SYDNEY lost 1048 games of experience when its season ended with an emotional 45-point win over St Kilda, but while coach John Longmire admitted his club will look to bolster that part of its list in the off-season, talk of the Swans being major players in off-season recruiting was a little off the mark.
The retirements of 2012 premiership stars Jarrad McVeigh (325), Kieren Jack (256), Heath Grundy (256) and Nick Smith (211) means the Swans waved goodbye to 1048 games when the final siren sounded against the Saints.
Speculation has been rife Sydney will make some serious moves to bring a big name or two to the club, given the room they will have in the salary cap.
Have we ever seen five players chaired off at once before?
— AFL (@AFL) August 24, 2019
A fitting send-off for the four retiring Swans. ❤️#AFLSwansSaints pic.twitter.com/QukUC9bubw
"That’s just talk based upon what?" Longmire said.
"Every team tries to get better and just because we've done it in the past, doesn't mean its going to happen in the future.
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"There's things like salary cap we've got to be able to manage. Just because we have players exiting, it doesn't mean we're going to be extremely active.
"We're confident we've got some great young players and what we can add around them we'll look at that.
"We'd like to get a bit more experience here and there if we could, but it depends on what's available and what we can afford.
"It's not just a matter of going out and grabbing blokes."
The Swans' round 23 victory was also Lance Franklin's 300th match, and he responded with four goals on return from a long-term hamstring injury.
In the lead-up to the game, Franklin spoke of his desire to have a strong summer to get ready for the 2020 season, and while it will require at least two surgeries, he should get his wish.
"That was part of the reason we needed to get him back, so we could see what he needed done," Longmire said.
"He'll get a couple of things done next week, but he'll be in full training by the end of November."
Along with McVeigh and Jack, the superstar forward was part of a special day for the club.
Franklin kicked the last of the game, while McVeigh and Jack also hit the scoreboard in the final term.
The retiring veterans sent the SCG into party mode with their goals.
"What a wonderful way to finish," Longmire said.
"If you were to look back and write how you'd like it to have gone, it would have gone that way.
"It was a wonderful tribute to our champions that have left the game, and I think it was important they were given that respect.
"It was also important that our younger players see that, and hope to one day be in their shoes and exit the game in a similar way many years down the track.
Longmire said the afternoon of footy reinforced to him why he loved the game so much.
"I had to get dragged in here and I don't want to disrespect the media, but the pie and the beer was going down OK," he said with a laugh.
"We're really lucky we've got a great footy club."