SYDNEY'S two-point victory over Essendon on Saturday night has kept it in the finals race, but the win may have come at a cost with important injury concerns as the Swans head into the last four rounds of the season.
The injury commanding the most attention is that of superstar forward Lance Franklin who came from the field in the second quarter and was immediately subbed out of the match.
However, there is also a concern over defender Dane Rampe who sat out most of the last quarter as the Bombers continued to surge forward.
BOMBERS v SWANS Full match coverage and stats
Coach John Longmire didn't expand on Franklin’s situation when asked post-match.
"He's obviously got a tight calf, tight enough to sub him out, so we'll see what it looks like tomorrow," Longmire said.
"We had a few (injuries) in the end there. 'Ramps' didn't come back on in probably the last 20 minutes, so we had a few just hanging on there in the last bit.
"(Rampe) just had a tight calf, He didn't come back on after coming off at the start of the last, so hopefully he’s OK."
With Franklin in doubt the form of Joel Amartey was a big positive for Sydney after kicking four first-half goals, and while he didn't add another major score, Longmire was impressed with the 23-year-old's work around the ground throughout the match.
"He does forward and ruck," the coach said.
"It's a big job those guys do as key forwards who come off and then go into the ruck. It's a big job they do, so to kick four and to be up and be a forward target and go into the ruck as well is important for us."
Asked about Tom Papley's final-quarter long-bomb goal Longmire could only grin.
"(It was) pretty critical in the end. I looked up and I thought he was kicking to someone but there was no-one there, but it got through, bounced the right way and went our way."
Not everything went Essendon's way, but Brad Scott took plenty of positives from the narrow loss.
"I'm really excited about what's to come," Scott said post-match.
"I've said that all year – mostly after wins – but that was a game where, while bitterly disappointed, the fact that we just kept fighting and playing our way was really pleasing.
"Sydney is just a bit better than us at the moment. They were a bit better on the night even though we absolutely dominated key parts of the game. If you look at the stats sheet and you're plus 22 inside 50s and plus 23 contested possessions, you don't lose too many games with that sort of foundation."
The result, the Bombers' fifth loss from their past six matches, could be costly as they fight for a finals spot in the congested mid-section of the ladder, but the coach is looking beyond the end-of-season action.
"We won't sacrifice the short term for the long term," Scott said. "So, while disappointed in the short term and those opportunities, we're really focused on what we want to build.
"If that means we win enough games to compete in September, great.
"If it doesn't, we just keep building."
