THE SYDNEY Swans aren't letting concerns over the team's poor record at the MCG affect their preparation for Saturday's Grand Final match up against Hawthorn.
The Swans have just one victory in their past 15 visits to the home of football, but coach John Longmire said the run of outs didn't indicate a fundamental flaw in his side's approach to playing on the large ground and it certainly hasn't played any part in his preparation for the clash.
"We just look at what's in front of us and we concern ourselves with our preparation as we always do, whether it's Adelaide in Adelaide, Collingwood last week or the Hawks this week,'' Longmire said shortly after a rain-affected Grand Final parade in Melbourne on Friday.
"It's about what we can control, our focus on our preparation, enjoying this week, but also knowing that there's a bit over two hours of pretty hard work ahead of us on Saturday and that's what we're focused on.''
Click here to see all the pics from the parade
The Swans' only visit to the MCG this season resulted in a shock loss to Richmond.
Co-captain Adam Goodes echoed the sentiments of his coach, adding that each performance needed to be looked at in isolation.
"If you look at all of those individual games we just didn't play good football," Goodes said.
"If we did then we probably would have been closer to getting some victories.
"Richmond got a good jump on us that day, they were up and about, and we just didn't fight hard enough to get back into the game.
"[The Hawks are] playing very well, but we back our form."
Inclement weather is forecast for Melbourne during Saturday's big game, but Longmire doubted it would favour either side and also didn't foresee any late changes to the line-up that remained unchanged from the preliminary final win against Collingwood.
Weather not a factor: Clarkson
The coach has studied both of the Swans' clashes against Hawthorn this season - a 37-point win in round five and a seven-point loss in round 22 - and believes his team will need to improve on both to claim the premiership.
"We look at [round five] a bit, but we also look at the last time we played at the SCG … it went down to the last two minutes," he said.
"It was [first versus second] at the time and it was a fierce contest with nothing in it at the end.
"We were on the wrong side of the scoreboard when the final siren went and obviously we'll want to be on the right side this time. But things have changed a bit since then.
"We'll try and look at the things we've done ok over the last couple weeks, but we think we need to improve tomorrow - we certainly do."
The form of Hawks danger men Lance Franklin and Cyril Rioli will have a large say in deciding the match.
McVeigh to lead Swans
While the Swans' defensive unit has proved one of the most capable in the competition this year, Longmire felt the answers to blunting the dynamic duo rest in the midfield.
"If we don't get our press right in the midfield then Franklin and Rioli will have a field day," he said.
"We've got make sure that our pressure all over the ground [is right].
"Either team will have an advantage if they get some lace out delivery into their forward lines."
