The Sydney Swans came away with a thrilling 9-point victory over Essendon at the MCG in Round 20.

The back and forth affair had it’s own unique circumstances ahead of kick off with both Sydney and Essendon forced to relocate from Queensland to Victoria for the clash.

With Queensland going into lockdown on Saturday (the original date scheduled for Round 20), both sides relocated and played the rescheduled fixture on Sunday afternoon.

Dawson said that while the adversity was challenging for the side, he was pleased with how the side was able to handle and adapt to the challenge.

He noted how the side experienced last minute changes in the 2020 season and the entire side had taken those learnings with them.

“The most pleasing thing for us, was getting through, it was obviously a big couple of days, and to get through with the win was the most important thing,” Dawson said on Big Sports Breakfast this morning.

“We had a big couple of days, being up on the Gold Coast the day before and expecting to play in Brisbane and packing up within the hour and getting out of there.

“Individually and as a team, once you get through those situations throughout the season, and the experiences of last year, it feels we can bounce back pretty well and adapt as we go as a team and as individuals.”

Despite Sydney claiming victories in their past five games, Dawson noted the areas of improvement to make, pinpointing the focus on the side’s pressure to help rectify their slow starts.

“The last four games, we have come out of the blocks pretty slow but have been able to claw our way back and show how good we can be in patches,” Dawson said,

“For us, our improvement is playing a full game.

“We are a bit off in patches and that coincides with Horse’s messaging of our pressure.

“We know when we are on, we are the number one pressure team in the competition, and if we get back to that and focus on that, everything else will take care of itself.”

The Swans face St Kilda this weekend in their 6^th annual Pride Game.

The clash, the third last game of the regular season, is what Dawson is focussed on, ensuring he and the side are not looking too far ahead.

“The competition is so tight at the moment, and if you find yourself looking too far ahead you end up getting yourself into trouble and that’s when you probably lose anyway, so we are just focusing on this week,” Dawson said.

“St Kilda, they still have their finals hopes and dreams alive, so we know they will come out firing especially after a tough game last week, so we are just going to focus on the Saints this week and move on from there.

“They are a great team, and we know it will be a tough contest the entire game so we have to bring our pressure and the heat for the whole game.”