The long wait is almost over for Adam Goodes after the dual Brownlow Medallist was named on Thursday night to play his first game in 10 months.
After erring on the side of caution last week with Kurt Tippett, who made an ill-fated comeback in the reserves, Sydney have picked Goodes to face the Paul Roos-coached Melbourne on Saturday at the MCG.
Goodes will enter the game with no match practice having not played a competitive game since injuring his knee against Port Adelaide in round 13 last season.
In the only change to the Swans side, Goodes has come into the team at the expense of youngster Brandon Jack.
The Swans had been tossing up whether to give Goodes an extra week of training but the injury to Tippett combined with the 34-year-old's strong form on the track convinced them to play him. It's likely Goodes will start in the green vest.
“He turned up today and looked really sharp and virtually came into my office afterwards and said he was keen to play,” Longmire said.
“He’s been training well over the last few weeks and has been doing all that’s been required of him.
“Adam knows himself pretty well, so he comes into the team which is great news.
“It’s great to have him back in the 22.”
“He’s a player that brings an enormous amount of experience, but he’s also that sort of player who can play a really valuable role for us at any particular time.”
The Swans did not pick Tippett in the seniors last week as they were better placed to manage his game time in his comeback match at reserves level. Tippett would have played this week had he not broken a rib.
"You just have to back the amount of work they've done, the condition work is enough to be able to get them to that point," Longmire said.
"What we do know is no one works harder than Adam Goodes in the conditioning sense.
"His fitness, whilst not match fit, is pretty good."
