Swans playing quarter-to-quarter: Longmire

Despite their amazing turnaround in form Sydney need to keep their foot on the pedal if they want to be a premiership contender.

The Swans are flying high on a winning streak but they know each game is vital. (AAP)

With the AFL ladder packed and teams all the way from fourth to 13th fighting for a spot in the finals, eighth-placed Sydney aren't looking any more than a quarter ahead at a time.

The Swans continued to surge into finals contention with their 67-point victory against Gold Coast but will face a real test against local rivals Greater Western Sydney in the derby, at Spotless Stadium, on Saturday.

Sydney started the season with six straight losses but have a new lease on life after five consecutive victories.

Flanked by Swans captain Josh Kennedy on Monday, coach John Longmire said the competition has been "mentally challenging" no matter what a team's place on the ladder, and that was even the case for second-placed GWS.

"Obviously the slow start means that we don't really have much room for error so we've got to keep going," Longmire said.

"There's just no respite and you need to be able to show your resilience for the whole year."

Longmire said the Swans cannot afford to start slow as they did against the Suns because it opens doors for quality teams, such as the Giants, to score heavily.

"It's really tough, you're living quarter to quarter," he said.

"That's all teams, not just us, but ... the momentum swings in games are so extreme at different times that you need to make sure that you absolutely live in the moment."

Kennedy has his own to-do list, hoping to return after a late scratching on Saturday due to tightness in his quad, while also edging closer to his 200th game, which he'll likely reach against his former club Hawthorn, at the MCG on July 28.

But the skipper's perspective remains in line with Longmire's.

"We'll be focusing on this week and, as everyone's mentioned, there's a lot on the line each week so we can't look further than that," Kennedy said.

"I think that's probably what we learnt from early on in the season, certainly not looking too far ahead."