Sydney coach John Longmire says celebrity ahead Lance Franklin shall be managed extra fastidiously within the second half of the season.
Franklin stays an opportunity to face Geelong on the SCG on Friday night time however won’t be rushed as he struggles to beat a knee harm that has sidelined him for 2 weeks.
The 36-year-old pulled up effectively from a operating session on Monday, with Longmire hopeful he may put collectively a robust coaching session on Tuesday night time and press his case for the large conflict.
But the shape and availability of younger Swans talls Logan McDonald, Joel Amartey and Hayden McLean, who booted 11 targets between them within the 171-point thrashing of the Eagles on Saturday, has eased stress on the Swans to deliver their predominant spearhead again.
“We’ll see how that goes and how much training he does before we make an absolute final decision on him,” Longmire stated.
“We’re just mindful of how much training he needs to do to be able to come back and get ready to play, so we’ll make that call tonight.
“We wouldn’t have played Lance as much as what we did in the first half of the year if it wasn’t that we didn’t have any available players to be able to play key position forward for us.”
Longmire praised the professionalism of Amartey, who looms because the long-term alternative for the legendary ahead and inked a three-year contract extension on Tuesday.
His four-goal efficiency in opposition to the Eagles got here simply three video games into his return from a extreme hamstring harm suffered in spherical 5.
“Joel has been fantastic for us, he’s been here for a few years and unfortunately had a number of injuries, hasn’t had a really good run at it, even over a pre-season, he hasn’t really put together a pre-season yet, but we’ve seen glimpses of what he can do,” Longmire stated.
“Through this rehab period in particular he’s been excellent – his professionalism, his size, his shape now – he’s a big power forward.
“We just need to keep making sure that we keep him healthy and on the park.”
Longmire stated key defender Tom McCartin may return to face the Cats after he was managed fastidiously by means of his VFL return final weekend.
The 23-year-old has not performed since spherical 8 after he skilled lingering concussion signs following a head knock a month earlier.
“We had (McCartin) time limited on the weekend, so he finished up at just the start of the last quarter … he’s pulled up really well, which is a good sign,” Longmire stated.
“We want him to come in and play well and play well for the rest of the year. Whether that’s this week or not, we’ll make that call after training.”
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
