Sydney Swans midfielder Dan Hannebery says matching the Giants’ signature elite running played a key role in Saturday’s 20-point win. 

The wheels of Dylan Shiel, Lachie Whitfield, Stephen Coniglio and a host of other Giants had been pivotal to the side’s hot run of form.

GWS took to Spotless Stadium off the back of nine wins from its past 10 games, with Shiel and company crunching big numbers as the Giants surged up the ladder.

But Hannebery said the Swans were up for the challenge in Sydney Derby XV.

“I was on the wing with Harry Cunningham and Ollie Florent,” Hannebery told SwansTV post-match.

“They’ve got some really hard runners in the midfield. There’s Adam Tomlinson, Tim Tarranto, Whitfield, Shiel – guys that can jump out on the wing. So it’s a really high-end, hard two-way running game against those guys.

“But I thought me, Harry, Ollie and the other guys that went to the wing were pretty serviceable and played our roles, which is what we get asked to do.”

Cunningham and Florent are two of the most promising young Swans and in Hannebery they have a top-class exponent of gut running.

The 206-game stalwart is a 2012 Premiership hero, three-time All-Australian and consistently polls well in the Brownlow Medal race – and his tireless running has long been the cornerstone of his game.

Cunningham chalked up 100 games in Sydney’s recent win over Collingwood, while Florent took out the Round 11 AFL Rising Star nomination after producing a glowing performance against Carlton.

Hannebery is Florent’s official mentor and the 20-year-old has this season become an AFL regular, playing all 21 games to help the Swans lock in a finals berth.

Sydney’s legs held firm late in the cross-town clash as the Swans overcame a two-goal final-change deficit in a barnstorming finish.

Momentum began to swing the Swans’ way in the third quarter, with Sydney continually ploughing inside 50 and creating a barrage of opportunities in front of goal.

Although the Swans kicked one goal and six behinds in the third term, Hannebery said regrouping at the long break got the side back on track.

“A lot of the blokes in the change rooms, particularly the senior players, were pretty up and about at half-time and there was plenty of energy,” Hannebery said.

“We knew we weren’t playing that well, but we were only a couple of goals behind. Once we got a few minor things right, like using the ball a bit better, we were able to capitalise.

“It was a really strong performance, especially as things weren’t going our way up until half-time. So it was pleasing to be able to turn it around.”