Sydney Swans co-captain Josh Kennedy says the Swans will be up for the challenge against the Geelong Cats at the SCG in Round 7, predicting the battle against their forward line a key factor.
Coming off a defeat to the Gold Coast Suns last week, Kennedy confirmed the return of Tom McCartin to the Swans backline, set to take on Geelong’s Tom Hawkins and Jeremy Cameron.
The Cats’ key forwards performed strongly in their victory over West Coast last weekend, and Kennedy knows McCartin and the rest of the defenders will need to be on their toes for a physical contest.
"He'll [McCartin] come back in and go up against their pretty dynamic forward line. They've got some real power up there," Swans co-captain Josh Kennedy said on Thursday.
"[The defenders] are going to have to be on their toes, and we're going to have to do our best to make sure the entries going inside 50 are as sloppy as possible, or limited as much as we can to help them out."
The Swans have lost the contested-ball count the past two weeks, after getting on top of their opponents in that area the previous four weeks.
Kennedy felt it wasn't a coincidence that stat matches up with the team's win-loss run in the opening six rounds.
"It all goes hand-in-hand with the contested footy, the pressure, your intensity around the ball," he said.
"It has dropped off the last couple of weeks, so we've got to try and get that back up to where we know we can play at.
“It's a real strength of Geelong's too, so it's going to be a good contest."
Co-captain Dane Rampe is unlikely to play as he recovers from surgery on a broken finger, but knowing the powers of recuperation Rampe has shown in the past, Kennedy wasn't willing to rule out his courageous co-captain before the Swans' main training session of the week.
"He's an outside chance," Kennedy said with a laugh.
"I think it's a tough call generally given the calibre that Ramps is.
"Not just what he offers with regards to being able to stop the opposition forward line, but the energy he provides, the confidence he gives and direction to a lot of our other players on the ground especially down back."
Nick Blakey is a better chance to run out with the Swans on Saturday, despite coming off second best in a heavy collision in the first quarter against the Suns.
The impact left the 21-year-old with a badly corked thigh that restricted his ability to run, but he pushed through and spent plenty of time in the Swans forward line even though he only picked up a further three disposals.
"He went for a bit of a run and a kick, nothing too intense, on Tuesday," Kennedy said.
"He'll come out and fully train today, so he'll be right to go as well."
The Swans return to the SCG this Saturday night when they face Geelong. Get your Round 7 tickets here and Be There LIVE.
