YOUNG gun Dan Hannebery believes the Swans are on the rise as they prepare for this Sunday’s clash with Carlton at Etihad Stadium.

The match comes just seven weeks after the last encounter between the two teams in driving rain at the SCG, when Carlton prevailed by 16-points. 

Hannebery says the Swans are looking forward to the challenge of taking on one of the competition’s leading teams.

“It’s a huge test for us. They’re third on the ladder now and it’s a real test for us against a top four side.

“We’ve really got to make sure we prepare well, and we’re confident if we can get some of the  stuff right like we did (against Richmond) and kick straight, that we can really hunt them and give them a run,” he said.

Following Sunday’s 10-point win over the Tigers at the SCG, the Swans sit fifth on the ladder and are firmly entrenched in the AFL’s top-eight.

Hannebery says the team will take a great deal of confidence from the win over the Tigers.

“We played really good attacking footy and came away with the win and that sets up hopefully a really good couple of weeks for us,” he said.

“I think the real positive for us was we pressured really well, we moved the ball well, we had quality inside fifties and got really good scoring shots. To have 30 scoring shots out of 49 inside fifties, that’s really attacking play,” Hannebery said.

Both the Swans and the Blues take strong recent form into this Sunday’s clash, with each team winning five out of their last six matches.

The Swans have lost just one match - against Hawthorn - since the round six loss to the Blues.

“We’ve definitely improved since then, we’re moving the ball better and we’re playing better as a team,” Hannebery said.

“Sammy Reid was sensational against the Tigers and Alex Johnson down back played another super game, so he is getting some good quality game time into him.

“We’ve developed younger guys more and as a team we’re playing really good footy so I think it’s a good opportunity for us to really kick start our season and take it up to the top four sides,” he said.

While Kieren Jack made a successful comeback as the substitute against the Tigers, ruckman Shane Mumford is expected to push his case for a return for this weekend’s match.