Sydney will be counting on their young guns to fill the void left by suspended star Adam Goodes in Saturday night's crucial AFL clash with Collingwood.

Goodes will be watching from the sidelines for the first time in eight years after a run of 204 consecutive games dating back to 1999, which put him third on the all-time AFL list.

His dream run ended when he was dealt a one-match suspension for making head-high contact with Melbourne defender Clint Bartram.

Swans forward Michael O'Loughlin said on Wednesday that while Goodes would be missed, the side had faith in younger players Craig Bird, Jarrod Moore and Jarrad McVeigh.

"We'll miss his run but our younger players, as we've shown the whole year ... they've really stepped up and played a key role," O'Loughlin told reporters at the SCG.

"We'll just do our preparation as normal ... we'll back our ruckmen and go into the game with a bit of confidence."

While the fourth-placed Swans are confident leading up to the clash against the seventh-placed Collingwood, they have not beaten the Magpies for three years and their four straight losses to Collingwood include their last two at ANZ Stadium.

Magpies assistant coach Brad Scott said Collingwood were prepared for the new-look Swans line-up, minus the dual Brownlow medallist.

"It's the first time Paul Roos has coached without him, so it's going to be interesting to come up against them," Scott said.

"It's the first time he (Goodes) hasn't played in eight-and-a-half years, so they're obviously a different side with a quality player like him out.

"There's no one to replace him as a direct swap, so they may restructure a little bit and we're going to have to be ready for that if they do."

The Swans are keen to continue their six-match winning streak and break their losing spell to the Magpies, O'Loughlin said.

"They really touched us up in the final (last year) and I know that's still sticking in the back of the mind (of a number of players) so it's such a huge game," he said.

"We're going in with a bit of form and we're looking forward to the challenge that's for sure.

"The confidence is there but I think the next month or so is a challenge for us now.

"It's something that we're going to knuckle down to and this match will tell us if we're fair dinkum or not."

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