Kurt Tippett was substituted out with a tight hamstring while starring in Sydney’s 59-point win over St Kilda at the SCG, with Swans coach John Longmire keen to have him cherry ripe for the side’s testing end to the AFL season.
Tippett booted five goals against the Saints on Sunday, kicking three in the space of nine minutes in the third quarter to set the reigning premiers on track for the 18.10 (118) to 8.11 (59) victory that ensured a top-four finish.
The 26-year-old, who has averaged 5.6 goals in his past three starts and looked a potent weapon in the Swans’ forward line, was taken off for Gary Rohan in the dying stages of the third term.
Longmire insisted it was a precautionary move ahead of the Swans’ clashes with Geelong and Hawthorn.
“He had a bit of a tight hamstring,” Longmire said.
“He was just a bit tight. He was fine, he could have kept playing but obviously at this point we didn’t want to take any risks so we subbed him.”
The majority of the 26,730-strong crowd greeted the change with a standing ovation, as speedster Rohan took off the green vest and trotted onto an AFL field for the first time since breaking his leg in round 4 last year.
More than 480 days have passed since Rohan’s horrific collision with North Melbourne’s Lindsay Thomas, but the 22-year-old showed signs of the whippet-like pace he’s been renowned for since being drafted in 2009.
“It was good to see him run around, and good to see him get his hands on the footy. We know he’ll get better,” Longmire said.
Longmire admitted a “strong argument” loomed at the selection table, as Adam Goodes (knee), Sam Reid (quad) and Lewis Jetta (shin) track closer to returning after extended time on the sidelines.
However the third-year coach gave arguably his most sombre prognosis on the trio yet, hinting they might not resume before September.
“The facts are they haven’t been training yet, they’ve been running,” Longmire said.
“There’s no doubt those blokes are in our best team … but we haven’t seen them train yet.
“…We need everyone fit and firing when the whips are cracking.”
At quarter-time the scores were level, with Sydney’s tally of 2.3 (15) their lowest opening-term score since booting 1.4 (10) in a round-seven loss to Hawthorn.
“We were just a little bit fumbly and scrappy … but we persisted and worked through it,” Longmire said.
Swans on-baller Josh Kennedy tallied a game-high 38 possessions and 13 clearances, while teammate Luke Parker was also excellent in the engine room.
Saints coach Scott Watters lamented his side’s letdown in the third quarter, in which the Swans kicked seven goals to one.
“We can’t quite sustain a full game of football,” Watters said.