Young gun Chad Warner has backed Sydney to come out on top against another emerging midfield when they tackle Fremantle at the SCG on Saturday.
Though stricken by injuries the Swans have named a full-strength midfield to face a Dockers line-up featuring Andrew Brayshaw and Caleb Serong, as they try to turn their season around.
Warner, who was one of several Swans that confronted Collingwood rising star Nick Daicos early in their clash at the MCG last week, revealed he would be comfortable to target the opposition's top players again to gain an advantage.
"Stuff happens in the game and people get carried away a bit," Warner said. "If you can try and get a little edge here and there, it helps.
"We usually have some target players, but Nick Daicos was just a bit more on the radar just because of his damage."
The Swans have lost five of their past six matches including two narrow defeats in their last two visits to the SCG.
Last year's grand finalists have slumped to 11th with a 3-5 record, while fellow 2022 finalists Fremantle also have three wins despite both teams boasting a budding crop of onballers.
Warner is confident the Swans have the midfield talent to match the Dockers in what the 21-year-old recognised is "a little bit" of an early season elimination final.
"They've got on a bit of a roll, obviously beating the Hawks by a fair bit on the weekend," Warner said.
"Serong is having a massive year. We've all been having a look at what he can do, and obviously we know what Brayshaw has done in the past and has been doing at the moment.
"But Errol (Gulden), 'Rowey' (James Rowbottom) and I will really relish that opportunity (to face the Dockers midfield)."
The Dockers have not beaten the Swans at the SCG since 2011 but can take confidence from the hosts giving up handy leads late in their past two matches at the venue.
The Swans lost nail-biters on home soil to GWS in round seven and Port Adelaide in round four, while they also trailed the Pies by only five points at the last change before losing by 29 points.
Warner acknowledged running out the match against the Dockers has been a focus for the Swans this week as they look to get their season back on track.
"It's just knowing what has worked for those three quarters and then adapting to change, and adapting to what the opposition changes," Warner said.
"We've shown in patches what we can do and hopefully we can put it together on the weekend."
