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SORE bodies will heal in time but the heartache of losing their second Grand Final in three years will burn the Sydney Swans for much longer, hobbled star Dan Hannebery says.

Speaking at Melbourne Airport on Sunday as the dejected Swans flew home, Hannebery played down concerns over the extent of his own knee injury suffered in the frantic final quarter.

Instead, the 25-year-old lamented the Swans' gut-wrenching defeat after they twice closed to within a point of the Western Bulldogs in the final quarter of an epic season-decider.

"Everyone was quite emotional this morning and you're still pretty gutted," Hannebery said.

"You're devastated after the game and then you wake up and you're probably even more frustrated and flat."

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Hannebery, a premiership player in 2012, was stricken on the bench in the closing stages as the Dogs kicked away.

That the Swans were within striking distance late, unlike 2014 when they were blown away by Hawthorn before half-time, only added to the pain of defeat.

"You don't want to lose any, but certainly losing the last two it hurts, probably this one more so because we were closer," Hannebery said.

"(Losing) '14 was a bit of a shellshock and an embarrassment I suppose, but this one hurts a bit more because you are close to it.

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"It was frustrating that we got beaten in a few areas that we pride ourselves on – contested ball, and they really hunted us around the scramble.

"They had pressure and their clean hands in the ends were too good, especially in that last 10 minutes of the game.

"I thought there was a few guys who were really gallant and kept us in the game and certainly a couple of guys who could've had better days.

"That's Grand Finals for you, you need 22 contributors, and I think we've had a really strong group of players who have played a really good brand all year.

"The last two finals before yesterday were outstanding, I just think we weren't good enough on the day."

Hannebery was "a little bit sore" but "not too concerned" by his medial ligament problem, suffered in a collision with Dogs skipper Easton Wood in the opening minute of the fourth quarter.

To add insult to injury, Hannebery was denied a free kick for below the knees contact as Wood crashed into his legs.

"That's up to the umpires to officiate on the day and I've got no real comment on it," he said, diplomatically.

The tough onballer, who will be scanned in the coming days, briefly came back onto the ground but was severely restricted in his agility and couldn't move sideways.

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Despite Lance Franklin sustaining an ankle injury in the first term and Luke Parker also appearing sore, Hannebery refused point-blank to blame injuries for the loss.

Instead, he challenged the Swans to improve after falling short again on the big stage.

"It will burn for a while and it's probably what will drive hopefully the group to get better," Hannebery said.

"We need to get better and there's no doubt all those guys in there want to get another shot and try and lift that cup up like the Bulldogs did yesterday."