SYDNEY players were ordered to attend an early morning beach session just hours after their Saturday night smacking at the hands of Adelaide.

It is understood the previously unplanned Clovelly venture was at the directive of the club's leaders in the aftermath of the SCG hammering and took place before sunrise on Sunday morning.

Players braved the waters and were put through some old-school physical exertion as part of the session, with push-ups and sit-ups also forming part of the gruelling morning's activities.

There was a short turnaround between the snap beach trip, with players departing the SCG at around midnight on Saturday night before reconvening at the beach alongside coach Dean Cox just hours later.

It comes amid a disappointing 4-8 start to the season for the Swans, with Cox's injury-depleted side losing six of their past eight games to leave their finals chances on the brink of collapsing.

Sydney kicked the game's first goal on Saturday night, but then conceded 12 unanswered Adelaide majors to fall 65 points down at half-time. The Swans also went goalless in the final term, ultimately losing by 90 points.

It was the club's fourth loss of 80 points or more in as many seasons, having also copped a smashing at the hands of Port Adelaide (112 points) in 2024, Geelong (93 points) in 2023 and Geelong (81 points) in 2022.

Adelaide's Wayne Milera told ABC Radio after the game that Sydney "were sort of a bit of a rabble ... just hearing them on the ground", a comment he and the Crows later apologised for.

Cox described the hefty loss – which coincided with the club's celebrations for the 20-year anniversary of its 2005 premiership – as both "unacceptable" and "embarrassing".

"For a team that played desperate, uncompromising, ruthless football, and that was far from it, so we need to strip it back and get to work real quick," he said after the game.

"We are going to fight our way through this, everyone that's involved at the footy club, and there's going to be no easy way through it. I said to them 'expect some tough sessions'. That'll happen."

Sydney will look to respond to the defeat when it takes on Richmond at the MCG on Saturday afternoon, before its bye in round 14.