A career-best six-goal performance from young forward Sam Reid was one of the driving forces behind the Sydney Swans overpowering the Brisbane Lions by 47 points in Saturday’s twilight clash at the SCG.

After a patchy start to the season, Reid’s form has been building nicely during the middle of the season with the 20-year-old kicking two goals in each of his last five games heading into the Lions meeting. But tonight’s performance was his best for the season, and a justified reward for the effort he has been putting in to his game.

“I’ve been putting a lot of hard work in and I’ve been consistent over the last few weeks with my goalkicking,” Reid told SwansTV after the match. “And to be able to get my hands on it a few more times tonight was really good and I’ll take a lot of confidence out of it, but I can’t sit back and rest on this game. I’ve got to keep working and keep bringing the hard work that I have been (putting in) and keep the form consistent.”

Click on the video player above to watch Sam Reid speak to SwansTV following his six-goal game against the Lions

A catalyst for Reid’s six goals was an equal season-high six marks, including four inside the Swans’ forward 50, with the big forward benefitting from the ball movement and delivery from his teammates further afield.

“The guys up field were really good and we got a lot of (forward 50) entries, and there was a lot of space,” Reid said.

“We were really quick to get it in and they were kicking to my advantage - and the other tall forwards as well - and we had multiple avenues to goal and that’s probably what freed me up a bit tonight.”

Fellow Swans forward Ben McGlynn, who picked up 11 possessions and a goal in the match, said Reid’s work rate throughout the season was the reason behind his record haul.

“All year he’s had the best defender and two or three blokes on him and he's just been grinding away, and finally the rewards have come for him,” McGlynn told SwansTV.

McGlynn laid four tackles for the game and was a key contributor for the Swans in locking the ball in the forward half, several times showing scant regard for his safety as he dived head first into a pack to secure the ball for the hosts.

“Forward pressure is something the game is going towards now and you want to pressure the ball in (the opposition’s) defence and try and stop their influence in getting the ball out and into the forward line,” McGlynn said.

“Us in the forward line, we pride ourselves on putting the pressure on to help out the midfielders and defenders.”

Click here to watch Ben McGlynn speak to SwansTV in the rooms following Saturday's 47-point win over the Brisbane Lions

The fearless McGlynn may have met his match, however, when he drifted back into defence and tried to put body on none other than Lions captain and enforcer Jonathan Brown in a marking contest.

“I’d probably only ever front up to him inside the white lines because you get protected out there,” McGlynn said. “He’s a good competitor … and there wasn’t much in it.”

In his 50 games with Sydney, McGlynn has experienced the highs and lows of trips to Perth, where the Swans travel to next week to face the West Coast Eagles.

In his first journey to Subiaco in round 20, 2010, the small forward had dominated with three goals before suffering a fractured cheekbone in a sickening collision with Fremantle’s Zac Clarke in the Swans nine-point win over the Dockers.

Last year he kicked two goals and picked up 16 possessions as the Swans fought back late to pip the Eagles by 13 points in round 3 - the last team to beat West Coast at their home ground.

McGlynn said he is excited to head west again as the team prepare to take on the Eagles in a clash between the top two teams on the AFL ladder.

“We’ll go in pretty confident,” he said. “We beat them last year over there … and we’re playing better footy than what we were last year.”

“We need to recover well and have another good week on the (training) track, and that’s been setting up our weekends.

“We’re looking forward to getting over to Perth and hopefully taking four points.”