A DOMINANT second half has secured the Sydney Swans a thumping 62-point win over Port Adelaide at the SCG on Saturday night, a victory that could see them as high as fifth at the end of the round.

The 18.13 (121) to 9.5 (59) result was the Swans' first win at the SCG this season from three attempts, and the second time in 2011 it has strung together back-to-back victories.

The home side overcame some early inaccuracy and a determined Port side to secure its fourth win of the season.

Meanwhile, Port falls to 1-7 - the club's worst start to the season since it won just one of its first 12 games in 2000 - and stays second last on the ladder just above a winless Brisbane Lions.

The Swans led by three points at quarter time and extended its advantage to nine at the main interval.

The decisive move came during the third term, when the Swans surged ahead and made Port pay for their inefficient play earlier in the match.

Led by Brownlow medallist Adam Goodes and veteran Jude Bolton, the Swans kicked seven goals from 16 entries inside their forward 50 to open a 30-point advantage at the final change - to that point the largest lead of the match.

Goodes had eight touches in the quarter, including a soccered goal with less than a minute before the three-quarter-time siren, and finished the match with 27 possessions.

Bolton was typically courageous, with 33 touches and 13 tackles and a goal.

With the four premiership points in the bag, Swans ran away with the match in the last quarter, extending the margin beyond 10 goals to record a handy percentage boost.

Sam Reid was the Swans' leading goal-kicker with three.

Port defied its lowly ladder position to give the Swans plenty of problems early on, and looked best when able to move the football quickly through the middle and give forwards such as Daniel Motlop and Jay Schulz room to work.

But the Power's efforts went largely unrewarded as a stray kick, loose handball or wrong option ended numerous attacking thrusts prematurely.

Motlop finished with two goals, but was kept largely in check by Ted Richards.

Influential players:
Apart from Goodes, veteran Swan Bolton was also excellent throughout the night and finished as the game's leading possession winner with 33 touches.

Bolton, who also finished with 13 tackles, was often found in and around the ball and fought hard in packs as part of a dominant Swans midfield.

What it means
With two wins on the trot, the Swans' demolition of Port shows the club is well and truly over its two-match losing slump from last month and are well placed to challenge for a place in the top four.

Toyota AFL Dream Team highlight
Sydney Swans: Bolton's 33 possessions, four marks and 12 tackles netted the veteran midfielder 148 points.

Next four:
The Swans host Hawthorn next Sunday, before heading on the road for matches against North Melbourne and the Brisbane Lions. The team then returns home for a Sunday afternoon clash with Richmond.

What the coach said:
John Longmire (Sydney Swans): "We had a few players that were playing OK in the first half but not enough. Then after half-time everyone jumped on board and it became a real weight of numbers issue in the second half when we didn’t really have too many poor players in the final part of the game."

Key match-ups
Port Adelaide's Daniel Motlop finished the night with two goals, but he was held largely in check in an interesting battle with the Swans' Ted Richards, who stuck close to the dangerous Power forward throughout and restricted him to just 12 possessions.

Old faces, new tricks
Lewis Roberts-Thomson appeared to come through his first AFL game since round 16 last year unscathed after recovering from a serious hamstring injury. The defender spent time in the ruck and took a big mark up forward that resulted in a rare goal - only his 15th in a 134-game career. He ended the night with 13 hit-outs.

Sydney Swans   3.5  5.6  12.11  18.13 (121)
Port Adelaide    3.2  4.3  8.5      9.5 (59)

GOALS
Sydney Swans: Reid 3, Everitt 2, Goodes 2, Kennedy 2, Hannebery 2, Bird, McVeigh, Bolton, Smith, McGlynn, Roberts-Thomson, Jetta
Port Adelaide: Schulz 2, Motlop 2, Boak, Thomas, Logan, Chaplin, Phillips

BEST
Sydney Swans: Bolton, Kennedy, Goodes, Grundy, O’Keefe
Port Adelaide: Boak, Chaplin, Thomas, Hartlett

INJURIES
Sydney Swans: Nil
Port Adelaide: Schulz (hamstring), Chaplin (corked calf)

SUBSTITUTES
Sydney Swans: Nathan Gordon replaced by Luke Parker in the fourth quarter
Port Adelaide: Daniel Stewart replaced by Andrew Moore in the third quarter

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Schmitt, Meredith, Ryan

Official crowd: 20,719 at SCG

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL