John Longmire says stopping Gold Coast Suns star midfielder Gary Ablett won’t be the Sydney Swans’ only focus leading into Sunday’s round 12 clash at Metricon Stadium.
While the dual-Brownlow medallist has been in scintillating form this season, averaging over 31 possessions per game and booting 20 goals, Longmire stressed that the Suns’ midfield talent ran much deeper than the star player.
“What the Gold Coast have also added (are players like) (Dion) Prestia, who is having a good season, we saw (David) Swallow on the weekend play really good football and then there’s (Jaeger) O’Meara,” Longmire told media on Monday.
“They are midfielders that are going to be very dominant players for a long time and are starting to play really good football together now.
“You’ve got to be careful if you put all your attention on Ablett because as good as what he is, those others in that group are as good as any going around and they are going to be really good players for a long time.”
The Suns young midfield have had an exceptional start to the season, with Prestia, Swallow and O’Meara all playing significant roles in the Gold Coast’s impressive run of form this year, which has seen them win seven of their opening ten matches.
Prestia has averaged 28.7 disposals per game this season, including a season-high 35 possessions against the Western Bulldogs in round ten, and has also averaged six clearances per match.
Swallow has been equally influential with an average of 25.3 possessions for the season, including 37 touches against the Crows over the weekend, while 20-year-old O’Meara is not far behind with an average of 21.7 touches and a team-high 7.2 tackles per game.
Longmire said that while Ablett would continue to be their leading ball-getter, it would be remiss for the Swans not to be prepared for the Suns’ up-and-coming mids.
“You’ve got to be mindful of those blokes now as they’ve got some real class in their midfield,” he said.
“It’s about being mindful that you’ve got to put your attention into him but don’t let the others get you as well.
“If you let that midfield get on top, then they’ve got some really talented forwards and they’ve got a good balance in their forward line.
“They’re a team that’s improved really quickly and we’re mindful of Gary, but we’re also mindful that they’re a fast, maturing team.”
Approaching this week’s game, Longmire said the Swans were likely to take a team approach to battling the Suns’ midfield and were unlikely to assign one player to Ablett in order to remain accountable across the Gold Coast’s midfield group.
“It’s a very big job for one player to do,” he said.
“It’s a combination of Kieren Jack, Craig Bird, Ben McGlynn or Jarrad McVeigh (who might spend time on Ablett).
“We’ve got a number of blokes who can play through that area of the ground that we consider to be pretty accountable players.
“Other teams have done OK on Ablett, but then Prestia and Swallow have come away with 35, 37 or 40 possessions as well.
“We generally try not to go head-to-head with any of the opposition midfielders and we generally try and make sure that we’re accountable as a midfield group.”
