Sydney coach John Longmire believes his side has regained confidence and hit their straps at the right time of the AFL season after cruising to a 52-point win over Brisbane at the SCG in their last match before the finals.

The Swans missed out on hosting rights after St Kilda beat Carlton in their clash, but should nonetheless tackle the Saints in next Saturday night's elimination final at Etihad Stadium with no shortage of confidence after posting their third win on the trot - an 18.11 (119) to 9.13 (67) triumph.

After a lacklustre opening quarter, Sydney piled on seven consecutive goals against the Lions in a 21-minute blitz during the second term - killing off Brisbane's initial resistance and any thoughts they might have had of a shock upset.

It was the sort of form Longmire had hoped to see from his charges in a game where they took on 15th-placed Brisbane and could have been forgiven for forgetting the footballer's mantra of 'one week at a time'.

"I'm really pleased with how we finished off the season. We've finished off really strongly the last three weeks and we're obviously looking forward to now starting the finals series," Longmire said.

"We played (and defeated) St Kilda, who had won six of their last seven before we played them, and obviously Geelong last week, and Brisbane here.

"I'm hoping that the players feel confident that when we bring our trademark style of footy and we play hard and contested football, that we can compete with some of the better teams in the competition."

Co-captain Adam Goodes continued his scintillating late-season form on Saturday with four goals and 29 disposals, Josh Kennedy also had 29 touches - 21 of them contested - and Matt Spangher had one of his best games in the red and white.

Perhaps the most courageous on the field was co-captain Jarrad McVeigh, who collected 22 possessions in his inspirational return to AFL - just a week-and-a-half after his four-week-old daughter Luella died from a heart condition.

It was a clinical performance from the Swans, and timely in the eyes of Lions coach Michael Voss.

"I think they'll go fine (in the finals). I think anyone that plays that style of footy - that's finals footy," Voss said.

"When they're up and going, they're tough to beat ... because they're a good footy team, they're coached well and they've got that intensity that's required in finals."

Longmire is likely to face a number of selection headaches, with late withdrawals Sam Reid (calf) and Heath Grundy (illness) likely to demand places in the side if fit.

There are also a number of players pushing for selection, none more experienced than Lewis Roberts-Thomson, who played in the reserves on Saturday.

"He's a chance (to return), he's obviously a good player and he can play in the ruck, forward or down back," Longmire said.

"We've got a number of others (who could return)."

Midfielder Ryan O'Keefe left the field late in the fourth term clutching his left shoulder after a jarring bump from former teammate Amon Buchanan, but Longmire was hopeful he'd be fit to take on the Saints.

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