Sydney defender Nick Blakey is confident the Swans can mount a charge at the AFL flag no matter what position they finish on the ladder.
The Swans entered the final round of the home-and-away season in second spot on the ladder.
But such is the closeness of the competition they can finish as low as fifth if they lose to St Kilda at Marvel Stadium on Sunday and other results go against them.
A six-game winning streak has converted Sydney into a genuine flag contender, and optimism is growing within the squad about what they can achieve during September.
"I don't think we're surprised where we're at," Blakey said.
"We were pretty bullish at the start of this year about what we could do. We were pretty confident in our game plan.
"We go into games expecting to win, and that won't change whether we finish second or wherever we finish. We'll be expecting to win, that's for sure."
The Swans' match against St Kilda is the last of the round, meaning they will have the advantage of knowing what is needed in order to hang onto second spot.
Blakey said the player group would focus on their performance rather than the mathematics of what is needed.
"If you go into games expecting to win and get a percentage boost, you'll probably get one in between the eyes. It won't go too well for you," he said.
St Kilda will use the match to bid farewell to two players.
Dan Hannebery, who played 208 games for the Swans before adding a further 17 in four injury-plagued seasons for St Kilda, announced his retirement after being informed he won't be handed a contract extension.
Small forward Dean Kent, who started his career at the Demons before spending the past four years at St Kilda, will also use the match as his farewell, albeit as the substitute.
The Saints started their season with an 8-3 record, but since then they've won just three of their past 10 matches to crash out of finals contention.
St Kilda announced this week they will launch a post-season review of their football operations, with ex-North Melbourne coach David Noble to assist.
The future of coach Brett Ratten isn't expected to be put in danger by the review.
