Sydney Swans midfielder Ryan O’Keefe said there were plenty of positives to take out of Friday night’s 12-point loss to Hawthorn at ANZ Stadium.

The Swans led at every change and looked to be the dominant side on field before falling short of the Hawks in the final term, who outscored the home side six goals to three.

While the round 23 loss was disappointing for the Swans, O’Keefe said he felt his team had found some of the right form just in time for this year’s finals series.

“Last week was really disappointing and a couple of weeks before that weren’t too good as well, so to get back to the way we want to play was a pleasing sign,” O’Keefe told SwansTV after the match.

“Taking the result out of it, there were some positive signs but in saying that there is still a lot of work that we need to do, so we’re going to need to step up again next week.”

One of the positives was the performance of the Swans’ younger players, who stood in to replace the likes of Dan Hannebery, Nick Smith, Rhyce Shaw and Kurt Tippett, who all missed the match with injury.

The Swans played seven players under aged 23 and under, including first gamer Shane Biggs, Harry Cunningham and Brandon Jack who all came into the side for this week’s match.

O’Keefe said he believed the Swans up and coming players showed that they could stand up against the competition’s top sides.

“We’ve always been about the fact that it’s not whose playing, it’s how we do it as a team and we’ve got to do it as a collective,” O’Keefe said.

“Everyone who has come in has really stood up so it’s a really positive sign and the depth of our list has been really tested this year and to our guys’ credit, we’ve stood up.”

O’Keefe highlighted efforts of debutant Biggs, who collected 18 disposals, six marks and three rebound 50s in his first AFL match.

“I think the effort was there and a few of the guys who came in did a really good job,” he said.

“Shane Biggs in his first game was fantastic, I thought and he was pretty cool, calm and collected and did his job.”

While the younger players played their role in Friday night’s match, the Swans senior stars also played vital roles in team’s effort.

Josh Kennedy and Jarrad McVeigh were influential with 33 and 23 disposals respectively, while O’Keefe looked to have found some touch in time for September, finishing the match with 27 disposals and 11 tackles.

After a number of weeks playing shut down roles, O’Keefe said he enjoyed the chance to get back amongst the action this week.

“The last couple of weeks for me have been a different role and I’ve sort of been a bit quiet,” he said.

“The different role I think freshened me up a little bit so whatever the coaches want me to do, I’m happy to do it.

“I’m looking forward to finals, I can’t wait.”

The Swans will almost certainly take on the Hawks again next week in the first week of AFL finals.

O’Keefe said Friday night’s match was the perfect preparation for what lies ahead.

“I think both teams had a crack,” he said.

“It was a pretty intense game out there so I don’t think either one of us took it as a dead rubber or anything like that.

“We’ll have to front up next week and do it all over again.”