SWANS coach John Longmire could have four of his best 18 players fit and ready for Saturday's crucial Sydney derby against the Giants, but hasn't made a decision of how many he'll pick.
The Swans trained at the SCG on Tuesday afternoon and Kurt Tippett (ankle), Jarrad McVeigh (calf), Isaac Heeney (glandular fever) and Gary Rohan (back/hamstring) were all part of the main group and looked to have no issues during the hour-long session.
Tippett missed last week's loss to West Coast in Perth after being injured in round three, while the other trio haven't played a game this year, with McVeigh and Rohan in particular having extremely interrupted pre-season campaigns.
Match preview: Sydney v Greater Western Sydney
Longmire dismissed any doubt over the availability of superstar forward Lance Franklin, who sat out the session with a corked hip and thigh, and said having to think long and hard about the selection dilemma regarding his four senior players, and their lack of footy, is a good headache to have.
"It's obviously a consideration, but it's great having the players available, and we got Tommy Papley back last week," he said.
"(Kurt) Tippett hasn't missed a lot of football and did a big pre-season so he's probably in pretty good shape fitness-wise.
"The others have been training for the last few weeks and training well, but we'll make that decision after getting some more knowledge after training and seeing how they pull up, and make the call.
"Whether they all play or not we're not quite sure, but we'll address each individual case as we see fit, and each of those have got different backgrounds."
Tippett's availability will be vital against the Giants' ruck duo of Shane Mumford and Rory Lobb, especially with Sam Naismith set to miss the next month with a medial ligament injury suffered at training last week, and draftee Darcy Cameron battling a shoulder problem.
GWS coach Leon Cameron could also have some work to do at the selection table ahead of the 12th Sydney derby, with Steve Johnson (knee) hoping to prove his fitness at training on Wednesday in a bid to face the Swans.
The star forward, who was suspended after last year's qualifying final win over the Swans after his high shot on Josh Kennedy, and missed the preliminary final loss to the Western Bulldogs the following week, didn't make the trip to Canberra for the Giants' win over Port Adelaide in round four because of knee soreness.
Cameron said scans have cleared Heath Shaw of any major damage to his shin, while Dylan Shiel is also expected to be right to play against the Swans on Saturday night, despite looking in trouble when he came off against the Power in the second half with a shoulder problem.
Both Shaw and Shiel spent an extended period on the bench but came back on to play out the match.
Heath Shaw got on the nerves of a few Power players after Jon Patton kicked a goal. #AFLGiantsPower pic.twitter.com/9ftJYLT3OJ
— AFL (@AFL) April 15, 2017
The Giants' landmark finals triumph last year was a heated and at times spiteful encounter, with Johnson's hit, an accidental clash between Callan Ward and Tippett at a ruck contest that left the big man with a fractured jaw, and Mumford's sledging of Franklin adding plenty of heat to the derby.
The GWS coach said he hasn't spoken to his players about their approach to the game, but said he expected that same level of intensity to be there this weekend.
"It doesn't matter if we play at Spotless (Stadium), or ANZ (Stadium), or at the SCG, it's always a physical game against the Swans," Cameron said.
"We've worked on our contested ball over the past two years because we weren't up to scratch and we knew that, and we're still working on that.
"It's been a pretty good three weeks for us but only a month ago we were smacked by the Crows.
“It's a ruthless competition and if we're not right on Saturday the Swans will carve us up."