Sydney coach John Longmire concedes the Swans’ early season reliance on Lance Franklin has proved pricey because the ageing star feels the pinch.
The Swans ought to regain co-captain Callum Mills, dynamo Isaac Heeney and ahead Logan McDonald in opposition to West Coast on the SCG on Saturday, however Franklin is prone to miss a second consecutive recreation as a result of knee soreness.
Sydney sometimes wish to handle 36-year-old Franklin however he as a substitute performed 9 of the Swans’ first 12 video games amid a spate of forward-line accidents.
“We wouldn’t have played him in the first half of the year as much as we did if we had other options,” Longmire informed reporters on Wednesday.
“We had some injuries to other key forwards in Joel (Amartey) and Reidy (Sam Reid) – and towards the end of that period Logan (McDonald) as well – and it’s probably costing a little bit in the back end of the year.
“If we had different choices we might have taken these.”
The legendary forward is part of a lengthy injury list, which has plagued Sydney’s performance and sent them tumbling down the ladder to 15th.
Though the Eagles are strong contenders for the wooden spoon, the return of defenders Tom Barrass, Liam Duggan and Jeremy McGovern will pose a challenge to the Swans’ understrength forward line.
Longmire says, while his team have undeniably been ravaged by injury, it is a challenge all teams have to face.
“Different groups at completely different instances undergo it,” he mentioned.
“You take care of the playing cards which are put in entrance of you and our problem now’s to ensure we get the opposite gamers – those which are coming again – we get that stability proper and get them in pretty much as good a type as we probably can.”
The Swans remain confident in their team composition and have re-signed 33-year-old co-captain Dane Rampe on a two-year extension.
The defender has played 221 games with Sydney since being picked in the 2013 AFL rookie draft and has played a pivotal role leading the Swans during their tumultuous 2023 season.
“(From) the second we put him within the workforce, he has been an impressive, huge competitor and such a crucial chief for this footy membership on and off the sphere,” Longmire mentioned.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
