Sydney coach John Longmire is confident inspirational co-captain Adam Goodes will be playing in Friday night’s blockbuster AFL clash with reigning premiers Geelong.
Missing the past six weeks with a quad strain, Goodes has trained well this week and looks set to take the field in front of a sell-out crowd at the only Friday night match at the SCG this year.
“He’s looking pretty well,” Longmire said ahead of training on Wednesday.
“We expect him to train again today and to be playing on Friday.”
Longmire said he wouldn’t be putting any pressure on the 304-game veteran to turn the game around in his comeback match and expects the rest of the squad to maintain the standard of the past few weeks without Goodes.
“There’s no expectation for him to come into the team and dominate from the first bounce,” Longmire said.
“We know he’s a fit player, we know he can play forward, midfield and a number of roles for us, so we just expect him to come in and contribute.
“Goodesy hasn’t missed too many matches so other players have needed to step up and we’ve been able to get through that time without him.
“So those players know they need to just play like they have been the past few weeks.”
Longmire knows the Cats, on a three-match winning streak, will prove a test for his Swans, but takes some confidence from his charges’ nail-biting four-point victory over Essendon in round 11.
“If you go through the names in their team, it’s a who’s who of the last five years of premiership football,” Longmire said of Geelong.
“They can turn it on any week, any quarter or any five-minute block … so we know we need to be at our best to beat them.”
The Swans, who are fourth on the ladder with an eight-three win-loss record, have played just four Friday night matches at the SCG since 1997.
Pocket rocket Ben McGlynn will also return for the Swans following a week’s suspension then the bye, while Shane Mumford, who has been back for two games since missing six weeks with a back problem earlier in the season, will look to get back to his best for the clash against his former team.