CTV > Dane Swan press conference

COLLINGWOOD midfielder Dane Swan says his teammates have emerged from the ‘Battle of Brisbane’ largely unscathed and with lessons learned ahead of Sunday's Rivalry Round clash with Richmond at the MCG.

The Magpies fell devastatingly short at the Gabba on Friday night in one of the most intense home and away matches of recent years, with the fallout for both clubs expected to be significant on the injury front.

However, Collingwood's only casualty was young defender Tyson Goldsack, who sustained a broken nose in the fierce contest and will miss this week.

"Goldy’s nose might be a bit sore but apart from that, everyone’s in the clear," Swan told the media following Thursday afternoon's training session at the Lexus Centre.

"I can’t remember ever playing in mud in the AFL, so it was a bit a different to our round one game in hardness and one-on-ones. We’ve had a bit of a light week and we have been lucky to have had a longer break.

"These days in the AFL, the way we train, our pre-season and the way the recovery is, we’re pretty sweet and I think everyone’s fine."

With a 16-point lead at the final change, the Magpies looked good but fell short as the Lions stormed home to snatch a two-point victory.

Swan recognises some costly defensive decisions were made when the game was on the line.

"Obviously we were very disappointed in what happened over the last 10 to 15 minutes of the game," he said. "They obviously stuck to their process, kicked a couple of goals and we just couldn’t get it back.

"We probably went into our shell a little bit and weren’t as attacking as we were during the third quarter. It’s just what happens I suppose, they probably deserved to pinch it in the end.

"It was also about our skills. There were a couple of bad decisions there toward the end of the game and at the end which cost us. They got a couple of really cheap goals from our decision making."

The 24-year-old says it’s critical Collingwood moves on quickly from the loss and eliminates the errors which have crept into their game.

"During the week and in our match review we’ve just tried to nut out those little skill errors and, hopefully, if we can minimise our skill errors this week and improve our decision making, it should be alright," Swan said.

"We’ve got to move on. There’s no point crying over spilt milk so to speak, so we’ve just copped it on the chin and we’re looking forward to turning to Richmond."

Though his match-day role usually evolves from the bench, Swan is pleased with how his game has progressed in 2008.

"I’ve gone alright I suppose," he said. "I’ve still got a lot to work on and I’m probably trying to get fitter and better every week.

"If I can keep doing what the coach asks of me, that’s all I can do. I’ve got a lot of improvement to do, but so far, so good."