Shane Mumford will make a delayed start to the pre-season competition on Saturday, with Sydney coach John Longmire hoping it sets the platform for an injury-free AFL season.
Mumford is one of the Swans’ most important players, with an ability to dominate ruck contests, an onballer-like sense while roving the packs and an engine to run all over the field.
Not to mention an imposing figure and the capacity to deliver a bone-jarring tackle or bump.
However, his physicality has often come at a price, with injuries and suspension robbing the ruckman of four games in 2010 and five in 2011.
Longmire hopes the trend will change in Mumford’s third season at the club, which will start with a NAB Cup clash with North Melbourne in Sydney’s north west on the weekend.
“I hope he’s able to play a little bit more footy than he did last year,” Longmire said.
“We’ve been able to manage his workload to this point in the pre-season OK.
“We’re trying to get that fine balance between getting the work into him over pre-season but also understanding that it’s a tough season ahead for him.
“He missed last week. He won’t play the full game tomorrow – we need to manage his workload.”
Mumford, Josh Kennedy, Lewis Roberts-Thomson and Gary Rohan will play their first game of the year on the weekend.
A win could leave the club on the cusp of a tilt for the pre-season title, but Longmire admitted it wasn’t on his mind.
“Absolutely we’re taking it seriously – we want to compete. But we want to maintain our focus on the season,” he said ahead of the game at Bruce Purser Reserve.
“Alongside that, you want to make sure that every time you send a team out on the park, they compete to win.
“It’s always a balance. It is a long season and some players’ workloads need to be managed at this time of the year.”
Longmire will be keeping a keen eye on how the likes of Jesse White, Trent Dennis-Lane and Brett Meredith perform.
“It’s not just about our younger players coming in, our new kids, it’s about those blokes that have been in and out of the senior team.
“They really need to grab their opportunity and cement themselves in the team.
“We know they can all play senior footy. It’s just a matter of being consistent enough to make that next step, to be a consistent AFL player.”
