The 357-game club icon posted a season-high figure of 18 disposals and seven marks in the thrilling four-point win over Hawthorn at the MCG on Saturday night, suggesting he can rediscover the form which originally saw him decide to play into his 17th season.

Goodes also racked up 89 per cent of game time, his highest figure of the season, suggesting he is winning back the trust of Longmire. "Goodesy's form on the weekend was really strong. We're so happy with the way he went," Longmire said on Monday. "He performed at a really good strong level in a big game and his last couple weeks have been good. [Now] it's a terrific opportunity for him to play this week in the Indigenous game this Friday."

Longmire said Goodes — who failed to get above 12 touches in his first four games this year, either side of a stint in the NEAFL — had been able to rise to the challenges set to him by the coaching staff.

"Yes, there was [an issue or two] but he was able to make these necessary adjustments and work to the level he needed to work to make sure he got back into really good form," Longmire said. "He's a very proud man and he's very competitive and we saw that on the weekend. I'm confident we'll continue to see it this week."

While the Swans have just a six-day turnaround before facing struggling Carlton at the SCG on Friday night, Longmire said the team had a clean bill of health and no concerns about backing up. "It's just part of football now. We're really confident in the program we've got in place," he said. "We're really confident in our conditioning staff and our players to get them prepared as good as they possibly can for this weekend."

The win over Hawthorn has advanced the Swans to 6-2 but Longmire said the most satisfying aspect was how the team continued to fight despite the calibre of the opponent.

"We were really pleased with our intensity and our effort across four quarters last weekend as it was two teams having a red-hot go at each other," he said. "We were fortunate to have our noses in front at the end because Hawthorn were fantastic as well. It was a high quality, high pressure game. Those are the consistency levels that we need to reach and we'll try and do the same again this week."

Despite several questions about under-fire Carlton coach Mick Malthouse, Longmire refused to be drawn into the debate that has engulfed the game's longest-serving coach, with many expecting Malthouse may struggle to see out the season.

"He's fairly experienced, Mick, but we're playing Carlton this week and that's all I'm focused on. They're just another opponent and we need to be fully focused on that," he said. "We understand the jobs we're in but it's not something you spend much time thinking about.

"It's hard enough worrying about your own club and making sure your own players are playing the type of football you want without worrying too much about what's happening elsewhere."

Longmire also paid tribute to Dustin Fletcher, a player he battled frequently with during the 1990s when North Melbourne and Essendon were regularly duelling near the top of the table. Fletcher, who turned 40 this month, is about to play his 400th game this week, the third-highest games tally of all-time.

"It's really interesting actually. My kids have seen some footage of me playing on Dustin Fletcher – and it wasn't actually black and white footage. They can't believe I played on Dustin Fletcher," he joked. "It seems like an eternity ago I was playing football and he's still running around as a 40-year-old. It's quite extraordinary. I played on him in 1993 and to see him running around is one of the great stories in football. He's still playing really good football. I can't believe it. It's amazing."