Reid to add menace to Swans AFL attack

The welcome return and commanding aerial presence of Sam Reid will give Sydney another tall forward weapon to supplement the threat of Lance Franklin in their AFL derby at the SCG.

The strong-marking 2012 premiership player looked good in Sydney's pre-season games but missed the first two rounds with a hamstring injury.

On Thursday Reid was named in the side to face the unbeaten Greater Western Sydney Giants.

Reid accumulated the second most marks by a Sydney forward last season behind Franklin, nabbing an average of six per game.

He was also Sydney's second highest goalkicker in 2017 after Franklin with 30 and will provide some tall support for Buddy, who kicked 12 of Sydney's 28 goals across their first two games.

"He's a really good player Reidy, he gives us a bit of a different look up forward," Swans defender Nick Smith said.

"He's still good on ground level and played well in the JLT match so it will be good having him back."

The Swans' back line will be looking to improve on last weekend's second-half display, when Port Adelaide kicked ten goals to overturn a halftime deficit.

A veteran of Sydney derbies, Smith is acutely aware of the multiple attacking threats posed by a Giants team who have kicked a league leading 35 goals through their first two matches.

"They've got some super players down there, a good balance of talls and smalls," Smith said.

"They've got a lot of mids who go through there every week."

Smith and his backline colleagues will be spared the worry of trying to subdue the Giants' 2016 All-Australian forward Toby Greene, who misses a second straight game with hamstring soreness.

With Tom Scully and Zac Langdon injured last week, midfielder Jacob Hopper and defender Harry Perryman have been recalled to the GWS senior side.

Reid's inclusion at the expense of Robbie Fox is the only change to the Swans side which entered last week's match, with speedster Zak Jones still not over the calf issue which forced him out of the selected team.