The Swans' elite players have been the driving force for the side this year but only Josh Kennedy turned in a performance worthy of the occasion. Dan Hannebery, who hurt his knee in the last term, could be given special consideration while Dane Rampe was solid enough, though without his usual impact.

But several All Australians will not be happy with their games. Lance Franklin, who had treatment on an injured ankle, had a forgettable day. The stats sheet showed he had 16 possessions and a goal but he was comprehensively beaten by Joel Hamling. All Australian midfielder Luke Parker was well below his best, his game on a par with that of his grand final in 2014.

The Swans are also unsure if they will hold on to Tom Mitchell, one of their better players in the defeat, who is out of contract and linked with Hawthorn.

Sydney's star-studded midfield was shaded by the Dogs but this is an area of the ground where the Swans need the upper hand to shine. They were smacked for contested ball 174-149, one of their worst for the year. The discrepancy was so great that not even 101 tackles could offset the loss.

The adage premierships are decided by how well a team's bottom six fare was proven correct. Sydney's was found wanting.

Jeremy Laidler, the last picked in the 22, and Xavier Richards had no influence. Goal sneak Tom Papley was goalless while George Hewett, despite a key goal in the last term, lost his radar though his reference points Franklin and Kurt Tippett were off.

The Bulldogs' depth players were vital. Hamling played the game of his life on Franklin. Toby McLean, recalled after Lin Jong's broke his collarbone in the first final, kicked an important goal on half-time, so too Zaine Cordy in the first term.

Longmire, while congratulating the Bulldogs on winning their first flag since 1954, said his team did not have enough contributors. "From our perspective, we needed to work a little bit harder, a bit more consistently over the four quarters," Longmire said. "We weren't quite up to the work rate we normally get from our group.

"Probably the Bulldogs' consistency over the 22 compared to ours, we didn't have as many contributors, which you need to have if you're going to be victorious. In the end, you need everyone with their shoulder to the grindstone and we didn't have that even contribution that we definitely needed."

Most of the team stayed behind closed doors in the dressing rooms but those who did emerge could not hide their disappointment.

Callum Mills shed tears as he embraced his family while Dan Hannebery, whose game was ended prematurely in the last term with a knee injury, hugged friends as if he was at a funeral.

It followed a tearful exit off the MCG by the out-of-contract Ben McGlynn, whose future is unclear. He missed the 2012 success with injury and at age 31 may not get another opportunity.

Longmire backed the decision to play injured duo Mills and Jarrad McVeigh. Mills appeared off the pace, having not played a full game since round 22, while McVeigh was limited to just 14 disposals.

Longmire said this loss hurt just as much as 2014, even though the Swans were a lot more competitive. "At the start of the year, if you say you get to a grand final a lot of people might have been a bit surprised by that but once you get here you need to make the most of every opportunity you get," Longmire said.

"They're so hard to get to let alone win. They all hurt, there's none worse than the other."

Longmire said the defeat needed to be taken in perspective, referring to the story of Aliir Aliir, who was born in a refugee camp. Aliir missed the grand final through injury.

"I've just got to make sure as supporters, as a coach, as players we keep things in perspective, we talk about perspective and resilience," Longmire said. "We've got a bloke who didn't play today that was injured that played last week in Aliir that has taught a few of us, including the coach, about resilience. We need to take a note out of that book."