THE SWANS will weigh up the fitness of big man Peter Everitt later in the week before deciding whether to take the punt on him for the club’s crunch round six clash with North Melbourne.

Brett Allison, the Swans’ reserve grade coach, was a keen observer as “Spida” made his return to football at the weekend via the AFL Canberra competition.

Allison said Everitt, returning from a knee injury, impressed during his time on the ground in the Swans reserves’ two-point loss to Ainslie but was unsure whether senior coach Paul Roos would pick him in the senior squad after such a limited preparation.

“Spida played 40 minutes on the weekend in the reserves,” Allison said. “He got through that no problem. He rucked quite well and did all the 40 minutes as a ruckman.

“He moved well, had about 10 possessions and seems to have pulled up fine [but] he probably needs another game at reserves level I would think before you put him straight into the heat of the battle.”

The Swans are expecting to be bolstered by the return of star defender Tadhg Kennelly for Sunday’s showdown.

Allison said Kennelly, a late withdrawal from the Swans’ line-up that went down to Geelong by 42 points at Skilled Stadium on Saturday, was likely to return to the senior side should he get through training this week.

Sunday’s match looms as an eight-point game for both the Swans and the Kangaroos, with the two clubs both locked on three wins apiece after five rounds.

While the Swans side might be bolstered by the injection of a couple of experienced bodies this week, Allison said it could still be at least a month before fans get to see first round draft pick Patrick Veszpremi – despite the promising youngster booting five goals and being among the best for the club’s second-string side at the weekend.

Selected at No.11 in last year’s NAB AFL Draft, Veszpremi endured an interrupted pre-season but is likely to press strongly for senior selection later in the season.

“He’s going quite well [but] he’s just having a few problems with his body at the moment being a young bloke not used to all the rigours of training,” Allison said.

“He missed last week but played on the weekend … he looks to have all the tools he needs.

“He’s just got to get some endurance and fitness behind him now to really press for senior selection.”