IT IS not often in AFL circles a team can gain confidence from a defeat.

But the Sydney Swans feel they took "enormous positives" from their last-start seven-point loss to Hawthorn at the SCG.

The result was a setback in the club's bid for a top-two finish leading into this week's trip to Geelong, but Swans coach John Longmire couldn't be happier with his side's form a week out from the finals.

"The pressure football that we play stood up pretty well against Hawthorn," Longmire told reporters in Sydney on Thursday.

"Obviously people outside the footy club look at wins and losses and [if the game ended with] a minute 30 [remaining], it would've been a completely different story.

"We looked at that game and took some enormous positives out of it.

"The pressure that we applied for most of the game was pretty red hot.

"Most people probably understand that who watched the game.

"Our challenge is to do it again this week.

"Obviously we want to win, but we want to play some fierce footy against an absolute quality opposition."

To guarantee themselves a home game in the opening week of the finals, the Swans need to do something only they have done in the past five years - beat the Cats in Geelong.

The Harbour City club snapped Geelong's 29-game home winning streak with a stirring 13-point triumph in round 23 last year.

Longmire is well aware of the challenge ahead in their final game of the home-and-away season.

"It's a very simple equation this week - we win and we're at home next week and if we don't, we're not," he said.

"We go to Geelong this week to play a team that in the second half of the year has been in red hot form and has won flags in recent years and has some star power coming back.

"But we also firmly believe that our form has actually stood up OK.

"Last week against a team that has been red hot favourites for most of the year in regards to the premiership, I think it was just an amazing game of pressure football.

"The lead changed six times in the last quarter and I thought our blokes stood up OK.

"This week it'll be a red hot game between two teams desperate to win.

"I've actually been pretty pleased with the way we've been playing because it's the type of pressure football that we want to play."

Jude Bolton is also inching closer to making his return following three weeks out with a knee injury.

The Swans have lost two of their past three games without their inspirational veteran, who will play game No.298 if he gets through Thursday's closed training session.

"Jude pulled up well from training the other day and bounced in as he normally does and put his magnet up on the board and said he's a chance to play," Longmire said.

"If he gets through training today, we'll play him."

James Dampney covers AFL news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_JD