Sydney coach Paul Roos praised ruckman Shane Mumford for carrying the Swans across the line in Saturday's thrilling nine-point AFL victory over Fremantle at Subiaco Oval.

The Dockers were smashed 55-32 at the inside 50s, 40-28 at the clearances and 47-26 in the hit-outs but somehow sneaked out to a three-point lead with just minutes remaining in the contest.

However, Fremantle's young brigade buckled in the final 135 seconds of the match as Sydney kicked two quick goals to post the 14.12 (96) to 13.9 (87) win, all-but securing the Swans a finals berth.

Mumford made the most of the injury-enforced absence of Aaron Sandilands, tallying 22 possessions, 30 hit-outs, five clearances and one goal to mastermind Sydney's domination at the stoppages.

"I thought Shane Mumford's last quarter was exceptional," Roos said.

"You need inspiration to come from your players out on the field.

"His ability to cover the ground in the last quarter, he really carried the side across the line today.

"Clearly with their (Fremantle's) set-up today without Sandilands, they probably changed a little bit in terms of being more defensive-minded around stoppages as opposed to offence.

"Often you see them all just charge forward because they know the big fella's going to get his hands on the ball."

Sydney were down to 20 fit men for most of the see-sawing last term that featured five lead changes.

Ben McGlynn starred in the opening two-and-a-half quarters with three goals and 17 possessions but had his afternoon - and possibly season - ended when he slid in for a loose ball and copped a knee to the head from Dockers ruckman Zac Clarke.

Roos feared McGlynn had suffered a season-ending fractured cheekbone in the incident, which saw Clarke placed on report.

Jarred Moore was stretchered off the field just before the final change when he fell into Luke McPharlin's knee after running back with the flight of the ball to take a brave mark.

Fremantle coach Mark Harvey acknowledged the Swans "monstered" his team in the ruck and seemed more hopeful than confident Sandilands would return for Saturday's clash with Hawthorn at Aurora Stadium.

"I would like to think he would be right this week but we'll just wait and see," Harvey said.

Swans forward Jesse White endured a dirty day but his match-winning goal could prove vital in Sydney's season.

With the Swans trailing by two points and just over two minutes remaining, White ran on to a smart handball from Jarrad McVeigh and soccered through the tumbling ball for a goal while holding off Fremantle defender Antoni Grover.

Sydney remain equal on points with sixth-placed Carlton and will be locked in for September action if St Kilda defeats ninth-placed North Melbourne on Sunday.

"In the context of the year it's a big win for us," Roos said.

"We've got two tough games to go (against the Bulldogs and Brisbane).

"We've lost Benny McGlynn today so we've got to lick our wounds a bit more."

Daniel Hannebery finished with 38 possessions in a starring performance, while Kieran Jack, Mumford, Rhyce Shaw and McGlynn were vital in the win.

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