RESPECTED coach Leigh Tudor and former Swans player Henry Playfair have joined the Sydney Swans coaching staff.

Tudor has accepted a position as an assistant coach at the Swans under new Senior Coach, John Longmire.

Tudor has been an assistant coach at the St Kilda Football Club since the 2009 season, and prior to that was Geelong's VFL coach from 2005 to 2008. That period included a premiership for the Cats VFL side in 2007.

Tudor, 41, played at North Melbourne from 1989 to 1992, and at Geelong between1993 and 1996. He played a total of 68 games, and was a member of two Grand Final sides while playing for Geelong.

Longmire welcomed Tudor to the Swans. "We were very keen to have Leigh on our coaching staff as he has been involved with two high quality programs, at Geelong and St Kilda,'' Longmire said.

"At Geelong he coached their reserves to a premiership, so he was involved in coaching and developing their good players from a young age.
 
"Then he moved to St Kilda and spent the past two years there as an assistant coach, when they have clearly been a standout team.
 
"I look forward to the new ideas that he will be able to bring to our club and players. Both Leigh and Stuart Dew, who has also been appointed as an assistant coach, have been involved in premiership programs at other clubs,'' Longmire said.

Tudor will join John Blakey, Mark Stone and Dew - who has moved from a development coaching role at the Club - as the assistant coaches to Longmire.
With Dew changing roles, the Club has employed recently retired player Henry Playfair as development coach.

Playfair, 27, retired three months ago after he sustained a serious back injury in the Round 14 match against Richmond. He played 68 games in a career that began with Geelong, before he was traded to the Swans in 2007.

Longmire said he was pleased to keep Playfair at the Club in an important development role, which involves overseeing the Swans Reserves in the AFL Canberra competition.

“Henry has always had a good feel for the game and is very well-respected at the Swans,’’ Longmire said.

“He was a smart player who spent most of his time in the forward line and we believe he will be able to help our young, developing tall players, such as Lewis Johnston and Sam Reid.’’