TWO-TIME Brownlow Medallist Adam Goodes is eyeing a mouth-watering duel with Chris Judd in the Sydney Swans' opening-round clash with the West Coast Eagles at Telstra Stadium.
The prospect of two of the game's very best players going head-to-head could be enough to further swell the expected crowd of 60,000.
Before training at the SCG on Tuesday, Goodes said he was excited about facing up to Judd, should Swans coach Paul Roos and Eagles coach John Worsfold opt to play them against one another.
"(Facing Judd) is a great challenge, it's a learning curve. I've played on him three or four times now and the results talk for themselves," Goodes said.
"We've got the team meeting on Thursday at Telstra Stadium, and at this stage (I expect to play) in the midfield either on a Judd or (Tyson) Stenglein or one of those types."
"It's always been a close game between the two teams and every time I play him I learn something new about him. He's a fantastic player and a fantastic athlete."
Goodes also downplayed the impact of recent drug scandals at the Eagles, saying it would only give them another point to prove.
"We're playing against the team that won the premiership last year, they've got all their good players up and running and they're raring to go, and I guarantee they can't wait for Saturday night," Goodes said.
"I don't think they're down and hurt at the moment, I think they can't wait for the season to start and we're the same, and there are probably 14 other clubs saying the same thing."
Goodes said the Swans had changed their approach to the pre-season in order to shrug off their notoriously slow starts to the year.
"We've done a few things differently this pre-season to make sure we're up and running by round one, and we've spoken about it a lot," Goodes said.
"In our last couple of practice matches there's been a lot of emphasis on intensity and the impact players can have, so we're looking forward to round one and being a little bit more prepared this year."
"After Christmas we started the physical training and one-on-one competitive stuff with more tackling and pressure, and the help of the Waratahs has been really good for us."
Goodes declared the team to be virtually fully fit, and eager to atone for last year's heartbreaking season-deciding loss.
"They've got one grand final, we've got one grand final, so it's about one-all at the moment," he said.
"It's only round one but it's going to be a super clash and we're hoping to get 60-70,000 out to Telstra Stadium."