SYDNEY Swans coach John Longmire is well placed to understand the challenges that lie ahead of champion utility Adam Goodes, according to Longmire's premiership mentor Denis Pagan.

Last week, the 35-year-old Goodes decided to play in the NEAFL rather than start as a substitute in an attempt to find touch and build his fitness in what is shaping as his final season.

Goodes still has good football left in him, whether as a substitute or in the starting 21, but he is no longer an automatic selection, particularly while the strong Swans remain relatively injury free.

What is likely is that he will have an empathetic ear in Longmire, who played just 10 games in each of his final two seasons before retiring in 1999 aged 29.

Goodes makes strong pitch for senior return with NEAFL debut

By the time he called it quits, Longmire's 200-game career had become a test of resilience after he had a knee reconstruction at the beginning of 1996 and missed the Kangaroos premiership that year. He played a different role in 1997 but was dropped in 1998 after the qualifying final and his coach Denis Pagan could not find a spot for him in that year's Grand Final.

The media guide ahead of the 1999 season said of Longmire: "Has kicked the most goals in Kangaroos history (511), but injuries have taken their toll and his pace has waned … needs a really big year to secure his twilight years in the game".

After playing the first three games in 1999, Longmire was out until round 14. He then missed five games between round 19 and the preliminary final with an elbow injury, before forcing his way into the team to be part of the flag win in his final game.

"No one could have handled it better than John, I can tell you," Pagan told AFL.com.au.

Goodes, who may not play in the seniors this week, is facing a similar battle to the one Longmire experienced in his final year, trying to force his way into a team that had unexpectedly lost the Grand Final the year before after winning the flag two years earlier. The difference is that Goodes is already a two-time premiership player and dual Brownlow medallist, and is six years older in 2015 than Longmire was in 1999.

The man they call 'Horse' had not played in a premiership at that stage, telling Fairfax Media his feelings at the time.

"It's not something I dwell on, but you don't have to be Einstein to work out how tough it is to cop watching a grand final," Longmire said.

Pagan said Longmire had lost some of his pace because of his knee problems, and was trying to work his way into a team that included Wayne Carey and Corey McKernan in the forward line and Matthew Capuano in the ruck.

"He was really under pressure towards the end of his career," Pagan said.

That pressure and an elbow injury didn't stop Longmire fighting for a spot. He earned a recall in the preliminary final and started the Grand Final on the bench. He contributed to the win when he came on in the second quarter as the back-up ruckman with the game against Carlton in the balance.

Tears welled in his eyes when reporters surrounded him in the rooms and the enormity of what he had achieved sunk in.

Post-game in the press conference, Pagan outlined what Longmire had managed to achieve. "His hurdles have been eight-foot tall. He's been able to get over the top of them and force his way back into the side. After the last home-and-away game of the year, it didn't look like he had any chance at all ... he fought his way back into the team and made an important contribution today," Pagan said.

Whether Longmire brings his personal experience to bear in what will become an ongoing conversation with Goodes remains to be seen. Despite the similarities, the coach is smart enough to know that each circumstance and player needs to be treated differently.

What can be assumed is that the coach will have the same hard but fair approach Pagan did 16 years ago, talking constantly to Goodes and maintaining an open and respectful approach, although Longmire's former coach's recollection of whether they kept the dialogue high or not is not entirely clear with the passing of time.

"I'm sure we would have," Pagan said. "We held him in the highest regard.”