Ryan O’Keefe says he is prepared for a war of attrition when the Swans put their season on the line in tomorrow night’s elimination final against St Kilda at Etihad Stadium.

Since the Swans and Saints last met in a final - the 2005 preliminary final - just one of the following nine encounters has been decided by more than three goals. O’Keefe says he expects a similar margin come the conclusion of tomorrow night’s game.

“It’s going to be a grind right until the end,” O’Keefe said.

“Both teams play hard, physical, finals-type footy and that’s the way it’s going to be - I expect an exciting but tough battle.”

The Swans overcame an inaccurate start to record a 15-point victory the last time the two teams met in round 22. But O’Keefe, the club’s leading possession-getter for the season, anticipates the Saints will come out looking to respond this time around.

“They had a few out the last time they played us, so I expect them to be better with the inclusions of (Zac) Dawson and (Justin) Koschitzke,” he said.

“They’re a really good, proud side and they don’t take their losses lying down. I think they are going to come back for some revenge and it’s going to be a fierce battle.”

O’Keefe will line-up in his 17th final tomorrow night, and combined with Adam Goodes, Jude Bolton and Tadhg Kennelly, the quartet go into the game with a total of 68 finals. O’Keefe said it’s important to have that experience at the top-end, considering six of his fellow Swans - Sam Reid, Gary Rohan, Alex Johnson, Luke Parker, Craig Bird and Matt Spangher - will all be playing their first final.

“We’ve got a good mix with some guys who have played a lot of finals and some guys who haven’t played any at all,” he said.

“We’ve had a pretty casual chat to (those finals debutants), just saying that you don’t have to do anything extraordinary.

“Hopefully those guys who are playing their first final embrace it and be really enthusiastic about the whole campaign.

“These young guys are really level-headed kids and they’re just going to take it as another game and just play their role.”

The Swans go into the finals on the back of three consecutive wins based around the Swans trademark tackling and pressure. O’Keefe believes the team must bring that same intensity to Etihad Stadium if they are to progress past the Saints and into the semi finals.

“It’s been fortunate for us that in the last month we’ve played in a few pretty intense, physical games which had finals like pressure,” O’Keefe said.

“That’s the way we play and we’re not going to change just because we’re going into September. Our game plan and style is going to be the same as we’ve played all year.”