Veteran defender Heath Grundy believes a slow start to the season has shaken his side into shape as they surge towards the top eight having won six of their past seven matches.

The Swans are looking to become the first team since North Melbourne in 1975 (0-4) to have such a poor start to the season and still play finals.

Grundy said there was an understanding among the playing group of the need to not rest on their laurels.

“I know we’ve turned it around a bit now but we’ve got plenty of footy ahead of us to make the top eight,” Grundy told SEN radio.

“It’s not going to be easy but we’ve got the playing group to do it.

“It wasn’t a great place to be there for a couple of weeks. But we’ve come through and are stronger for it.”

Grundy admits the poor start to the season was a trying time for the club.

“It was a pretty frustrating time because we knew we had the playing group to be able to play some really good footy we just weren’t delivering it,” he said.

“We got back to our real foundation which was putting pressure on the opposition to slowly find a way to turn it around.

“That is the challenge of football to be able to back it up each year.”

The Swans look to continue their winning streak on Friday night when they take on Melbourne in a blockbuster Friday night clash at the MCG.