Axe to toughen Swan

Skipper: GF heartache will ‘make’ Logan

THE man who could be a premiership captain by Saturday evening believes Logan McDonald’s cruel AFL grand final axing could be the making of him.

With an injury cloud hovering over fellow key forward Sam Reid, the Swans made the tough call to drop McDonald in favour of forward-ruck Hayden McLean.

McLean hasn’t been in the senior side since playing the first eight games of the season.

Coach John Longmire declined to say if Reid’s adductor issue, and the possibility of him not being able to play as Sydney’s relief ruckman on Saturday, was a factor in McLean’s selection over promising 20-year-old McDonald.

Whether he was playing games or not, Longmire declared Reid “ready to go”, meaning emergency McDonald’s hopes of a late reprieve appear dashed. His omission was not a total shock, given he managed a combined 10 disposals and one goal in Sydney’s two previous finals, on top of kicking only five goals across his past eight games.

But co-captain Luke Parker praised the way McDonald had taken the “heartbreaking” news. “The boys have been pretty helpful with Logan. It’s one of the most heartbreaking positions you can be in,” Parker said. “He’s got such a huge future at our club and hopefully this is just a small little step in the downward for him.

“He’ll take it hard but, at the same time, his attitude has been incredible. He’s still preparing like he’ll play – all week he’s trained like he’ll play and that’s been his attitude all year, whether he’s been playing reserves or seniors.

“He has big belief in what we can do and no doubt that will hold him in good stead in the future.

“It’s obviously really tough for him but the way he’s handled it has been incredible.”

Longmire conceded that telling McDonald he wasn’t going to play in the grand final was “not easy” but said it was a decision made with the team’s best interests at heart.

“I’ve been on the other side of that as a player, so it’s not an easy thing to do,” the coach said. “He’s a terrific young player with a great future ahead of him, and we made the decision because we thought that was the best line-up for (Saturday) … he’ll bounce back bigger and better. We just have to do the right thing by what the team needs.

“That’s where it starts and ends … you need to give yourself the best chance in the circumstances we’ve got.”