The likelihood of Jeremy Cameron playing

"Once he was cleared of what were precautionary scans, it was just the contact issue he needed to recover from. The early prognosis is really positive but the next 48 hours is going to tell us a lot, but we certainly "haven’t ruled him out.

"I think it’s likely he’ll play but a bit can change between now and then." 

"The message to our fans is if he plays it’s because we’re sure that he’s right to play. Not only right to play but right to perform really well. If he’s a bit off, I think as we’ve shown in previous years we’ll play the long game and get him right for next week." 

Status updates on:

Mark O’Connor:

The likely scenario is we’ll get some match practice into him.  We need to work through that a little bit, there are a few balls in the air but he’s part of that big group of players that are right for match practice.

Mark had a super pre-season, the unfortunate part of his injury is that it came right around the time we had some match practice against opposition, so I think we’d lean towards getting some match practice into him before we bring him in. 

Sam Menegola:

He had surgery in November. The initial feedback that I got was that he might not be playing until late May so he’s obviously made a remarkable recovery but it’s impossible to prepare yourself in such a way that you can just come back in after no pre-season and play AFL from day one. We’ll just be bit patient with Sam.

Jed Bews: Jed will be available; he will play.

Mitch Duncan: Mitch will play this week.

Sam De Koning’s Development

He's in the first years of what we think will be a really long career so I think we'll look back on this one and think a week off didn't do too much harm. 

In the broader context of the last couple of years, we've got a lot of players, as do other clubs, that were deprived of match practice through the covid years.

That's the disappointing part I guess, [Sam] had a really good pre-season, was deprived of match practice, and even proper training in our system through the Covid years got his chance, played well and now has to miss a week. 

But the good news is he's recovered well to this point. 

Preparing for the possibility Lance Franklin kicks 1000^th

We've got a really good heads up already [from the AFL].  We know exactly what the situation will be depending on different circumstances whether it's close to a break or whether it's in the middle of the quarter, whether it's a live play goal or whether it's a set shot, our players understand what will happen if he kicks that fourth goal and we understand what our reaction's going to be.

We've dealt with a bit of uncertainty over the last couple of years and this is pretty minor in comparison to that. It's a good news story too, we don't want to be the ones complaining about a little bit of difficulty and spoiling the moment, he's just been a champion of our game.

Avoiding becoming too Buddy conscious

We’ll prioritize Lance, we owe him that respect but Issac Heeney and Luke Parker are super players, it's impossible for them to sneak up on us.

It's not impossible for them to play well against us, they're just really good players. But it won't be because they surprised us. I understand the logic that if you focus too much on a gun that others can bob up, it's kind of like what we're trying to do on the other end as well. They present multiple threats, the Swans, they become a good team with some really good young players coming in, high draft picks, they're a talented team, it's not just Bud. 

GEELONG has fallen to Sydney by 30 points on a special night for Lance Franklin at the SCG on Friday.

Franklin kicked four goals to become just the sixth player in the history of VFL/AFL to kick 1000 goals to inspire the Swans to a 17.5 (107) victory over Geelong 10.17 (77).

Joining Tony Lockett (1360 goals), Gordon Coventry (1299), Jason Dunstall (1254), Doug Wade (1057) and Gary Ablett (1031) in a stratosphere that someone might not reach again.

The Cats started promisingly with goals to Jake Kolodjashnij and Zach Tuohy inside the opening five minutes, but the Swans responded with seven of the next eight goals, including a four-goal blitz within a seven-minute burst early in the second quarter to open up a 28-point lead. And they never looked back. 

The forecast for torrential rain almost never arrived, but just when Franklin needed another favour, the football gods delivered. The two-time premiership spearhead received a dubious free kick after young Cat Jack Henry fell in his back and Franklin did the rest. Moments later a pack of security guards filtered around the boundary. Only six to start with, but more would come after he slotted his third late in the third.

From there, it felt imminent. Everything Franklin did generated a standing ovation, even when he stood up off the massage table early in the final quarter. They howled when three Swans came to the bench at once and Franklin didn’t rotate back onto the ground. And rose moments later when he did return.

And then it happened.

Before the ball had even left Franklin's boot, hundreds of fans were over the fence and less than 20 metres away from the great man by the time it sailed through for his fourth. Chaos ensued in a moment we may never see again.

It took 36 minutes for play to resume, and if you believe in the football gods, then the sight of pouring rain tumbling down just as the players ran back onto the ground for the final six minutes was a sign from above.

A night the game will never forget, by a player the game will never forget.

CLOSE A STANDOUT FOR CATS

On a night which Sydney dominated forward Brad Close stood tall for the Cats with four goals from 18 disposals. The 23-year-old also had a game-high 11 score involvements and five tackles. He looked the player most likely to make something happen and was one of the few Cats who dealt with the slippery conditions well.

HEENEY ON THE CUSP OF THE NEXT BRACKET

Three weeks after putting his future to bed by inking a mega six-year extension, Isaac Heeney continued his ascension into the elite bracket. After kicking three goals in round one, Heeney exploded at the SCG. He booted four goals in the opening half, then added one more to go with 21 disposals. It might have all been about the man in the No. 23 guernsey, but this guy is well and truly on his way to superstardom.

COURAGEOUS CAMERON

Six days after departing the MCG in an ambulance, Jeremy Cameron returned at the SCG on Friday night following a week where his every move was monitored. The Coleman Medal winner was cleared of internal damage and discharged from hospital last Saturday night and made an impact in a game where most of the Cats' best players were below their best. Cameron finished goalless, but the easier option was to stay at home until he was 100 per cent fit.

PADDY POWER ANOTHER HIGHLIGHT

He had to wait 1352 days between matches, but only six days to do it all again. Paddy McCartin proved he could still play at the level last Saturday night, but this time he showed he has the tools to become a gun defender in the competition. McCartin took five intercept marks in the opening quarter alone, cutting the Cats to shreds with his precise right foot. The former No. 1 pick faded in the second half, but he looms as another unconventional recruit that could prove to be a shrewd move by Kinnear Beatson.

SYDNEY         4.3       11.3       15.4       17.5 (107)
GEELONG      2.4       6.7       8.13     10.17 (77)

GOALS 
Sydney:   Heeney 5, Franklin 4, Hayward 3, Gulden, McLean, Mills, Rowbottom
Geelong: Close 3, Atkins, Duncan, Kolodjashnij, Parfitt, Tuohy

BEST 
Sydney:   Heeney, Mills, Gulden, Blakey, Warner, Franklin, Stephens
Geelong:  Close, Selwood, Stewart, Smith

INJURIES 
Sydney: TBC
Geelong: TBC

Crowd: 36, 578 at the SCG