AFL selection heat is healthy: Swans ruck

Sydney's Callum Sinclair, who is under the pump to keep his spot, says the rivalry between the club's ruckmen is healthy and very much ideal in AFL finals.

Callum Sinclair is in a three-way battle to be Sydney's ruckman in the AFL finals. (AAP)

Competition for spots is fierce among Sydney's ruckmen but that hasn't affected their camaraderie at the AFL club.

Kurt Tippett, Callum Sinclair and Sam Naismith are locked in a selection showdown ahead of Saturday's elimination final at the SCG.

Tippett and Sinclair are the incumbents but Naismith is in the mix for a recall, having successfully returned from a hip injury in the NEAFL on Saturday.

There are strong arguments for all three, who boast different strengths, but only two will face Essendon.

"That's natural and very healthy at this time of year," Sinclair told AAP.

"It's fine, it's what you want.

"Because we're tall we stand out a little bit more ... but across the entire 22 there is always someone wanting your spot. Everyone here is hungry."

The Swans have other selection headaches apart from that involving Sinclair, who declared he would be "cherry ripe" for finals after rolling his ankle in the last round of the regular season.

Coach John Longmire must also settle on which unlucky duo are axed in favour of returning stars Dan Hannebery and Tom Papley.

However, that is likely to be a more complicated discussion involving more variables and players. Sinclair is part of the quintessential 'three into two don't go' dilemma.

It is something Sinclair, Tippett and Naismith have shared throughout a campaign in which all three have dealt with fitness and/or form setbacks.

They are rivals but friends, having bonded over the sport's most specialised craft under the tutelage of famed 'ruck whisperer' Steven Taubert.

"We're a pretty tight group," Naimsith said earlier in the season.

"There's no ill-feeling towards anyone when the coaches pick a team. We're all trying to make each other better, teach each other."

Once September is over they will chew the fat at a "ruck dinner", an event lacking the prestige of Sydney's best-and-fairest night but boasting a far more exclusive invite list.

"The good thing is Kurt Tippett pays. It tastes better when it's free," Sinclair quipped.

Sinclair, who joined the Swans after contesting the 2015 grand final with West Coast, was part of a similar selection conundrum last year.

The 27-year-old underwent surgery in 2016 to remove a fragment of floating cartilage in his knee.

He was back training by September but consigned to the stands as Tippett, Naismith and Richmond-bound Toby Nankervis were preferred at various points of the finals.

"The squad we had at the time was playing some pretty impressive footy. It's tough to kick out blokes who are doing the job," Sinclair said.

"I've produced a lot more consistent footy than what I did last year. The body's in a lot better shape and that helps."