The last time the perennial finalists won just one of their opening four games was back in 2006, a year in which Sydney finished just one point shy of West Coast on grand final day.

The Swans that season would come flying home with 13 wins from their last 18 home and away games, win a qualifying final in Perth, and go as close as humanly possible to taking the flag without actually doing so.

Yet it was precisely the key ingredient to that combination of eight seasons ago that appears to have deserted Sydney now. Namely, the capacity to force and win a scrap against any opponent, no matter how talented.

The Swans over the past couple of seasons have added some real run and flair to that time-honoured Bloods ethos, the balance of those qualities pivotal to their 2012 premiership win. But perhaps it’s time to start asking whether they’ve come at the expense of the grit that helped sustain Sydney for so many seasons before that.

Contested possession and clearances have long been a cornerstone of the Swans’ style. Even last year, when in  the struggle for momentum all season as injuries continued to get in the way, Sydney finished the season ranked fifth on the differentials for contested ball and fourth for clearances.

At the moment, those rankings are 15^th and 17^th respectively. Only once this season, against Collingwood, did the Swans manage to win either category, and in a 20-point loss, it didn’t help much. They have been expert at scoring from the stoppages they force, last year ranking second on the differentials, a rating now down to 16^th.

Defensively, John Longmire’s team is really struggling. Once a master of rebound football but also neutralising opposition attacking forays, the backline, by its lofty standards, is leaking like a sieve

Last season the Swans conceded scores from only 43 per cent of opposition inside 50 entries, the lowest percentage in the AFL. That figure is currently running at 52 per cent, sixth-highest in the competition. Little wonder they’re conceding an average nine points a game more, that ranking having dropped from second to 11^th.

The attack, still minus Kurt Tippett and with Lance Franklin comparatively subdued, is suffering as well, producing three goals per game less than last year and scoring goals from just 22 per cent of attacks. Only two rivals have a more inefficient percentage.

The missing “grunt” factor is significant in the forward set-up. Last season, Sydney ranked No.1 for tackles inside 50, now it’s just 13^th. Some of the Swans’ forwards might be a little embarrassed by the fact Gary Rohan leads the way in that department with four, despite having played just 53 per cent game time, the lowest of any of them.

But it’s the midfield where most of the scrutiny is coming, perhaps not surprising given the relatively subdued performances this year of both co-skipper Kieren Jack and Dan Hannebery.

Jack’s output has dropped from an average 25.2 disposals per game last year to just 17.3, and Hannebery has gone from 25.3 to 18.5. The disposal efficiency of both has also suffered, falling from about 70 per cent to the low 60s.

“Yeah, look, I need to stand up,” Jack conceded on Monday. “I haven't been performing as well as I would've liked. I'm in the same boat as the rest of the team. We're 1-3 and individually a lot of players need to lift.

“I've probably individually got myself to a level where teams are starting to look at me, which is different to the past when I've been the tagger. So that's something I need to learn to work through.”

But neither have Sydney veterans Jarrad McVeigh and Ryan O’Keefe returned the sort of numbers they’d like, McVeigh off half-back, where he won All-Australian selection last year, and O’Keefe, who has been playing more as a defensive forward.

Sydney was also once arguably the most dependable wet-weather team in the AFL, another area in which it has slipped, all its three defeats this season in games where rain and difficult conditions were a factor.

They’re the sort of conditions in which a hard-at-it, committed and physical presence most frequently comes to the fore. But right now, what was once a strong suit for the Swans appears to be a weakness.

The events of 2006 suggest that the situation is not irretrievable for Sydney. But unless Longmire’s side quickly rediscovers a fair chunk of its predecessor’s appetite for the hard game, it soon will be.