Paddy McCartin has been a good addition to the Swans backline. Image: 'Sydney Swans'
Alongside his brother Tom, Paddy McCartin has become an influential player down back and could be the key for the Swans to get out of their recent poor form.
“it was good to have Paddy back,” Longmire said.
The Swans’ form has been patchy as of late, with consecutive losses to the Brisbane Lions and the Gold Coast Suns. Currently sitting 6th in the competition they are hoping to get back to their winning ways this week against the Bombers. They were tied at 59-59 against the Suns last week but could only score two points in the final quarter. Whereas, the Suns were able to score 16 points making the final score 75-61.
“There’s a few things we need to get right. Whether it’s the back-to-back six-day breaks, the training loads, there’s not one clear answer for that,” Longmire said.
“It’s a combination of a few things.”
After being injured against the clash with the Hawks in Round 6, Paddy McCartin came back into the team last week. He had 19 disposals with 17 of those being kicks from the back of the field and a 73.7% disposal efficiency.
“It was good to get Paddy back. He’s played a good role for us this year, he’s been able to play down back which is a new role for him so he’s learning all the time and he’s been pretty good.”
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This week McCartin will be up against Peter Wright who kicked 6 goals last week and is averaging 2.9 goals and 5.9 marks per game. After the Bombers 27 point win against the Hawks, they will be hoping for another win to slowly move up towards the middle of the ladder.
“Essendon had a fantastic last quarter last week to kick eight goals. Peter Wright (especially) had a dominant game. Our defenders are aware of that and it will be a combination of the two of them (Paddy and Tom McCartin)”
Ruckman Tom Hickey is an almost certain return for the Swans this week and will be a welcome return After being out with a knee injury.
“We felt in the end that we wanted to get some more training into him and a game at the next level down, which he was able to do on the weekend,” Longmire said.
“We know he’s a good player for us, he was superb for us last year.”
Unfortunately, it is not all good news coming out of the Swans camp as star player Harry Cunningham will not be back anytime soon. Without Cunningham and the inclusion of Hickey, the Swans will be hoping to win against the Bombers this week.
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