Sydney Swans marquee recruit Lance Franklin has been rested from Thursday night’s NAB Challenge match against the GWS Giants in Canberra.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The former Hawthorn spearhead will be kept in cotton wool for Sydney’s second official pre-season game in Blacktown next week.
Swans teammates Adam Goodes, Kurt Tippett, Mike Pyke and Lewis Roberts-Thomson will also miss the trip to Manuka Oval.
Franklin, Pyke and Roberts-Thomson all featured in Sydney's intra-club trial game last week.
Swans coach John Longmire said the club was monitoring the workload of the trio so they would hit the ground running in round one.
"They will get some good time into them next week, which was always our plan and that’s what we’re looking forward to doing,'' Longmire said.
"They did 60 minutes last week and they've pulled up really well.
"We'll still field a pretty strong team without them.''
It would have been the first time Franklin had faced the Giants since turning down overtures to join the expansion club.
Franklin instead signed with the Swans on a massive $10 million, nine-year deal, which has turned the spotlight on the salary cap allowance afforded to the Swans and the Giants.
Goodes is recovering from a knee injury sustained at the end of last season and won't be available until round three at the earliest.
Tippett is also in doubt for the start of the season after seeing a specialist to deal with tendonitis in his knee.
"Tippett will be unlikely for round one and has come back with a really solid plan,'' Longmire said.
''He has put a lot of work into strengthing his leg.
''He’s dealt with it before.
''He’s confident if he puts the right things in place then he'll be fine.''
Meanwhile, the Giants have included former number one draft pick Jonathan Patton in his first game at Manuka Oval since suffering a serious knee injury.
Patton tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the round-three loss to St Kilda last year.
The Giants will also field all five of their new recruits, pitting premiership-winning ruckman Shane Mumford and Jed Lamb against their old side.
Heath Shaw (Collingwood), Josh Hunt (Geelong) and Dylan Addison (Bulldogs) will also make their debuts for the Giants after joining the club in the off-season.
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY
1. Phil Davis, 2. Curtly Hampton, 3. Stephen Coniglio, 4, Toby Greene, 5. Dylan Shiel, 6. Lachie Whitfield, 7. Rhys Palmer, 8. Callan Ward, 9. Tom Scully, 10. Devon Smith, 11. Jed Lamb, 12. Jon Patton, 14. Tom Bugg, 17. Adam Treloar, 18. Jeremy Cameron, 19. Nick Haynes, 20. Adam Tomlinson, 21. Matt Buntine, 23. Heath Shaw, 26. Jon Giles, 30. Lachie Plowman, 31. Jacob Townsend, 32. Josh Hunt, 33. Will Hoskin-Elliott, 40. Adam Kennedy, 41. Shane Mumford, 44. Tom Downie, 46. Dylan Addison, 48. Sam Frost
SYDNEY SWANS
2. Ryce Shaw, 3. Jarrad McVeigh, 4. Daniel Hannebery, 5. Ryan O'Keefe, 6. Tom Mitchell, 7. Harry Cunningham, 9. Nick Malceski, 11. Jeremy Laidler, 12. Josh Kennedy, 13. Toby Nankervis, 14. Craig Bird, 15. Kieren Jack, 16. Gary Rohan, 18. Jordan Lockyer, 19. Tom Derickx, 20. Ben Reid, 21. Ben McGlynn, 22. Dean Towers, 24. Dane Rampe, 25. Ted Richards, 26. Luke Parker, 27. Daniel Robinson, 31. Harrison Marsh, 33. Brandon Jack, 35. Sam Naismith, 36. Aliir Aliir, 39. Heath Grundy, 40. Nick Smith, 44. Jake Lloyd.
THURSDAY: NAB Challenge: GWS Giants v Sydney Swans at Manuka Oval, 7.10pm.