Don't miss any of the news involving the Swans as we bring you everything from the newspapers around the country from Monday 14th September.

THEY’RE down on troops and facing an elimination final, but Sydney Swans coach John Longmire has found a tower of strength in a 16-game mature-age recruit.

And now Dean Towers could have a big role to play on Saturday night at ANZ Stadium against North Melbourne after successfully taking over Sam Reid’s key forward role in last Saturday’s brave qualifying final loss to Fremantle.

With five of the Swans’ best out of action through injury and illness, Longmire has been forced to dig deep into his playing list for replacements and was ecstatic with Towers’ impact in his first finals game. “He was fantastic,” Longmire said. “Once Sam Reid went off he really ran hard and competed. He was our centre half-forward and he led and presented well to our midfielders.

“He was a bit stiff early in the season because he was in and out of the team but he’s taken his chance well.”

SYDNEY coach John Longmire has praised North Melbourne’s persistence in ending Richmond’s season yesterday, but history suggests they will have to produce more than that to beat the Swans at ANZ Stadium on Saturday.

While the Swans are moving to a long-term deal at the SCG, ANZ Stadium has been a finals fortress for the red and whites.

The Swans haven’t lost in September at the Olympic venue since 2003 when eventual premiers Brisbane got the better of them.

SYDNEY’s playing group has been galvanised by its current injury crisis with prolific midfielder Tom Mitchell confident the Swans have plenty more left to give during the finals series.

The Swans were brave but beaten in Saturday’s qualifying final loss to Fremantle, and will head to Saturday night’s semi-final at ANZ Stadium without Lance Franklin, Sam Reid, Kieren Jack and Luke Parker.

But Mitchell insisted the Swans believe they can overcome the adversity.

“It can definitely galvanise you,” Mitchell said after the nine-point loss to the Dockers at Subiaco.

If there is a silver lining for Sydney from Lance Franklin's plight then it comes in the form of Dean Towers, whose importance to the Swans' quest for premiership glory has skyrocketed in a matter of days.

The relatively unknown 25-year-old from Colac, in Victoria's western districts, is used to being the last man picked and first man out but those days could soon be over.

If not for Franklin's unfortunate absence, Towers would most likely have spent Saturday afternoon watching the match from his lounge room in Sydney rather than announcing himself to the football world on his finals debut.

With Sam Reid also injured, Towers, who has played 16 games, has morphed from a likely finals spectator to the probable No. 1 key forward in the Swans' depleted forward line.

Despite their serious injury troubles, Sydney midfielder Tom Mitchell says that the Swans are good enough to beat any of the remaining finalists should they exert the effort level that got them within nine points of Fremantle in their qualifying final loss on Saturday at Domain Stadium.

Sydney are set to be without key forwards Lance Franklin (mental illness) and Sam Reid (hamstring) for next Saturday night's semi-final against either Richmond or North Melbourne at ANZ Stadium, while Kieren Jack (knee) and Luke Parker (ankle) appear unlikely to return. They were also without defender Nick Smith (hamstring) against the Dockers, however he should be right to play by next weekend.

Playing in just his third final, Mitchell, 22, was a useful contributor in the Swans' on-ball division, accumulating 29 disposals and laying five of the 83 tackles made by Sydney during the match. "If we bring that sort of effort again we should be a really good chance of beating any team really," Mitchell said in the rooms after game.

"The effort was there. You couldn't ask for much more from the boys. Everyone cracked in. I think it gives us confidence."

Sydney will face North Melbourne for a spot in the preliminary finals, after the Kangaroos condemned Richmond to a third consecutive first-week finals exit on Sunday.

Playing before their biggestever non-grand final crowd of 89,827, and driven by Carlton recruit Jarrad Waite’s four goals, the Kangaroos won by 17 points to break the Tigers’ hearts.

Nine days after resting almost half their team in preparation for the match – losing to Richmond in their round-23 match – North took control of the elimination final throughout the second half.

If Sydney are to make it to a fourth straight preliminary final, they will have to do it without key forwards Buddy Franklin and Sam Reid.

Franklin has already been ruled out for consecutive weeks by coach John Longmire as he battles a serious mental illness, and Reid tore his right hamstring in the Swans’ gallant nine-point loss to Fremantle in Perth on Saturday.

The Swans were robbed of goalkicking potency from the second quarter against the Dockers when Reid was substituted off.

“It looked a bad one, but we haven’t had a scan yet,” Longmire said after the loss. “He’ll be out for a few weeks I’d imagine.”

THERE have been plenty of great wins over the last couple of decades for the red and white but there have been no braver losses for the injury-ravaged Swans than the nine-point defeat to Fremantle.

