The Swans have named a towering squad in a bid to avoid a third straight loss to the cross-town Giants, with Lance Franklin (199 centimetres) and Sam Naismith (206cm) slated to return from off-season shoulder surgeries, and Callum Sinclair (199cm) fit again from ongoing knee trouble.

They will join Kurt Tippett (202cm) and Darcy Cameron (203cm) who shared rucking duties in the narrow pre-season defeat to North Melbourne two weekends ago. That quintet make up the tallest five listed players at club.

All five are in the running to play against the Giants, although the Swans may yet trim one name from the list when they whittle down their 29-man squad later this week.

The Swans are desperate to beat the Giants, who won two of the clubs' three showdowns last season, including the qualifying final GWS won by six goals.

And there's a sub-plot on Friday night with Swans coach John Longmire yet to settle on his ruck make-up ahead of round one later this month.

"It's going to be hot competition for all four of us to crack a spot," Naismith said.

"We all bring different strengths to the table with our attributes and what we can do.

"I've just recently started the full-contact training and so has Callum. Kurt and Darcy have been doing the bulk of the ruckwork throughout the pre-season and they're looking in good shape.

"We're going to have a tall forward line [on Friday], especially if Sam Reid's up there as well.

"It's really hard to match up on. If we can isolate blokes and get some mismatches, that will be great for us.

"We've also got to be wary of the match-ups with the Giants players because they're pretty zippy as well. They've got to have that defensive mindset, but if we can get some tall blokes in the forward line with some shorter opponents, it's always great."

Naismith had an AC joint reconstruction on his left shoulder on October 10, before a second operation pre-Christmas. It has limited his pre-season to rehabilitation and physiotherapy, but the towering ruckman has declared himself ready for a return to the playing field.

Dane Rampe, Heath Grundy, Dean Towers and Jeremy Laidler have been named to play on Friday after missing the North Melbourne loss, while Isaac Heeney will miss the match through illness.

The Giants, meanwhile, will bring back a raft of stars for the grudge match with Shane Mumford named following pre-season elbow surgery, pitting him up against Franklin for the first time since last year's qualifying final where the GWS levelled a mental-health sledge at the superstar Swan.

Co-captains Phil Davis and Callan Ward will play, alongside veteran forward Steve Johnson and defender Heath Shaw.

It just keeps growing and growing," Naismith said.

"Last year when we took them on in the final, it was a hot footy and that's probably the peak of our rivalry to date. It's great for the sport in NSW and it's a great spectacle whenever we play them."