Without Barry Hall, Sydney needed someone to take a big mark against North Melbourne in a tense final quarter and it was youngster Craig Bird who filled the void.
While Sydney's 15.10(100) to 13.7(85) victory keeps its slim AFL finals hopes alive and improves its win-loss record to 6-8, Swans coach Paul Roos is also keeping an eye on developing the side for its next premiership tilt.
Roos praised his less-experienced players including 20-year-old Bird, who kicked two crucial goals in the last quarter.
Midfield tagger Kieren Jack had a huge match to keep North's dynamic skipper Brent Harvey to an ineffective 17-possession game, although Harvey was carrying a toe injury.
Sydney's 2006 All-Australian Ryan O'Keefe and co-captain Brett Kirk had 37 possessions each and Kirk's 16 touches in the last quarter showed yet again he's a man for the tough situations.
But with North's Josh Gibson playing a solid defensive game on dual Brownlow medallist Adam Goodes, the Swans uncovered an unlikely hero in Bird, who kicked a goal from 50m out in the final quarter and another after taking a courageous mark.
''You've got to be careful, we've got an eye on the finals. But we've got to be making sure we're getting better as a club towards the next premiership,'' Roos said yesterday after 21,929 fans were given a glimpse of Sydney's future.
Michael O'Loughlin, who kicked two goals in his 295th game, is retiring at the end of the season and Hall, 32, faces an uncertain future and is due to return from a two-match ban in round 16.
''The positive about today was you had Ryan Brabazon, Nick Smith, Ed Barlow [two goals], Kieren Jack,'' Roos said.
''It's good to see some of those young guys, Ed Barlow kicked two [goals], Birdy kicked a couple when we really needed them. Heath Grundy played his best game for the club. Patty [Veszpremi with one goal and 14 touches].
''It's good to have six or seven young guys playing well within the team.
''It certainly keeps us alive.''
Amid speculation this week that Hall would be sacked following his third AFL tribunal suspension in the past two seasons, Roos said the players had carried on as normal.
''Everyone knows, including Barry, what he has done but he's very popular and he's very affable and he's easy to like,'' Roos said.
''He comes in, he does the training. So really for the players it wasn't that big an issue.''
Jarrad McVeigh and defender Rhyce Shaw also had outstanding matches for Sydney although McVeigh may be in doubt for next week with a hamstring injury.
Sydney led by one point at quarter-time but three second-quarter goals from Corey Jones lifted the Kangaroos to a five-point advantage at half-time.
Roos and his North Melbourne counterpart Darren Crocker agreed Sydney's two late goals in the first half, after trailing by 17 points, were vital in keeping it in the contest.
Leading by seven points at three-quarter-time after crowd-pleasing goals from Shaw and Veszpremi, the Swans added another four in the final term to North's three with Bird the hero and Goodes kicking a crucial six-pointer. AAP