A week ago, Sydney's dual Brownlow Medallist Adam Goodes compared poorly to Geelong star Gary Ablett.

Swans coach Paul Roos expressed "massive concern" about Goodes' form after he struggled in the 42-point loss to the Cats at Skilled Stadium.

As Sydney drew with North Melbourne at Telstra Dome, Goodes was everything that Ablett had been eight days ago.

Like Ablett, every time Goodes had possession, he put a team-mate in a better position.

Like Ablett, he had a massive influence on the game and was clearly best afield.

"He was very good ... you really could see early, he was up and going, he was making tremendous effort to run," Roos said after the game.

"Two or three players went to him at different stages, when he went forward he kicked a couple of goals as well, so that was certainly a lot more like we know Goodesy can play."

Goodes declined to speak to the media post-match, wanting to wait another week or so before responding publicly to the public talk in the last few days about his form.

Roos' comments about Goodes in the aftermath of the Geelong match were pointed and they predictably caught the media's attention.

But the Sydney coach insists it was not a strategy to jolt Goodes into action.

"Really, I only respond to the questions and you try to be as honest as you can," he said.

"The other thing I maybe said to a couple of people during the week, everyone knew that Adam had an ordinary patch in the last season.

"Everyone was making comparisons (between) this season and last season, so there's no point in me going 'no, he's going really well, we're not concerned about it', because everyone relates it back to last season.

"It wasn't really anything else (other) than that."

While Roos was rapt with Goodes, Sydney needs a consistent run of form from their outstanding utility.

"You can see what Adam means to the footy team - with that sort of profile and two Brownlows, there is expectation above and beyond what most players in our team have to put up with," Roos said.

"I was confident he would respond and he did, now we've just got to make sure he gets up again for next week."

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