Sydney midfielder Jude Bolton has kicked a goal with less than two minutes left on the clock to lift the Swans to a thrilling five-point AFL victory over a gallant West Coast at Subiaco Oval.

In another modern-day classic between the two clubs, Sydney kicked 10 of the final 13 goals of the match to turn a 37-point third-quarter deficit into the remarkable 12.11 (83) to 11.12 (78) triumph.

But the win could come at a cost for the Swans with star midfielder Adam Goodes reported in the opening minutes of the match for a head-high bump on Eagles tagger Adam Selwood.

And after Beau Waters, Robert Murphy and Brett Burton all copped the wrath last week of the AFL's crackdown on head-high bumps, Goodes' run of 202 consecutive games could come to an end.

Sydney trailed for all but 84 seconds of the match with Bolton's set shot from 35m out - after Adam Hunter had collected him high - proving to be the matchwinner.

It was a remarkable turnaround for the Swans, who conceded the opening seven goals of the match.

The Eagles made a blistering start to the contest, slamming on six goals to nil in the opening term to take a commanding 33-point advantage into quarter time.

West Coast smashed the Swans 14-4 at the clearances and entered their forward 50 an astounding 13 more times than Sydney in the opening stanza.

The Swans showed more fight in the second quarter, with Bolton's snap at the 11-minute mark of the stanza registering Sydney's first goal of the match.

Jarrad McVeigh added another eight minutes later but just as Sydney looked to be mounting a comeback, Hunter pulled down a ripper grab and then kicked truly to give the Eagles a 36-point lead and all the momentum at the long break.

Goodes and Brett Kirk (21 possessions, two goals) lifted Sydney out of the doldrums in the third term in a quarter predominantly played in West Coast's defensive 50.

When the Eagles did manage to go forward, shoddy kicking let them down.

The teams traded goals early in the final quarter before consecutive goals to Paul Bevan closed the gap to seven points midway through the term.

Quinten Lynch's goal at the 18-minute mark seemed to settle the Eagles but goals to Amon Buchanan and Nick Malceski closed the margin to a single point, before Hunter's high tackle allowed Bolton to kick the winner.

The victory keeps Sydney within two points of the top four with winnable games against St Kilda (home) and Melbourne (away) to come in the next fortnight.

West Coast coach John Worsfold said he was pleased with the performance of his charges but rued the team's inaccuracy in the second quarter.

"You never wrap any game up until the final siren goes but we could have ... maintained a bigger gap than we did by kicking those goals," Worsfold said.

"We're very disappointed we didn't win the game but very pleased with the way the team played."

Sydney coach Paul Roos said he was confident his team would finish the better running side.

"They were probably more tired than us (at half-time) because they played so much better than us," Roos said.

"So we did have some petrol tickets, it was just a matter of whether we could get back into the game.

"First half they just smashed us. We were fortunate to get back into the game in the third quarter and we gave ourselves a chance to at least get close."

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