Sydney are refusing to treat their clash with Richmond as Lance Franklin's last appearance at the MCG.
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The legendary forward will end a three-game absence due to a knee injury when he runs out for the Swans on Thursday night.
The last game Sydney played at the MCG, Franklin was booed by Collingwood fans every time he touched the ball in scenes that bewildered the AFL community.
The 36-year-old has been involved in two premierships at the famous ground, while playing in a further four grand-final defeats with the Swans and Hawthorn.
Franklin, who has played 350 games and kicked 1059 goals, will almost certainly end his legendary career when the Swans' campaign ends, after 19 AFL seasons.
To play at the MCG again Sydney would have to make an unlikely late season run and play a final at the ground.
After blowing a golden opportunity in drawing with Geelong last Friday night, last year's grand finalists (6-1-8) need to keep winning to be any chance of finishing inside the top eight.
But Swans co-captain Callum Mills is not giving up on playing finals, and neither is the club.
"Who knows?" Mills said when asked if it could be Franklin's last game at the MCG.
"I don't think Lance is thinking about that, or we are really.
"We'll just take every game as it comes and to be able to play with him every week is special and this week is no different
"It's always the case when we come down to Melbourne, there's a bit more talk about 'Bud' (Franklin) but that's what happens when you play with a superstar.
"It's almost a blessing because we get to be in the presence of one of the great players to play our game and we're not really thinking about whether it's his last year."
Sydney have lost their last three matches at the MCG, including to Melbourne and Collingwood this year.
But their record at the ground prior to last year's horror show against Geelong was outstanding for a non-Victorian team.
Richmond will be desperate to bounce back from last week's 81-point hiding against the Brisbane Lions as stars Dion Prestia and Dustin Martin return to bolster the Tigers.
Australian Associated Press
