Sydney coach John Longmire believes his AFL side were guilty of laziness against Collingwood on Saturday night, not an over-reliance on star recruit Kurt Tippett.

Tippett was one of the Swans’ best in their 29-point loss at ANZ Stadium, kicking six goals and keeping the reigning premiers in the contest when the Magpies started to seize control of the game in the third quarter.

The 26-year-old booted three of his side’s four goals in the third term, and only four of his teammates managed to get on the scoreboard for the entire match.

It was reflected in the Swans’ approach when they had the ball in the middle, far too often they unsuccessfully bombed the ball long to Tippett in the hope he’d haul in another fantastic mark.

Tippett was coming off another six-goal haul against the Western Bulldogs and is now the Swans’ leading goal-scorer for the season despite missing the opening 11 rounds through suspension.

The Swans have prided themselves on having multiple targets and an even spread of goal-kickers under Longmire, but the third-year coach wasn’t worried by the tendency to kick it to Tippett in the rare loss.

“If he didn’t kick goals I’d be asked the same question – is it a concern he isn’t kicking goals,” Longmire said after the ‘Pies snapped Sydney’s six-game winning streak.

“I just thought we didn’t get enough work through the middle of the ground – both ways … and everything else tends to flow from that.

“I thought it was a work-rate issue. We just didn’t work hard enough, when we had the ball and when they had the ball.

“That’s usually part of the game that we’re pretty good at it, but we just didn’t do it well.”

Longmire suggested his senior players were every bit as responsible for the defeat as the young talent that he’s blooded this year.

“I think our experienced players have generally been pretty good. But a few collectively, didn’t have great ones (against Collingwood),” he said.

“Probably a few of the mids didn’t have great nights, I didn’t think the youth was so much a factor.”

The Swans next face St Kilda on Sunday week.