Longmire said he saw nothing in Sydney’s preparation that suggested a result like this was brewing.

“We’ll look back and reflect on it and go through it and work out why,but leading up to the game,there was nothing that stood out,” he said.

“We obviously had a tough game last week,but we felt like we recovered OK.

“No aspect of the game looked like the way we wanted to play,and we hardly got anything right,from the selection of Sam to the way the game looked.

“We just didn’t have our heads in the game from the very start,when they were getting defensive stoppage goals like they got in the first quarter,that we’d planned for and done well before – it’s one of our great strengths,and they were able to do it. We weren’t able to think clearly or perform at that level that we should have.”

Asked how he was feeling himself,Longmire was stark:“I just personally feel like you let a lot of people down and let your players down,you let your supporters down,you let your staff down,let your board down. That’s how you feel.”

There was,unsurprisingly,a sombre mood in Sydney’s rooms after the match,as players embraced friends,family and each other as they tried to wrap their heads around what had just unfolded.

It was a shockingly bad end to a season with so much promise,as the Swans rose from being beaten elimination finalists last year to a team that finished third on the ladder,knocked off reigning premiers Melbourne in the first week of the finals,and even comprehensively beat Geelong – the AFL’s clear benchmark – in round two.

“We’ll look at the reasons why,” Longmire said.

“But I’m confident in the playing group. If we go through[the squad],most of our players would have all improved this year. We just buggered it up today.

“We’ve got a lot of younger players that are coming through that have shown great intent and great willingness to improve. When the dust settles out of today,you reflect on the gains we’ve made as a team.

“In the shadows of today,it takes a bit of time before the light comes up. But it’ll come up.”

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