A narrow five-point defeat to Carlton at Ikon Park sees the Sydney Swans AFLW side hold a 2-3 record at the halfway point of the regular home and away season.

As the side prepares to face Port Adelaide in South Australia, assistant coach Tanya Hetherington has provided insight into team preparations. Catch up on all the latest news in Tanya's Take, presented by Bird in Hand.

A close loss against Carlton on Friday. What pleased you about the girls performance?

I think we saw some real improvement on how we wanted to move the ball against Carlton. It didn’t always equate to shots on goal but the girls ability to implement our game plan was clear to see.

What will the team focus on in training this week?

We are just looking at tidying up a few areas with our connection between the lines, whether that be backs and midfielders or midfielders and forwards, just trying to put it all together to make the most of the time we have with ball in hand.

Ella Heads has earned a rising star nomination. What is it about her skills that stand out to you?

Ella is a promising young defender and I think what is great about Ella is she is someone who wants the ball in her hand.

She reads the game well and can intercept mark which was on show against the Blues and we can’t wait to see what she can do as the season progresses.

We face Port Adelaide this weekend. What have you made of their season so far?

Port Adelaide have shown some solid improvement this season. They’ve showcased their ball movement and the young talent that they have on display and they have quite a good supporter base over there.

What is the message to players in Round 6?

Take the learnings out of our close loss on the weekend combined with what we did well and look to build on that heading into Round 6. We can’t wait!