BARRY Hall was buoyed by his first round performance and says his rebuilt body is on the verge of better things as the Sydney Swans prepare to host Port Adelaide on Sunday.

“I was actually more positive after seeing the tapes this week than I was after the game. The way I moved was a lot better than last year,” he said today.

“I was really happy the way I ran last week, I only had an hour of practice matches before the season so I came in very underdone.

“The groin is much better, that's for sure. It's just a few other issues with a bit of touch.”

During the off-season Hall had operations on both his adductor release muscles to help fix a troublesome groin that cruelled his season in 2007. Hall also had laser eye surgery and a nasal operation to enable better breathing.

What's more, stepping down as club captain has, in his words, “mentally freed him up to enjoy his footy again. It was a smart move.”

In round one, Hall ended with 1.2 in the Swans' two-point loss 6.13 (49) to 6.15 (51) to the Saints in Melbourne. A modest total for the Swans' storied spearhead but it could've easily been a stellar return, he said.

“I was pretty close to having a good go rather than a pretty average one. A few things go your way, you hold onto a few more marks and all of a sudden you've played a bit better one than just an average one. The shots at goal I missed could've easily won the game."

And last season's top goal scorer with 44 goals for the Swans was keen to stress the side, like him is not far off its best.

“We played one of the premiership favourites and NAB Cup grand finalists and lost by two points. The younger players showed a great deal. We've just got to find the footy a bit more.”

Hall, 31, was also upbeat about another Swans star returning to form after a relatively quiet week against the Saints.

“I know people have been on Goodesy's  (Adam Goodes) back. We know his form will turn around at some stage, he's just got to keep his head down and work hard.

“He's got a pretty fair resume, hasn't he,” Hall said smiling. “We've got full faith in Goodesy. He's going to play on a pretty good player this week.”

The dual Brownlow medalist is expected to tag Port star Chad Cornes when the South Australians visit the SCG on Sunday. And the 2007 Grand Final runners up will be a massive test according to Hall.

“Everyone's jumping on Geelong again and how big a threat they are going to be for the premiership but I really think Port should've won the game.”

The premiers defeated Port by just nine points in round one after a face-saving second half come back by Mark Williams' men.

Defender Alipate Carlile is expected to play on Hall although Toby Thurstons could also line up against the Swans' full forward.

“Port came back at Geelong and missed a few easy shots that should've put them in front. We certainly can't take them lightly,” said Hall.

It's a view shared by Swans coach Paul Roos, who is likely to sit on the bench again this week.

“Port had a really good game last week with dangerous players. We need to stop them. Hopefully we can get hold of the footy and kick more than six goals.”