SYDNEY was not the first, and will not be the last side to end up on the wrong end of a massive margin against North Melbourne, but Sydney coach Scott Gowans admitted his side just had to get better. From on-field communication to dealing with pressure under immense heat, the gap between the benchmark side and a young team hoping to reach that level was evident for all to see.

“Still a bit raw at the moment I suppose,” Gowans said after the final siren. “Well we came up against a good side is the number one thing that comes to mind. Then you always want to pit yourself against the best and they are clearly the best team and there’s a lot that we didn’t get right today, but it wasn’t through lack of trying. “So it just shows you we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

While the Swans only trailed by two points at quarter time, Gowans said the danger signs were there, they had just not been hurt on the scoreboard. However with North Melbourne kicking eight unanswered goals and 11 of the next 12 majors, the signs became reality before too long.

“The first quarter there was a lot of things still flagging in the first quarter, we were way behind on uncontested ball and our groundball differential was too high so it was almost like you were waiting for the dam wall to burst,” Gowans said.

“We did do some things in the first quarter that we liked, but it’s sustaining it for longer and it’s been a bit of a trend this year for us that we have good moments in games, we just can’t put the four quarters together.”

The Swans coach said the team continued to have promising moments, but could not remain at the same level for four quarters and against a team like the reigning premiers, that was always going to be an issue.

“The difference when you play North Melbourne and you have a bad patch for 10 minutes is they kick five goals and then the game’s gone,” Gowans said. “Then of course the mindset changes, and being an inexperienced sides, its one of the lessons to learn is how do you get that mindset back in your favour and we’ll take a lot out of it from a learning perspective, but does it make it any easier at the minute?”

Sydney conceded the most disposals and inside 50s in an AFLW match during the loss to the Roos, while Gowans said the players noticed the amount of voice out on the ground from the North Melbourne players and how “in-sync” with each other they were.

“They (the players) spoke about North’s voice on the ground and how they’re just so connected and how they just seem to be so in-sync with each other which is a good reflection because that’s what we’ve got to get to, so we take that out of it.

“The other part is just their skill level, their skill level under heat and we laid 70 tackles and our pressure was okay, they’re just able to execute under that pressure and that’s a sign of a good side and credit to them. We’ve got a lot of work to do over the next 18 months.”

The Swans started the season like a house on fire to win the first four games, before shock losses to Collingwood and GWS Giants raised the alarms which were backed up by a spirited defeat to Adelaide, and now a genuine shellacking at the hands of the Roos.

“Well it’s just part of the journey that we’re on,” Gowans said. “We want to be successful team, we want to be successful and not go up the ladder and have to rebuild, sustained success is what we’re after. The lesson that you take from today is the journey’s not in a straight line, it’s going to have its bumps and its potholes and we’ve hit a big pothole today and it’s how we respond.

“I’m looking forward to a really good response, as we did from the Giants game against Adelaide and we need to do that against Carlton. The journey is a tough one, but it’s one that we’re really looking forward to and it starts this week against Carlton.”

Gowans said his side had not changed its focus “at all” of preparing for a grand final, and having that same mindset going into every match. The need to snap a four-game losing streak begins with the a home contest against the Blues.

“It’s a great opportunity to get home, Pride Round at Henson Park,” he said. “We’ll clearly put on a better show than that. “Come up against a side that we’re probably equal with as far as the journey that we’re on, and it’s really important that we put on a good show and not to put on a good show, but actually compete for longer in moments where we are challenged, that’s probably the lesson out of it.”