Goodes pushing for senior Swans recall

Sydney AFL icon Adam Goodes has put himself in contention for a recall to the Swans’ senior side for Saturday’s clash with Western Bulldogs after another strong showing in the reserves.

Goodes, Sydney’s all-time games record holder with 353 appearances, was sparingly used in their first two matches of the campaign.

He was substituted in the first and was made substitute in the second.

Goodes voluntarily opted to go down to the reserves before the senior team’s third fixture.

He has featured among Sydney’s best in both of his NEAFL appearances.

The 35-year-old tallied 28 touches and three goals in his first game and accumulated more than 20 touches in his second.

“He’s going pretty well,” Swans head coach John Longmire said on Monday.

“He had 20-odd possessions and was okay.

“We came out of our senior game on the weekend and we lost by 14 points (to Fremantle)and didn’t have many injuries.

“The challenge is what we do selection-wise, but he went okay on the weekend.”

Asked if Goodes was a chance of returning to the senior side this weekend, Longmire said “he’s a chance every week.

“We’ve got a couple of players that played pretty well in our reserves: he was one of them.

“But we’ve got to assess our senior game from the weekend and work out what changes are required if any, going forward.”

Longmire is impressed with the Bulldogs, who upset previously unbeaten Adelaide by 57 points on the weekend.

They have the same 3-1 record as the Swans, but are two places lower in sixth spot due to percentage.

“They’ve got their defence structured really well,” Longmire said.

“They are well set up behind the ball and they are also attacking with great passion and enthusiasm.

“When you are playing that sort of balanced game like they are at the moment, they are getting the results.

“To have a win the size that they did on the weekend against Adelaide, shows you that they have got talented young players that are playing with the freedom and attack on the ball.”

Longmire was confident his side would be quicker out of the blocks against the Bulldogs after a sluggish start against Fremantle.

He pointed out they also started slowly in round one against Essendon, but were a lot more alert the following week against Port Adelaide.

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