Sydney Swans players have had big pre-season in preparation for tough opening to 2018 season

DAN Hannebery and Jarrad McVeigh sparkled in training but their limited game time during the pre-season has given coach John Longmire a massive selection headache.

Dan Hannebery is pushing to play in Round 1. Picture: Phil Hillyard

DAN Hannebery and Jarrad McVeigh have given John Longmire a massive selection headache ahead of Sunday’s season opener against West Coast after sparkling displays on the training track.

Both players completed all the drills and looked good in the process.

Longmire’s problem is the limited amount of game time the pair have had due to ongoing calf injuries.

At the front of the Swans coach’s mind will be Sydney’s 0-6 start last year which ultimately brought their season undone.

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The second half of their season was a series of elimination finals which took a mental and physical toll.

This time last year a mounting injury list forced Longmire to play Lance Franklin, Luke Parker and Kieren Jack on the back of limited preparations.

Franklin and Parker were able to work through their injuries but Jack’s hip only became worse and saw him to miss five weeks between rounds six and 10.

Dane Rampe says the Swans are more than ready for their tough start to the season. Picture: Getty

If Longmire was to choose one, McVeigh would have his nose in front after completing the majority of the pre-season sessions.

Hannebery is moving well but hasn’t played one minute of this year’s practice matches. He has also had his calf injury for a lot longer than McVeigh effecting his workload.

His rehab was initially very slow but has improved dramatically in the past fortnight with his GPS numbers back to his best.

He was clearly the most vocal player at the SCG in Tuesday morning’s session perhaps because he has to make the biggest impression if Longmire is to give him the nod.

Vice-captain Dane Rampe endorsed both players’ chances but put McVeigh in front.

“They are both pushing their claims very seriously,” Rampe said.

“Macca trained really well on Saturday and Hanners is probably a little bit further behind than McVeigh but he’s definitely pushing his claim.”

Dan Hannebery is pushing to play in Round 1. Picture: Phil Hillyard

There are no such problems for Rampe and fellow senior players Lance Franklin, Josh Kennedy, Luke Parker and Jake Lloyd, who have all played at least three full games in the past month.

“Probably in light of last year we want to start as strongly as we can,” Rampe said.

“It’s a new year and we aren’t going to get caught on the back foot.”

The Swans have arguably the toughest start to 2018 of any team.

After meeting the Eagles who finished sixth last year they take on Port Adelaide (seventh) at the SCG.

They then play three of last year’s top four, Rampe said they can’t afford to look too far ahead or too far behind.

“Our focus is on Round 1 and getting a good win regardless of what happened last year,” he said.

“That’s always been our focus.”

Originally published as Sydney Swans players have had big pre-season in preparation for tough opening to 2018 season