SENIOR coaching aspirant Stewart Dew will be given the reins at the Sydney Swans during the NAB Challenge as part of a rotating panel over the next three weeks.
Dew will lead the team in its final NAB Challenge match, against Greater Western Sydney, with fellow assistants Henry Playfair and John Blakey to also coach one match each.
Blakey, who is the Swans' backline coach, will take charge for the opening NAB Challenge match, against the Brisbane Lions in Coffs Harbour on Friday night.
Senior coach John Longmire, who also took a back seat during last year's pre-season matches, said he hoped the move would improve the coaching panel.
"This is something we planned at the start of our pre-season and it is a great opportunity for the assistant coaches to take charge, not just during the match, but also in the build up to the game," he told the club's website.
"I’m really looking forward to seeing the game from a different perspective.
"Whether it is just taking a backseat in the coaches’ box or spending some time on the bench, it will be interesting to see what I can learn from a different vantage point."
Dew, who is seen as a senior coach in waiting, was heavily courted by Melbourne to join the club as Paul Roos' successor late in 2013.
He instead signed a three-year deal to stay with the Swans, moving into the role of midfield and strategy coach.
The Port Adelaide and Hawthorn premiership player was linked with the Adelaide coaching vacancy, eventually filled by Phil Walsh, at the end of last season.
