Naismith fit, Swans face tough AFL call
Aug 21, 2017 - 8:37 AM Ruckman Sam Naismith has recovered from a hip injury, leaving Sydney with a huge selection call to make ahead of their final AFL game of the regular season.Naismith, Kurt Tippett and Callum Sinclair have shared the ruck duties for the Swans at various points of their resurgence from 0-6 battlers to genuine premiership contenders.
However, the three big men simply can't fit into the same 22.
Naismith has missed the past three games because of his setback but is highly regarded by everyone at the club, with football manager Tom Harley indicating the NSW product is a realistic chance of returning against Carlton at the SCG on Saturday.
"He's ready to train and train fully, and therefore available to play on the weekend," Harley told AAP.
"It's a good problem to have all three available. We'll need to sit down as a match committee later in the week to work out what it looks like it.
"Those three boys all have different strengths."
Harley added there was no set pecking order when it came to Naismith, Tippett and Sinclair.
The strengths and weaknesses of the opposition's ruckman, in this case Carlton's Matthew Kreuzer, would continue to be a factor in what shapes as one of the Swans' most difficult selection calls throughout finals.
"It can change every week .. we'll just play it as we go," Harley said.
Further complicating the conundrum is the Swans' reserves have this weekend off, a product of topping the NEAFL ladder and earning a bye in week one of finals.
If Naismith is overlooked at senior level he will be short of match practice come week one of the AFL finals.
The absence of a NEAFL fixture will also make it harder for Harry Cunningham and others to push their case for an AFL call-up, with the Swans likely to make few changes this week given their epic victory over Adelaide.
"They're the cards you're dealt and you get on with it," Harley said.
The sixth-placed Swans could finish in the top four but they'll need both Port Adelaide and Richmond to slip up this weekend.
Source: AAP
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