THE SYDNEY Swans will use their 10-point loss to Hawthorn, which ended their 12-game winning streak, as a pre-finals reality check, according to coach John Longmire.
The Swans remain on top of the ladder – by 0.8 per cent – but they have plenty to work on after giving up a 23-point lead early in the third quarter.
"We understand we need to get better in a few areas," Longmire said. "We've got faith, obviously, that those blokes who didn't play well tonight will bounce back.
“I’m disappointed tonight, but they're a good team. You need to play well against good teams for 130 minutes.
"You lapse for 10 minutes here and there and they get you, and that probably happened tonight.
"It's about consistency over the four quarters, and you can't relax for a second, regardless of your opponent.
"I don't think we did a lot of things really well, at the top of our game, tonight. And it gives us something to work on."
Longmire was particularly disappointed with the fact the Swans conceded 11 goals from the 13-minute mark of the third quarter.
"You can't drop off at all," he said. "You've got to keep going.
"I thought we lost a bit of control around the stoppages at that point … particularly at the centre bounces.
"I thought their midfield group got on top of us tonight in general.
"They're a good team and they make you pay when you don't get your structures right or get the little things right.
"And it's something that we pride ourselves on, getting the little things right all the time."
Longmire was happy enough with Lance Franklin's 18-disposal performance against his former club.
However, Franklin, who finished with 3.5, could have turned the result around if he had kicked straighter.
"I thought he was up and about," Longmire said. "He had plenty of shots at goal. He missed a few early, but he was OK.”
Longmire was also pleased that another of the club's big forwards, Kurt Tippett, emerged unscathed in his first game back after being sidelined by a knee problem.
"We went in thinking if we got 80 to 90 minutes out of him we'd be rapt, and he played a bit more than that and he looked as though he was OK,” Longmire said.
"So that was a good thing to come out of it. Hopefully he pulls up well tomorrow."
Defenders Gary Rohan and Dane Rampe were also in the coach's good books.
Rampe's performance, in which he held Jack Gunston to one goal, was particularly encouraging.
"We probably only had a handful of good players, but he was one that certainly played against a player that's in form," Longmire said.
The Swans now have just a six-day break before facing Essendon at the SCG in a crucial Friday night clash.
The Bombers will be fresh after having this weekend off, but Longmire's team is likely to be boosted by the inclusion of running defender Rhyce Shaw, who has missed the past four games with an ankle injury.
Gun midfielder Dan Hannebery, who has been sidelined by an ankle problem of his own, is "only a small chance" to play.
