ALL AUSTRALIAN defender Nick Malceski is expected to take his place in the Sydney Swans' line-up for Friday night's preliminary final against North Melbourne at ANZ Stadium.

Malceski strained his hamstring in the first quarter of the Swans' qualifying final victory over Fremantle less than two weeks ago.

But coach John Longmire said on Thursday the running defender, who was named All Australian for the first time this week, had ticked all the boxes in his bid to take on the Kangaroos.

"He ran really hard on Monday and he did all the training yesterday and he's pulled up well today, so at this stage we'd expect to name him," Longmire told reporters.

"He feels good and we'd expect him to play."

Longmire did leave the door slightly ajar, however, for some possible team changes when the side is named later on Thursday.

Asked if he would stick with the same side that overcame the Dockers, Longmire replied: "The team that played against Fremantle did a reasonable job and we'll make that decision later on tonight."

The Swans are preparing for a North Melbourne outfit that has surged into a preliminary final after hitting form at the right time of the season.

The Kangaroos have won six straight games, including knockout finals against Essendon and Geelong, to earn their place in the final four.

"North Melbourne are a very even team," said Longmire, who won a flag with the Roos as a player back in 1999.

"They've got a really good balance of inside and outside players.

"Their forward line and defence is well structured and balanced – they're a good team.

"They've won six in a row, they're very confident and they come up with full confidence in their game plan and each other and we know they deserve to be in a preliminary final situation."

In Josh Kennedy, Kieren Jack, Dan Hannebery, Jarrad McVeigh, Luke Parker and Ben McGlynn, the Swans boast one of the most talented midfields in the competition.

But Longmire has enormous respect for North's midfield brigade, led by Brent Harvey, Daniel Wells, Nick Dal Santo and the in-form Sam Gibson.

Longmire was asked who he felt was the most important North player to lock down at ANZ Stadium.

"Dal Santo, Gibson, Wells, Harvey – you can't tag them all," he said.

"We need to make sure that our 18-man defence is really strong.

"Our midfield group in general need to play an accountable two-way game and work together to restrict the opposition.

"Their midfield group in particular can get big numbers and if they get it into their forward line, they can kick goals quickly."

Longmire played alongside Harvey for four years before retiring and labelled him an "all-time legend" of the Kangaroos.

He feels the 36-year-old, who managed to get a one-game suspension overturned at the AFL Tribunal this week, "could play for another four years".

Another man Longmire is concerned about is North ruckman Todd Goldstein.

One of the more athletic ruckmen in the competition, Goldstein will need to be matched by the Swans' Mike Pyke, plus back-ups Sam Reid and Kurt Tippett.

"Goldstein does the majority of the ruck work for the Kangaroos and he's a great runner," Longmire said.

"He goes up and down the ground really hard and he's a terrific tap ruckman.

"He's one of the elite ruckmen in the competition, so that is a challenge for Pykey and Sam Reid and Tippett and those blokes in the middle of the ground.

"If their midfield group gets first use of it, they can do some real damage."

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