Missing key defender Tadhg Kennelly and full-forward Daniel Bradshaw, the Swans were right in the contest all the way through the match, continually coming back after the Hawks grabbed potentially decisive breaks.
It showed a resilience that Roos enthused about post-match.
“It could have gone either way,” he said. “With the team we had today, you’ve got to be pleased with the effort.
“For us to be able to compete for most of the game with a real quality side has got to be a positive, and certainly something we haven’t been able to do for the last two or three weeks.
"With the amount of guys we’ve got out at the moment, I was really pleased with the way we handled it."
The Swans now have five wins and five losses and face a resurgent Essendon, an inconsistent Port Adelaide and Collingwood over the next three weeks.
An optimistic Roos drew attention to the rise of several junior stars, including Daniel Hannebery, whose 25 disposals and three goals provided the Swans' midfield with some much needed spark.
Roos said he had known Hannebery since he was an under-14 player who would play against his nephew.
“I always knew he had a fair bit of talent. His awareness for his age, his ability to read the play and know where the footy goes, it’s really hard to teach some of the skills that he has,” Roos said.
“As a young player he does have an amazing capacity to know where the footy is going, because he’s not super quick, but he’s very good aerobically and can read the ball really well.”
Tagger Nick Smith kept Hawthorn vice-captain Luke Hodge to 14 possessions, while ruckman Shane Mumford was a dominant force with 42 hit-outs - more than double Hawthorn’s total.
“I think the really positive thing for us is the improvement of our younger guys in the team against Hawthorn - it wasn’t that long ago they were premiers. They’ve got most of their players back and they are playing pretty good footy,” Roos said.
Played in blustery but not intolerable conditions, the match was a scrappy affair, a point Roos attributed to both side’s defensive pressure.
“I guess it was the pressure more than anything,” he said.
“The tackle pressure was probably the main reason why both teams had trouble getting it out into space. Certainly the stoppages weren’t that crowded. Both forward lines going in, there was a fair bit of room.
“I just thought the tackling from both sides was pretty good.”
