Sydney Swans assistant coach Henry Playfair is confident his players can recover from the trip to Perth and "flick the switch" in time for Saturday's highly anticipated clash with Port Adelaide.

Back from an always challenging return journey to Western Australia, the playing group enjoyed lighter days at the Club on Monday and Tuesday in preparation for a Round 20 encounter at the SCG.

The six-day turnaround - the Sydney Swans' sixth shorter break this year - presents a considerable challenge for a side in top-two contention with four rounds remaining in the regular season.

Sydney has a chance to overtake GWS in second spot on the ladder with a win while keeping their noses in front of Geelong and Adelaide, the two teams which also boast the same win-loss record (13-5) and accumulative points (52).

They have their main session on Thursday before the final side is selected and final plans put in place for a game in which the Swans do battle against an opposition fighting to keep their finals chance alive.

With all that in mind, Playfair believes his side will be more than ready for the task ahead.

"It is a challenge, given we flew back overnight Sunday night and were in here (on Monday)," he said.

"(But) the nature of AFL, you've got to move on pretty quickly because we're coming up against an opposition playing well at the moment.

"It's about flicking the switch with the players (now), get them talking about Port Adelaide, and thinking about how we're going to beat them."

The midfield battle was highlighted by Playfair as "where the game is often decided" and will undoubtedly be central to Saturday afternoon's match especially with Josh Kennedy reaching new heights over the weekend.

But, Port Adelaide's imposing forward line has also caught the defensive coach's attention especially on the back of kicking its biggest score (25.23.173 v Brisbane) since 2005.

The likes of Chad Wingard, Aaron Young, Charlie Dixon, Justin Westhoff and Robbie Gray have all contributed to Port Adelaide being the third most potent side in the competition.

At the other end of the ground, the Sydney Swans' back half is currently ranked the league's best conceding on average just 69 points per game this season.

Even in the absence of Dixon, who's kicked 30 goals this year, the competition's best defensive groups coming up against one of the league's best forward lines is a tantalising battle.

"Most weeks the midfield battle is really important ... how much ascendancy you can get largely depends on the midfield," Playfair added.

"They've got talent, not only in the midfield, but at either end particularly in the forward line which is what I've been watching."

Sydney has beaten Port Adelaide in 13 of the past 14 matches, the last coming in last year's Round 14 encounter at the SCG.