Sydney Swans coach John Longmire said he is expecting to face a much improved Gold Coast Suns side at Metricon Stadium this Saturday night.

Longmire said the Suns have demonstrated over the last month that they can be more than competitive this season.

“The last three weeks (the Suns) have been pretty impressive,” Longmire said.

“If you go through what they’ve done as a team over that three week period they’ve been really good and have been competitive and have got almost their best team in now.

“They’ve been really strong around the ball and have been able to score really well and effectively when they’ve been inside 50 and they’ve also defended really well.

“All these stats over the last three weeks, which is what we’ve looked at, have suggested that they’ve really improved over the course of the year.”

Despite an impressive 13-3 win-loss record, Longmire said the Swans would be preparing for this Saturday night’s match against the Suns - who sit in 17th place on the AFL table - no differently to other weeks.

“Every game is a big game,” he said.

“The players (have) seen what the (Gold Coast) have done in the past three weeks.

“We don’t spend time gazing at the ladder because it’s pointless.

“We spend time addressing what is immediately in front of us and in front of us is the Gold Coast, who over the last three weeks their form has been really competitive.”

Longmire added that since the Suns’ first win of the season, against Richmond in round 16, the Gold Coast side has strengthened even further.

“They’ve got some personnel back in the team in (David) Swallow, (Dion) Prestia, (Michael) Rischitelli, (Jared) Brennan, and all these blokes have come back into the team over the last few weeks,” Longmire said.

“They’ve contributed to them being stronger around the ball and they smashed Brisbane last week at times around the contest and around the stoppages.

“What we’ve also noticed is they’ve taken the game on more and they are more prepared to run and carry and take more risks and that’s led to a more confident style of play that they’ve been able to put together.”

The Swans too are likely to regain key personnel for this weekend’s clash, with midfielder Luke Parker likely to be recalled for his first senior match back since he broke his collarbone in round 10.

Longmire said Parker will add another strong body to the Swans midfield, who will take on the likes of Gary Ablett and Karmichael Hunt.

“If Luke Parker trains well today then we’ll probably name him in the squad,” he said.

“He’s been doing everything we’ve asked of him in the last few weeks. He’s spent a period of time out of the team, but we’ve been keen to get him in and get him back into senior football.

“He is certainly one who was playing earlier in the year in that midfield area and is another player who is strong around the contests.”

Longmire also confirmed that Shane Mumford would be sidelined for Saturday night’s match.

“Shane Mumford won’t play this week, and we’re hoping it’s just a one-weeker, but we’ll have to see how he responds next week at training and we’ve got our fingers crossed that it’s just the one week.”