Sydney coach John Longmire has commended the attitude of dropped veteran Taylor Adams following his side's qualifying final victory over GWS.
Adams was one of four Swans players omitted from the senior side for the first week of finals, with Robbie Fox and Caiden Cleary also making way while an injured Aaron Francis came out of Longmire's squad.
Sydney were set to have Tom McCartin and Isaac Heeney return after the key pair were managed for their final home and away season game, while Tom Papley and Justin McInerney were deemed fit to play following ankle and knee injuries respectively.
The Adams omission was arguably the most difficult for Longmire to make, with the 225-game having played every game since making his club debut in Round 4.
Adams unfortunately missed out on Collingwood's premiership victory in 2023 due to a hamstring injury sustained last September, an ailment that brought his 23-game campaign to an abrupt end after a qualifying final win over Melbourne.
Asked about the difficulty of having to drop Adams for this week's final, Longmire said the veteran midfielder was understanding and accepting of the call, with the ex-Magpie and Giant on standby for the rest of his side's finals pursuit.
"They're all difficult, there's no easy one," Longmire said.
"We just had some really good players coming back in. The four we had coming back in... it was pretty hard to leave those four out. The other guys were doing pretty good jobs for us.
"Taylor hasn't been playing poorly, it was just a case of needing to make room. His attitude was superb. We had a chat with him earlier in the week and he's been terrific.
"Who knows what happens the next few weeks, you've got to be on top of your game. All those guys will be needing to be ready to go, that's just the nature of the game."
The Swans look to have gotten through the thrilling win over the Giants unscathed, with Longmire noting there was no major concern for key defender Lewis Melican following a heavy knock to the ribs in the opening half.
The aforementioned McInerney looked limited in his impact on the game after returning for his first appearance since mid-July.
The win gives the Swans another week's break ahead of a preliminary final at the SCG on Friday, September 20, with Sydney to host either Port Adelaide or Hawthorn.