Sydney coach John Longmire will back in his incumbent ruck combination to limit the influence of Melbourne stars Max Gawn and Luke Jackson in their AFL qualifying final.
The Swans are on guard for Gawn in particular after the Demons’ skipper produced a dominant individual performance in their most recent meeting back in round 12.
The six-time All-Australian ruckman kicked three goals from 28 disposals and nine marks, yet the Swans emerged narrow winners against a Melbourne side that was missing key defender Steven May.
Gawn got the better of Peter Ladhams but Sydney’s first-choice ruckman Tom Hickey has since returned and rekindled his partnership with key forward Sam Reid over the last two months.
Longmire has put plenty of time into his planning around Gawn ahead of Friday night’s clash at the MCG.
“He and Jackson are as good a ruck combination going around and they’ve got some elite midfielders that they can give good service to,” Longmire told reporters on Wednesday.
“Max is obviously a key part of that and he’s a very strong captain.
“We talk about ways of making sure we can reduce his influence but it’s Tom Hickey, it’s Sam Reid and those guys making sure that they compete for a long time because we know that Max will.
“We all need to make sure that we keep that pressure on and Max’s presence in the air, whether it’s a stoppage or contested marking situation, is obviously a very high level.”
Any thoughts of Sydney recalling Ladhams this week were quashed when the back-up big man was suspended in the VFL.
Ladhams has played 11 senior matches this season but could miss the Swans’ entire finals campaign after he was handed a three-match ban for rough conduct last weekend.
It is the former Port Adelaide ruckman’s second suspension this season after his one-match ban for striking ex-teammate Ollie Wines.
“We were obviously disappointed with it,” Longmire said.
“Coming back from his broken thumb … we were looking forward to having him available, not only this week but for the coming weeks.
“That’s been taken away so it’s disappointing for us and hopefully he learns from it.”
Ladhams’ suspension leaves the Swans short in the ruck if Hickey becomes unavailable for any reason but Longmire said retiring veteran Callum Sinclair is still the mix.
The former West Coast ruckman has not played an AFL match for the Swans this year and has announced he will call time on his 118-game career at the end of the season.
“We haven’t ruled him out,” Longmire said of the 32-year-old, who has made just four AFL appearances since 2020.
“His footy’s been pretty good (in the VFL) this year, he’s been pretty consistent, so we’ll see how we go.
“It’s maybe a bit too early to make that call at he moment but he’s been playing because he’s been important at the next level down but also if we’ve needed him at the next level up.”
