SYDNEY SWANS coach Paul Roos has lauded his team’s ability to respond to adversity after their 38-point point win over Hawthorn at ANZ Stadium.

After going goalless for a half of football against St Kilda last weekend, the Swans rolled the reigning premier with a level of skill that Roos said was “as good as we could have hoped.”

“This team’s been really good responding over the years. We saw the quality of St Kilda the other night against Adelaide – they’re a really good team,” he said.

“You’re hoping with this group that they’re going to respond; they generally have and they’ve done it again tonight.”

While established stars Adam Goodes, Barry Hall and Jarrad McVeigh were influential, it was the club’s youngsters that caught the coach’s eye.

Kieren Jack stopped Chance Bateman’s run, Heath Grundy was excellent in defence and Brett Meredith looked thoroughly at home in his first premiership match.

But it was back-up ruckman Jesse White who stole the show, teaming with Darren Jolly to dominate the stoppages and kicking an inspiring goal, his first in league footy, after the half-time siren.

Roos said White exemplified the Swans’ ability to convert their chances – a crucial factor as they struggled to reel the Hawks in after a slow start.

“It’s only a goal but you could sense when he kicked it, everyone went to him. It was a really good response and a good kick from a young kid,” he said of White’s major.

“Some of our goalkicking was important tonight. [Nick] Malceski kicked some nice long goals that sort of kept us in touch.

“They probably missed a few when they were coming back and had a bit of momentum, so that’s obviously a big factor as well.”

The Swans held a 21-point lead at three-quarter time but Roos said he was never felt comfortable, given the Hawks’ penchant for scoring heavily and quickly.

That was no more evident than in the first quarter, when Mark Williams inspired the visitors to a four-goal lead inside the opening 20 minutes.

But he was delighted with the resilience of his side and remained hopeful that the club’s ageing warriors could reproduce such performances throughout the year.

“I’ve never been worried about the age; it’s more the quality of the age. Adelaide have got their three best players over 30, Richmond have got some good players over 30,” Roos said.

“They’ve played a lot of footy over the last six years with finals but they all turned up tonight and played really, really well. They’ve got another 20 weeks to go, so hopefully they’ve got that in them.”