on Saturday April 3^rd and is broadcast on Fox Footy, 7Mate (NSW) and Kayo Sports.