Sydney rediscovered its ruthless streak and steadied its AFL premiership defence in the process by crushing Fremantle by 33 points with a final quarter blitz at the SCG.

The Swans trailed by a point at three quarter time before running over the top of the Dockers with a six to one goal final term to triumph 12.19 (91) to 9.4 (58).

Sydney (8-5) snapped a two-match losing streak and sent the Dockers (6-7) to their third straight loss in the process.

The Swans found a way to win without spearhead Barry Hall registering a goal with Fremantle defender Shane Parker taking the honours in their contest.

Swans full forward Michael O'Loughlin turned back the clock with a best on ground performance while Adam Schneider and Nick Davis also played valuable roles with seven goals between them.

Fremantle's Matthew Pavlich was a dangerous target all night with four goals while Matthew Carr edged out Adam Goodes in their duel.

Sydney has struggled at home recently with the match only its second win from five matches at the SCG this season.

It was a massive boost for the Swans before playing competition frontrunners Adelaide (SCG) and West Coast (Subiaco) in the next fortnight.

Fremantle jumped a flat Swans outfit in the opening term with spearhead Matthew Pavlich imposing himself on the game by booting two goals as the visitors scooted out to a 19-point lead.

Schneider ensured Sydney at least had one goal on the board at quarter time with a fine running effort but the Dockers deserved to be up more than 13 points at quarter time.

The Swans scrapped their way back into the contest in the second quarter and Nick Davis found enough space to conjure up two goals and slash Fremantle's lead to three at the main break.

A Roger Hayden touch off the boot of Adam Schneider handed the home side the lead for the first time of the night early in the third term.

Then in the 10th minute Jarrad McVeigh somehow came out with the ball and goaled from point blank range after three Dockers defenders made a hash of the situation.

The match finally appeared to be heading Sydney's way but the Dockers runners again started firing and Pavlich put on two goals in less than two minutes.

Swans utility Paul Bevan then gifted the Dockers a major with his errant kick across the face of his defensive goals being gobbled up by Josh Carr who kicked an easy goal.

Michael O'Loughlin booted his second major from an acute angle soon after to steady the Swans and were down 8.4 (52) to 6.15 (51) at the last change.

Sydney has been the most settled unit in the league this year but the decision to drop three players for this week proved pivotal in the final quarter.

Playing in their first matches of the season, Luke Vogels and Jarrad Moore stood tall in the opening ten minutes of the final term and played key roles in the first three goals of the period as the Swans powered over the top of the Dockers.

Fiery Fremantle forward Jeff Farmer should expect a trip to the tribunal this week after his errant elbow appeared to strike Sydney defender Craig Bolton in the head halfway through the second term.

The Dockers host Essendon at Subiaco on Friday night.

O'Loughlin, the highest possession winner with 19 touches, felt Sydney had responded well as it stared down a third straight loss ahead of matches against the Crows and the Eagles.

"Going into the last quarter we knew our season was on the line and our reputation was on the line so to fightback like that was pretty pleasing," he said.

The mercurial forward said the players responded to coach Paul Roos' address at three quarter time to rediscover their renowned team work.

He said Roos said to the side: "Is anyone going to start playing for the team? And is anyone going to stand up and play for the Bloods?"

"It is pretty simple, but at the moment we are just not getting it through our skulls to play footy and to play for each other," O'Loughlin added.

"So I am talking about the little things like the chasing and the tackling and covering for each other, it has been pretty disappointing the last three rounds.

"But we have had a kick up the backside and got over the line.

"It was pretty disappointing we could not finish them off by kicking straighter as well."

Sydney's Paul Williams was reported in the final quarter for an attempted trip on Fremantle's Michael Johnson.

Roos said his side's errant kicking was a worry.

"You know at some point it is going to hurt you but thankfully we got out of it with a solid five goal win," he said.

Meanwhile Fremantle coach Chris Connolly was upbeat about his team's efforts after its strong showing in the first three terms.

"It was the most intense we have been for a month," he said.

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