Brisbane Lions vice-captain Jed Adcock has ranked playing Sydney at the SCG as the toughest road assignment in the AFL along with the trip to Perth to play West Coast.

The rising Lions, one game out of the top eight thanks to their winter surge, face a challenging gauge of their credentials when they meet the Swans on Saturday.

After three wins in their past four matches, Adcock admitted second-placed Sydney provided a massive hurdle at their cricket ground fortress.

“If you talk about the big tests of the AFL, obviously the trip to Perth is one of them and, at the moment, Sydney in Sydney, especially at the SCG on the smaller ground,” he said on Wednesday.

“They play really well and it’s tough to beat them.

“We’ve had a good month but we’ve got a long way to go before we can be in the same class as them.”

Sydney have had the wood over Brisbane since the Lions enjoyed their premiership run from 2001-2003 with the Swans winning each match in the past eight years except for the two in 2009.

Adcock was wary about the Swans’ speed out of their defensive zone, with coach John Longmire able to build on predecessor Paul Roos’ foundations, with diehard Sydney priding itself on winning the contested footy and playing a physical game.

“They’re probably a bit quicker now – they’ve got some good outside run and can take the ball from one end of the ground to the other very quick,” the rebounding defender said.

“Lewis Jetta getting on the outside, (Ben) McGlynn, (Ryan) O’Keefe, (Jarrad) McVeigh, so they’re really rebounding hard off half-back (Rhyce) Shaw and (Marty) Mattiner, (Nick) Malceski, and then getting into the forward line really quick.

“We’ve got to be careful that we all don’t get sucked in and then get beaten on the outside.”