The Sydney Swans have made just one change for Saturday’s clash with the Western Bulldogs, recalling Jeremy Laidler for the Round 15 encounter at the SCG.

Laidler missed the win over Melbourne with knee soreness, but has recovered well and will retake his place in the Sydney Swans’ back half.

He replaces young defender Aliir Aliir in the selected side.

Speaking on Centrum Team Selection, coach John Longmire said the decision while difficult came down to Laidler’s experience and strong form.

“Aliir has played quite well, he’s been in and out for just one game both times without doing much wrong. We really like the way he’s developing,” he said.

“Jeremy Laidler’s trained well this week and has that bit of experience so we look forward to getting him back in the team.”

The Sydney Swans boast a strong recent record against the Western Bulldogs, having won seven of the past nine matches.

The last, however, went the way of the Bulldogs. In a hard-fought contest at the same venue in Round 5 last season, Luke Beveridge’s men recorded a thrilling four-point win in the wet in what was dubbed one of the games of the season.

As has been discussed many times this week, this game is expected to be won in the midfield.

Sydney (1st) and Western Bulldogs (3rd) are competition leaders for winning the contested ball with Josh Kennedy and Marcus Bontempelli leading the charge for their respective sides.

Harry Cunningham, Abe Davis and Sam Naismith have been named as emergencies.

To view the full squad, click here.