John Longmire still expects Sydney veteran Jarrad McVeigh to retire at the end of the season
SYDNEY coach John Longmire is still expecting Jarrad McVeigh to hang up the boots at the end of the season despite his sparkling form. Meanwhile, Isaac Heeney reveals a half-time spray sparked the Swans over Carlton.
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FORMER Sydney captain Jarrad McVeigh still plans to retire at the end of the year, despite sparkling form.
Coach John Longmire confirmed his star defender hadn’t approached the club about playing on after signing a one-year deal last year with a view to move into coaching in 2019.
McVeigh was one of the Swans’ best in the win over Carlton on Friday night with 18 disposals and a goal.
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Longmire said he was pleased with McVeigh’s contribution.
“He’s been really good, at the moment he’s retiring at the end of this year, that’s what the plan is,” Longmire told SEN.
“We haven’t had any discussions contrary to that, but he’s been playing well, he’s really contributing every week, but we haven’t had any of those discussions yet.
“The plan was set at the end of last year and we haven’t spoken about any adjustment to that at all at this point.”
McVeigh has played every game this year and was averaging 22 possessions coming into Friday night.
Meanwhile, young star Isaac Heeney has revealed a half-time spray from Longmire sparked the Swans into action at the SCG.
Despite the win, Henney said there was plenty of improvement after trailing to the last-placed Blues but a point at half-time.
“A little bit of a spray at halftime, got the boys up and about,” Isaac Heeney told AAP.
“It was led by the leadership group.
“We’ve got to be on our game from the start. We’ve got to start producing four-quarter performances if we want to beat a team like West Coast, who are flying.
“We’re playing a bit of inconsistent footy at the moment and it’s just getting us over the line.”
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