Swans face AFL finals selection squeeze as stars return

The cavalry is set to arrive for Sydney ahead of their AFL qualifying final clash against rivals GWS.

Swans coach John Longmire is optimistic Tom Papley, Justin McInerney, Isaac Heeney and Tom McCartin will be fit to play at the SCG after his stars completed training on Tuesday.

Papley (ankle) and McInerney (knee) have been sidelined for two months, while Heeney and McCartin were managed out of their round-24 match against Adelaide.

With all four likely to put their hand up for Saturday's contest, Longmire admits he's putting off the inevitable selection headache.

Justin McInerney.
Justin McInerney gets a kick away for Sydney during his last match before succumbing to injury.

"They all trained today, and all got through well, so hopefully they do the same again on Thursday," Longmire said.

"I usually don't get too ahead of myself (with selection) until the last training session is done.

"I kick that can down the road a little bit and make the decision after the last training session what it looks like."

Longmire concedes Papley and McInerney have missed out on valuable game time but remained confident the duo will be able to deliver on the finals stage.

"They've been doing the training they've had to do over many weeks now," he said.

"Last week they were able to ramp it right up, knowing that we weren't playing on the weekend, and then again, this week, they've lifted it as well.

"They've missed a few weeks, but in 'Juzzy's' his case, he's got great fitness. He's an elite runner, so it's just about how he feels around the ball and the contest.

"Paps, he's an A-grade quality player, and he was able to ramp it up significantly today, which is a good sign."

The race is on to succeed Collingwood as AFL premiers for 2024.

Meanwhile, the Giants are expected to welcome back forward Jake Riccardi (finger) and Lachie Ash (suspension).

"We know that they'll be virtually, if not, at full strength. They'll get a number of players back," Longmire said.

"They're a team that's won seven of the last eight games, the form team of the competition.

"We need to be at our best, and hopefully player availability is strong for Thursday selection."

But Giants defender Ash hinted tagger Toby Bedford could miss out with calf soreness.

"There's not too many complaints at all. We're really healthy," Ash said on Tuesday.

"I think Toby Bedford is probably the only one that's not gonna be available for selection, which is great so we're healthy at the right time of year."

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