The masters of shutdown footy, the Sydney Swans, are poised to ratchet up the pressure on Collingwood and put the Magpies under the pump in Saturday night's AFL clash at ANZ Stadium.

The stakes are high for both teams, with fourth-placed Sydney poised to open up a ten-point gap over their closest pursuers should they beat Collingwood and Adelaide lose to Geelong.

A Collingwood victory combined with an Adelaide loss would vault the Magpies up to fifth and within a game and a half of Sydney.

However, the Swans haven't beaten the Magpies for three years and their four straight losses to Collingwood include their last two clashes at ANZ Stadium.

Sydney defender Tadhg Kennelly warned Collingwood to expect a hotly contested tussle as he believed Sydney's lack of pressure had been the key factor in the Magpies' run of wins over his club.

"Our pressure in the (elimination) final against Collingwood last year was missing quite drastically, I didn't play that game and I remember watching it.

"Our pressure just wasn't there.

"It's something we really (want to) have a lot of focus (on) this weekend, our pressure tackling and putting them under the pump," Kennelly said at the SCG.

"Against Collingwood we haven't put enough pressure on them, that's probably the thing."

"We've looked back on the games we have played against them and we've given them too much space in the midfield and it puts us under massive pressure in our backline."

"I think our pressure will be huge, it will be hot footy on Saturday night."

A spot of home cooking and the presence of his mum in Sydney meant Kennelly was primed for a big personal performance on Saturday.

"I always put on a few kilos and a few spuds, I always seem to play well when my mum is here, so it's probably the cooking," Kennelly joked.

The Collingwood game will also give him the opportunity to catch up with fellow Irishman Martin Clarke whose club coach Mick Malthouse has been appointed coach of the Australian team to play Ireland in the International Rules series later this year.

Kennelly said the concept was at "the crossroads" following controversial incidents in the past which had seen it temporarily shelved.

The Swans backman suggested players and officials of the two codes should spend time in the other sport to avoid any further misinterpretation of the rules of the hybrid code.

"They said a few times that it (the International Rules concept) has been on its last legs, but it really is at the crossroads I think because of what's happened two years ago," Kennelly said.

"We will just have to wait and see. It's just a misunderstanding on both sides of the rules and it's something that's always very hard to actually do.

"What you need is an umpire or a couple of players from Australia to spend two weeks in the Irish camp and tell them `this is what they are allowed to do and what they can't do' and vice versa."

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