Former Carlton star Eddie Betts kicked four goals for the Crows in their loss to Port Adelaide last round, while ex-Geelong Cat James Podsiadly is also showing signs of settling in at his new club.

Jeremy Laidler, who has been recalled for the Swans' clash at Adelaide Oval on Saturday along with versatile veteran Lewis Roberts-Thomson, will join a defence that has been below its high standards, especially in the latter stages of the opening two rounds, and knows better than most the problems the new Crows pair are capable of causing.

"I had a fair bit of time with Eddie at Carlton and a bit of a time with Podsy down at Geelong too," said Laidler, who was a Cat in 2009 and 2010 before playing at the Blues from 2011 to 2013 and was brought into the Swans' fold this season to bolster its defensive stocks.

"I know they’re both very dangerous players. They do try and isolate Eddie or [midfielder Patrick] Dangerfield, which will be a big, defensive job for us. We have to help each other out and make sure we're on our toes because they do try to take the game on, they're a very attacking side."

Laidler said a key to dealing with Podsiadly, who averaged 42 goals per season with the Cats, was to shut him down early.

"Podsy's an amazing story – he got picked up when he was a mature age player and worked his ass off to stay in the system," he said. "He’s a very dangerous forward, very strong and, if he gets up and going early, it's a very dangerous situation."

Of Betts, the small forward who was twice Carlton's leading goalkicker, Laidler said: "Eddie can take a massive grab as well as be very dangerous on the ground. As a back defensive group we've got to work together to shut down those two blokes down, as well as the others they'll have around."

Swans leader Rhyce Shaw and assistant coach John Blakey each pointed to Nick Smith spending most time on Betts but Blakey also suggested Dane Rampe as a potential companion, as he is fit enough to go with "those small, quick types" and, also, given that Craig Bird is out of the side due to a minor calf injury.

Blakey said Podsiadly and Josh Jenkins were "talls up in their forward line that we need to focus on".

"The Crows do have a fairly new-look forward line to the team we encountered last season, so we’ve had to take the time to look closely at how Betts and Pods fit into their structures," Blakey wrote on the Swans' website. "We know they are probably still experimenting a little bit with that themselves to find the best set-ups they can find. We need to make sure we defend well on those players, who have been talented players for a long time."