“I’m not sure it’s that relevant four days later,to be honest. What I have is absolute support for Luke Parker,” he said.

“I think Luke Parker’s history suggests he plays the game in the right way. I don’t think this is a behaviour that’s been repeated too often and I absolutely support Luke in the way he goes about his footy.

“We touched on it as part of his game review,but that’s only part of a general discussion,and we didn’t talk about it for too long at all. In the end,Luke’s record stands for itself,he’s a wonderful servant of the footy club and the game,he plays the game in the right way,and that’s the way he’ll continue to play.”

Meanwhile,Longmire continued his long-standing policy of not commenting on opposition players despiteRichmond coach Damien Hardwick giving his “blessing” for three-time Norm Smith medallist Martin to pursue a move to a Sydney club if he desires in the future.

Martin is contracted to the Tigers until the end of the 2024 and his manager,Ralph Carr,has spoken repeatedly about the 30-year-old’s love for Sydney. Martin was recently spotted working out with NRL star-turned-boxer Paul Gallen in the harbour city –although Carr recently toldThe Age and theHerald that Martin has never said he wanted to move or play football there.

News Corp has since reported that the Swans have begun “secret talks” with Carr over Martin,while Hardwick’s comments on Tuesday,that Richmond wouldn’t stand in his way if he wanted to move,have raised eyebrows.

“We haven’t spoken about him. I’m not sure where that leaves us other than the fact we haven’t spoken about it. It’s not something we’ve discussed,” Longmire said.

“If you look at the history of me commenting on players’ contracts,I don’t[even] comment on players from our club and their contract status. I certainly don’t comment on players from other clubs that are contracted,and don’t read anything into that either. It’s just not something I get involved in or talk about.”

Longmire was more keen to talk about Friday night’s showdown with Carlton. The Swans will be forced into making at least one change after midfielderJames Rowbottom’s appeal against a one-match suspension for a bump on Zach Merrett was thrown out.

Braeden Campbell appears to be the most likely inclusion for Rowbottom if Sydney makes a like-for-like swap.

‘We’ll be ready’:Swans to aim up

Malcolm Conn reports: Swans co-captain Callum Mills concedes that his side will know on Friday night against Carlton whether they have fixed their slow start syndrome or simply took advantage of a lacklustre Essendon last weekend.

Sydney have trailed at quarter time in six of their first eight matches this season and led from the start only once until Saturday night,when theyoutscored the Bombers in every quarter.

“They’re not great stats,” Mills said. “It’s always tough chasing,so it’s front of mind. It’s just more of a player’s mentality to be able to be on straightaway.”

But for some wayward kicking the Swans would have won by more than 58 points against Essendon to break a two-game losing streak.

In what is a pivotal,Carlton are fourth with seven wins and the Swans fifth with six. Win and the Swans stay in touch with the top four and prospect of a double chance in the finals. Lose and they’re in danger of making up in the numbers in September.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Mills said. “We’ll be ready to go.”

Mills was instrumental in the Swans’ domination last Saturday night with a best on ground performance that included 29 disposals,a game high seven clearances and a stunning 13 tackles. Only one player has laid more tackles in a game this season.

The talented midfielder’s leadership is reaching new heights at the Swans. He had a career-high 95 tackles last season and is already half towards beating it after nine rounds.

Likewise,his career high 495 disposals last season are also in danger of being eclipsed at his current rate of progress.

“We really want to try to pressure the opposition as much as we can,and be on defensively. Saturday was just a result of everyone being on edge and wanting to turn the ball over as fast as we could,” Mills said.

“Obviously as midfielders you want to get after the opposition and apply an enormous amount of pressure. I definitely pride that in my game.

“Sometimes with the way a game folds out,it’s a bit more contested. It was obviously a pretty slippery night at the SCG so there were few fumbles and a lot more tackles involved.”

This was not the case during the Swans’ shock loss to 12th-placed Gold Coast a fortnight ago.

“Our team defence was well down against Gold Coast,” Mills said. “They were able to pick through us and we were pretty disappointed with the way we defended that.

“That’s something that we turned around against Essendon. It was a pretty slippery night at the SCG so there were a few fumbles and a lot more tackles involved.”

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