Sydney coach Paul Roos believes the Swans are well equipped to deal with Tadhg Kennelly's absence as Luke Ablett pushes for selection in Saturday night's AFL clash with the Kangaroos.
Scans on the Irish defender's knee have him looking at four to six weeks on the sidelines while rugged midfielder Ablett is a chance to play at Telstra Dome this weekend.
The news continued the club's largely blessed run with injury over recent times with fears last weekend that both Kennelly and Ablett faced long stints off the field.
Kennelly dislocated his knee in a Byron Pickett tackle while Ablett jarred his knee in Saturday night's comprehensive home win over Melbourne at the SCG.
Utility Amon Buchanan, who missed last weekend's clash with a knee complaint, is expected to come back into the side, fitness permitting.
A relaxed Roos felt the third-placed side was in a strong position to cover for Kennelly's absence with Sydney's defence the second best in the competition this season behind West Coast.
"Look we would love to have Tadhg playing but we are probably as well placed now as we have ever been with our defence playing so well at the moment," he said.
"Craig Bolton is rebounding (the ball well), Leo (Barry) is rebounding I think (Nick) Malceski is rebounding and I think Schneids (Adam Schneider) did as well on the weekend as well.
"We would like to get Tadhg back sooner rather than later but we still have a pretty good back six."
Kennelly, who resisted the emotional pull from his homeland to sign on for another three seasons with the Swans last year, had been in fine form before injury.
However, the rise of Nick Malceski has meant that Kennelly's absence won't be nearly as damaging to the Swans as it would have been in the past.
Malceski, 22, has been in storming form this season averaging a tick over 21 touches a match.
While he is not quite as quick as Kennelly, he is arguably a better kick.
After dropping their opening three matches, the Kangaroos have hit their straps in the past fortnight, beating Brisbane on the Gold Coast and downing Geelong at Skilled Stadium.
Roos had been impressed with the way the men from Arden Street had rebounded over the past two weeks.
"They have really gone back to playing one on one football rather than trying to rely on opposition turnovers," he said.
"I think the Kangaroos have been playing really good honest one on one football.
"It is sort of old fashioned football which is good."
The Swans are aiming to have injured tall defender Lewis Roberts-Thomson back in action by round nine.