Sydney may have found an answer to their key defensive concerns early into 2024, with Swans stopper Lewis Melican offering John Longmire's rearguard some flexibility to start the new season.
Now in his 10th year in the red and white, Melican has played just 62 games under Longmire as both injury and form have limited the Birregurra junior.
Melican played 17 games in his debut season of 2017, learning from premiership stalwarts Nick Smith and Heath Grundy, as well as current Swans veteran Dane Rampe.
Just a trio of senior opportunities would arise the year after, before another 17 games came for Melicain in 2019 - the last year he played more than nine matches in a single season.
Since then, the Swans have looked to find further support for Rampe and key defender Tom McCartin, with the shrewd recruitment of Tom's brother, Paddy, aiding Longmire's cause before his unfortunate retirement.
The older McCartin's departure last year saw the Swans look to the open market, recruiting Fremantle free agent Joel Hamling to aid their defensive stocks.
Hamling's move across the country came 12 months after Melican had his own decision to make, having garnered interest from St Kilda before deciding to see out the last year of his contract after the Moorabbin club moved for Zaine Cordy instead.
When Melican's deal did expire, it looked as though more opportunities might've been on offer elsewhere, only for the Swans and the 27-year-old to extend their partnership via a one-year deal.
An uninterrupted pre-season has given Melican a chance to prove his worth, with the 194cm taking the first two rounds with both hands.
While his numbers won't jump off the page, it's what Melican affords his fellow defenders that has helped the Swans start the season undefeated.
Notching up wins over Melbourne and Collingwood, the Bloods have been rapt with their defensive structure across both victories.
With Melican supporting McCarton on the last line, Rampe is able to play with more freedom in defence as the versatile Nick Blakey continues to flourish as his own multi-faceted threat.
"We've played him a bit when he's been fit in the last couple of years," Longmire said of Melican following the Swans' 33-point win over the Magpies.
"He's been good because he allows some flexibility in our team. 'Ramps' doesn't have to play the key post all the time with Tom.
"We'll look at every team's forward setup and see how many talls they've got, that's been working so far.
"We've got Nick, who can play on talls and smalls, that's the beauty about him. He can play on guys like Mason Cox or on the small, so that gives us a bit of flexibility, which is important."
The Swans kept Collingwood's talls to just one goal on Friday night, with plaudits going to the pressure placed on the reigning premiers by their midfield and defensive thirds to restrict the accuracy of the Magpies' forward entries.
Sydney's backline will be tasked with taming Essendon's attacking pairing of Peter Wright and Kyle Langford at the SCG next week, with the two Bombers enjoying 50-goal seasons over the past two years.
The week after will see Richmond's new-look attacking setup host the Swans back at the MCG to finish off the first month of Sydney's 2024 campaign.
