Sam Reid at centre of major Swans update ahead of AFL grand final
Sam Reid has been granted a small glimmer of hope that he will be fit for the AFL grand final this Saturday following the result of his scans.
Reid remains a significant doubt for Saturday's clash with Geelong, following the adductor injury he suffered during last weekend's epic preliminary final win over Collingwood.
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However, in a Sydney Swans statement, Reid reportedly suffered an abductor strain and remains a small chance to play this weekend in the AFL grand final.
"He has had some follow up imaging this week which was encouraging and he is progressing as expected," the statement read.
Reports suggest the Swans will give Reid every chance to prove his fitness before the grand final at the MCG.
Unfortunately, Justin McInerney suffered foot soreness, which only became apparent when he joined Reid in missing Tuesday's open training session.
Asked about Reid and McInerney, coach John Longmire said Thursday's closed session would allow decisions to be made.
"We expect them to do some training tomorrow ... we'll see how they go," Longmire told SEN on Wednesday morning.
While Reid and McInerney were prominent absentees at Tuesday's training, there was considerable excitement in the wake of Lance Franklin's announcement that he will play on next season.
Longmire said the star forward wanted the news out as soon as possible.
"It's terrific news for us," Longmire said.
"We talked about it internally, 'Do we do it this week?'. But he was really keen to say, 'Listen, let's get it done and dusted, otherwise the focus might be is it my last game?', and he didn't want that to happen.
"He wanted the focus to be on the grand final ... he's just thinking about the team."
Lance Franklin's grand final move
The Swans will take a nine-game winning streak into the grand final against Geelong on Saturday.
An added bonus for the club is Lance Franklin's announcement he had signed a one-year contract extension.
While there was some questions to why the news was announced on grand final week, Longmire said the star forward wanted the news out as soon as possible.
"It's terrific news for us," Longmire said.
"We talked about it internally, 'Do we do it this week?'. But he was really keen to say, 'Listen, let's get it done and dusted, otherwise the focus might be is it my last game?', and he didn't want that to happen.
"He wanted the focus to be on the grand final ... he's just thinking about the team."
Sydney will start as underdogs on Saturday and Longmire was happy to play up that perception.
Asked if he could see a hole in Geelong's game, he laughed and said "not really".
"They've won 15 games in a row. They've finished two games clear at the top of the ladder and so they're a fantastic team.
"They're playing the best footy of anyone.
"So we understand it's going to be a real challenge, but we're confident in what we've been doing and our players and their ability to stick to the task.
"It's going to be a great grand final."
with AAP
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