THE SYDNEY Swans face a seemingly winnable game against the Western Bulldogs this week before embarking on a crunch run home that will determine its top-four status.
Hawthorn at the SCG in round 22 is followed by Geelong at Simonds Stadium, two matches that will determine if the Swans will be travelling away from Sydney in the first or second week of the finals.
But the Swans know they can't afford any drop-off in intensity when they line up against the Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
Swans utility Lewis Roberts-Thomson expects to face a fired-up Dogs outfit.
"There's only a month or so of footy left before the end of the season and I think they're out to prove a point," he told reporters ahead of training on Wednesday.
"They've got a lot of young players there who are really developing into the roles the team needs.
"I think they'll come out and play the strong, contested brand of footy they're trying to implement.
"It's another opportunity for us to play the way we want to play and really set ourselves up."
Roberts-Thomson was one of his side's best in last week's loss to Collingwood, noticeably putting in a huge effort throughout the game and finishing with two goals.
The Swans' top-two hopes took a hit from the defeat, which snapped a nine-game winning streak, but Roberts-Thomson was focusing on the positives to come out of the eight-point loss.
"It was just a game where I played my role, but unfortunately we didn’t get over the line against the Pies," he said.
"It was a great example of all the boys going in and having a crack and really playing a tough, contested brand of footy.
"No doubt there was a fair bit of disappointment [afterwards].
"We knew it was a game where we really took it up to the Pies and we had our opportunities.
"There are a lot of things we can take out of it and learn from.
"We need to be more composed with the footy and a few little things like that, missed tackles we normally would make, little things that contribute to the end result."
Roberts-Thomson is among the most versatile Swans, regularly switching between roles in the forward line, in defence or as a back-up ruckman.
He admits he loves kicking goals, but the Swans are expected to be boosted by the return of key forward Sam Reid from a knee injury this week.
Roberts-Thomson is pleased to have him back.
"Reidy is a fantastic player," he said
"He's just going to be a strong target up forward and all we're hoping for is he comes in and plays his role."
James Dampney covers AFL news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_JD
