Sydney Swans youngster Jed Lamb said the reserves’ poor record against Ainslie was used as motivation ahead of last weekend’s NEAFL Qualifying Final.

Lamb said the Swans’ disappointing recent form against the Tricolours, who defeated the Swans in last year’s Eastern Conference final, was the driving force behind the team’s 79-point win at Blacktown last Saturday.

“We spoke about (or record) against Ainslie leading up to it because they always make sure they get up against us, so we knew they were going to come out firing, which they did,” Lamb told sydneyswans.com.au.

“(Ainslie) have a few key players earlier in the year and last year that really got on top of us, but we managed to shut them down on the weekend which went a long way to us getting a win.

“I think Crouchy (reserves coach Jared Crouch) was really pleased with the way we stood up and it was a really good win.”

The reserves will face Queanbeyan, who finished atop the NEAFL Eastern Conference table, tomorrow afternoon from 2pm in the nation’s capital.

The Swans have an impressive recent record against the Canberra side, including winning their last contest by 41 points in round 11 this season.

Lamb said he was expecting another physically challenging match this weekend at Manuka Oval.

“All the Canberra sides want to beat us because we’re an AFL-listed side, so we expect nothing less than for Queanbeyan to come out firing as Ainslie did against us,” he said.

“We just have to bring our game and our intensity.”

Lamb, who is in his second season at the Swans, has also made improvement on the field over the past month.

After being held back earlier in the season with a shin complaint, Lamb has shown plenty of promise both in the midfield and up forward.

“I had a pretty slow start to the year and it was nowhere near as quick as I would have liked,”he said.

“I had a bit of a niggle in my shin, which meant I missed about six weeks.

“My last four or five weeks have been pretty good and I’m just trying to build each week and try and find a bit more of the footy.

“I’ve been playing a bit more through the midfield as well, whereas previously I was playing up forward.”

The 19-year-old said his focus this season has been to improve his fitness and have more impact on field.

“Last year I was trying to work on my tank a bit, so gut running is something I’m really trying to work on,” he said.

“When I wasn’t in great form the coaches kept telling me to play to my strengths, and over the last few weeks they’ve been harping on the idea of playing with pace, so that’s what I’ve been trying to do.

“I’m making sure that when I’m coming off the bench I go on and try and be as explosive as I can be.”

With one finals’ win already under the Swans reserves’ belt, Lamb said he was confident the team has what it takes to succeed in this year’s competition.

“We’ve got a healthy list and the boys have been playing well all year,” he said.

“I’m sure if we stick to our structures we’ll go a long way this season.”