SAGE football wisdom holds that the coach should at all times have the aloof visage of someone waiting for a bus. After a decade as understudy, Ross Lyon already gives the impression he would be more ruffled by a sudden bus timetable change than any tactical changes he might confront.

"I had a laugh driving in thinking you might ask this question (about nerves and pressure). I couldn't have been under any more pressure than the last game I was involved in as an assistant," said the former Sydney assistant coach, referring to last year's grand final. Tonight he will assume the role of senior AFL coach for the first time in a home-and-away match.

"I know there have been one or two interpretation changes but I don't think the rules have changed dramatically so I think I am going to be able to handle what's thrown up on Friday night," he said.

Although he will be the central figure in the box tonight, the game does not compare with the pressure he felt leading into the grand final last year. The man who served a long coaching apprenticeship under rivals Denis Pagan and Neale Daniher still acts like a sous chef who defers to the importance of his dish pigs and waiting staff. "No, grand finals are pretty special. It's a coaching team now.

"I know I am the figurehead for that and, win or lose, it stops with me, but the reality is it's a team in the box and it feels like a natural progression for me; it is not something I am in awe of. It is a wonderful opportunity but with that comes enormous responsibility to help steer this club in the right direction.

"You take the job knowing what responsibility comes and I am prepared to face that."

The new senior coach was clearly bemused by the notion that he should be intimidated by the idea of coaching an AFL match.

"Let's be clear on this: it's the first game. I am sure the goal posts are going to be there. I looked at the MCG Hall of Fame and it looked exactly the same as when I left it on September 23 or whenever and all the practice games really resembled Australian Rules football to me, the same as I have been involved in since I was 16. So unless you know something I don't know I think I will be OK," he said with a laugh.

He is not sure how he will react in the coaches' box once the match begins and he must sift through a deluge of information compared with the trickle he received when coaching a VFL game.

"It is about calm heads and clearly that starts with me. I need to be controlled and that will filter to the other assistants so they can make good decisions," he said.

What will make his task more immediately difficult will be the absence of his best player, Nick Riewoldt, tonight. The pain of absence was slightly assuaged by the ability of another co-captain, Lenny Hayes, and centre half-back Matt Maguire to recover rapidly enough from serious leg injuries to be available to play.

More troublingly, his ageing warrior forward Aaron Hamill has been placed on the long-term injury list and the prospect of him returning to AFL football let alone anything resembling his intimidating best is diminishing.

"I know there is a focus on injuries here but we are in really good shape… A number of players have had their best pre-seasons. I know its a cliche but clearly Nick Dal Santo and Luke Ball have done more running than they have done in the past and Leigh Montagna. Those guys are ready to go.

"For me obviously I am a rookie coach kicking off the first game, season opener. I am genuinely excited but it really is about the players."

The Ross Lyon Saints will not be Sydney revisited but will clearly borrow from his most recent coaching mentor.

"I don't want to overlay a Swans game plan at all but clearly they had strong accountability, particularly through the midfield and that's an angle I have emphasised," he said.

"No one is pure one-on-one. The reality is you have to break some one-on-one at times."