COACH Paul Roos was left to rue the team's careless ways following the repeat dose of grand final heartache at Telstra Stadium on Saturday night.

Speaking after the team had once again been defeated by West Coast by a solitary point, Roos said the Swans had paid the price for giving away too many silly free kicks and easy goals, which allowed the Eagles to open up a 36-point half-time lead.

But rather than criticise his men after their magnificent fightback in the second half - when they outscored West Coast by seven goals to one - he chose to lavish praise on the Eagles, for both their intensity and the excellence of their midfield.

Roos said the Eagles were always going to open the game with fierce intensity, regardless of any controversy galvanising them.

"I don't think anyone in the footy community expected anything less," he said.

"I don't think that was a surprise. They've got a point to prove every time they play, regardless of what's happened. They've done that the last four or five years.

"We continually talked about how hard they'd come out but that's not because of what happened, that's just the team they are, they're a very good team."

He also praised Kerr's performance, rating him and Judd as the two best midfielders in the AFL, with Cousins joining them in the top three when he's on the field.

"He's an elite player," Roos said.

"If you'd take a midfielder from anywhere in the competition, you'd take Judd first and then split it between Ben and Daniel.

"One and two in the competition would be Judd and Kerr."