THE CURRENT Sydney Swans line-up has been together for just 10 games, but an argument can already be made that it is the most talented since the team moved from South Melbourne more than 30 years ago.
It's is a belief shared by both former Swans chairman Richard Colless and two-time All Australian defender Craig Bolton.
Since relocating, the Swans have built a reputation as one of the AFL's hardest working teams.
That was never more evident than in the middle of the last decade, when a largely blue-collar outfit managed to knock off the Rolls Royce's of the West Coast midfield and snap a 72-year premiership drought.
The club has always had talent, with Tony Lockett, Greg Williams, Paul Kelly and Gerard Healy all gracing the Swans since they shifted to Sydney in 1982, a quartet that found its way into their Team of the Century.
But fierce tackling pressure, contested football and a focus on defence have been the hallmarks of the side, particularly over the past decade.
As the game has evolved, so too have the Swans, with Lewis Jetta's breathtaking speed adding some outside run to a team that matured quickly and gained momentum in 2012, winning its second flag since relocating from the Lake Oval.
The 2012 premiership was unexpected at the time. Picture: AFL Media
But it can be argued the current incarnation features the most talent ever in the Harbour City.
The midfield is the equal of any and features a number of names that can expect to feature in All Australian teams for years to come.
Kieren Jack and Dan Hannebery reached that level in 2013, with Jarrad McVeigh earning his second All Australian jumper, one year after Josh Kennedy and defender Ted Richards were also honoured.
Ben McGlynn has slipped into the midfield this year and would be right among the leaders in the best and fairest count right now, while Luke Parker is a star on the rise.
Richards leads a backline that remains more blue collar than blue ribbon, but he, Heath Grundy, Nick Smith, Nick Malceski, Rhyce Shaw and Dane Rampe head a defensive unit that is perennially among the League's most frugal.
Ruckman Mike Pyke was unlucky to miss selection in the initial 40-man All Australian squad last season, if not the final team itself, with Tom Derickx currently filling the void well since the Canadian's hamstring injury.
And that only leaves the other end of the field, the forward line, the domain of the 'Bondi Billionaires' – Lance Franklin and Kurt Tippett.
Tippett's arrival on a lucrative deal to a team that had just won a premiership stunned the competition, but that was nothing compared to the furore that erupted when 'Buddy' came to town.
It was always going to take time to gel, with the talent-laden outfit stumbling through a 1-3 start.
But they have started to purr since then, stringing together a six-game winning streak to vault to second on the ladder, capped by Thursday night's extraordinary 110-point decimation of Geelong at the SCG.
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Bolton, a member of the 2005 flag-winning team, believes the current line-up could be the best ever.
"They've got as much talent as they've ever had," Bolton told AFL.com.au.
"If you look at who they've been able to recruit over the last few years with Tippett and obviously Franklin, that complements the young players they've been able to develop – Hannebery, Jack, McVeigh, those types.
"Across the board, I think it's fair to say they have as much, if not more talent than this side has ever had before."
They are a little light for key defensive reinforcements, although Sam Reid can drift back and Lewis Roberts-Thomson is waiting in the wings.
The ruck stocks are also a little thin, but Pyke will return soon, Derickx is settling in, and in Toby Nankervis and Sam Naismith they have two promising youngsters cutting their teeth alongside ruck coach Stephen Taubert.
As chairman of the Swans from 1993 until last year, Colless has an intimate knowledge of everything associated with the club.
He is an admirer of the team that took to the field in the late 1980s, boasting Williams, Healy, Dennis Carroll, David Murphy and Tony Morwood.
With flamboyant superstar Warwick Capper providing weekly highlight reels, that side reached consecutive finals series in 1986-87, the first time that had been achieved in Sydney.
The 2005 side naturally holds a place close to his heart, although he isn't as convinced about the 1996 list, a team that included Lockett, Kelly and Paul Roos, and reached the club's first Grand Final since relocating.
"I'm not sure the '96 side was one of the greatest teams," he said. "It was a wonderful achievement to make the Grand Final."
If you compare the Swans and Eagles from the 2005 Grand Final, Colless feels the former was a more modest list that worked incredibly hard together as a team.
The 2005 Swans team will always be remembered for breaking a 72-year drought. Picture: AFL Media
West Coast, however, was dripping with talent, led by Chris Judd, Ben Cousins, Dean Cox, Darren Glass and Daniel Kerr.
So when it's suggested to Colless the current Swans line-up could be the best yet, he agrees, pointing to the players who aren't getting a game.
"If everyone played to their absolute potential, and the side's commitment on the day was off the Richter scale, you're probably right," he said.
"I think you can also look at who's not in the team. At the moment you've got Gary Rohan, Tom Mitchell and Ryan O'Keefe.
"Some of the kids are also very unlucky not to get a game yet, guys like Dean Towers, Tim Membrey and Daniel Robinson."
Critics will point to the Swans' salary cap concessions and say it's only natural they have assembled such talent.
But that would be to undermine the recruiting strategy of the club, including taking Hannebery, Malceski, Reid, Parker, Grundy and Rampe low in the draft or in rookie drafts, when all others passed them over.
They also nabbed Kennedy, Shaw, Richards and McGlynn from other clubs and helped them produce their best football.
Bolton feels the side will only improve as the year progresses and would be surprised if the Swans aren't right in the premiership hunt once more.
"There's been a lot of change in this team over the last few years, but you can see the last few weeks they've really started to gel and become a cohesive unit," he said.
"The more they play together, the better they'll become.
"They've shown enough in the last five weeks that they'll be a serious finals contender and they can mix it with the best.
"There's no reason to think they won't be there at the pointy end of the season."
