By Malcolm Conn
Swans coach John Longmire believes his players need downtime to recover from last Saturday’s 112-point drubbing by Port Adelaide.
For star duo Tom Papley and Nick Blakey, that downtime includes being the main attractions at the North Sydney Bears leagues club on Wednesday night.
While Papley is out with an ankle injury, Blakey and his teammates are preparing for Friday night’s big clash against Collingwood at the SCG as the Swans attempt to drag themselves out of a downward spiral and hold on to top spot on the ladder.
For Blakey, that preparation will include joining Papley to provide the inside story on “teammates, opponents, coaches, finals, off field antics and life outside of football” according to Norths Cammeray’s promotional material.
“See Tom Papley and Nick Blakey like you’ve never seen them before! This promises to be a night full of never before heard stories, behind-the-scenes insight and plenty of laughs!”
Longmire gave a wry smile when he saw the bank of cameras lined up at the Swans’ Moore Park HQ for his regular Tuesday press conference – some weeks there is only one in attandance – but offered a firm no comment when asked about the prospect of his players generating some laughs on stage after the club’s worst defeat in 31 years.
A flyer for the ‘Tom Papley and Nick Blakey’ night at Norths Cammeray.
It appears the players’ pulling power hasn’t been harmed by five losses in six matches after an amazing run of 13 wins in 14 games to pull three wins and a big percentage clear at the top of the ladder. Now, the Swans are only half a match ahead of Brisbane.
Entry to the event on Wednesday night is $49, while punters can pay $89 to also receive a photo of the players. Adding in football signed by both players takes the price to $300, while replacing the football with a signed guernsey will set you back $395.
Blakey may be more relaxed than last weekend due to the likely return of key defenders Dane Rampe and Lewis Melican from injury on Friday night. That should free up Blakey to move further up the ground as a dashing half-back instead of attempting to prop up an under-sized defence.
Key forward Joel Amartey is also likely to return after being rested, while Papley and winger Justin McInerney (knee) are likely to miss the remaining three home and away matches.
“We processed it on the Sunday, and then you’re heading to a solution mode,” Longmire said of the worst loss during his 14-year coaching career.
“Part of that’s been giving the players a couple of days away to try and freshen them up physically and mentally and make sure that they’re in a good space to reset for this week. That’s the most important thing.
“Every team has had ebbs and flows. The thing that hit us was the drop in performance and standard. We’re confident that we can return to a level of competing that gives us the best possible chances in games.”