Swans coach John Longmire has swung the selection axe, dropping under-performing ruckman Kurt Tippett for Thursday's must-win clash with the Western Bulldogs.
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Out-of-form Tippett makes way for returning ruckman Sam Naismith, and will play his second game for the Swans' reserves in the NEAFL against the GWS Giants at Blacktown on Saturday.
The 30-year-old has kicked just three goals in five games this season, and struggled to make an impact in the six-point loss to Hawthorn two weeks ago.
"Kurt's got a few things to work on in the reserves. He knows what they are and we're confident that he'll be able to turn it around really quickly," Longmire said.
"He's suffered a bit through various injuries this year on the back of a consistent year up until the halfway point last year.
"The second half of last year and the first half of this year he's been affected by those injuries and it hasn't led to a consistent performance and we'd like to be able to get that consistent performance out of him."
Tippett has battled hip and ankle injuries this season and missed the second half of last year with a torn hamstring tendon.
In better news for the Swans, Kieren Jack will return against the Bulldogs playing his first match since the round-five loss to GWS after finally overcoming a persistent hip injury which plagued him throughout the pre-season. Youngster Oliver Florent makes way for the former co-captain.
But fellow veteran Jarrad McVeigh looks set for another stint on the sidelines after a recurrence of the calf injury that has plagued him all year.
McVeigh missed the last two games with a hamstring injury which has since healed, but his latest calf issue will cost him at least another fortnight.
"Unfortunately for him we didn't get the same preparation leading into the season that we'd like to and he played off no training sessions," Longmire said.
"If we had our time again in hindsight we wouldn't have played him but we had a young team at that particular point and we wanted him to play.
"He played for a month and his form wasn't great. This time his form at the training track's been a lot more consistent and sound. He's got a lot more preparation under his belt than what he did at the start of the season."
The Swans are likely to need at least nine wins from their remaining 12 games to qualify for the finals, with the Bulldogs game at the SCG a key chance to breathe life into their ailing season.
Last year's grand finalists have both struggled in 2017, although the Bulldogs still managed to win six games prior to last weekend's bye.
Sydney lost to the Bulldogs in a round-two thriller at Etihad Stadium, and haven't won in four starts against the premiers.
"They're hard, really hard around the contest and the No.1 tackling team in the competition so you know what you're going to get against the Bulldogs which is a fierce contest," Longmire said.
"They're very good at transferring the play from their defensive 50 to their attacking 50. They've got some terrific runners even with [Bob] Murphy out of the team, they're still able to get that quick transfer of play.
"You need to put enormous pressure on, particularly in your front half, to be able to cause those turnovers, give yourself another chance to score and prevent them from scoring."
