The road ahead
It's a simple equation for the Sydney Swans: win, and then keep winning, or face an early exit from this week's finals race.
With a 3-7 record, an unprecedented position for coach John Longmire, the Swans mathematically need to win around nine of the remaining 12 games of the season to make a serious play for September action.
It's a tough ask, with the reigning premiers straight up as well as a number of difficult games between now and the end of August to contend with.
They've got, as skipper Josh Kennedy said on Tuesday, "a mountain to climb."
But they are, as Kennedy firmly believes, more than up for the task of hitting the Bulldogs with their own hard, contested brand of football.
"What better way to try and turn it around then against the best in the comp in terms of contested footy, and that’s the Doggies," Kennedy said oat his Tuesday press conference. "We look forward to the challenge of trying to match them in that area."
Will the bye work or hurt?
The week's break can go either two ways for footy clubs.
It's obviously a good time for players to refresh and recharge mid-season, overcome any niggles and sore spots before attacking the second half of the season with vigour like it was the opening round.
Well, that's the overriding aim.
Sometimes it can work against you and clubs have been known to come out of the blocks sluggish as a teams' continuity and momentum is broken having not ran the miles and absorbed the bumps from the week before.
In the past six seasons, for as long as the bye round has been around, the Sydney Swans have won two of seven return games post-bye.
Read into that what you will but, regardless of history, the home side will need to come out firing against the reigning premiers.
Will Jack be back?
The former skipper hasn't been seen since Round 5 against the Giants, having been pulled from senior selection to give his 29-year-old body time to recover from a troublesome hip injury.
The niggle occurred in the pre-season but Jack soldiered on to feature in the opening five rounds of the season.
It was, in hindsight, to the detriment of his own form as Jack failed to shrug the concern; Swans hierarchy deciding to rest the 2010 Club Champion to get his body right.
"He wasn't recovering from the games to then do the required rehabilitation and strength work," Head of Football Tom Harley said in this week's HCF Injury Update. "He's had a really good block for the past couple of weeks and we expect that to continue through the week and for him to be available."
Jack was out on the track in the squad's final training session on Tuesday evening and trained strongly at that which bolsters his chance for a recall.
Also in line is ruckman Sam Naismith who's recovered from that medial strain which has kept him out for the past two games.
Will the former skipper play his first game since Round 5?
The dangerous Dogs
The Sydney Swans know too well what the Bulldogs are capable of, having been defeated by Luke Beveridge's men in their past four encounters including the last two at the SCG.
The Dogs average more tackles (76.7) than any other side per game in 2017, while coach John Longmire will be urging his playing group to bring the same pressure and intensity seen in their run of three wins across rounds 7, 8 and 9. Plus, the last two games in Sydney have come down to the wire.
With all that in mind, if recent contests set the tone, we're in for a fierce contest between two sides desperate for a win (for different reasons) on Thursday night.
The Dogs have a number of dangerous players right across the field while it's reportedly on the cards that Beveridge could bring in a host of playmakers including Matthew Boyd and Tom Liberatore while Travis Cloke is also in the mix.
Contested footy will be a feature of Thursday night's clash with the Dogs.
