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Sydney will not underestimate North Melbourne on Friday night despite the Swans going in as warm favourites.

“It’s never a fact of going through the motions and it’s never a fact of undermining the importance of the game,” Longmire told reporters on Thursday.

“We know that we go in against a team that has won six in a row and are in ripping form and have a good team available as well.

“It’s not going to be easy and we know the challenges ahead of us, but that’s what you train for, to present yourself in a preliminary final.

“We’ve been able to do that and we get that opportunity tomorrow night and we look forward to it.”

Longmire reckons his old North Melbourne teammate Brent Harvey could play for another four years, as he ponders how to quell the influence of the champion veteran on Friday.

Harvey, 36, is free to face the Swans at ANZ Stadium after being cleared of a rough conduct charge at the tribunal on Tuesday.

The seemingly indestructible Harvey is now nearing the end of his 19th season and still posing plenty of problems and headaches for opposing coaches.

The man charged with trying to negate his influence this week is former North Melbourne full-forward Longmire, whose career at the Kangaroos crossed over with Harvey's for four seasons.

Both played in the Kangaroos' most recent premiership side, in 1999, with Longmire retiring after enjoying a fairytale finish in that year's grand final.

Fast forward 15 years and the 383-game club record holder shows few signs of slowing down, with just the odd act of ill discipline spoiling his 2014 campaign.

"He's one of the all-time legends of North Melbourne," Longmire said on Thursday.

"To be playing till he's 36 and playing at the level that he is now ... it looks as though he could play for another four years and it's quite remarkable.
"But he's a massive competitor. He's still one of the most important players.

"The good thing from his angle is they've added some other players around (him), players like (Sam) Gibson, and (Nick) Dal Santo and (Daniel) Wells.

"Those players have actually helped him and will continue to help him play more good footy in the future."

Harvey will play on next year and should he sign up for 2016, could overtake Longmire as the Kangaroos' second-highest ever goalkicker.
Longmire bagged 511 goals, while Harvey is on 457.

For all his individual accolades, Harvey has enjoyed relatively little success against the Swans.

He has only tasted victory against the Swans six times in 22 games and his possession and goal averages against them are below his career marks.