SYDNEY will sweat on injury concerns to co-captain Josh Kennedy and youngster Nick Blakey as the finals draw closer.
Kennedy limped off clutching his hamstring in the final minutes of Saturday night's 91-77 win over North Melbourne, while Blakey was substituted out of the game with an ankle injury in the third quarter and will require scans.
Blakey has been a revelation playing at half-back since returning to the team in round 16 after a spell in the VFL.
He was impressive again in the opening three quarters against the Kangaroos as he gathered 20 disposals, until his right ankle was stepped on in a marking contest just before the final break.
The 21-year-old tried to play on but had to be helped from the field and was soon subbed out. He was seen walking in a moon boot after the Swans' 14-point win.
"He was very good. He's only played about seven games in defence in his life, so he's still learning what that's about. I thought he was very important for a fair bit of the game until he got hurt," coach John Longmire said.
"It's disappointing he hurt his ankle, obviously it didn't look great and we'll have to see how the scans go.
KANGAROOS v SWANS Full match coverage and stats
"It was bad enough to sub him, we think it's not just a roll. We've got our fingers crossed that hopefully it's not too bad, but it swelled up pretty much straight away."
Longmire is hopeful that Kennedy has avoided a hamstring strain despite the co-captain grabbing at the back of his leg and leaving the field with less than two minutes remaining in the match.
The Swans have had a fortunate run with injury for much of the season but could have several key players sidelined with only one match to play before their first finals series since 2018.
Lance Franklin was rested against the Roos while Jake Lloyd was ruled out due to ongoing knee soreness. Longmire said both are expected to play next week against Gold Coast.
But he was less confident that Callum Mills would return, after the gun midfielder missed for a second week due to Achilles soreness.
The loss confirmed the Kangaroos would finish last on the ladder for the first time since 1972 but coach David Noble had "no interest in talking about the wooden spoon".
The Kangaroos' spirited second-half display was driven by several younger players and 11 of their 12 goals were kicked by players aged 23 or under, including a goal after the final siren to debutant Charlie Comben.
The 199cm Comben has been sidelined with multiple injuries since joining the Kangaroos as pick No.31 in the 2019 NAB AFL Draft but looked suited to the top level as he competed hard and provided a tall target throughout.
"He was pretty good. He's got a natural movement up at the ball, you can rely on him presenting at the ball. He's keen to come and compete, he loves jumping into packs," Noble said.
"He's got a pretty solid couple of months' worth of work under his belt so when we thought the time was right and his form was in a good spot it allowed us to move him into the team to get him that exposure.
"We like the fact that with [Cameron] Zurhaar, Comben and [Nick] Larkey up forward, they've got some versatility and they've got some real competitiveness about them. That look is where I think we'd be going."
