Big, bad Barry Hall began the long road back to AFL redemption on Saturday night, returning from his infamous moment of madness to help Sydney cruise past St Kilda by 35 points at the SCG.

Branded a thug and heavily criticised across the country after his brutal and unprovoked punch on West Coast defender Brent Staker two months ago, Hall knows he has a long road ahead of him to restore his horribly damaged reputation.

He made a good start on Saturday night however, kicking two goals, taking 11 marks and most importantly, staying out of trouble after his seven-game ban as the Swans recorded their fifth straight win 14.18 (102) to 9.13 (67).

Brett Kirk, Ryan O'Keefe, Adam Goodes and Kieren Jack were all outstanding for Sydney, who have eight wins and a draw from their opening 12 games and play last-placed Melbourne in Canberra next week.

The Swans have a poor recent record against St Kilda, winning just two of their past seven matches, including a dour two-point loss at the Telstra Dome in round one this season.

But they were far too polished for a disappointing Saints outfit who have lost four of their past five games and slumped to 5-7 for the season.

The Saints did show some fight in the third term, drawing to within 11 points after a goal to former Swan Adam Schneider, but the home side kicked the last three goals of the quarter to give them a comfortable 31-point margin at the final change.

Hall has to find a way to repay his teammates for his inexplicable indiscretion, but it was clear the Sydney crowd hadn't lost any love for the big fella, giving him an almighty roar when Kirk found the spearhead in the opening minute.

Unfortunately he couldn't complete the fairytale start, narrowly missing his set shot from 50m out for a behind, and then falling just short with another shot after a dubious free kick midway through the term.

It was third time lucky late in the quarter when he kicked truly from right on 50m and was warmly embraced by Kirk, surely a welcome gesture for a man who has endured a difficult time on the sidelines.

Charlie Gardiner was St Kilda's best, kicking three goals.

Sydney's solid victory, coupled with Hawthorn's win over the Crows in Adelaide, put the Swans into the AFL's top four.

With Hall back in the team, all the signs are positive for coach Paul Roos' team.

"He looked good, he looked sharp," Roos said of Hall. "(Defender Max) Hudghton's a good player and has done pretty well on Hally in the past.

"It was a good start for him after seven weeks. He would be pretty pleased with his first game."

St Kilda counterpart Ross Lyon could only concede after the game his team is just not competitive with the better outfits in the league.

"I think we've got to worry about building our confidence back up and working hard and putting in a structure and a work ethic and consistency that allows us to win AFL footy," he said.

"We're 5-7 and there's a reason for that. Against teams around us we've done quite well, but (against) teams around the top four we have been caught well short."

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