Sydney Swans coach John Longmire has put the onus on his players to bring the heat on Friday night to defeat yet another in-form opposition in Melbourne.
Opposing coach Simon Goodwin has the Demons playing what Longmire described as a high-octane brand of football, which has served them well in recent weeks.
Even without several key players Melbourne will be another formidable opponent for the 10th-ranked Swans to account for, that’s if the Demons can replicate the same pressure and intensity which has yielded four-straight wins and six wins from the past eight games.
“(Melbourne’s) been very good, if you look at their win-loss over the last month it’s been outstanding,” Longmire said on Wednesday.
“They’ve been building a squad of players that can really compete at the highest level for a long period of time.
“Their pressure stats are huge, they put enormous pressure around the ball, they have great contested ball numbers and play a quick brand of footy.
“They’ve got a good mix of how to play the game and their young leaders are standing up, so all those challenges mean it’ll be a big game on Friday night with both teams in good form.”
Longmire has only been able to catch his breath after last weekend’s last-gasp win against Essendon in which Gary Rohan kicked the sealer after the siren, much to the coach’s relief.
The narrow result followed another come-from-behind win against Richmond at the MCG, the Swans overcoming a 36-point deficit to get over the line during the dying stages.
During his post-match press conference last weekend Longmire admitted even good sides need a little bit of luck sometimes, but just how much luck they can flirt with ahead of Friday night’s big clash against Melbourne remains to be seen.
With a spot in the eight on the line, he’s convinced his side can't afford a slow start or to drop off at any stage, as well as make their own luck this time to bring home a fourth-straight win.
“We seem to have played teams in the best possible form over the last three or four weeks, we’ve been hitting teams in red hot form,” he added.
“That’s been a real test … and it happens again this week against Melbourne, all their stats indicate they’re playing a strong brand of footy.
“You have to play to the final siren, which we’ve been able to do in the last couple of weeks, but we don’t want to rely on that.
“We want to make sure we play a good, strong brand of football early in the game to get that buffer and, if required, we also need the confidence to dig deep when we need to.”
Longmire confirmed at least one change ahead of Thursday’s trip to Melbourne, with Zak Jones returning to the senior side after serving his one-match suspension.
Meanwhile, in the Demons camp, Goodwin confirmed on Wednesday that he’ll be without Jess Garlett, Jack Watts and Jess Hogan (despite speculation the key forward would be available) for the Round 15 clash.
