THE SYDNEY Swans couldn't hide the disappointment of their semi-final loss to Hawthorn as they returned home on Saturday.

But, while they know an opportunity was lost at the MCG on Friday night, there is a clear belief within the team that they are building towards something special.

There were plenty of sore bodies - and the odd sore head - when the Swans landed back in Sydney, less than 24 hours after the 36-point loss to the Hawks that ended their 2011 campaign.

Rather than dwell too much on the loss, however, the Swans preferred to focus on the fact they proved to themselves this year they are a team on the rise.

"I think you have to go through a few finals series and take a couple of bad losses in finals to learn from it and get better," veteran Ryan O'Keefe said.

"Over the years you've seen teams that have lost in the finals, the group learns from it and gets stronger and eventually they reach the pinnacle.

"We all reflected on the 'what ifs' last night, but we just have to learn from it now and start training soon and get back for next season and look to build some momentum.

"I think the group we've got, there's still a lot of confidence in the club that we're moving in the right direction and it's going to be a positive future."

With the retirement of popular Irishman Tadhg Kennelly, there are now just five remaining members of the Swans' 2005 premiership team - O'Keefe, Adam Goodes, Jude Bolton, Lewis Roberts-Thomson and Paul Bevan.

Some players like getting away from football once their seasons end, but not O'Keefe, who will be heading to Melbourne to watch this year's Grand Final.

The 30-year-old likes to use Grand Final week as motivation.

"I'll go down to the Grand Final," he said.

"It's obviously a big event, it's a big week down there and it's pretty exciting.

"Seeing the build up of such a big game and the passion of the fans, it gives you that hunger to go 'I really want to be there and I really want to taste that success again'.

"I think it's good to go and watch finals live. When you're playing you obviously don't get the opportunity to watch games live too often, so you should make the most of those opportunities."

And O'Keefe is confident the Swans have the right mix to push for higher honours in the near future.

"Alex Johnson, Sam Reid, Luke Parker, Gary (Rohan) in the back end of the year, Dan Hannebery another season, just to get some more games and experience in them was good," he reflected.

"Then you've got that middle tier: Shane Mumford, Josh Kennedy, Benny McGlynn, who are just around that 50-game mark.

"To be a genuine premiership contender you need a core group of players that have played at least two, three seasons.

"I think it's pretty positive for the future."

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of the AFL or the clubs