Australian football
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SWANS coach Brandon Mathews is weighing up the pros and cons of resting ruck recruit Michael Griffiths for tomorrow's RFL opener against Turvey Park.
The former SANFL and WAFL big man is carrying an ankle injury but trained well on Tuesday night and could yet line up at Maher Oval to take on the Bulldogs.
But Mathews is mindful of what lies ahead.
Early wins are gold and you want to find your feet early on, but we don't want to risk him.
- Brandon Mathews
After the Easter break next weekend is one of the biggest games in club history, the Anzac Day clash with arch-rivals Leeton-Whitton under lights at Exies Oval, which will get the ball rolling on Griffith's centenary celebrations.
While on one hand Mathews wants to go into that match with winning form, he doesn't want to risk further injury to the 207-centimetre giant.
"Early wins are gold and you want to find your feet early on, but we don't want to risk him," he said.
"We've got the opportunity to give him a two-week break with Easter and with everything that's going on with the centenary weekend, it might be better to freshen him up for that."
But there are no question marks hovering over the Swans' other recruits, who were unveiled on Wednesday.
Ryan Bulluss, Ben Byrne and Joel Hourigan are set for key roles on the ball and Mathews is excited at the prospect of seeing the experienced trio help take pressure off the likes of Guy Orton and Mick Duncan in the middle.
"Not only that, but when they're across half-forward they'll take a bit of pressure off James Toscan and Trevor Richards," Mathews said.
"Bully will be pretty awkward to match up on - he's just a good size and when he sees the footy, he gets the footy.
"He's a good, hard player and he'll give us that physical presence.
"It's the same with Byrney, he'll have a similar role.
"It should give the boys around them a bit of confidence, but there's still 20 blokes out there that have to hold up their end of the bargain."
Mathews isn't sure what to expect from Turvey Park, who finished with the wooden spoon last year but has also recruited well across the summer.
"You hear things about Turvey Park and they've got players and that, but you don't know," he said.
"And to be honest I'm not worried - we've got plans for what we want to do and if everyone does their bit, the result should take care of itself."