Sydney defender Ted Richards only a flip-of-the-coin chance of playing

Richards has had a difficult year, after a series of injuries including a serious concussion, but the 259-game veteran maintains that he is back to full health to tackle the remainder of the season.

"Put it this way, I'm only a 50-50 chance. I'll be playing but it will be either in the firsts or the seconds it just depends," Richards told RSN on Wednesday.

The premiership player said that he was "time restricted" in his first game back with the Swans' reserves last Saturday.

"It was exciting to be back and it was a big difference lining up for my first game back at Blacktown at 9.30 on Saturday morning instead of playing in front of a crowd of 40,000 at the SCG. By that I mean in 'time restricted' we didn't want to take any risks with my first real game back," he said.

Richards has been limited to just six games this year due to a calf strain, facial surgery and concussion. He said that he had been given the all clear by his club doctor.

"But we sat down and talked, shook hands and he said I'm good to go," he said.

When asked how he felt to have a bye at this time of year Richards said: "It was important to have at least four or five days away from the club to fully relax.

"It's really important that you get that break, go away with the family and make it as much physical as mental time away from the game."

The former Bomber defender said that he and the AFL Players Association were "quite filthy" the two byes were not installed into the current AFL season.

He also said that the AFL didn't need a mid-year draft and also maintained that the rookie list situation could well be dismantled in years to come.

Richards was forthright in his assessment of Saturday's opposition, the Western Bulldogs, after their form of the last 18 months.

He said the Bulldogs had plenty of "run and skill" about their game, which was the foundation for their success.

"But they are a very hard side," Richards said.

Breaking back into the successful Swans side is a point not lost on the club's premiership backman.

"We were very strong last time, the backline then only allowed Melbourne to kick seven goals so it mighn't be this week I'm in the firsts," he said.

It could be a battle between Richards and Jeremy Laidler who will undergo a fitness test on Thursday to determine whether he will line up against the Bulldogs in the all-important twilight game.

Laidler had pulled up sore after training in the days before the Melbourne clash and was therefore overlooked.

While Richards added that Laidler was part of the competition to make the team on Saturday he felt that an important training session at the SCG on Thursday would answer most of those questions.