Ageing list? Tick.

Questions around depth? Tick.

Still he isn't surprised about how they have defied them so far.

The Swans sit fifth on the AFL ladder.

They have five wins and four losses heading into the round 10 game against the Western Bulldogs at Manuka Oval today.

If they beat the third-placed Bulldogs they could move into the top four.

It would have them nicely placed as the halfway mark of the season approaches for a team that was supposed on the downward slide.

But Roos knows that Sydney can't afford to sit back and be content with what it has achieved.

''I think all teams are precariously placed apart probably from Geelong ... most teams you could easily go one way or the other,'' he said.

''We have an old group. Going into the year we still felt confident in the group but injuries and age, those sort of unknown things, we could understand where people were coming from in terms of seeing us as a footy team. We have had a reasonable start to the season after nine weeks but there is a long way to go.''

For more, pick up a copy of today's Canberra Times