Construction force Sydney Swans to train on public oval

The Sydney Swans have become the Travelling Wilburys this pre-season as construction work in Sydney’s sporting precinct forces the Swans into some unusual training methods.

Sydney Swans assistant coach Steve Johnson.

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It has been a difficult pre-season for Sydney and not just because forward duo Lance Franklin and Dan Menzel have had groin surgery.

The Swans have faced logistics challenges so extreme this summer that training has been interrupted by people walking their dogs.

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The rebuild of Allianz Stadium on one side of the SCG and the construction of their overdue training complex on the other has turned the AFL’s consistent top-four contenders into the Travelling Wilburys.

The Swans don’t want to be seen as whingers, but even for a team regularly ranked down the bottom in the league for facilities, it’s been tough.

“It’s a big challenge for us to find training grounds in Sydney, let alone for our academy or girls program,” Longmire said.

“This pre-season has been disjointed and the last four have been impacted by various size ground issues.”

Isaac Heeney chases the footy at Henson Park, a 30-minute drive from the SCG.

The Swans would normally train at Moore Park next to the SCG, but even that has been narrowed from 140m wide to just 109m due to the installation of tram tracks, making full-scale match simulation impossible. The SCG is 136m wide.

This pre-season Sydney has been forced to share Bat and Ball Oval with the public or make the half-hour drive in traffic to Henson Park. Their NEAFL team has been relocated to Blacktown.

At the SCG only 15 players can do weights at one time, meaning it takes three waves of players to get through a session.

It’s still unclear when the Swans will get to train on the SCG and even after being given the green light, they will have to share it with three other clubs.

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The New South Wales Waratahs, Sydney Roosters and Sydney FC, all homeless without Allianz Stadium, will need to train and play on the SCG.

Four football codes on one field presents a huge challenge for ground staff on a ground that doesn’t have a drop-in wicket area.

“We’ve been down the bottom for facilities and that’s from the AFL. But we were down the bottom at North Melbourne and it didn’t impact us,” Longmire said.

“We don’t miss out on anything that ensures we’re competitive and we know there’s an exciting $65 million facility on the horizon and an elite training ground.”

The Swans, who will share the new centre of excellence with the Sydney Swifts, are expected to move in by the end of next year.

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