WEST Coast is ecstatic to see star forward Josh Kennedy back to his best, but understandably Sydney defender Dane Rampe doesn't share that joy.

The Swans' best key defender is having an All Australian-calibre season, and is the man most likely to be given the job of curbing Kennedy's influence in Friday night's massive clash at the SCG.

An off-season ankle issue gave the gun Eagle a late start to the season, but over the past three games of his club's 10-match winning streak, Kennedy has been in ominous touch.

The 30-year-old has booted 12 goals and taken 17 marks, 10 of those inside 50, and now sits just eight behind Coleman medal leader Ben Brown (35 goals) despite missing the first three games of the year.

The veteran's impact hasn't escaped the attention of Rampe, who told AFL.com.au he's been keeping an eye on the West Coast goalkicker.

"He's in some pretty good form and kicked six the last time he played, so that's really reassuring to know," he said with a laugh.

Rampe is meticulous with his game preparation both on and off the training track, but revealed he hasn't spent any extra time scouting Kennedy ahead of tonight's round 13 encounter.

"He's got a pretty good CV and recent record, so the less time I spend thinking about that the better," he said.

"If it's someone I haven't played on before I'll spend a bit more time on it, but I tend to know the ins and outs of most of the forwards now and how I like to play them.

"I like to do a bit of a refresher the day before so I'm not overthinking it too much."

The visitors will be without Jack Darling (ankle) against the Swans, but Rampe hasn't given the absence of the Eagles' leading goalkicker this season a second thought.

West Coast has selected Liam Ryan for the SCG clash after the high-flying small forward missed eight games with an ankle injury, while highly-rated draftee Jarrod Brander will debut inside 50 alongside Kennedy and Mark LeCras.

"They didn't have Kennedy last time (in round one) but that didn't stop them having a red-hot crack at us, they've still got some special players down there," Rampe said.

"Darling is definitely a huge out and he's been in great form, but they've got the cattle to be able to cover him.

"It might even give them a different look and something we haven't experienced before."

After an up and down start to this season, the Swans defence has bounced back to limit their opposition to an average of just 54.25 points over the past four matches.

Sydney is now ranked third for points against in the competition, but Rampe said although the backline would like to take all the credit, it's the Swans' team defence that has improved over the past month.

"The mids and the forwards have been huge in not only reducing the number, but also the quality of the inside 50s against us," he said.

"The footy is coming in higher and wider and making it a lot easier for us to defend.

"When you see the forwards putting on enormous pressure and the mids getting chase-down tackles, it gives us backs a real lift.

"When we're out our best we're a manic pressure team, and hopefully we can start to do that more consistently.

"It's been a huge team focus over the past few weeks, and we're starting to see the rewards."