JOSH Kennedy looked in outstanding shape in a 40-minute Sydney Swans intraclub match on Friday, but there was no Lance Franklin as he continues a gradual build-up at his new club.

Kennedy, Jarrad McVeigh and Kieren Jack were among those that led the way in one of the Swans' first proper hit-outs ahead of the new season, which was officiated by experienced AFL umpire Mathew Nicholls.

Sam Reid and Rhyce Shaw, both returning from long-term injuries, also showed some decent signs when they played the second half of the practice match.

Franklin took part in the team training, but sat out the scratch match, and according to his coach the superstar signing won't be involved in a competitive hit-out for some time yet.

A recent tight quad impacted on his pre-season and meant Franklin is working with a group that includes Mike Pyke, Kurt Tippett, Lewis Roberts-Thomson and Tom Mitchell.

Swans coach John Longmire told AFL.com.au he is yet to decide when Franklin will be unleashed in a competitive scenario, but it won't be for a little while yet.

"I'm not sure yet," Longmire said. "It's certainly not something we'll look at now.

"Franklin, Pyke, Tippett, Roberts-Thomson, Tommy Mitchell – there's a few in that group that did the training today, but didn't do the competitive work.

"We'll make that decision over the next three weeks.

"It's good the AFL has been a little bit more flexible with providing a couple of subs and the interchange going up (for the NAB Challenge), so we'll take that into consideration and see how the next couple of weeks go before we make a decision on any of those blokes.

"(Franklin's) had a tight quad at one stage and that meant he's with that group coming through.

"He hasn't had any injuries as such, which has been good, but he started late and had a reduced training load with the rest of them and that's been building the last couple of weeks.

"But he won't be doing any of the competitive work next week."

That next competitive hit-out for the Swans will be a similar scratch match next Wednesday, which will form part of the club's training camp in Coffs Harbour on the NSW north coast.

It is the second straight year the club has headed north for a training camp and some bonding time with many of the new recruits.

Zak Jones, Toby Nankervis and Aliir Aliir, all 2013 draftees, were among those that also impressed Longmire in Friday's shortened game.

But Kennedy, who has finished in the top three of the best and fairest in each of his four seasons at the Swans, looks primed for another excellent year judging by his performance at Lakeside Oval.

"He's in reasonable nick, Josh," Longmire said with typical understatement. "He's looking really good at the moment.

"We understand that he carries a pretty big workload through the course of the year and we'll make sure we manage him correctly between now and the first game.

"But he's been doing all the training, he feels really good and he looks extremely sharp in training."

Longmire was also encouraged by the progress being made by Reid, who was forced to miss more than half of the 2013 campaign due to a persistent quad injury.

Despite the number of key forwards now at the Swans' disposal, including Franklin, Tippett and Adam Goodes, 22-year-old Reid remains a key figure in Longmire's plans.

"Touch wood, we've brought him along slowly and gave him plenty of time before Christmas to make sure his leg was really strong," Longmire said.

"He's been working hard with our physios to get himself in the best possible shape and making sure he's really strong in his legs.

"So far it's working well, he's been doing a lot of work and he's now just getting back into the games and real competitive work and he's enjoying it.

"He missed a lot of footy last year and he's an extremely important player for us and I'm sure the more he gets under his belt, the better he'll go."