Sydney coach John Longmire has stressed the importance of the midfield battle this weekend given North’s potent offensive threats.

The former North premiership star identified the likes of Ben Brown, Jarrad Waite and Jack Ziebell as those the Swans will be keeping a close eye on this Saturday night.

“Both Brown and Waite are extremely dangerous and extremely talented, they get Higgins back in and Ziebell has been playing up forward,” Longmire said.

“When Ben Brown gets a good launch at it he’s very hard to stop because of his height and speed.

“Once again it comes down to the midfield battle and making sure that we can get some sort of advantage in that part of the ground, because if it’s coming out of there very quickly to a Ben Brown or a Jarrad Waite, eventually they’ll kick scores because they’re just so talented.”

Gaining that advantage will not come easy, with Todd Goldstein looking to give first-use to North’s on-ballers.

Forward Dean Towers is a chance to return after missing Sydney’s clash with Geelong last week with an eye complaint, with Longmire hoping he can provide some relief to ruckman Callum Sinclair.

“He has got to get through the training session and feel good after that before he gets the all clear, but it’s looking positive,” Longmire said.

“Goldstein’s in fantastic form, you could almost say he’s back to his best.

“He’s playing really well at the moment, so even if Dean does come back into the team, it’s going to be a really big challenge.”

Many didn’t expect North to be inside the top eight at this stage of the season, but the Sydney coach never doubted his former club’s potential.

“North Melbourne have a got a very good, well balanced game style at the moment,” Longmire added.

“They’re the second best defensive team in the competition, so they’re defending really well.

“On the back of some of their defensive work this year, they’re playing some really good footy.”