SYDNEY has kept its finals flame flickering after hanging on for a plucky 11-point triumph over Fremantle as Hayden McLean booted the sealer with less than two minutes remaining at the SCG.

But the win could come at a cost for the Swans, with gun forward Tom Papley likely to miss at least part of the run home after injuring a hamstring in the 14.10 (94) to 12.11 (83) victory against the Dockers on Sunday.

SWANS v DOCKERS Full match coverage and stats

The Swans are still clinging on in the finals race after overpowering another top-eight contender as they dismantled the Dockers at the stoppages with Brodie Grundy taking command.

The 31-year-old ruck set the tone whether matched up on the athletic Luke Jackson or more bustling Sean Darcy, as the Swans set up their win with the first nine centre clearances of the game and finished ahead 41-32 in the overall clearance count.

Grundy finished with 20 disposals and a game-high 12 clearances as well as 33 hitouts as he arguably won the ruck battle even as Jackson spent more time forward and booted two goals, while Darcy had 22 hitouts and six clearances.

While the Swans lacked a spark in their forward half with Papley substituted out of the game at the main break, last year’s beaten grand finalists showed further signs of returning to top form with their star trio back together in the midfield.

Errol Gulden was back to his brilliant best in his third match of the season as he directed traffic and opened up the Dockers while gathering 25 disposals and booting an important goal in the final term.

Chad Warner (24 disposals, one goal) and Isaac Heeney (21) made their typical impact but the Swans will be just as buoyed by the return to form of Jake Lloyd (20, two) and captain Callum Mills (game-high 26).

But few Swans were as important to the outcome as James Jordon who not only curtailed the influence of Caleb Serong but made his mark going the other way with a pair of first-half goals.   

Serong only had four disposals at the main break and had little impact on the contest as he finished with 11 touches.

Shai Bolton was another Docker to suffer from a slow start before coming to life in the second half of his milestone match, while Jordan Clark was quieter than usual with 13 disposals as the Swans shut down their prime movers.

In a clash between two contrasting styles, the Swans were more likely to run-and-gun to quickly take space on their transitions while the Dockers were comfortable chipping their way up the field.

The defeat ends the Dockers six-match winning streak and knocks them out of the top eight while the Swans stay within three wins of the finals places and with form just as likely to shape the finals race.

With several Dockers stars down for the day, Corey Wagner stepped up to gather 22 disposals and Andrew Brayshaw battled hard to finish with 24 before his side left their run too late.

Swans’ injury curse strikes again as Papley hamstrung
Sydney has understandably looked much better and been more competitive since bringing together its handful of stars in recent weeks. But the Swans will again have to manage without Tom Papley for at least part of the run home after their firestarter injured a hamstring on the cusp of the main break. Papley was charging at top speed through the centre square as he gathered a bouncing ball but after delivering inside 50 then immediately grabbed at the top of his left leg. The zippy forward was left shaking his head in frustration as he walked to the bench and faces another stint on the sidelines just three matches after returning from a bone fracture in his heel.

Dockers’ livewire fails to fire in milestone match
Shai Bolton has electrified Fremantle since joining from Richmond ahead of this season while booting 20 goals and averaging 18.5 disposals in his first 14 matches for his second club. But the Dockers’ livewire failed to fire in his 150th game after taking until the dying stages of the opening half just to gather his first disposal of the day. Bolton found more of the ball in the second half to finish with 17 disposals – helped by having five touches in one string of play in the third term – but was left to rue having minimal impact early as the Dockers suffered what could prove to be a critical defeat in his milestone match.

Amartey shakes off goalkicking woes before new concern
Joel Amartey has had more time than he would have liked to ponder his horror show the last time he stepped onto an AFL field. Sydney’s key forward suffered from a severe case of the goalkicking yips when finishing with 0.6 and three complete misses against Port Adelaide before being sidelined for a week with hamstring tightness. The 25-year-old shook off any lingering nerves to slot a set shot from just inside the 50m arc in the second term then celebrated with a huge grin while being swamped by teammates. Amartey added another major in the second half before his rollercoaster season continued as he limped off with a groin concern in the dying stages of the game.

SYDNEY                       3.3       8.5       11.8      14.10 (94)
FREMANTLE                 2.3       5.6       10.6      12.11 (83)

GOALS
Sydney: McLean 3, Jordon 2, Lloyd 2, Amartey 2, Grundy, Warner, Blakey, Gulden, Hayward
Fremantle: Treacy 2, Jackson 2, Voss, Amiss, Wagner, Serong, Dudley, Reid, O'Meara, Frederick

BEST
Sydney: Grundy, Jordon, Gulden, Warner, Mills, Heeney, Lloyd
Fremantle: Jackson, Wagner, Brayshaw, Ryan, O’Driscoll

INJURIES
Sydney: Papley (hamstring)
Fremantle: Nil

SUBSTITUTES
Sydney: Matty Roberts (replaced Tom Papley at half-time)
Fremantle: Jaeger O'Meara (replaced Patrick Voss in the third quarter)

Crowd: 32,007 at the SCG