Sydney's AFL premiership hopes in 2007 are over and it's hard to see the 2005 premiers and 2006 runners-up doing little more than making up the numbers in next month's finals series.
On the weekend that Port Adelaide, after ending Geelong's run of 15 consecutive wins, and Hawthorn declared themselves as legitimate contenders for the flag, the Swans' decline this season becomes more evident by the week.
The Swans' loss to Collingwood at the MCG on Saturday night - combined with wins for the Kangaroos and Hawthorn - means Paul Roos' team cannot finish any higher than seventh come the end of the home and away season next week.
That means no home finals and ensures that just to reach a third grand final in a row, the Swans will have to win three successive knockout finals on the road.
It is quite simply mission impossible as the Swans begin to pay the price this year for their fantastic achievements of the past two years.
The Swans' success in the past two years was largely built on fielding the same side week in, week out with the club enjoying a dream run with injuries - a lot of it to do with luck but also partly because of the club's outstanding rehab and recovery program post-games.
But this year all the luck the team has enjoyed in the past two years has deserted it and the Swans are going to limp into the finals with a bruised and battered side as the finals campaigns of the past four years begin to take their toll.
Of their back six from 2005 - which remember kept West Coast to just seven goals in that memorable drought-breaking premiership win - just three players played against Collingwood on Saturday night in Craig Bolton, who continues to go from strength to strength, Ben Mathews and Jared Crouch, who is a shadow of the player he was two years ago.
Full-back and hero of that 2005 grand final win Leo Barry has missed the past four matches with a hamstring strain while centre-half-back Lewis Roberts-Thomson has been out the entire season.
But it is the loss of the sixth member of that defence in brilliant Irishman Tadhg Kennelly which has badly hurt the Swans in 2007.
Kennelly has missed eight games this season due to knee problems and of those eight games, the Swans have won just one with the team clearly missing his running power off half-back.
In contrast over the previous two years the hard-running Irishman missed just three games - the first three games of 2006 - and during that period the Swans only won one game before recovering once he returned to the side and going within a point of winning back-to-back flags.
Then there is the forward line, with Barry Hall having played under duress since as early as round two when he copped a knock on the knee against Richmond.
In recent weeks Hall has appeared to be on one leg and it is a tribute to his courage that he has still managed to kick 43 goals for the season.
But that is a far cry from tallies of 78, 80 and 74 in the previous three seasons.
Not only is Hall struggling but he has lacked support in attack this season.
Last year Hall, Michael O'Loughlin, Ryan O'Keefe and Adam Goodes kicked 182 goals