"I can still remember everywhere that Byron Pickett went," Bolton says. "You knew at every stage because he could line you up and take you out."

Pickett was one of the most feared players of his time with his ability – and willingness – to shatter bones, which resulted in damaged psyches. The modern game takes a much dimmer view of such behaviour.

There is much less margin of error for today's enforcer. Hit a centimetre or two too high and you're looking at weeks – ask Steve Johnson, who loves the rough and tumble. But if you get it right, like Greater Western Sydney's Shane Mumford did against Kurt Tippett and has done on several occasions, the reward is priceless.

Few dare question the courage of the Swans. Their toughness is not for debate. Rival teams expect to be smashed around when they play John Longmire's combative team. They run in straight lines at the ball and the ball-carrier, which many would say is how it should be. And they rarely bump, aware of possible repercussions from the match review panel.

"We know the brand of football that stands up in finals – aggressive without being a dog or doing something unfairly," says Luke Parker, who was this week voted the league's most courageous player by his peers for a second year running.

But is there anyone at the Swans that has rival players if not worried for their safety then at least a little unsure what might happen next? Like they do when Mumford is around or Barry Hall a few years back? Maybe Buddy Franklin.

"You stand 10 foot tall and bulletproof when you have Hally behind you," Bolton recalls.

Nor have they been accused of "unsociable" football like Hawthorn, who might not be liked by all but are universally respected. The Swans' midfield guns Josh Kennedy, Dan Hannebery and Parker have a reputation at other clubs of being hard but unquestionably fair. You won't hear opposition fans label them "dirty" like they might with a Luke Hodge, Jordan Lewis, who play close to the edge and occasionally over, or even Joel Selwood.

Sydney players rarely get rubbed out. Nobody wants to miss games but as former Essendon champion Matthew Lloyd pointed out on Fox Footy's Open Mike program this week sometimes it can change perceptions of a player. In Lloyd's case, he earned the nickname the Velvet Sledgehammer in recognition of his movie star looks and rugged play.

Is it time the Swans pushed the line harder? In two of their last four finals they have been bullied and battered. How would the Hawks of today or Brisbane of the early 2000s have reacted if two of their stars had been left dazed and groggy like Kennedy and Tippett were last week, or Hannebery and Lewis Jetta were in the 2014 grand final?

"You want to see some response, whether it be absolutely ferocious attack at a player or footy in the next period or an opportunity to collect someone in the next little bit," Bolton says. "That combative nature; if someone steps up the physicality, you hope there's push back."

And was there any last week? "Not at all," Bolton says. "None."

There was push and shove to fly the flag for Kennedy while the play in which Tippett came to grief finished with a Giants goal.

"It's not that no one did anything about that, it's our mindset during the game didn't allow us to hurt them when we tackled, to hurt them when there was a big pack mark or a big contest," Parker says. "I don't think we were intense or hard enough at the ball. They were.

"Joey's was a different one, Kurt was unlucky and Mummy likes to set the tone for that team with his aggression. You see when we don't stand up to that and push back they do walk off the ground feeling pretty good about themselves."

Bolton does not believe the Swans have an enforcer-type player though Parker comes close. "His will and attack on the footy can make people take a backward step," Bolton says. Not that Bolton subscribes to the theory that a team needs one.

"But you can't have anyone taking a backwards step, or being put on the backfoot by an opposition side," Bolton says. "And they certainly got bashed up by the little brother."

Parker prefers the fair play method of hardness, like sticking a big tackle, crashing through a pack or running with the flight of the ball. But he admits to getting a lift when Toby Nankervis steamrolled St Kilda's Sam Fisher, which ended the veteran Saint's night in round 21.

"It does want to make you go to the next level," Parker says. "I don't think we need to be nasty or anything like that. We know the mindset we bring and that ends up being intimidating to oppositions."