The retirements of Michael O'Loughlin, Leo Barry and Jared Crouch, and the departures of Barry Hall, Darren Jolly and Amon Buchanan have some doubting the Swans' finals credentials in 2010, but Kirk has been buoyed by youthful makeover the playing list has undergone.
"We want to get off to a good start to really show our supporters and our members that we're coming to have a real crack this year," Kirk said on Wednesday.
"You're only as good as your last game and I think we finished off the year pretty poorly.
"Last year was probably the end of quite a few of our close mates' careers and there's no doubt going into this year I was thinking … [about] how I was going to handle it not seeing Mick, Leo and Crouchy and these sort of guys around the room.
"But football clubs change quickly and you've got to adapt quickly otherwise you fall off the edge.
Kirk said the injection of youth into the team was having a revitalizing effect on the remaining veterans.
"They're the people you're around a lot of the time so you pretty much feel their age", he said. "I don't feel like I'm [33] … it only creates enthusiasm and excitement."
The Swans' pre-season campaign will kick up a notch on Friday when Paul Roos oversees a full contact intra-club match.
Kirk's longtime midfield partner Jude Bolton joined him in a press conference after training to talk up the intra-Club rivalry, before they join forces against Carlton next week.
"We've played a few scratch matches [which have] been pretty much non-contact, but come Friday it's going to be 'game on' - spots are up for grabs this year," Bolton said.
Kirk added: "We've got some new, young and exciting guys and some guys from other clubs who we're really looking forward to seeing play.
"It's going to be really competitive for spots. That pressure with blokes pushing from underneath can only be good."
But while he feels the football club's future is in good hands, Kirk hasn't given a lot of thought to his own playing future beyond this season.
"I think anyone who plays it could be their last year you just don't know," he said.
"I haven't really thought about going into a year and saying ' yeah well this might be my last year' - I just don't think that way.
"I play every game like it could be my last game, so possibly Friday could be my last game, who knows?"
Pics from today's training session:
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