John Longmire has labelled Swans Hall of Famer Lewis Roberts-Thomson as one of the best big-game players he has ever coached, praising his incredible versatility and performances on the AFL's biggest stage.
Longmire, who joined the More than Footy Podcast, presented by Bing Lee, to launch his new autobiography Pain, Perspective and Premierships, was an assistant coach with the Swans during their historic premiership triumph in 2005, before coaching the Swans in their Grand Final victory over Hawthorn in 2012.
Roberts-Thomson, one of four players to win two premierships with the Swans (2005 and '12), produced arguably career-best performances on both occasions and is revered amongst Swans fans, and Longmire, for being the ultimate big-game player.
"Lewis Roberts-Thomson was incredibly underrated. He was one of the most consistent big-game players I have ever coached," Longmire said.
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"He, and probably Josh Kennedy were probably the ones I can remember playing well consistently in our biggest games.
"But 'LRT' was amazing. He was so versatile, you could throw him anywhere."
Longmire continued to reflect on the impact of Roberts-Thomson in the 2012 Grand Final, lauding his 'effort and discipline' as a key reason as to why the Swans reigned supreme on the last Saturday in September.
Hawthorn, who had significant momentum in the second half, with goals to Lance Franklin, Isaac Smith and Luke Breust setting the tone for an epic fourth quarter.
The Swans victory, however, came down to many incredible plays - such as the two Nick Malceski goals in the first and fourth quarter, Ryan O'Keefe's 15 relentless tackles from start to finish, or Marty Mattner's famous one-on-one contest in the dying stages.
But while Longmire is the first to attribute the win to a multitude of those plays, the premiership-winning coach spoke of a hidden tactic that ultimately paved the way for the famous win.
"We went into the game (with the idea)...if Hawthorn were going to kick three goals in a row, they were probably going to kick five or six," Longmire said.
"They just had an unbelievable team. Early in the game they kicked three (goals) in a row, but I didn't stem the bleeding, and didn't put LRT down back. He was playing forward and I didn't put him back at that time"
"They kicked five or six and we lost a bit of momentum. II just vowed in that game, if that happened again...I'd make a decision.
"So in the last quarter, they kicked two or three in a row, had a bit of momentum so I put LRT behind the ball - not as a negative tactic, but just to hold the momentum of the Hawks.
"They were very much a momentum team, so that stopped them from scoring and then we pushed him up around the ball as a 'third-man in'...we kicked a couple of goals, got back in the game, and then pushed him forward.
"His role in that whole last quarter, I was virtually talking to our runners (Nick Davis and Stuart Maxfield), about where we could put LRT...his effort in that game, and discipline, was outstanding."
