Round 7 vs Geelong Cats

Saturday May 1, SCG, 7.25pm

IN: Hickey, McCartin, Stephens, O’Riordan

OUT: Hewett (concussion), Blakey (omitted), Reid (calf), Brand (omitted)

The Sydney Swans have made four changes to the team to take on the Geelong Cats in Saturday night football at the SCG tomorrow night.

Ruckman Tom Hickey is the big inclusion, making a quicker than expected return after sustaining a PCL injury in the Sydney Derby a fortnight ago.

“It’s a great effort by Tom to come back,” coach John Longmire said.

“When he first got injured we thought it might be a number of weeks but he has been unbelievable the way he has got back in. He’s trained well all week and he feels good and pulled up well so it’s a great effort.

“He’s been able to have a big impact since he has come to the club, both on and off the field. He’s been fantastic in our meetings and on the ground he was important in those first few weeks so it’s good to get him back in the team. Hopefully our midfield really benefits from that.”

Key defender Tom McCartin will also return to the side after missing last week’s game against the Gold Coast with hamstring tightness.

“He was touch and go last week,” Longmire said.

“We were unsure whether he was absolutely ready to go but he has been able to train all this week so it’s good to get Tommy back in.

“Obviously we need him down back in that key position role , he’s been going well there so far this year so it’s good to get him back in the team.”

Nick Blakey will play for the VFL side this week and will look to regain some form with Dylan Stephens and Colin O’Riordan coming into the senior side for their first games of 2021 on the back of consistent performances in the VFL. Stephens did come on the ground as a medical sub in the Sydney Derby in the final quarter, but this is the first time he has been named in the team for season 2021.

The Swans, who currently sit fifth on the ladder with four wins and two losses, will face an in-form Geelong side who had a comprehensive 97-point win over the Eagles last week.

“To beat West Coast the way they did was a credit to them,” Longmire said.

“We know they are a really experienced team but we feel like we can try and break even around the contest, that’s always an important area, particularly with their forward line.

“They have some great talent and we want to try and restrict the amount of entries they get and make sure we get our fair share.

“It’s always about the contested ball and we need to make sure we get a really good response, last week we were a bit down so we need to improve in that area.”

First bounce at the SCG is 7.25pm on Saturday night and the game will be broadcast live on Channel 7, Fox Footy and Kayo Sports.

The Sydney Swans VFL team will also face Geelong in their Round 3 match at Lakeside Oval at Moore Park as a precursor to the AFL game. The Swans side will be boosted by the inclusion of Robbie Fox, who returns to footy after suffering a finger injury in February.

The Swans go into the match having registered one win (against the Giants in Round 1) and a loss (against the Suns in Round 2) and coach Jeremy Laidler said his side is looking to get back to playing 'the Swans brand of football.'

"We are really looking forward to the challenge and bouncing back from last week," Laidler said.

"Geelong is in really good form, they had a solid win against North Melbourne and have quality players all over the field. We were pleased with how we played in Round 1 so we will be looking at getting back to that."

The VFL game starts at 2.35pm and will be available to watch on Kayo Freebies.

Click here to see the full VFL team.

Sydney Swans vs Geelong Cats