Sydney coach John Longmire is a sensible operator, meticulous in his preparation every week.
But in terms of studying Saturday’s AFL preliminary final between Hawthorn and Port Adelaide, Longmire was decidedly disorganised.
“I’ll try and get there in person,” Longmire said after his side surged to a 71-point win over North Melbourne at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium on Friday night.
“I haven’t booked any flights yet. I was too superstitious to look at the flight schedule.”
The Swans will enjoy an extra day off before the grand final, while Longmire has the added benefit of getting a stress-free look at his opposition.
“It’s good to be able to get this out of the way. Have a win and sit back and see what unfolds (between Port and the Hawks),” Longmire said.
“We did the same thing a couple of years ago (in 2012) and it went right down to the wire.
“Who knows what’s in front of us tomorrow.”
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
Agree it was great to watch live last night the way they isolated their defenders. North doesn't have a great defence anyway, but I would also say that the Hawks and Port don't exactly have the best defences either. The best way at this stage to beat the Swans is in a shoot out. Both the Power and the Hawks have the fire power, it's really going to be won in the mid field as usual.
Jack Smith
Roar Guru
Least Longmire doesn't have to worry about travel issues. It was good to see said strategic play in action yesterday. Tippett and Franklin were clearly told to swap it up a bit, along with Goodes, all three ever moving in terms of position. Isolated North defenders.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
The Swans have played the Power twice this year, so I think they know their game pretty well. The Hawks game plan is also pretty well known at this stage, so I don't think it is that imperative Horse watch the game live today. Clarko flew over to the west last week to watch the Freo vs Port game because he had not seen much of Port at all this year. He was extremely happy he did, because as anyone who regularly goes to games knows, you really can't see all the strategic play live on TV. I'd be surprised if he doesn't fly down, but no major thing if he doesn't either.