North Melbourne coach Brad Scott says his players have the "carrot" to take them further next season, and the example of what is needed to get there has been set by a Sydney team that played "scintillating" football on Friday night and is building towards greatness.
Scott said even the Kangaroos best would probably not have been good enough in a preliminary final they set out to win rather than simply be competitive, which made them vulnerable and contributed to the 71-point margin.
Yet he was fulsome in his praise of the Swans, whom he believes present an almighty challenge to either Hawthorn or Port Adelaide in next Saturday's grand final.
"They were terrific in the contest, really efficient, (and) punished us for every mistake we made," Scott said. "That's the hallmark of a really good side, building towards a great side. While we didn't think we were at our best, I'm not sure even that would have been good enough.
"We were vulnerable to their really good footy, but we wanted to attack and play a game style that was going to give us a chance to win. We couldn't execute it, we couldn't finish it off, and we were beaten by clearly a better side on the night.
"It's going to be a cracking grand final, because both of those teams (the Hawks or Power) will be worthy grand finalists. But they're going to take some beating, Sydney. That was clearly the best display from an opposition side that we've come up against this year."
Scott challenged his players to get through the disappointment and improve, and said all at the club believed they are building.
"Sometimes when you finish outside the eight and just fade away, you just roll into the next season. We've got a real carrot now, something to aim at.
"We could almost touch it, we were that close to it. While it's bitterly disappointing tonight, we've got to make sure that feeling drives us. The players have got to have fresh (ideas) in their mind why the Swans were better than us tonight, and they've got to go away and improve it."
Scott was emboldened by a top-four finish to a season in which North did not boast an All-Australian player, and finished in its first preliminary final since 2007 with three first-year players - Kayne Turner, Luke McDonald and Ben Brown - in its best 22.
"Our list will get better, our capability will get better, but the core character within the group has absolutely been the highlight, and that's shone through," he said.
