SYDNEY is yet to find anything near its best form this season but coach John Longmire remains more focused on his wins column, rather than how his team has been securing the points. 

The Swans' round 11 clash with Carlton on Friday was a perfect summation of how the home side is travelling in 2018, with some inconsistent first-half efforts – especially around the stoppages – erased by a lift in intensity after the long break.

Ruckman Callum Sinclair and midfielders Isaac Heeney and Luke Parker were standouts for Sydney in the 30-point victory at the SCG, but the rest of the 22 all played a part in the Swans' fourth straight win.

Longmire said on Monday that his team still has a lot to work on, but to sit 8-3 and in fourth spot at the halfway mark of the season is pleasing, especially given they're winning ugly.

"You can't underestimate how hard it is to do that, to win games of footy is very difficult to do," he said.

"We think we've been fairly even (across the team), and we've got players that could have been better at times.

"But we've been getting a really strong contribution from our younger players, which has been a real positive."

The Swans could be boosted by the return of small forward Tom Papley for Saturday night's clash with St Kilda at Etihad Stadium after he was rested from the win over Carlton.

Longmire said Papley has been carrying an unspecified niggle or two for a few weeks but is hoping to prove his fitness at training this week.

"Hopefully he's OK but we won't know until that last training session, so we'll get more of an indication then," he said.

"His plan is to not do a great deal on Tuesday, so we won't know until Thursday.

"But it's only early day things change very quickly, at training sessions or out of training sessions as we know."