THE SYDNEY Swans will welcome back Jude Bolton into their team for their season-defining showdown with the Western Bulldogs at the SCG this Saturday.

Bolton has missed the past two weeks with a minor knee problem, ending a streak of 145 consecutive AFL games, and the Swans have missed his leadership and intensity.

Following four losses in their past five games, the Swans have slipped to eighth and are suddenly within striking distance of a number of teams just outside the eight, including the 12th-placed Bulldogs.

Bolton's return is timely for coach John Longmire.

"Jude Bolton will come back in, we expect him to be right," Longmire said ahead of training on Tuesday.

"That's pleasing, we missed not only his grunt the last couple of weeks, but also his ability to kick goals and play a variety of different roles.

"He's probably the likely inclusion at this stage.

"There's no doubt both clubs see this as a critical game. We're certainly at the point now where we need to make sure we win the game and there's no middle ground with it.

"Our players understand that and there's a lot at stake."

Longmire was speaking on the same day Bulldogs star and 2005 Swans premiership captain Barry Hall announced he would retire at season's end.

Longmire had enormous praise for the contribution Hall made during his time in Sydney, but will put sentiment aside when the two sides meet at the SCG.

Hall has kicked nine goals in the past two weeks and will be a key part of Longmire's pre-game plans.

"I thought he may have been getting to the stage where he was finding it a bit difficult to run around, but I've been watching the last couple of weeks and he's still got the speed," Longmire said.

"At his size over his career, the biggest strength of his game has been the speed and very rarely can you get a player that can match up on him at that size and at that pace.

"He kicked a goal on the weekend from the boundary line that was vintage Barry Hall and I looked at that and thought 'we've got a bit of work to do with him'."

The Swans have won just two of their six games at the SCG this season and three out of eight overall in Sydney.

But Longmire is simply keen to secure four points, regardless of the venue this weekend.

"It's crucial to start winning games anywhere," he said.

"We missed an opportunity [against Fremantle] on the weekend, it's just critical for us to win this weekend.

"We understand where we are on the ladder, we understand the teams underneath us and the teams also desperate to win games of footy - it's a big game for us.

"There's no dodging that at all."

The Sydney Swans are chasing a finals berth at the SCG this Saturday afternoon when they tackle the Western Bulldogs. CLICK HERE to grab your tickets to this crucial match.

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of the clubs or the AFL.