Sydney Swans co-captain Jarrad McVeigh said the Swans will be looking to replicate last weekend’s good start in Saturday night’s match against Essendon.

The Swans kicked nine straight goals in the first quarter against the Western Bulldogs on the weekend, which helped set up a 92-point win over the Dogs.

McVeigh said the team had been focusing on improving their starts, following disappointing efforts against St Kilda, Richmond and Adelaide, where the Swans failed to consistently fire early.

“We’ve focused on our starts over the past few weeks and we wanted to start really well, so to get nine goals is a good effort and the boys were kicking straight which is always handy,” McVeigh said.

“We don’t want to drop our standards any week and we want to play at a high level, and to be a good team you’ve got to play at a high level every week.

“Over the last month we’ve been up and down obviously, and we need to keep that good form (from Sunday’s match) rolling.”

The 27-year-old has kept a close eye on Essendon’s performance in recent times, with older brother Mark part of the Bombers’ camp.

McVeigh said Essendon’s improvement this season, which has seen them lose just two games, has elevated them as one of the toughest sides in the competition.

“We know it’s going to be a really hard game against them because they’ve been in really good form,” he said.

“Their clearance rate has been first class as well as their hardness around the footy.

“I think they had a big focus on their weights through the pre-season, they all have big bodies now and they’re really good around the footy.

“They obviously also have a lot of fast players too, with quick ball movement so that’s something we’ll have to watch out for.”

McVeigh also warned that the Bombers would be keen to make amends for their shock loss to Melbourne, who were previously winless before last Saturday night’s match.

“Obviously they had a slip-up on the weekend that they’d be fairly disappointed about,” he said.

“They’re going to want to hit back hard and play well, and we want to play well also and get two wins in a row going into the break.”

McVeigh said the Swans need to bring their tough, consistent standard of football to Saturday night’s game at Etihad Stadium.

“It’s a critical game for both teams, so we’ll be fired up as well to keep our ball rolling,” he said.

“Consistency is what you want out of games - and in saying that, our hit around the footy was where it all started (on Sunday) and that’s what we want to be known (for).

“We know that if we bring our basics and consistent footy then we believe we can beat anyone.”