Sydney co-captain Luke Parker is bracing for a ding-dong, pressure-fuelled AFL battle in Thursday night’s clash with the Western Bulldogs.

With their backs to the wall after falling to 0-2, the Bulldogs rediscovered their bite in last Friday’s feisty win over Greater Western Sydney.

The relentless pressure that carried the Dogs to an unlikely grand final win over the Swans in 2016 returned with a vengeance – and it has not gone unnoticed.

According to Parker, Sydney coach John Longmire has made withstanding the heat a focus for the crucible of the SCG.

“They were back to their best in terms of swarming the contest and building that pressure,” the 27-year-old midfielder told AAP.

“It’s about matching them and being able to absorb their pressure and stay composed.

“That’ll be our mindset going into this week.”

Unlike several up-and-down clubs, the two-win Swans’ form has not altered dramatically since the AFL restart.

Sydney’s preparations for Thursday have been hindered, though, with a five-day turnaround compounded by a ban on full-squad contact training.

Unperturbed, Parker does not believe the AFL’s new edict will stall the Swans’ momentum.

“We’ve had weeks where we’ve had some of our best training sessions and then come out and have a stinker,” he said.

“It’s hard if you really want to work on something that you’re deficient in. With tackling or pressure you have to do a bit more mock training.

“But that’s just something that the clubs have got to work through.”

Ruckman Sam Naismith’s return from a hamstring complaint is Sydney’s latest solution to their depleted key forward stocks, with Tom McCartin (concussion) joining Lance Franklin (hamstring) and Sam Reid (calf) on the sidelines.

“He just adds another dimension to that midfield group and it helps Sincs (ruckman Callum Sinclair) out,” Parker said.

“(Sinclair) can go forward and we can have another big-bodied forward to help out the smaller blokes.”

Approaching his own 200th milestone in fellow co-captain Josh Kennedy’s 250th AFL game, Parker is relishing his licence to roam forward to compensate for the loss of their key targets.

“I don’t think I’m feeling any extra pressure to kick goals,” said Parker, who averages a tick under a major a game across his 198-match career.

“It’s just a part of my game that I’ve always wanted to hit the scoreboard and it’s nice to get your name in the paper.”