Sydney Swans coach John Longmire plans to pump some precious pre-season playing time into star forward Lance Franklin over the next two weeks and intends using veteran Adam Goodes in different roles.
Franklin and Goodes will each have their first pre-season hitout in Sunday's NAB Challenge game against Fremantle at a sold out Drummoyne Oval in Sydney.
Midfielder Jarrad McVeigh and defender Ted Richards are two other Swans stars getting their first run of the campaign, after recovering from calf and hamstring issues respectively.
Franklin has again had issues with knee tendonitis as he did last season, but Longmire said the 2014 Coleman Medallist had done a lot more pre-season work than in 2014.
"We'd like to be able to get some game time into him and that's going to be important," Longmire said of Franklin.
Goodes on Thursday expressed a desire not to be pigeonholed as a forward this season and Longmire plans to move him around in their two remaining NAB Challenge games against the Dockers and Giants.
"We will see him in different roles, whether it's a high half-forward role or up on the wing, or deep." Longmire said.
"We will keep some flexibility and we'll be able to make the call as we see it at different times.
"But also he's been able to run really strongly over the pre-season and been consistent in his training so that's been a bit different from last year, which is a good sign for him."
Sam Reid (ankle) and Ben McGlynn (muscle tightness) will sit out Sunday's game after picking up minor injuries in last week's loss to Brisbane,
Longmire expects to have both men fit to face the Giants in Canberra the following week and forward Kurt Tippett (tibia/fibula)back on board for the opening round of the season.
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