Form, not finals venue, key for Swans - Sports News - Fanatics - the world's biggest events

Form, not finals venue, key for Swans

By Liam FitzGibbon 29/08/2011 05:02:03 PM Comments (0)

Sydney coach John Longmire is less worried about securing a home AFL final and more concerned about the Swans maintaining their stunning late-season form in Saturday's clash with Brisbane at the SCG.

The Swans head into the last-round match assured of a finals berth and loaded with confidence on the back of upset wins over heavyweights St Kilda and Geelong in their past two games.

Sydney are assured of facing the Saints in the first week of the playoffs and although the right to host that match remains up for grabs this weekend, Longmire insisted form would count for more than the venue come game day.

"I think the good thing at the moment is that we're playing finals, that's the first step," Longmire said on Monday.

"I think the second step is to make sure we play well against Brisbane and beat them and everything else is out of our hands.

"From our point of view, we're just trying to make sure we concentrate on that this week, it's important for us to keep our form line up.

"... We need to be in form at the right time of the year and that needs to be this week as well."

The Saints would likely host Sydney at Etihad Stadium in a fortnight if they defeat Carlton on Saturday night, while Sydney could earn home ground advantage should they beat the Lions and St Kilda lose to the Blues.

But Longmire claimed he wouldn't be rushing to see the Saints' match on television late on Saturday.

The coach said his team would continue to focus on getting the basics of their game right, a factor he believes has been behind their remarkable improvement.

Longmire was unsure when Jarrad McVeigh would make his return as the Swans skipper and wife Clementine mourn the death last Wednesday of their four-week-old baby, Luella.

The Swans drew on the emotion of their co-captain's absence in their stunning 13-point upset of the Cats at Geelong but Longmire on Monday played down the continued impact the tragedy would have on the squad.

"At the end of the day this week is about two separate things, one is about Jarrad and his family and the other is about making sure we prepare for this week's game and we'll make sure we devote enough time and attention to both," he said.

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