The Sydney Swans have gone down to the Brisbane Lions in a 24-point loss at the SCG on Sunday night.

In a roller coaster affair which saw the Swans cut a 33-point lead in the third quarter before the Lions rallied to re-establish their dominance on the way to securing a 17.11.113 to 13.11.89 victory, Longmire said that his side would take plenty of learnings from the consistent Lions outfit.

The Lions have been a consistent, top four team over the past few years and Longmire said it was something his side will continue to strive for.

“They are a top four team over the last three years, as they deserve to be,” Longmire said after the game

“We are still striving to get to that stage, we are still aiming for that and we are not there yet. If you look at the game tonight, they are a very well balanced team.

“We are still striving to be a consistent team but we will look at what they did tonight and learn from it.” He added.

“We were able to match them at times but they were able to do it for longer and that what the good teams do.”

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Sydney and Brisbane had just one-goal a piece after the opening quarter but the game broke the game open with two goals to start the second.

The Lions got on top around the stoppages, dominated clearances that led to great field position and then smothered the Swans when they won possession.

“Early on in the game, it was probably our connection. In the first quarter, we didnt make the the most from our opportunities. To their credit, they really lifted around the ball and got the ball in their front half,” Longmire said.

“We had five goals from defensive stoppages kicked against us, which has been a strength of ours, and we probably lost a bit of structure.

“They were hard, strong and tough around the ball and were able to win in those real clinch moments.”

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The Swans rallied in the third quarter, led by a Lance Franklin avalanche that saw the forward explode with four of his six goals early in the third term.

The forward single handily dragged the Swans back into the clash, cutting a big half-time deficit to just three points.

However Brisbane’s Lachie Neale lifted the away side in a big second half performance.

“We won out of the centre, got the ball forward and won our contests,” Longmire said of the team’s performance to start the third.

“It wasn’t a free flowing game, it wasn’t end to end footy, and a lot of the scoring from both teams came from stoppage.

“It was a real contest. The pressure from both teams meant it was a pretty fierce game so we have to make sure we can stop their scores in those instances and get some connection to move forward and kick goals ourselves.”

Sydney will now face the Gold Coast Suns at the SCG on Saturday afternoon in Round Eight.