SUPERSTARS Chris Judd and Adam Goodes were the names on everyone's lips at John Longmire's press conference on Monday ahead of Saturday's semi-final between the Sydney Swans and Carlton.
Judd returned from three weeks on the sidelines nursing a knee injury to play a pivotal role in Carlton's elimination final victory over Richmond on Sunday.
Now the Swans are weighing up whether to throw their own former skipper Goodes into the fray in Saturday's semi-final at ANZ Stadium.
Goodes hasn't been seen since the round-13 loss to Port Adelaide and only trained for the first time on Sunday.
But with their season on the line, the Swans may just turn to their two-time Brownlow Medal-winning champion.
"He trained yesterday and trained well," Longmire said. "He sat in my office and said he feels well.
"Whether we play him or not, we don't know yet. He's going to train the rest of the week, we're certainly mindful of what he has and hasn't done, and he hasn't done a lot of training and hasn't played for a long time.
"We also know he's a pretty special player and a pretty special and mentally tough player and person.
"We're not sure whether we'll play him. We've obviously got a couple in that boat and we need to make sure we get that balance right."
Asked to quantify Goodes' chances of lining up on Saturday, Longmire would only say: "He's a chance. I'm not going to put a number on it.
"He's always confident with his ability Goodesy and his ability to be able to play, whether it's with one knee or an arm tied behind his back, he always wants to get out there and have a go.
"That's what you admire about him.
"He'll be putting pressure on us I'd imagine."
On his 30th birthday, Judd was instrumental in the Blues' comeback victory, particularly in the game-turning third quarter.
Longmire certainly took notice, although he also believes his side possesses some weapons of its own.
"He was sensational," Longmire said. "His third quarter in particular, the way he was able to lift the team.
"Not only him, there were a few others obviously as well, but he was one that stood out in the centre bounce clearances in particular.
"It's not as if he does it once or twice, he's got a history of doing it and doing it in big games and that's why he's a superstar.
"He's so good at the contest and they're the hardest to try to nullify, the ones that go at the ball and are so good at the 50-50 ball.
"But we think we've got a few of those blokes who are pretty good in that situation as well, whether it's Josh Kennedy or Ryan O'Keefe or Luke Parker.
"I'm sure that group and maybe a couple of others will get a go at him at different times."
Longmire had some encouraging news on the injury front, stating Jarrad McVeigh was fine after wrenching his knee late in the final term and sub Lewis Jetta pulled up well following his first game since round 10.
There seems to be belief in some circles the Swans' premiership hopes plummeted in the second half of their disappointing loss to Hawthorn, but it was a long way from doom and gloom at the SCG on Monday.
"We've got enormous confidence in our core group of players to be able to play their best football still," Longmire said.
"And we know we've got some really good players in our team that at their best play really strong two-way transition football.
"That's what we'll be trying to get back to doing this week for four quarters.
"We know that Carlton have got some stars, we know they played really well in the second half in particular on the weekend, but we also know that our best is pretty good and that's what we need to deliver on the weekend."
