HE'S BECOME one of Sydney's most reliable sources of goals, but livewire small forward Tom Papley is set to get some more midfield time in the coming season.

Papley was Sydney's second-highest goalkicker with 29 in his first season in 2016, and was joint second with Sam Reid last year with 30.

The 21-year-old added some midfield minutes to his time in the forward line in 2017, and looked lively in last Friday's practice match against Greater Western Sydney.

He's one of a number of players the Swans will be looking to rotate through the midfield to assist established on-ball stars Josh Kennedy and Luke Parker.

"I think probably years gone by, you'd have your four guys that would stay in the centre square bounce and they would play mostly through the midfield all day, but times have changed," Swans assistant coach Brett Kirk said.

"We really want to have a different mix in there and it adds a different dynamic.

"There will be different times where we might have a Dean Towers or a Will Hayward, someone from a forward perspective, come through and spend a bit of time there.

"I think Tom Papley spent a lot of minutes there last year and will probably spend a bit more this year, because we've found that he can have some real impact."

Prolific forward and reigning Coleman Medallist Lance Franklin has topped Sydney's goalkicking list in each of his first four seasons at the club.

While premiers Richmond prospered last year by surrounding key forward Jack Riewoldt with a mosquito fleet, Kirk suggested Sydney were unlikely to follow suit.

He foreshadowed tweaks rather than any radical overhaul to the Swans' established game plan.

"I think you have to evolve a little, you can't stand still in this game, but we've tinkered with a few things," Kirk said.

"But I guess what we stand for in terms of being strong, contested and being elite in defence, that will be something that we're still going to be really strong on."