It wasn’t pretty, but ruckman Mike Pyke said the Sydney Swans were pleased to score a 35-point win over a rampant Western Bulldogs side at Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

While the Bulldogs continued their impressive recent run of form, and finished the match on top in both the contested possession and tackle count, Pyke said the Swans were able to keep their noses in front and keep the momentum rolling at the critical stages of the match.

“I think we ended up losing in contested possessions, but that said, I think the game was about momentum and we took our chances and got rolls on at different times in the quarters and did enough to get a six-goal win,” Pyke told SwansTV.

“I think coming in we knew that the Bulldogs had improved a lot since the start of the year, so it was really important for us to get a win.

“They played really well so full credit to them, but obviously it’s important to get the four points.”

Pyke and Shane Mumford combined to take on Bulldogs ruckman Will Minson, who has enjoyed a purple patch of form this season.

The Swans’ duo narrowly won the hit-outs against Minson and second ruck Tom Campbell (50-46), which Pyke said was a small victory in itself against the Bulldogs’ talls.

“Obviously Will is going to get his hit-outs and he’s averaging 40 for the year and is in All-Australian form,” Pyke said.

“I think he played well but I think we did our part towards our victory.”

The Swans’ six-goal win over the Bulldogs also saw some unlikely faces up forward, with running defender Rhyce Shaw playing a role in the Swans’ forward half in his first match back in four months.

Speaking after the match, fellow regular defender Heath Grundy said it was encouraging to see Shaw back out on the field after 16 weeks out with an abdominal injury.

“Shawy has been fantastic. Even in rehab his leadership has been fantastic, so to see him back out playing is great,” Grundy told SwansTV.

“He had a little bit of a blowout, which was great, and opened up the lungs up a bit and he played quite well up forward.

“He might be up there for the rest of the year, we don’t know.”

Grundy, who was recruited to the Swans as a key forward back in 2005, showed he still had skills in front of goal, putting through a set shot from 50 metres out at a crucial time in the third term.

“It’s probably my first and my last for the season but I just pushed in and I was playing a bit higher this week,” he said about his kick for goal.

“I got the mark and was a bit worried about the distance, so I was looking inboard and Shawy was inboard so I thought I’d hit him up, but then I thought I would just have a crack at it because it doesn’t happen too often.

“Lucky it wasn’t touched and it went through.”

The Swans face a quick turnaround ahead of Saturday night’s clash with Collingwood at ANZ Stadium.

Pyke thanked the Melbourne fans for their support this weekend and urged the Swans’ Sydney fans to make the trip to ANZ Stadium for this weekend’s clash.

“We just need to recover really well and then look forward to Collingwood,” Pyke said.

“They are a really good club and we respect them greatly and it’s going to be a great game out at ANZ and hopefully we get a lot of numbers.

“It’s always good to have more red and white than black and white in the crowd.”