Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley admits his side lacks the endurance to run with a team like reigning AFL premiers Sydney.
The Swans thrashed the Magpies 15.12 (102) to 8.7 (55) at the MCG last Friday night.
Buckley said the Swans were the best side Collingwood have played this season.
But he said the Magpies’ inability to stop the Swans getting the ball into space meant they were never going to be able to get on top of them.
“I don’t know what their endurance profile is, but from the outside in it looks like they’ve got six, seven, eight elite endurance runners that can run at pace up and back,” Buckley told reporters on Tuesday.
“We don’t have the capacity to match that at the moment with our personnel.
“We’re going to rely on supporting each other a little bit more and being able to close sides down at the source.
“If we make it a running battle it’s probably going to be harder for us to win.
“We acknowledge the strengths in our group, we’re a hard, contested-ball side.
“When we put pressure on as a team on the opposition, we create opportunities for ourselves and we defend well.
“That’s what we saw two weeks ago (against Geelong) and that’s utopia, that’s what we’re looking for.”
Buckley acknowledged his club’s injury troubles weren’t helping the endurance aspect, with the Magpies missing experienced midfielders such as Dayne Beams, Dale Thomas and Clinton Young.
Buckley said running defender Heath Shaw was in contention to return from a back injury against Brisbane on Friday night.
Rookie-lister Kyle Martin, yet to make his AFL debut, will also be in the mix after impressive VFL form.