As Sydney welcomed back Kurt Tippett from injury, the club locked away a key plank for their future by securing Gary Rohan to a long-term deal.
The electrifying forward has spurned Geelong and turned his back on free agency by signing a three-year contract extension which keeps him in the red and the white until the end of 2020. He joins key Swans Luke Parker, Dan Hannebery, Lance Franklin and coach John Longmire to commit long term.
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Rohan, who hails from Cobden in Victoria's western district, said he had seriously considered moving to the Cats, the club he supported as a kid, but decided last weekend against a move back to his home state.
Although the possibility of playing finals with the Cats was a carrot, Rohan said, so too was the prospect of success at the Swans, where he has played since being drafted with pick six in 2009.
"I did think about it. I sat down with my fiancee and thought about the pros and cons of moving," Rohan said.
"If I go back home I'll be spending a lot of time with family and it could have been a distraction having all my mates around. I'm not saying it's a bad thing but we like our time to ourselves - that's another reason.
"We had a young side coming through so I decided to stay."
Rohan said he was surprised to get a three-year extension after such a bad run with injury and also wanted to repay the loyalty the club had shown towards him. He believes he is now back in the shape he was in prior to his horrific broken leg in 2012.
![Back in the red and white: Sydney Swans forward Kurt Tippett.](/web/20161023012708im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/d/4/8/k/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gqviss.png/1471587919275.jpg)
"I've got a lot of confidence in my body that I can play at this level again, and it's showing in the way I'm playing," Rohan said.
"It's taken a pretty long time. I'm pulling up well after every game."
![Gary Rohan will be in the red and the white until the end of 2020.](/web/20161023012708im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/w/3/2/9/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gqviss.png/1471587919275.jpg)
The Swans have named Tippett for his first game in 10 weeks but lose captain Kieren Jack to a foot injury sustained at training on Thursday. The Swans say Jack will miss only this weekend's game against North Melbourne at Blundstone Arena. Veteran Ben McGlynn has been named to replace Jack, while Toby Nankervis makes way for Tippett.
Tippett was initially expected to miss six weeks but the club then opted for surgery - a move which they believe has given him a shot to play in the finals.
"It was certainly relevant to have the operation when he did; it's allowed him to get back now, rather than waiting until next year," Longmire said.
"We actually put him on the long-term injury list with the hope that he'd be up and going, and it's actually stopped us form playing him last week because he was training fine.
"It was a good thing to do because the temptation might have been there [to play him] last week and it gave him an extra week of training which has been quite handy for him."
Tippett was in arguably career-best form playing predominantly in the ruck before he broke down but will spend more time inside the forward 50 as he regains his match fitness. There is a chance he will play solely as a forward but that is unlikely.
"He's done enough ruck work at training over the past couple of weeks to be able to play there if required," Longmire said.
"Obviously we know the game is going to be another step up, but he just has to play a role."
Tippett's returns should strengthen a forward line that ranks second for points scored, behind Adelaide, since round 16. Longmire said the Swans' pressure around the ball was the key to their high scoring.