Hundreds of Sydney Swans’ fans turned up to the SCG to see their team in training ahead of this weekend’s grand final clash with the Western Bulldogs.
The Newsroom went along to meet the fans and hear John Longmire address the media before overseeing his players’ preparation.
Most of the attention was on injured defender Aliir Aliir, who had a bandage strapped around his knee and was later officially ruled out from playing. Fans were also hopeful of sending Ben McGlynn out a winner with the chance it will be his last game for the Swans.
Longmire said the team needed to get their mentality right in order to win this weekend.
“It’s really about making sure we play our best each week,” he said.
“It’s a challenge we try and do every week but we don’t always get it right.”
Longmire admitted the team didn’t get it right in their most recent game against Greater Western Sydney Giants. “We were as good as what GWS were but we were just disappointed in our efforts and our intensity around the ball,” he said.
“We’ve tried to address that in the last couple of weeks and we need to play again with that level of intensity and effort this week and anything short of that may not be good enough.” – Video and interviews by Patrick Staveley and Bakri Mahmoud, produced by Phil Logan
Photo of Ben McGlynn with fans at the SCG and headshot of John Longmire by Bakri Mahmoud.
About the author
Aspiring sport journalist. NRL and Football are what I know best. Lifelong Parramatta Eels, Liverpool FC and Western Sydney Wanderers supporter and enthusiast
