THE ABSENCE of veteran Swan Jude Bolton against Geelong will give a hungry teammate a chance to prove they deserve a finals spot, says star midfielder Josh Kennedy.
Talented youngster Tom Mitchell makes his way back into the Swans side, in place of Bolton who will miss the blockbuster clash with illness.
Adam Goodes, Lewis Jetta, Lewis Roberts-Thomson and Sam Reid are the shining coins still to return to the Swans' best 22 for the finals.
Kennedy believes now is the time for those on the fringe of selection to shine.
"Not only him (Mitchell), but a lot of players. It's that time of year where we've got guys that have been injured who are making their last ditch efforts to make it back in to side before September," Kennedy said.
"So it's a really healthy competitiveness and everyone's got an opportunity to make their mark."
The game against the Cats shapes as a virtual shootout for a top two spot on the ladder – and an all-important chance to try to lock away a home final in the first week of September.
"It's pretty daunting. But we've done it before and won down there (in round 23, 2011)," Kennedy said.
"So we know we can do it, but we've just got to focus on the little things and really relish the challenge ahead because it will give us a great tune up coming in to September."
Kennedy said the next two weeks against the Cats and the Hawks would be a test to see where the club is at heading in to finals.
"It's going to be a real challenge for us. They (Geelong) got the better of us earlier in the year and their good players are playing really well and we're just going to have to go head to head and see how we stack up," Kennedy said.
