AT THE halfway mark of the 2013 season, the Sydney Swans find themselves in completely uncharted territory - namely, not under the radar.

A club that has spent three decades since moving to Sydney being perpetually written off and constantly underrated, is now suddenly the talk of the AFL world.

Last year, the Swans were given little chance of upsetting Hawthorn in the Grand Final.

Entering this season, they were again outsiders with the bookmakers.

It was the same in 2005, famously criticised for their style of play by AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou before taking out the flag.

But their commanding performance against Adelaide last Saturday has changed everything.

"The premiers are the benchmark," Fremantle coach Ross Lyon said this week.

"Regardless of where they play and the scoreboard, they're giving their best, and that's the sort of team we want to be.

"There's a benchmark out there we're all chasing and that's called Sydney."

The Swans were a little slow getting out of the blocks this season and losses to Geelong and Hawthorn reinforced the view they were off the pace being set by the competition frontrunners.

But over the past three weeks they cast aside finals aspirants Collingwood, Essendon and Adelaide with relative ease, and there isn't a radar big enough to shield them from the effusive praise now heading in their direction.

"At a time when we were ready to sit in judgement of them, they've just shown that the premiership defence is going swimmingly,"Gerard Whateley said on Fox Footy's AFL360.

"They brutalised (Adelaide) and then they toyed with them after that.

"Good luck to everyone beating them from here."

What makes the Swans' current form all the more frightening is their line-up bears little resemblance to the side that won last year's flag.

In 2012, key quartet Rhyce Shaw, Marty Mattner, Lewis Roberts-Thomson and Alex Johnson played 95 of a possible 100 games.

This year, that number is 13 out of a possible 44.

Mattner had played seven of their 11 games, but has since been forced to retire due to chronic hip issues.

Roberts-Thomson (knee, four games this year) and Shaw (abdominal, two) are still at least a month away, while Johnson – who played every game last season – will sit out the entire year following a knee reconstruction.

Lewis Jetta (shin) and Sam Reid (quad), two other critical members of the side, also didn't play against the Crows.

Instead, it was players like Jesse White, Andrejs Everitt, Mitch Morton, Dane Rampe and Tom Mitchell filling the breach.

"All the fringe players for Sydney – Jesse White comes in and kicks three goals, Andrejs Everitt kicks a goal and played well, Morton's kicked three goals," Jason Dunstall said during the Adelaide game.

"All of a sudden you've got all these players who want to get back in the line-up and it's a wonderful problem to have for Sydney's match committee.

"They'll just pick whoever's playing best, which meanssome good players will miss out."

Four debutants – Rampe, Mitchell, Brandon Jack and Jed Lamb – have been given an opportunity so far this year.

Shane Mumford will now be sidelined for four weeks with a fractured cheekbone, but Mike Pyke has taken another significant leap forward and is bordering on All Australian form.

White, who was on the trading block last year, is likely to retain the back-up rucking role for next week's trip to Port Adelaide.

"We've been really pleased with the players that have come in outside of our senior team from last year and play important roles for us," coach John Longmire said.

"To get to the halfway point and play four debutants, we're really pleased with that, and that's added some real depth to our team.

"Across our squad we've got some players who we know can play some good, quality senior footy."

Jetta and Reid should be fit to face Port, while Kurt Tippett will almost certainly make the trip to AAMI Stadium.

That leaves the Swans' match committee needing to find room in a side that has just played some of the most dynamic football of 2013.

A key element in their season to date has been the form and consistency of the midfield.

Dan Hannebery, Josh Kennedy, Kieren Jack, Ryan O'Keefe, Jarrad McVeigh, Adam Goodes and Luke Parker have played every game.

"I didn't think we were that bad (against the Swans in round nine), it's just their depth. They don't let up, "Collingwood's Luke Ball told Fox Footy.

"We had Brent Macaffer on Kennedy and then Hannebery and Jack get off the chain.

"Then Tom Mitchell comes in and has 30 touches and 10 tackles and looks like he's been playing for 10 years, so they've found another one.

"They're the team to catch."

Even the Swans themselves wanted the competition to take note of their trip to Adelaide.

"It was a huge game for us and we wanted to send a message and really go into the bye with a good record," Kieren Jack said.

Mission accomplished.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT THE SYDNEY SWANS
"I've seen Sydney give a few teams a lesson in work rate this year. This is one of the most disciplined teams that we've seen in recent eras, the Sydney Swans." - JasonDunstall

"Our experience against them a few weeks ago was great because it opened up my eyes to the level you need to get to. We're only at round 11, the halfway point, so it's their job to maintain that and it's our job to bridge the gap." - Luke Ball

"This is as good as I've seen them play for quite sometime and they won the flag last year. Against Collingwood they were brilliant, but they've gone up a gear." - David King

"When you watch a Swans game, it's different to watching any other game. You see so much red and white activity. They are the hardest working, two-way midfield in the competition. It's visually spectacular from a football point of view when you watch it. They're so much more aggressive both ways than most other teams." - Paul Roos

"Their midfield depth – they have genuine outside run, they're hard nuts in the middle and we haven't even seen Tippett out there yet. Yes, we had a good win against them, but in terms of where they are now, we take absolutely nothing out of what we did to them." - Brad Sewell

"I'm not sure that anyone's played any better than this (against Adelaide) this season so far. This is a powerful display from a great team. Even the locals, they would be hurting, but they are seeing one awesome performance." - Anthony Hudson

"I don't think anybody thought Sydney, despite the fact that we all believe they are one of the premiership candidates, could go toAdelaide and dismantle Adelaide. On the back of Collingwood, Essendon and Adelaide over the last three weeks, the Swans are flying." - Gerard Healy