New Sydney coach John Longmire believes next weekend's bye is coming at a good time for his developing side after a torrid first month of AFL action.

The Swans have logged wins over Essendon and West Coast, a draw against Melbourne and a loss to Geelong, in tightly contested games that were all in dispute until well into the fourth quarter.

Longmire hopes they're closing the gap to the four teams that finished above them last year.

But he stresses the need for Sydney to match it with competition powerhouses like Geelong for the full four quarters, rather than in bursts, as was the case at the SCG on Saturday.

"I thought the effort of the players has been super, I think their effort over that period of time has been very good," Longmire said.

"But we know that effort alone will (only) get you so much.

"We need to work on a few things and against a team like Geelong you've got to be more consistent than that.

"I thought the first month has been a really solid month for us, we've had a couple of kids debut, which has been a positive for the footy club.

"But we know we've got Carlton here (at the SCG) in a couple of week's time and that won't be easy.

"We'll lick our wounds and get going Monday."

Longmire should have a bigger pool of players to call upon against Carlton.

Tadhg Kennelly, Mark Seaby and Jarred Moore all performed well in the reserves on Saturday, as they strove to prove their fitness after recent injuries.

Mike Pyke, Brett Meredith and rookie Luke Parker also did well, according to Longmire.

Emerging Sydney midfielder Josh Kennedy, who logged a game-high 29 touches against Geelong, felt the bye represented a good opportunity for the Swans.

"We know we've got a lot to work on and we've got the chance to, which is good," Kennedy said.

"A lot guys will thrive on having this break now, because we've had some solid games and their bodies are feeling the pinch a bit."

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