VETERAN midfielder Ryan O'Keefe knows the Sydney Swans need to continue working on their skill execution, particularly offensively, but he is excited about the potential of his club.
Coming off their one-point loss to Essendon at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night, turnovers and attacking movement going forward were a key part of coach John Longmire's review.
Some crucial turnovers, as well as a 2.9 return on their goalkicking in the final term, were significant factors in a defeat that added pressure to the Swans' top-eight standing.
O'Keefe said young and old players needed to fine-tune their skills, and explained that execution when moving forward wasn't just about the player with the ball.
"You keep working at it," O’Keefe said during a media conference on Wednesday.
"Everyone's out there trying to improve.
"It's not just about the kicker too. Everyone thinks skills are just about the kicker, but it's about the receiver as well and everyone getting on the same page.
"The receiver has to get to the right spot on the right shoulder or make the right lead - it's a combination.
"Obviously there is some skill execution that is important as well, but you can hit a beautiful pass and if the guy isn't leading to the right spot, it'll get chopped off.
"It's just something we have to keep working hard on."
O'Keefe was part of one of the more feared forward lines in the AFL when the Swans won the 2005 flag.
A line-up featuring Barry Hall, Michael O'Loughlin, Nick Davis and O'Keefe had played a lot of football together and knew exactly where each other was at any given time.
With the current Swans, however, there are 10 players who have featured regularly in 2011 who have played fewer than 50 AFL games.
That includes marking targets Sam Reid (19 games) and Trent Dennis-Lane (11), smaller players such as Lewis Jetta (37) and Luke Parker (8) who also go forward at times, midfielder Dan Hannebery (46 games) and defenders Alex Johnson (14 games) and Nick Smith (46 games).
"It's just going to take time," O'Keefe said.
"We've got a lot of guys that have played under 50 games.
"You see teams like Geelong, Collingwood, even West Coast now that have been doing this for years.
"Back in 2005 with myself, Davo, Mick and Hally, we played a lot of footy together. Everyone knew where to lead, it was just instinct.
"It's something I think will come, we just have to keep working at it. That's just the nature of the game, that chemistry.
"I'm not saying we don't think we're contenders now, but we will get better as the years go on."
The seventh-placed Swans have another chance to work on that chemistry when they face Richmond at the MCG on Sunday.
The Tigers have had a disappointing season, but O'Keefe remains wary.
"They've got some really good players," he said.
"They've got a really quality midfield with Dustin Martin, (Nathan) Foley, (Trent) Cotchin and these guys and they've got speed as well.
"They're very dangerous so we're not taking this lightly at all, this is must-win for us and we'll treat it as a final and as big a game as we played against Essendon.
"We're expecting the intensity to be right up there."
