Having been given little chance of making an impression in 2007 by the media during the pre-season, Collingwood has won four of its first six matches and sits fourth on the ladder as the top-placed Victorian team, having only lost close encounters to the two sides occupying the top-two positions at this stage – West Coast and Port Adelaide.
Swan, who starred in the 24-point triumph over the Crows with 32 possessions, believes the side is much better than what they’ve been given credit for.
"I think the so-called experts had written us off at the start of the year, but our group, we’ve got a very good inner-belief in the side and we know what we are capable of," Swan told CTV at the team hotel.
"We’re only going to get better with the likes of Bucks (Nathan Buckley), Dids (Alan Didak), Brodie (Holland) to come back into the side. Hopefully we beat Carlton next weekend and push on towards the finals."
After rising to prominence in 2006 and finishing sixth in the best-and-fairest count, Swan has continued to establish himself as one of the club’s most important players in 2007, and after six games leads the Magpies in total disposals with 152.
The 23-year-old is also one of the side’s most versatile players, having been asked to perform roles all over the ground in 2007, and again was extremely important on Saturday night in the hostile AAMI Stadium environment.
"It was good just to help out and contribute a little bit to the side. Whatever Mick (Malthouse) asks of me is what I try and do and I tried to do a role tonight and hopefully I did it alright."
