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Sydney hope to regain skipper Josh Kennedy and a stack of stars after their mid-season AFL bye, which George Hewett says has come at both a good and bad time.
Rollicking after their biggest and best win of the AFL season but reeling from yet more injuries, Sydney midfielder George Hewett believe the bye has come at a both a good and bad time.
The Swans, who return to the SCG next week for a Friday night showdown with Hawthorn, defeated West Coast by 45 points in round 12.
The triumph over the reigning premiers came despite Jarrad McVeigh (hamstring), Jackson Thurlow (concussion) and Colin O'Riordan (concussion) playing no part in the second half.
McVeigh, who missed rounds 4-10 with a quad injury, faces another stint on the sidelines but the extra week should help Thurlow and O'Riordan's chances of facing the Hawks.
The bye should ensure Swans captain Josh Kennedy (knee) is fit to return against his former side, while Zak Jones (hamstring), Harry Cunningham (adductor) and Kieren Jack (hip) are also in the mix to tackle Hawthorn.
"The bye has come at a good and average time," Hewett said after his team backed up competitive losses to Collingwood and Geelong with a win over West Coast.
"Bad time, (because) you always want to play footy and we're playing well.
"Good time, obviously for the body. We had three blokes injured at halftime (against the Eagles)."
The return of Kennedy and other fit-again stars should help lift the Swans' midfield, a strength in their upset of the Eagles, to another level.
"That's going to be awesome. It obviously means a lot more people can run through there and hopefully we're all a bit fresher," Hewett said.
"Our ball use (against the Eagles) was probably the best it's been all year.
"A lot of things went right for us, a lot of it was through our effort."
Hewett was full of praise for ruckman Callum Sinclair, who clutched two contested marks and outgunned Tom Hickey in one of his best performances of 2019.
"You could tell he was winding himself up (for a big game). He was taking his grabs down the line, that's Cal at his best," he said.
