Sydney Swans reserves coach Henry Playfair was pleased with how his team rounded out their home and away season with a 24-point win over Ainslie last weekend, but said there are still areas to improve in before they embark on their finals series.

In a dress rehearsal to this weekend’s second semi-final, the reserves overcame a spirited Ainslie outfit in Ainslie. The home team made the most of their opportunities, scoring 14 goals from just 37 forward-50 entries and getting to within four goals of the Swans despite having 14 less scoring shots.

“It was a good hit-out, and Ainslie certainly came out to play and put us under real pressure,” Playfair told SwansTV.

“Defensively we didn’t stick to the standard we’ve set during the year. A few times they’ve taken (the ball) all the way down the ground, through the middle of the ground, which often we’ve been good at closing off those sort of areas, but on the weekend they sliced us up a little bit.

“It’s something that we’ve got to work on and touch up before this weekend.”

Ainslie forward Marcus Crooks slipped under the Swans radar with five goals, with Playfair looking for his defence to tighten-up on him this weekend to avoid a repeat performance.

“He’s certainly one we’ll watch (this weekend),” Playfair said.

“He got under our guard a little bit, kicking five goals. I think a couple of them were ones over the back, and one were we didn’t man the mark, so just some simple defensive things we didn’t do well.”

The Swans reserves finished the regular season as the NEAFL’s inaugural Eastern Conference minor premiers, finishing clear by an impressive three games and 98 percentage points.

At this stage of the week, Playfair said he is still unsure of the make-up of the team he will take into the Saturday’s final, but expected a committed performance from whoever pulls on the jumper.

“The side can change a lot in the space of a week, depending on what happens in the senior team and also with our injuries,” he said.

“We just wait and see the players we’ve got for the weekend and try and get them up to play their best footy for that weekend. The squad we’ve got will be looking to put their best foot forward, both individually and as a team.”

The Swans reserves will take on Ainslie in the Eastern Conference second semi-final this Saturday from 2pm at Manuka Oval. The winner will go directly through to September 17’s Eastern Conference final, while the loser will have to qualify through a preliminary final against either GWS Giants or Eastlake.