Sydney finally tasted victory in the NAB Cup with a 12-point win over Carlton on a history-making night at Blacktown Olympic Park in western Sydney.

Sydney's 20-year-old newcomer Lewis Jetta showed he could be a star in the making as the Swans triumphed 2.7.11 (71) to 0.8.11 (59) for their first win in the pre-season competition in Paul Roos' eighth and final full season as head coach.

No.6 draft pick Gary Rohan also impressed for Sydney in front of 9,732 fans, while Carlton suggested life could be tough as they try to fill the significant void left by Brendan Fevola's departure for Brisbane.

In the first competitive match at the ground the Blues did make it a contest in the fourth quarter, reducing a 29-point deficit to 10 points, but Sydney steadied for a breakthrough win.

The Swans had a host of new faces, with ex-Hawthorn small forward Ben McGlynn (two goals) and former West Coast ruckman Mark Seaby contributing, while Carlton skipper Chris Judd, Mitch Robinson (two goals) and Richard Hadley stood out for the visitors.

The ground is the home of the incoming Greater Western Sydney (GWS) team, which will join the AFL in 2012, but on Saturday night it was the Swans trying to woo some more fans in the region.

The battle lines were clearly drawn between the NSW clubs, with the Swans' banner reading: "Be a part of Sydney's team. Become a Swans member."

Team GWS had already sent out a press release earlier on Saturday, and had signage around the ground, inviting supporters to help name the club and sign on as members.

In terms of the crowd there were some similarities to the early days of the Swans in Sydney, with many unsure about the nuances of the sport.

In the most comical of the teething problems, with 49 seconds remaining in the opening term a train siren near the ground was mistaken by the umpires for the quarter-time siren.

But the error was picked up and the full quarter was played out, which ended with Sydney leading by two points, a buffer they maintained at halftime after a poor second term by both teams.

Sydney at least know they still have injured duo Daniel Bradshaw and Jesse White to come back into their forward line, but the options appear limited for the Blues without Fevola.

Jetta had already shown some good signs, but he lit up the third term, kicking two goals himself and setting up two others to break the game open.

Carlton showed some reasonable signs in the fourth quarter but couldn't sustain the effort.

Sydney's win means they will now face St Kilda next weekend in a quarter-final, while the Blues will take on Fevola's Lions in the Challenge.

Roos expected a better showing from his team than in previous seasons.

"We suspected we were going to play better than we have in the past," he said.

"We had a much better side out there this year.

"It was a good game and good to win it."

He was also pleased with Jetta and Rohan in their debut senior outings.

"It was good. We saw a bit of excitement and what we expected when we drafted them," he said.

"We were really fortunate to get those two into the footy club."

Blues counterpart Brett Ratten rued some costly turnovers in a rusty effort from his team, more than the lack of a dominant marking forward without Fevola.

"I think it was a tough day for forwards," he said.

"I don't think too many of the big forwards had too much influence in the game.

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