SYDNEY Swans veteran Jude Bolton lamented his team's sluggish start after the Swans were knocked out of the premiership race by Hawthorn on Friday night.

The Swans burst into action in the third quarter to slash a 46-point deficit back to just 18 points at three-quarter time, but couldn't close the gap any further as the Hawks regained their composure.

"I'm not certain what happened, but it was just a terrible start," Bolton said after the 36-point defeat.

"We lacked intensity, couldn't really put any pressure on them and they were really striking in hard at the contested footy.

"Our only really good patch was in the third term when we won the contested footy and we were able to make them a little bit jumpy. But to give a team like that a 40-odd point start makes it hard to reel in.

"We're just kicking ourselves over missed tackles and missed opportunities along the way. We played into their hands.

"It's a disappointing end to the year."

Bolton is hopeful the disappointment of the semi-final loss will ultimately prove a positive as the club strives to take the next step to become a legitimate premiership contender.

"I'm extremely flat at the moment, but this is what's got to boil inside your guts," he said.

"Hopefully the young guys have had some experience of big games now and can look back at this and really draw from it during those hard yards we need to put in over the pre-season."

Bolton is bullish about the chances of the team next year, but is also saddened by the thought of going into battle without teammate Tadhg Kennelly, who played his last game for the club.

"It's sad to give Tadhg a send off like that," he said.

"You'd love for him to go out the way he should. He's been a champion and an ornament to the game. I've loved playing alongside him. He's proven to be one of the most damaging half-backs in the modern era."