Sydney spearhead Lance Franklin is in a no-win situation according to Swans coach John Longmire, while fellow forward Sam Reid is desperate for a win of any kind with his AFL season on the line.
A 2012 premiership player, 24-year-old Reid hasn't played a senior game this season due to achilles and calf injuries.
His only playing time has been one half a pre-season game and about 60 minutes of a reserves match in late May.
"It's obviously getting really tight. He's running but he needs to get into training pretty quickly and he understands that," Longmire said on Thursday.
"We'll have to make a call on him I guess in the next week or 10 days as far as his likelihood to get back and play this year.
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"We're still hopeful at this point but obviously he needs to get back into training sooner rather than later."
Franklin is second in the competition's Coleman Medal goalkicking list on 59, one behind West Coast's Josh Kennedy.
He has kicked almost three times as many majors as the next highest Swan, Isaac Heeney, who is on 21.
On Thursday, Longmire found himself fending off the suggestion Sydney are too reliant on their star forward when it comes to goalkicking output.
"He's a very good player. He can't win sometimes," Longmire said of Franklin.
"If he doesn't kick a goal he gets criticised, if he kicks too many it's too much of a reliance on him.
"We don't pay too much attention to it but I think if you look at our goalkickers and the number of players (nine), who have kicked 10-plus this year in a pretty young group, it's been a real positive to be able to do that."
Longmire expects Sydney's inexperienced ruck duo of Sam Naismith and Toby Nankervis to be challenged by Port Adelaide's Jackson Trengrove at the SCG On Saturday.
Pressed into service as a ruckman for much of the season because of injury and suspension to Port's specialist big men, key defender Trengrove has supplemented his aerial work by racking up more than 20 touches in each of his past three games.
"He's virtually another midfielder. His contested possessions were through the roof last week and his clearances were incredible for a ruckman," Longmire said.
"He's such a combative beast in the ruck and he's fantastic at ground level, so it's a real challenge for our boys."
