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

Sydney beat Hawthorn in an eight-point win at the MCG last Friday and will host Fremantle at the SCG on Saturday night.

Here are some key quotes from the press conference.

Whether Lance Franklin or Dan Hannebery will face Fremantle
“He’s not going to play this week unfortunately. We had probably suspected that after last week. We gave him a chance last week but he didn’t get there. We’re going to see how Dan Hannebery goes this week at training. We’ll make a decision later in the week. He’s been running and kicking fine. We’ll just see how the week progresses.” 

How long Franklin will spend on the sidelines
“We can’t give a definitive answer on that. It’s a bruised heel and they can be quite tricky. You don’t always know how long it will be. Sometimes they can get better on their own and you can keep playing, but other times it gets really worse and you can’t keep playing and it really affects you and you’re not sure how you’re going to be. Tom Harley, our footy manager, has had one before and it was quite painful for him for a while. Lance can run on the treadmill. He did a bit of training last week out on the ground but that’s when it got a bit sore so we pulled the pin. He didn’t do as much as we’d hoped last week so we stopped the session.” 

Is Franklin a good ‘watcher’?
“As with every senior player he’s not a good watcher. Every player, and particularly the ones who have played a lot of footy and enjoy the big contests – they don’t enjoy sitting back and watching their team play.”

How the forward line is faring in Franklin’s absence
“It’s a really young front half that we’ve got at the moment. We have a reasonably young team in certain parts of the ground but certainly in the front half. We don’t expect what Ben Ronke did last Friday to happen every week but our guys are providing real contest in the front half and are then able to score off the back of that.” 

Comments of Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson about Sydney’s ‘blocking’
“It was a strange comment from Alastair, considering the previous three times when they beat us by a kick nothing was said. When you look at what Hawthorn do they do the same thing. There are examples of Hawthorn players. You have a look at the AFL’s own website about Hawthorn doing the same thing. In the end it’s an important part of the game and it’s just a bit unusual that you comment on other teams and think your team does everything perfectly right.”

Clarkson continually raising the issue
“After the game it can be a bit difficult but then to follow it up on Saturday and this morning he caught up with Gil McLachlan for breakfast to go through some vision. I’m not sure if it was under the guise of the charter of the game but unusual and unnecessary, I’d suggest. Alastair and I have had a couple of exchanges and we’ll have to agree to disagree on this one. In the end we’ve all got passionate thoughts on the game. There’s a time and a place to have those discussions and when we’re in the heat of a season and particularly after a loss I just don’t think it’s appropriate to put it on the agenda and keep following it up the way he did. It’s unnecessary and unwarranted.” 

Nick Smith ahead of his 200^th AFL game
“He’s been a wonderful servant for this footy Club. If you’re talking about the player who you’d like to represent the Club every week, on and off the field it would be Nick Smith. He just typifies what we aspire to be. He’s consistent, he’s a quality person. He gives his all every week on some of the best forwards in the game and you can’t ask for much more than that.” 

What makes Smith so valuable
“He’s so mentally strong. He applies himself to his tasks and profession in such a professional way. His ability to be able to get the most out of himself during the week and then really hone in on who’s he playing on and what he needs to do for that particular week is first-class. He’s so mentally strong and he gets some of the biggest challenges in the game and there could be more of those challenges this week against Fremantle. But he’ll be absolutely about the team this week. It won’t be about Nick. He’s very understated and it will be about doing the best thing for the team.” 

Josh Kennedy ahead of his 200^th Club game
“He’s been really consistent. His ability to be able to lead the Club and still play really well is a credit to him. I know his family and it’s no coincidence he’s such a quality person having been brought up the way he has been. He’s been fantastic ever since he came to the Club and still delivers on and off the field for us week in and week out. He is such a quality person.” 

Clarkson meeting with AFL CEO Gil McLachlan
“If any coach is going to speak to the CEO I think it’s fantastic. It’s great the CEO’s door is open. It’s a great quality to have as the CEO of the competition. You need that. But I think the topics and how they were looked upon is probably not the time and place to do it. I was surprised when Alastair brought it up and particularly when you look at what Hawthorn do.” 

Star Fremantle midfielder Nat Fyfe
“Fyfe and Aaron Sandilands have an unbelievable combination in the centre of the ground and all around the ground. Fyfe’s probably playing the best footy he has played, including his Brownlow year. It’s a big task for us this week. If Fremantle wins the midfield battle it puts a lot of pressure on our players to win the ball back. It’s something we try to avoid but it’s one thing to say and another thing to do.”