ADAM Goodes has managed to set aside a week from hell to lead the Sydney Swans back into the top four with a 44-point win over Essendon at a rain-soaked SCG.

Racially vilified twice in the most tumultuous period of his glittering career, Goodes shone in a wet night as the Swans claimed a well-deserved 17.13 (115) to 10.11 (71) victory in front of 29,792 fans.

Swans coach John Longmire, who had an emotional week himself trying to support the club champion, said it was impossible to comprehend what Goodes had endured over the past nine days.

"I don't think any of us can really sum up how difficult it was for him," he said.

"We can think about it and try to put ourselves in his shoes, but the reality is you don't know.

"Everyone thinks he's bullet proof, but he's not, and that's the reality of it.

"I thought he was able to come to the footy club this week and use it to get away from a lot of things.

"Ultimately he was still the one who was dealing with it.

"We go home at night and think that we understand, but we really don’t.

"Adam wanted to focus on the footy, so we focused on the footy."

Goodes kicked four goals, including three across the pivotal second and third quarters.

"Nothing much probably surprises me with Goodesy," Longmire added.

"There were times during the week when he was exhausted and … he was still pretty tired on Thursday and then he freshened up yesterday and felt really good today, which is a real credit to him."

Josh Kennedy, Jarrad McVeigh and Craig Bird were all influential, while Heath Grundy stood tall in defence and debutant Tom Mitchell excelled when he was subbed in for Tommy Walsh.

Walsh sustained a nasty looking leg injury in the second term, while Essendon's Courtney Dempsey was taken from the field on a stretcher after Nick Smith crashed into his back.

The Bombers were a step short for most of the evening, with Brent Stanton (36 possessions, seven clearances) their most damaging player and Stewart Crameri, Brendon Goddard and Jake Carlisle kicking two goals apiece.

"I thought we played well for patches of the game, we just couldn't probably go with Sydney for the whole game," Bombers coach James Hird said

"We had a lot of inside 50s, but the quality of our entries wasn't as good as the Swans.

"They are a terrific team."

The Swans, who are currently missing Lewis Roberts-Thomson, Rhyce Shaw, Alex Johnson, Sam Reid and Marty Mattner and can still boast seven wins and a draw from their opening 10 games.

Essendon meanwhile, has now lost three of its past four games to drop out of the top four for the first time this season.

After such a difficult period, every time Goodes became involved in the play it was met with thunderous applause by his adoring home crowd.

Held to just two touches in the first quarter, he set the SCG alight with some trademark moments of magic late in the second.

Firstly the 33-yer-old galloped more than 70 metres across the ground to corral Michael Hibberd – 10 years his junior – and bundle him over the boundary line.

Mitchell then sent the ball inside 50 for Goodes to outmark Carlisle and his set shot sailed through just before halftime to give the Swans a three-goal buffer at the main break.

While he seemed to put his troubles behind him when he took to the field, teammate Jarrad McVeigh made the admission after the game that Goodes' recent troubles will stay with him forever.

"We didn't talk as a group, but it was tough to see him go through that," McVeigh said.

"From here on in we'll all forget about it, but it'll still be with him, so we'll have to continue to support Goodesy throughout the rest of his career.

"We know we've got a long way to go to stamping this (racism) out, so Goodesy will always be thinking of it, so we'll always have to support him."

SYDNEY SWANS 3.4 6.7 11.10 17.13 (115)
ESSENDON 1.4 3.7 7.9 10.11 (71)

GOALS
Sydney Swans: Goodes 4, Malceski 2, Parker, O'Keefe, Mumford, Mitchell, McGlynn, Kennedy, Jetta, Jack, Everitt, Bird, Pyke
Essendon: Goddard, Crameri, Carlisle 2, Winderlich, Melksham, Hibberd, Bellchambers

BEST
Sydney Swans: Kennedy, Grundy, Goodes, Bird, McVeigh, Jack
Essendon: Stanton, Goddard, Heppell, Zaharakis, Watson, Winderlich

INJURIES
Sydney Swans: Walsh (leg)
Essendon: Dempsey (tbc), Howlett replaced in the selected side by Hams

SUBSTITUTES
Sydney Swans: Tommy Walsh replaced by Tom Mitchell in the second quarter.
Essendon: Scott Gumbleton replaced by William Hams at half time.

Reports: Nil
Umpires: Donlon, Dalgleish, Rosebury