The Dockers led all day but Sydney never stopped coming. It wasn’t until the final siren the home team could take a breath as they finally confirmed an all-Perth preliminary final weekend in two weeks’ time.

“I thought our effort was absolutely outstanding,” Swans coach John Longmire said.

“I was really proud of the blokes the way they fought it out, our blokes had a real go and in the end they gave us a real chance to win and in the end we didn’t take our chances.

“The effort to come across here and have a real crack and play it out till the final siren was fantastic.”

LANCE Franklin will miss next Saturday night’s semi-final at ANZ Stadium after Swans coach John Longmire ruled out the superstar forward for a second week in a row.

Franklin missed the Swans nine-point loss to Fremantle in the qualifying final yesterday and has been on indefinite leave since last Tuesday, when he revealed he was suffering from an unspecified mental illness as well as epilepsy.

“Lance won’t play next week,” Longmire said after the match.

Sydney were brave, bruised but eventually beaten. For all the courage they showed against Fremantle on Saturday there are now more reasons against a Swans premiership than for it.

It is doubtful the Swans have produced a braver performance, but all they have to show for their valour is another injury to a key player and the likelihood of plenty more frequent flyer points.

The Swans’ road to the MCG on the first Saturday of October now includes another trip to Perth, provided they can rebound next week at ANZ Stadium, which is no guarantee.

History suggests the Swans should win through to the preliminary final but they will have to do so without Sam Reid, who joined a star-studded casualty ward when he hurt his hamstring. Reid’s season is almost certainly over.

And it could have been the difference between an against-the-odds victory for the Swans and the gallant nine-point defeat.

COMBINING parenthood with a professional football career has its challenges, but for these proud dads it’s been a smooth transition.

The Sydney Swans kick off their fifth consecutive finals series in today’s qualifying final against Fremantle in Perth, but it’s not just footy that has been keeping the red and whites busy this year.

For Rhyce Shaw, Josh Kennedy and Ben McGlynn, fatherhood has come into their lives for the first time with the birth of sons Freddie, Emilio and Sonny.

“It’s been a very easy fit,” McGlynn said. “Fortunately with footy I’ve got a bit of spare time during the week so I can help out at home. My wife Hannah is very understanding and footy is obviously a priority later in the week.

“I’m more hands on as a father now. I haven’t been put out too much by sleepless nights and we’ve been pretty lucky with Sonny.”

VICTORY over Fremantle in today’s qualifying final in Perth will go down as one of the Swans’ greatest ever performances.

No Lance Franklin, Kieren Jack, Luke Parker or Nick Smith means the Swans’ odds have blown out the gate.

On top of that, the undermanned Swans will face a refreshed Dockers after the minor premiers were able to rest almost half of their senior line-up last week.

Despite the enormous challenge for a side plagued by inconsistency this season, Sydney have managed to have key players in form at the right end of the season.

Kurt Tippett is in career best form and is clearly revelling in the dual role of ruckman and key forward.

TOM Mitchell has become Sydney’s stat machine.

Since round 18, Mitchell has been in the AFL’s elite, averaging 122.8 SuperCoach points per game, which ranks him fifth in the competition over that time.

In the past five games the 22-year-old has averaged a massive 34 possessions per game, four clearances, eight tackles and one goal.

If he can reproduce that sort of output today against the Dockers, he will take the Swans a long way to winning.

Gary Rohan does not want to be remembered for a broken leg, even if the road back from it was inspiring, or as the man whose misfortune forced a rule change. So sick is he of talking about the accident you get the feeling he'd even prefer to be known as the guy who lowered his colours on grand final day. He has the perfect opportunity in the next few weeks to re-write his story.

There are few things more exciting in sport than to see a player take hold of the ball and run. Think Jarryd Hayne, in more than one code now, dashing through gaps other do not see or cannot fit through; Lionel Messi dribbling past mesmerised opponents or Israel Folau crashing through midfields and outside backs. Rohan is not quite at that level but he has a licence to thrill.

And he has weapons – plenty of them. A booming kick, a jump like a spring-heeled Jack, beautiful hands and blistering pace. Put them all together and you have a match-winner. There have been glimpses of Rohan the game-breaker this season but just as he had taken steps into uncharted territory injury struck – firstly a hamstring tear, an occupational hazard for a speedster, and a knock to his knee.

"I was really confident with what I could do out there. Confidence is a big thing for me, I felt like I was unstoppable and play the brand I wanted to play," Rohan says. "Everything I did I was making the right choices out there. It's hard to describe, it just feels like you're on top of the ground out there. You're having an impact."