Ted Richards is expecting to see plenty of red and white in the stands at Spotless Stadium on Saturday when the Sydney Swans meet GWS in this weekend’s season opener.

A crowd of more than 20,000 has been predicted for the round one clash at the Homebush venue, which if all goes to plan will be the largest crowd recorded in the boutique stadium’s short history.

Speaking ahead of the Swans’ training session at Spotless Stadium, Richards said the club expected to draw fans from all across Sydney on Saturday, despite the match being played in western Sydney.

“I saw that the match is being called the ‘Battle of the Bridge’, but I don’t like to think that Swans fans are on one side and GWS fans are on the other,” he said.

“We’ve got great support in this part of Sydney, so wherever the Swans fans come from I’m sure they’ll get out here on Saturday.”

The Swans tested out Spotless Stadium for the first time on Thursday morning, which was the first time a number of senior Swans had set foot on GWS’ home ground.

Richards said the group had been impressed by the venue and were looking forward to getting out there this weekend.

“It’s the first time I’ve been out here and it’s an incredible pitch,” he said.

“It’s similar to the Gold Coast’s home ground and it just seems like everything is perfect.

“We warmed up in the change rooms downstairs and all the facilities down there are great.”

The Swans will have at least one player debut for the club in Saturday afternoon’s match, with new recruit Lance Franklin set to play his first official game for the Swans.

Richards said he had spoken to Buddy about his first match and said he was surprised to see that the four-time All Australian had a few nerves ahead of his first game in the red and white.

“I’ve spoken to him about it and even for a NAB Challenge game a couple of weeks ago, I think there was some nerves there for him,” he said.

“Heading off to a new team, he wants to get off to a good start.

“It’s really good to see that no matter how long he’s played, he’s still got those butterflies and is wanting to start the year on a good note.”

After a long pre-season, which culminated last weekend with the Swans’ final practice match against the Brisbane Lions in Burpengary, Richards said there was no doubt the entire Swans squad was ready for round one to get underway .

“We started in late November/early December and it’s been three or four months of just preparing for now,” he said.

“I’ve hardly missed a session and we’re all ready to go.”