BARRING any late mishaps, Sydney captain Callum Mills will play his first AFL game for the year when the Swans take on Narrm at the MCG on Sunday afternoon.
The 27-year-old, who has been plagued by plantar fasciitis this year after featuring just seven times in 2024, looked sharp in a half of VFL action against Carlton last week.
His return is offset by another suspension to in-form midfielder Justin McInerney along with a three-game ban for forward Joel Amartey while Aaron Francis will miss with concussion.
But it will provide the Swans with a massive presence in their line-up as they aim to build on back-to-back home wins over Greater Western Sydney and the Blues and try to end a run of three straight away defeats.
"He's got one more session and if he gets through the session, he's playing," Swans coach Dean Cox said.
"He played extremely well in the restricted minutes last week. He ticked that off, got through yesterday (training), he gets through tomorrow and he lines up for us which is great.
"We've got to understand that Callum hasn't played a lot of AFL footy in the last two years, the expectation is for him to come and contribute to the football team, not to be the best player on the ground."
Veteran Taylor Adams is also in the mix for his first game of the season after returning from hamstring problems while Hayden McLean is the obvious inclusion for the suspended Amartey.
The Swans' suspension woes have become an issue for the club this year with McInerney's second ban totalling four games to go with Lewis Melican being rubbed out for three matches and the same time on the sidelines now applying to Amartey.
"They're remorseful. I addressed the players yesterday about the balance we need to find. They were made aware that we don't want to do that as a football club," Cox said.
"It's not ideal but we've got to get onto it. We've got to learn from why they're not playing."
James Jordon's tagging task this week may well be Christian Petracca in his 200th game for Narrm while the Demons, who have increased their run-with roles of late, will no doubt look to lock down on Swans superstars Isaac Heeney and Chad Warner.
The duo's excellence came to the fore again on Friday night with 38 touches and two goals for Heeney to go with 30 and two for Warner.
They are dovetailing constantly between the midfield and forward 50 and that makes them a tricky tagging assignment for the opposition.
"The luxury you have with Isaac and Chad is the ability they have to have an impact when they go forward and they do it differently. What Isaac can do aerially and, on the ground, compared to Chad with his burst play is different," Cox said.
"They provide a different match-up for opposition teams."
The Swans coach also had high praise for Narrm captain Max Gawn, who he says "has been as dominant as any player in the competition over the past month" ahead of his showdown with former teammate Brodie Grundy, who was hugely influential in the win over Carlton.
The morning after the Blues victory, the tragic news of Adam Selwood's passing broke which rocked Cox, who played alongside him in Waalitj Marawar's premiership win in 2006.
"It was a tough weekend. For the Selwood family, the footy club and us as close mates to Adam. We spent a lot of time together. It was devastating to see that," Cox said.
"For Marie and Bryce (Adam's parents) and the Selwood family, also to Fi, Lenny and Billie (Adam's wife and children). There were some tough conversations on Saturday that you have to have that you never want to have."
