FORWARD dynamo Tom Papley is locked in to return from a hamstring strain for Sydney's elimination final on Friday night and is set to play a key role in shepherding the Swans' talented but raw group of tall forwards.
The 2021 All-Australian, who is on track for a third leading goalkicker award at the Swans with 37 majors for the season, will be named to play against Carlton on Thursday night barring a late mishap this week.
"'Paps' was really close to playing against Melbourne (in round 24), he trained really well on Saturday, he trained well yesterday, if he gets through training tomorrow he’ll play," Swans coach John Longmire said.
Wingman Justin McInerney, who hasn't played since round 20 due to a calf injury, is also expected to be named despite having not played for six weeks.
"We weigh up everything. He's done a couple of weeks at training, a number of weeks of running, he's very fit," Longmire added.
The likely dual inclusion is a major boost for the Swans, particularly that of Papley, who may prove instrumental at ground level if the forecast for wet weather on Friday stays true.
But it's his presence as a forward line star in his prime, alongside Isaac Heeney, that might be pivotal as he looks to lead the way in attack for the Swans.
Key talls Logan McDonald, Hayden McLean and Joel Amartey have played just four finals between them and are still fine-tuning their craft, despite their undoubted talent, while Papley and Heeney have 24 finals between them, including two Grand Finals.
"They (Heeney and Papley) have both been around for a while and understand what it's about. We're confident they can help steer the young guys around a bit," Longmire said.
"Everyone's just got a role to play whether you're young or old. When the ball bounces you've just got to get the job done. No one looks at your birth certificate or experience or anything like that. You just have to get it done."
The Swans will also have to find a way to get it done in the stoppages, which was been a weakness of their this season compared to the other top eight sides, particularly the Blues who lead the way in the AFL at winning contested ball.
"We'll have to be (at our best). It's really a strength of Carlton's, there's no question about that. They're number one in the competition at that," he said.
"There's no question we need to win our fair share of the footy to get the ball in our front half. It starts at the source, they've got a wonderful midfield and we'll need to make sure ours is up and about."
The other concerning trend for the Swans heading into Friday's final is their fourth quarter fadeouts.
They've won just eight of 23 final terms this season and Longmire admits he spent the week off before finals drilling down into why that is.
"We've been doing a lot right in a fair part of the game - we just need to do it for longer," he said. "There's a couple of things we looked at but we just need to make sure we strive to continue to do what we did to get us in those positions in the first place.
"Most importantly we need to make sure we do it from the first bounce this week. Carlton haven't been in the finals for years, they'll be jumping out the blocks and we've got to match that intensity and take it to the next level early on."
The forecast for rain may potentially dilute the influence of Carlton spearhead Charlie Curnow, but Longmire concedes his entire defensive group will need to play a part in assisting Tom McCartin's efforts to stop the two-time Coleman Medal winner.
"It won't be just about Tommy. We'll have to put enormous pressure on up the ground as a first port of call and secondly, we'll make sure it's a team orientated defence to help each other.
"They're a very talented forward line they've got a good mix of super talented talls who take big marks and give them targets down the line, but also some small players who give them a target at ground level."
The Swans are also celebrating reaching a club record membership number of 65,332, which comes off the back of the club's first ever AFLW victory on Sunday over Greater Western Sydney.
Longmire is hopeful that strong supporter base is represented well in the confines of a Carlton-centric crowd at the MCG that is certain to be vociferous in their support of the Blues.
"The great thing about having the heritage we have in Melbourne and our base in Sydney is we feel genuinely supported around the country," he said.
"There's no doubt there'll be a majority of Carlton supporters there on Friday night at a sold out MCG, but we’ve got a strong supporter base there and hopefully they're there in full voice. They'll need to be."
