Sydney Swans coach John Longmire addressed the media ahead of training at the SCG on Tuesday morning.

Sydney is set for a top-of-the-table clash with Richmond at Etihad Stadium on Thursday night.

Here are some key quotes from the press conference.

A bye before a huge clash

“Us and Richmond are the last teams to have had a bye. It always comes as a good time to refresh your players, a few of the sore boys and get us right and ready to go for the Tigers.”

Niggles among the team

“There’s niggling injuries every week for every team and we’re no different. You get to a bit over the halfway point of the year and the players enjoy being able to freshen themselves up both physically and mentally and we go in this week against the team on top of the ladder and last year’s premiers. It gets you woken up.”

Jarrad McVeigh’s return from a calf inury

“He’s been able to do a little bit. We trained on Sunday and he did a little bit of that. The plan is for him to do a little more today and hopefully he should be okay. He’s got to get through training but the expectation at the present time is that he’s hopefully able to train and put himself up for selection.”

How Reid (quad) and Melican (hamstring) are tracking

“Sam Reid and Lewis Melican having been training and the chances are they will not be available for senior selection. They won’t be coming straight back in but if they get through training today we’ll discuss whether they play in the NEAFL this week. It may be a little bit too early for them because they’ve only been training for a week. We want to make sure those two are right." 

Playing at Etihad Stadium instead of the MCG

“You look at Richmond’s record at the MCG and you put all that in the mix but in the end you don’t have any say it. We take all we can get as far as MCG games. This week’s obviously at Etihad Stadium and we don’t have any control of that so I don’t spend any time worrying about it. Richmond anywhere is a pretty tough prospect and I’m sure this week will be the same.”

Playing the grand final at the MCG

“I understand the presidents have had discussions along those lines. It’s a fairly significant commitment to be able to play all the grand finals or the majority of the bigger finals at the MCG for such a long period of time. It’s a significant commitment to play the grand finals at the MCG and the clubs that don’t have it as their home ground just need to deal with it. There’s been consideration in regard to that and I think that needs to be discussed going forward. Is it a big concern for me playing Thursday this week against Richmond at Etihad Stadium? No, it’s not – I’ll leave that for the presidents to sort out. I’m sure if the grand final was played here at the SCG, or Adelaide Oval or Perth I think Melbourne would probably have a bit of a different perspective. It just depends on what lense look through, doesn’t it? After all, it’s a home ground.”

Managing Reid and Melican

“Something we’ve spoken about with our medical staff is to make sure we get their programs right to this point. They’ve trained over the past week but they need to get it right and we need to not rush them. Sam hasn’t had a setback but Lewis has had a couple of setbacks and they’re both really important players for us. We want to make sure we get their programs right for the important part of the year and that means not rushing them at this point. Each individual’s program is a bit different. Sam and Lewis are probably on similar paths. If it’s not this week they might be available for our NEAFL side next week. I certainly wouldn’t see them waiting for a month but they’re able to train and they’ll play when the medical staff give them a tick.”

Facing Richmond

“Their form, if you’re looking at their win-loss at this time of the year, is a lot better than what it was last year. So you’d say they’re in better form. They’ve got confidence from winning the premiership, they’ve got enormous self-belief in the way they play and they’ve got a huge number of premiership players available this week, so they’ve got just about their best available team ready to play. They’ve got their tails up, we know it’s a big challenge and it’s one we’re looking forward to. We played West Coast who were on top of the ladder when we last played and we now play Richmond who are now on top of the ladder this week. So the challenges keep mounting but you want to be playing in these types of games at this time of year. It’s a fortunate position to be in.”

How the Swans are looking ahead of the Tigers clash

“We think our core senior group of players are in reasonable form and we’ve introduced some younger kids who are also playing well. It doesn’t matter what I say at this time of week – it’s what happens at Etihad Stadium on Thursday night.”

Dan Hannebery’s body

“Hannebery’s feeling pretty good now. He’s back in pretty good nick. He played on Andrew Gaff against West Coast and we thought he did a pretty good job. Every player at every club get to the halfway point with various niggles and we’re no different. That’s why it’s good to have the bye in the middle of the year – to be able to freshen them up and get them ready for a solid campaign starting with the Tigers.”

Words on Lance Franklin ahead of his 100^th Swans game

“His impact on the Club has been significant on and off the field. You don’t really get to appreciate him until you work with him close up and you understand how much of a competitor he is, how much he understands football and how much he contributes. We’ve been fortunate to see that close up over the last few years. His role on the ground has obviously been significant but his role with the younger players – and as we develop that next generation of Swans players and particularly in our front half – has also been significant. His role with mentoring the younger players can’t be underestimated. They love playing with him and he loves playing with the kids. That’s something that’s really stood out to me over the last couple of years.”

How the football world reacted to Franklin signing with the Swans

“It may have caught one or two people off-guard. But in the end Lance wanted to move to Sydney and he had a partner in Sydney at the time who’s now his wife and it was significant for him to be able to make a decision not just based upon football but life. He was keen to move up and when we found out about that we were interested. His commitment to this footy Club has been significant and he’s been a fantastic asset.”