The season may be over for Sydney defender Ted Richards who was rushed to hospital after suffering broken ribs and a suspected punctured lung late in Saturday's clash with Carlton at Etihad Stadium.

Caught under the ball in a marking contest in the final minute of play, Richards collected a knee in the ribs from Carlton forward Brendan Fevola who came charging over the top of the pack.

The 26-year-old was coughing up blood as he struggled to his knees but somehow managed to walk from the field with the assistance of Sydney club doctor Nathan Gibbs.

"They'll get him off to hospital and do what they have to do as quick as they possibly can," coach Paul Roos told his post-match media conference.

"I don't really know what the ramifications of that are, but obviously it's a serious injury and hopefully they get him there as quickly as they can and do what they have to do."

Roos described the Swans' effort generally as one of the poorest in his time at the club.

Nine points in front at half-time and defending a 12-match winning streak against Carlton, the Swans were swamped in a 15-goal-to-three second half to submit by 61 points.

"I'd say it would probably have to be one of the most disappointing games in the last seven years, no question," said Roos.

"Generally we really fight hard and we can swing the momentum back and probably did in the third quarter but just weren't able to do it in the last quarter."

"We obviously dropped off significantly and they were able to run."

"Those younger guys now have three, four pre-seasons - we played them here last year and we got over the line and probably our fitness was better."

"But now that group they've assembled is very fit so their fitness levels are matching their talent levels which enables them to run out games a lot better."

One bright light for the Swans was the performance of third-year ruckman-forward Jesse White, promoted to fill the void left by Barry Hall.

Starved of opportunities late in the contest, the 21-year-old finished with four goals and was Sydney's most creative and threatening offensive option.

"Jesse's got enough talent to play AFL footy, we saw that today," said Roos.

"He's still learning the game and he's got a lot of work to do to be a consistent AFL player, but it was certainly a step forward today."