SYDNEY Swans defender Michael Talia will return from a club-imposed suspension on August 19.
Talia was arrested and charged by police for being in possession of cocaine outside a nightclub in Sydney's eastern suburbs on Sunday July 19, and was banned from training and all club activities by the Swans the next day.
The 23-year-old faced court last week and pleaded guilty to drug possession, but escaped conviction and was handed a 12-month good behaviour bond.
The former Western Bulldog will return from his ban one month and one day after he was initially stood down, and Swans coach John Longmire said that Talia now had some work to do to make up for his mistake.
"He just needs to make sure that he's working really hard to be able to earn back the respect of the players," Longmire said.
"He's spoken to the players, he's stood down until the 19th of August, and then it's about working to make sure he gets himself in the best possible physical shape he can be."
A severe foot injury has kept Talia from playing since the Swans' round one win over Collingwood at the SCG, and although he should be fit to resume Longmire said the club hadn't addressed his chances of taking the field again this season.
Athletic forward Sam Reid is also struggling and looks to have run out of time to press his case for a spot in the senior side this year.
Reid hasn't played a senior game in 2016 thanks to a combination of hamstring, calf and Achilles problems, and still hasn't been cleared to join the main training group.
The Swans reserves have two games left in the regular season, then have a general bye before the NEAFL finals, meaning Reid needs a miracle to get back into Longmire's 22 for the finals.
"He's still seeing a number of specialists and trying to work out the best course for him this year," Longmire said.
"As I said last week it's becoming really close now for us to make a call on him, and we are still gathering all that information, based on how he's pulling up now.
"He's not doing a full training session yet so that’s what we're faced with at the moment.
"Until he gets to a stage where he's able to do that, we're not even talking about what it looks like at the end of the year."
Longmire said veteran defender Ted Richards was still a chance to add to his 261-career this season, despite being suspended for one week after an incident in the NEAFL last week.
Richards announced last week that he would retire at the end of the season, but Longmire ruled out any chance of handing the defender a send-off game in the round 23 when the Swans play their last home game of the regular season against Richmond.
The suspension means that the 33-year-old will have just one game to impress Longmire and his coaching staff in the NEAFL before the AFL finals begin.
"You play if you deserve to play, he said.
"That’s what the game is (about) and that’s what our players expect to happen.
"If you're in good form and you're ready to play, and there's a role for you in the team, then you'll play."
