THE SELECTION battle between Sydney's ruckmen will heat up at Blacktown Oval of all places, with Sam Naismith to make a timely return from injury on the eve of AFL finals.
The Swans are the AFL's form team, having won 14 of their past 16 matches after a 0-6 start.
But their first-choice side is far from settled ahead of an SCG elimination final against Essendon on Saturday week.
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Naismith, Kurt Tippett and Callum Sinclair have shared the ruck duties during Sydney's transformation from cellar dwellers to premiership contenders.
Tippett and Sinclair rolled their ankles against Carlton in the final round of the regular season.
They've both pulled up well and been cleared of serious injury, with Swans coach John Longmire indicating they'd be fit to play this weekend if there was a game.
Naismith is yet to feature at any level since hurting his hip a month ago.
The 25-year-old will run out with the club's reserves on Saturday, when they host Gold Coast in a NEAFL preliminary final.
"He'll play. How much of the game we're not quite sure," Longmire told reporters on Monday.
"He's missed a bit of footy and he needs to play.
"He wasn't quite right (to be in the mix to face Carlton) ... but he trained well on Saturday.
Longmire wouldn't be drawn on what Naismith needs to do to dislodge either Tippett or Sinclair from the 22.
"We'll make a decision based on the information we get through training and the game this weekend," he said.
Tippett and Sinclair will sit out Thursday's session at the SCG but Longmire suggested they'll train by the end of the week.
"They're both walking around pretty well today," Longmire said.
The Swans finished last year's regular season with a 113-point win over Richmond but backed it up with an upset loss to the Giants in week one of the finals.
Longmire, who has given his charges a couple of days off, is adamant the pre-finals bye will not halt Sydney's momentum.
"It's about making sure we get the balance right between switching your mind off and switching back on when we train," the 2012 premiership coach said.
"We'll change a couple of different things.
"But ultimately you just have to be prepared for the first bounce in two weeks."
