The Sydney Swans will be faced with one of the toughest challenges in football, when they travel to Perth to face the West Coast Eagles in front of a hostile crowd at Patersons Stadium on Sunday.

While the Swans have enjoyed a strong record over the Eagles in recent times, with the club posting seven consecutive victories over West Coast, including the last four in Perth, ruckman Mike Pyke said this weekend’s match would be no easy task for the Swans.

“It will be extremely difficult,” he said.

“I think at the moment West Coast are that list that no one can really believe that they are not higher on the ladder.

“They’ve got weapons all over the ground and they are extremely dangerous.”

Pyke highlighted West Coast’s performance in the last week’s Western Derby, where they fell just short of in-form side Fremantle, as evidence of the form the Eagles are in.

“To run Fremantle to within a goal is no easy task, so I think they’re doing very well,” he said.

The Eagles boast an array of tall timber this year, with ruckman Dean Cox, Nic Naitanui and Scott Lycett all showing impressive form throughout the season.

In addition to their ruck stocks, the Eagles also have a host of forward talent, including Josh Kennedy, who has booted 35 goals for the season, as well as Jack Darling and Jeremy McGovern.

Swans defender Jeremy Laidler, who will travel to Perth for the first time in the red and white, said the team would need to be wary of the Eagles’ dangerous forwards this Sunday.

“The Eagles are up and about at the moment,” he said.

“They had a good show against Fremantle and as a backline group we’re going to have to be on our game.

“They’ve got a lot of dangerous forwards down there, so we look forward to the challenge.”

The Swans will be well-adjusted to Perth time come Sunday afternoon, with the team set to travel west three days ahead of the match.

The squad fly to Perth on Thursday afternoon, which will allow the Swans a chance to train on Patersons Stadium on Friday and enjoy some time off on Saturday afternoon ahead of Sunday’s round 16 clash with the West Coast Eagles.

Swans midfielder Ben McGlynn said travelling early allowed the side a good chance to prepare for Sunday’s clash.

“It’s obviously a tough trip to go over there, but we’re looking forward to it,” he said.

“We go over a few days earlier and it’s a good little trip as a group over there to prepare early.”