Sydney coach Dean Cox was in awe of midfielder James Rowbottom's selfless role after the club was dismantled by 90 points against Adelaide last week.
Cox provided some "tough love" to his troops following the deplorable defeat, and although Saturday's clash with Richmond started nervously, the Swans restricted the Tigers to one goal after quarter time.
A big reason for that was Rowbottom's ability to quell veteran on-baller Dion Prestia, who was on fire in the first quarter with 13 disposals and a goal.
Prestia finished the match with 21 possessions while the Swans tough-nut recorded 14 tackles (seven more than the next best) to go with his 15 touches and three clearances.
"Dramatic," Cox said in terms of Rowbottom's impact.
"I think we've seen with James over the duration of his career, how much he's invested in that part of the game, and that's the biggest strength he brings to our football team.
"So, for him to do that, but also with the mindset of going against a bloke who started really well and to be able to quell him, or his influence, throughout the second and third quarter was really pleasing.
"He did that by obviously starting as close as he possibly could to him, but then with the intent to tackle anyone that came his way."
Dashing defender Nick Blakey returned to his usual best, collecting a game-high 34 possessions, 916 metres gained, 10 marks and two goal assists.
"Nick's been working on his game throughout the whole season โฆ I think he played more of an all-round game, which is what we're after," Cox added.
The Swans snapped a two-game losing streak and remain in the hunt for finals after a poor first half to 2025.
They enter the mid-season break following the 44-point win over Richmond, and with the hope that some of their prime movers will return.
Errol Gulden (ankle) and Tom Papley (foot) could be in the mix for the Port Adelaide clash.
"They've got a little bit to do, but they're ticking along to progress that hopefully within the first week or two they can present post-bye," Cox said.
"They had a session this morning, we've got a decent hitout, they'll train through the bye, so everything will be designed around the metrics they need to hit before they're available. But they've ticked off everything so far, which is good."
Key forward Joel Amartey will be available for selection after serving his suspension, while Robbie Fox played in the VFL in his bid to return from injury.
Oliver Florent produced a stellar outing in the reserves, racking up 28 touches, seven clearances and four tackles.
