In the lead up to Friday night’s game, Sydney Swans senior coach, John Longmire, is making sure his defence are ready to take on, Tom Hawkins, who he believes is one of the most elite players in the AFL.

Longmire recalls being in awe of Hawkins when he first saw him play as a junior.

''I remember watching him play in an under 18 level [game] and I couldn't keep my eyes off him…'' Longmire told Fairfax.

According to Longmire, Hawkins is in the same class as Hawthorn’s Lance Franklin and Collingwood’s Travis Cloke, and he is confident that he has a lot more to give as an AFL footballer.

''He's well-deserving of being up in that category because of what he's been able to do, and he's still young and I'm sure he's still got improvement left in him,'' Longmire said.

Hawkins has stepped into 2013 on a high after winning Geelong’s best and fairest last year, where he ended the season with 62 goals, compared to 27 in 2011 and 21 in 2010.  On Friday night, Longmire just hopes that the Swans don't come across a fired up Hawkins, becuase he knows what damage he'll cause to the scoreboard.

''It's not an easy thing to do as a key forward in any team, let alone in Geelong's team,'' Longmire explained.

“That alone tells you how much he's grown in stature and presence at that football club. He's one of the hardest key position players to stop when he's at full flight. He's got an enormous body size on him and a big jump, and he's got a huge kick. You really can't drop off him at any point on the ground. He's got a big presence in that forward 50. He's everything you want out of a power forward.''

Longmire admires Geelong’s consistency and will to fight. He knows that when the pressure hits the Cats never back down, instead history shows that they have the ability and power to step it up even more.

“They're never out of the game. It doesn't matter what happens on the scoreboard. They're always playing to the final siren and that's a trait we admire enormously.''