Going against their recent tradition of long-serving skippers, Sydney will use up to seven AFL captains by the end of this season.

The club on Wednesday announced it would rotate six members of its leadership group in the position after Stuart Maxfield stood down last week.

The host of new leaders contrasts with the previous stability the Swans enjoyed at the helm since the club relocated to Sydney before the 1982 season.

Since then, the club has had only five regular captains, with the two men before Maxfield, Paul Kelly and Dennis Carroll, filling the role for 18 seasons between them.

The captaincy will be shared between Leo Barry, Jude Bolton, Adam Goodes, Barry Hall and Ben Mathews.

The other two members of the Swans nine-man leadership group apart from Maxfield - veterans Paul Williams and Jason Ball - opted to not participate in the rotation because both are nearing the end of their careers.

Against Port Adelaide this weekend, the Swans will be captained for the second straight game by midfielder Brett Kirk, who said he wasn't disappointed at not getting a more permanent run in the position.

"I think it's a fantastic concept," Kirk said.

"One, it shows the depth of the leaders we've got in this club and two, by the end of the year we are going to have seven guys that have captained an AFL side."

The rotation policy was approved by the Swans match committee and board after it was endorsed by the leadership group following a meeting with coach Paul Roos on Tuesday.

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