The 34-year-old, who replaced Lance Franklin during the third quarter of the Swans’ win over Melbourne last weekend, finished the match with five possessions, four inside 50s and two goal assists, and provided an injection of energy up forward.
Swans coach John Longmire told media on Monday afternoon that the dual Brownlow medallist had pulled up well after his return match and was pressing for more game time this week.
“He’s pulled up pretty good,” Longmire said.
“He didn’t play a huge amount of game time, so he’s probably the best he’s pulled up from a game for quite a while.
“For a 34-year-old, he actually feels quite good today.
“I thought when he came on he had an impact and provided some real life, so we’re certainly going to discuss him starting in the 21 this week.
“At this stage he’s certainly due to play and he’s pulled up really well from the game and we’ll just decide on his role later on in the week.”
The Swans could have a bevy of talls to choose from this weekend, with a number of key forwards pushing for selection in Saturday night’s clash with the Lions.
Longmire confirmed that Franklin, who was subbed out of the game against the Demons with knee soreness, had avoided any structural damage and should be available for this weekend’s match, while fellow forwards Kurt Tippett (rib) and Sam Reid (Achilles) could also be in the mix.
“(Kurt) ran today and ran fine, so the plan is to train him on Thursday and see how he goes Thursday and then make a decision with him after that time,” he said.
“Sam Reid is the other one who comes right into consideration because he is actually training and trained really well (last) Thursday and was putting his hand up for selection.
“We expect him, if he trains tomorrow and Thursday, to be available to play … so it would be good to start getting those guys back into the team.”
Another Swan who will be pushing his case this weekend is Tom Mitchell, who made his return via the reserves after missing the club’s win over Fremantle with an ankle concern.
“Tom was one of our best players in the reserves,” Longmire said.
“It was good because he’d been missing, as far as on the training track, continuous training for probably a month or six weeks.
“He was able to have a weekend off and get his body right and was able to train fully last week for the first time in that period.
“He then came out on the weekend and played a really good game, so he’s a chance to put some pressure on those guys in the team.”
Gary Rohan, who has been battling nerve pain in his upper leg, also lined up for the reserves last Friday, but Longmire said the young speedster still had a way to go before he returns to senior football.
“Gary is still trying to get full match fitness coming back from that ‘nervy’ hamstring that he’s had really since the start of the season,” he said.
“He was okay on the weekend but still probably needs to keep working on his match fitness to get back to full flight, and we’re looking forward to hopefully having that happening soon as well.”
