Roos flags Bradshaw return
SYDNEY Swans coach Paul Roos says Daniel Bradshaw is a good chance of returning to face the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night after playing his second reserves game in as many weeks.
Bradshaw, who has been beset by knee and hamstring injuries since his last game in round nine, pulled up well after an 80-minute hit-out against Ainslie on Saturday.
Roos said the big forward’s finals experience would be a welcome addition to a Swans side that has now won five games in a row.
“Providing he’s pulled up well, he’ll definitely be in contention for next week,” he said.
“That’s two games he’s played, so it will probably more come down to how comfortable he feels and how he feels his body is.
“Jesse (White) has been battling away manfully for the whole year but he’s found it a lot harder without a Mick O’Loughlin next to him and Goodesy at centre half-forward where he finished off last year, and Braddy started [this year] next to him.
“You’ve got to seriously think about playing him.”
Roos said Saturday’s thrilling five-point win against Carlton at ANZ Stadium could easily have gone the other way, had the Blues taken their opportunities early in the final term.
“Jarrad Waite’s miss … to be perfectly frank, that could have seen the end of us as a team as well,” he said.
“But you could just sense in the last quarter, after that, we just lifted. It was going to be a matter of who was going to win the ball often enough and who was going to use it well.
“We just probably used the ball a bit better and got a couple of goals from really good individual performances that got us over the line.”
St Kilda’s win over Geelong on Friday night means the Swans cannot play the Cats and fellow bogey side Collingwood until the grand final, should they make it.
But Roos wouldn’t buy into any speculation about the merits of the Swans’ potential finals opponents.
“You can talk and debate anything. St Kilda beat Geelong, which means they’re a better team than Geelong,” he said.
“Who would I rather play if we beat the Bulldogs? We’ve got to beat them first.”
Roos confirmed Brett Kirk was a certain starter against the Bulldogs after suffering from cramp late in the final term, while Ben McGlynn (fractured cheekbone) would also be considered if he was cleared by the club’s doctors.