As the Swans' coaching panel decides whether to take a punt on Adam Goodes, Rohan was very limited in training and seemed to be having trouble with his surgically repaired right leg.
Limited to running laps in between long discussions with the club's medical staff and apparent issues with his calf, Rohan's body language was not that of a young man excited by the challenge of a knockout final.
Leading sports medico Dr Peter Larkins said earlier this week Rohan had struggled in last Friday night's qualifying final defeat to Hawthorn.
"He's actually struggling a little bit with a lot of calf soreness and I thought he was limping noticeably in the second half of the game," Larkins told AFL.com.au on Monday.
Semi-final preview: Sydney Swans v Carlton
Coach John Longmire gave nothing away prior to training on Thursday, stating the 22-year-old only had "soreness that happens during the course of an AFL final, which is not uncommon for all of our players".
But his efforts on the track before media were turned away suggested there would be plenty of interest when the teams are announced later on Thursday.
For the first time this week, Rohan's struggles briefly took the attention away from Goodes, who is fighting his own battle to get back into the team.
The 33-year-old, who hasn't played since round 13, successfully navigated training sessions last Sunday and again on Tuesday, although he wasn't taking part in full training on Thursday.
Despite his standing as one of the AFL's champions, it would seem a very risky proposition to throw Goodes into such an important game with so little football under his belt.
The Swans are still trying to get Lewis Jetta up to speed – he was a substitute against the Hawks after a 13-week layoff with a shin problem – as they weigh up the Goodes equation.
"Adam will be part of the decision-making process," Longmire said.
"It's a combination of everything. It's how his knee feels, it's how confident he feels in it, has he done enough training.
"We’ll sit down and come up with a decision this afternoon.
"The facts are this is his first week of training and we're going into a final.
"The other side is it's Adam Goodes, who is a champion player and has got incredible mental strength.
"It's not a cut and dried argument either way. We have to make sure we make the right call and back it in when we do."
Longmire added that if Goodes played it would be predominantly in the forward line.
Outside of injuries, Longmire and the coaching panel need to find a solution to the Swans' form, which was light years below their best in the second half against the Hawks.
Longmire was talking tough on Thursday, backing his troops to rediscover the type of form he knows they can produce.
"Certainly in the first half we were right in the hunt and were competitive and the scores were even," he said.
"What happened after half-time we weren't happy with – we allowed the opposition to get too much uncontested ball, we didn’t put the pressure on that we know we should have and we didn't get our hands on the footy.
"The first half we'd like to think was more of a reflection on us.
"Our challenge now is not to talk about it, it's to put it into actions this week."
Last year a victory in their opening qualifying final against Adelaide put the Swans on the way to their premiership triumph.
Twelve months on they seem a long way from that lofty position, but a bullish Longmire still likes their chances in 2013.
"We're clearly in a different place (to last year)," he said.
"But that doesn't necessarily mean we're in a worse-off place either.
"We've got some players in the team who are new and are going to be terrific players for this footy club and can still play some good footy this year.
"That's what we're focusing on. We think our best is still good enough to match it with the best teams.
"We're confident that if our best players play well, and everyone else in the team contributes, we'll win."
Twitter: @AFL_JD
