THE UNDEFEATED Sydney Swans are gearing up for a huge challenge this week when they take on a North Melbourne side that will fly north to the SCG brimming with newfound confidence.
On Sunday the Kangaroos beat a top-four side for the first time since late 2009, knocking off premier Geelong by 17 points in a result that would have given a monumental fillip to coach Brad Scott's young side.
Swans coach John Longmire is expecting a titanic struggle on Sunday afternoon.
"You look at (Jack) Ziebell and (Ryan) Bastinac, they kicked four goals each against Geelong from the midfield, which is a great effort from a couple of young, developing midfielders," he said.
"(Brent) Harvey, (Daniel) Wells, we know that they're elite as well, so it's a massive test.
"Hamish McIntosh has come in and provided a real target for them as a forward.
"We just look at their whole group now as really improved across the board.
"We primarily see a massive midfield battle this week."
While North was impressive, the Swans have also begun their campaign in some style, moving to a 3-0 record for the first time since 2001 with Saturday's road win over Port Adelaide.
Coupled with their triumphs over Fremantle and Greater Western Sydney, the Swans are quietly sitting pretty in third place on the ladder.
"We were really pleased with it," Longmire said of Saturday's game.
"We think Port Adelaide have improved enormously. They came at us in that third quarter and I thought there were some fantastic efforts in that fourth quarter when the game was in the balance.
"They got within three points and we were able to really steady the ship and kick away to a good win in the end, so we were really happy with it."
Defender Nick Smith will miss one more week as he recovers from an inner-ear infection, but the Swans have no fresh injury concerns.
Longmire may rate North Melbourne's array of talent, yet he is also extremely pleased with the weapons at his disposal.
"We've been thrilled with the progression of our younger mids," he said.
"If you look at (Josh) Kennedy, (Luke) Parker, (Dan) Hannebery, all 23 and younger, those three were our highest possession-getters on the weekend.
"Shane Mumford's only 25 and we've been really pleased with the improvement of our younger players - Lewis Jetta, Gary Rohan was really good on the weekend with his pressure, they've been reasonably consistent the first three weeks."
A North Melbourne life member following a 200-game, 511-goal career with the Kangaroos, Longmire still keeps in contact with some at the club - but not this week.
"I talk to a few of the Kangaroos boys occasionally, I've got a few ex-teammates down there," he said.
"But there will be no communication this week. We turn the phones off and black ban each other this week."
James Dampney covers Sydney AFL news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_JD
