SYDNEY coach John Longmire says he was always confident the Swans could get back into the top-eight hunt after a tough injury toll earlier in the year but refused to get drawn into finals talk despite their fifth straight win.
The 2022 grand finalist has rallied from sitting in 15th spot after round 17 with five straight victories, returning to the top eight for the first time since round five with Saturday's 24-point win over Gold Coast.
The Swans had been in the bottom four with a 6-1-9 record after round 17, having endured a long injury list earlier in the year, with the likes of Callum Mills, Chad Warner, Tom McCartin, Paddy McCartin and Dane Rampe missing stretches of games.
The impact of last year's grand final humiliation was also raised after Sydney were battling at 3-6 after round nine too, but the side has fought back.
"We've always been confident," Longmire said.
"We just needed to get a decent run and have a bit more consistency in our game. We know next week is going to be a tough one. We go over to Adelaide, it'll be a solid workout for us.
"The challenges keep mounting. We need to make sure we put this away quickly, learn off it and get into next week and go again. It's just the demands of the game."
SWANS v SUNS Full match coverage and stats
The Swans' stay in the top eight may be temporary with the sides they leapfrogged on Saturday, the Western Bulldogs, St Kilda and Greater Western Sydney still to play this round.
The Swans also finish the season with tough games away to Adelaide followed by a home game with top-four contenders Melbourne.
Sydney didn’t have it all its way on Saturday, with Gold Coast leading at both quarter-time and half-time, with last week's Brett Kirk medal winner Errol Gulden shackled by Touk Miller in the first half with only six touches.
Longmire moved Gulden to half-forward in the second half as the Suns relinquished the tag as Sydney put together a six-goals-to-two third term to pull away. Gulden, who has been in All-Australian form, finished with 19 disposals, eight tackles and six score involvements.
"That's all part of developing," Longmire said about the tag on Gulden. "We're not going to get too focused on that.
"He'll fit into the system and what we need to do. He'll play his role whatever that is. It won't be just about him, it'll be about what's best for the team. He's a good enough to be able to play a number of different roles for us, inside, wing, half forward, he runs his backside off, he's hard and clean. He'll play wherever we need him.
"Chad (Warner) was pretty good today. That's what we need, we need depth of young midfielders coming through. It's a good sign."
Longmire praised his side's work around the contest, pointing out they had 51 second-half tackles. Sydney also enjoyed an encouraging win in contested possessions (147-143) and clearances (47-43).
The Swans coach added that Joel Amartey, who was subbed out late, had experienced some hamstring tightness.
Caretaker Suns coach Steven King lamented his side's third quarter, which continued a trend of costly lapses for his young side, as well as missed opportunities in the last, kicking 2.6 for the term.
"Disappointing again, I think that third quarter, we let them get a break away from us," King said.
"That's been a bit of a tale this year for us. We'll have to address that. We stuck at it. Those five opportunities we missed at the start of the last, if you take a couple of those it puts a bit more scoreboard pressure on, so who knows what can happen.
"It's a missed opportunity. It's been a bit of a constant. A young group at times the game can get away from you quickly with momentum. We're still learning to be that team that plays four strong quarters of footy. That's our growth area."
King said they identified shutting down Sydney's half-back run and play through the corridor as a key to success, while they opted to drop the Miller tag on Gulden with the game slipping away in the third. He added he hoped Ben King would be available next week after knee soreness.
