SYDNEY is counting the cost of an injury crisis returning to bite again in the wake of a 11-point victory over Fremantle that keeps its faint finals hopes alive.

The Swans expect to be without Tom Papley and Joel Amartey as they continue a late-season charge toward the top eight after the luckless pair limped from the SCG with injury concerns on Sunday.  

SWANS v DOCKERS Full match coverage and stats

Papley was playing his third match since returning from a bone fracture in his heel, while Amartey sat out last week due to hamstring tightness but picked up a groin concern in the dying stages of the win over the Dockers.

In the first half of the season, the Swans dropped to 4-8 as several stars including Papley and midfielder Errol Gulden were sidelined, but since nearing a return to full-strength they have edged back into the finals race before being hit by injuries to key players again.

"(Papley) got subbed out with his hamstring so we need to work out the extent of that, how bad that is, and the same with Amartey late in the game," Swans coach Dean Cox said.

"We'll see throughout the next couple of days how that settles, get some scans and the results will come from that."

"You want your best players playing as often as possible and for them to get a run at it.”

The Swans coach was full of praise for James Jordon after his instrumental role in negating Caleb Serong.

The Dockers midfielder only gathered four disposals to the main break and finished with his lowest total since just his second game during the shortened matches of 2020.

Serong had little impact on the contest even after being moved forward in the third term, while Jordon also hurt the Dockers going the other way with two first-half goals in an influential all-round display.

"He was unbelievable. I think that's how highly we rate Serong, is for Jordon to be able to go to him," Cox said.

"To keep him to 11 touches is an unbelievable effort. I think the footy club can't speak highly enough of what James does.

"He spends time looking at his opponent, coming up with a plan. He has the mental aptitude to be able to sustain and hold on. He's a massive part of helping our team play well."

Dockers coach Justin Longmuir bristled at the suggestion that his side is too reliant on Serong and midfield partner Andrew Brayshaw, even while conceding the Swans controlled the game at the coalface.

The Swans won the first nine centre clearances of the game with ruck Brodie Grundy on top early, and ended up scoring 9.6 out of stoppages in what proved to be a pivotal +48 from the source.

The Dockers fought back in the engine room during the second half to lose the clearance battle 41-32, but it is an area they have now dropped in four of their past five matches as opposition teams take away their one-time strength.

"We had the same team out there in the first half as the second half, and we won clearances in the second half. So that's the answer,” Longmuir said when asked about a reliance on Serong and Brayshaw.

"Caleb was still out there getting tagged in the second half, so we didn't rely on him in the second half and we were plus-five clearance in the second half, so same personnel. So, no, I'm not concerned about it.”