Sydney Swans coach John Longmire believes this weekend’s Western Bulldogs squad could be the strongest they have fielded all season.

Speaking on Friday ahead of the Swans clash with the Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium on Sunday, Longmire said the possible return of a Brownlow Medallist Adam Cooney, and star players Shaun Higgins and Ryan Griffen could see the Bulldogs’ side come close to full strength this weekend.

“(The Bulldogs) have got seven ins this week including Cooney, Griffen and Higgins, so there is some absolute quality coming into the Bulldogs team,” he said.

“We had a meeting this morning and looked at their significant inclusions … it arguably could be the best Bulldogs team, certainly on paper, for the year.

“They’ll take some handling, I think.”

Following last week’s eight-point loss to Collingwood, Longmire said this week the team will be aiming to play four quarters of consistent football.

“We need to make sure that we play the sort of footy that we want to play for a bit longer than what we played last week,” he said.

“We just didn’t do it for as long as we should of.

“There is just too much on the line this week to make sure that we put in a really competitive performance and there are some really good players who have played a lot of good footy for the Western Bulldogs back in the team this week.”

The Swans are likely to receive a big inclusion this week, with Longmire confident on young forward Sam Reid returning from a knee injury.

The coach said Reid’s inclusion would be a major coup for the Swans this weekend.

“(Reid) is a really important player just for our forward structure and he allows Goodsey (Swans co-captain Adam Goodes) to do some other things in our forward line and midfield, and gives us some more flexibility,” he said.

“He’s a player who has been our centre-half forward for two years now and that is an important position on the ground to be able to play.

“Even when he’s not kicking goals he’s really important to our forward structure and his speed in our forward line is a bit underestimated as well as his ability to put defensive pressure on as well.”

In other news, Longmire confirmed that injured midfielder Jude Bolton is making excellent progress in his recovery from his knee injury.

Longmire said Bolton could return to the training track as soon as next week.

“Jude has been coming along really well,” he said.

“He’s running on his knee and it’s been pulling up really well.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he tries to get out and have a kick at training next week.

“He’s been able to kick the ball this week at training and has had a jog around and looks pretty good, and has been pulling up well from what he’s done.”

Longmire added that it was Bolton’s positivity that has been the key to his recovery to date.

“He’s just a positive person and that makes such a massive difference,” he said.

“It’s amazing the relationship between what happens between your ears and what happens in your knee, and (for Jude) it’s a pretty close relationship I think.”