AFTER the Swans trudged from the ground pondering missed shots in the dying moments - and perhaps one that did not miss - and still experiencing that hollow feeling that comes from a draw, there was a slight note of contentment among them.

Failing to win hurt. Not least for Ed Barlow, Ryan O'Keefe, Jarred Moore and Brett Kirk who peppered the goals in the closing stages, but cobbled together only the four points that gave the Swans a dead heat rather than what would have been, given how badly their attack had struggled, a remarkable victory.

But, on a day when Barry Hall's absence through suspension/injury had hurt so badly that the Swans kicked just two goals between the sixth minute of the second quarter and 18th minute of the last, there was consolation to be taken in how they had girded their loins on a lacklustre day and, at least, not lost.

The call to arms came at three quarter-time when Craig Bolton, in his first year as a co-captain, implored his teammates not to cave in as they had at Geelong last week when a respectable performance was ruined by the Cats' last-quarter avalanche.

"We knew it was going to come down to that last quarter and we were trying to get everyone focused, and we did," Bolton said. "It's something Brett [Kirk] is obviously very good at but sometimes it's good to have a different voice."

Bolton's exaltation did not bring instant results. When David Hale exploited a mismatch in height in attack to score an early goal and Corey Jones seized on a quick clearance to add another, North Melbourne led by 17 points six minutes into the last quarter. It then seemed unlikely a Swans team with such a constipated attack could rally.

The revival was inspired by a sudden lift in midfield intensity with the likes of Amon Buchanan and Ed Barlow joining the serially crazed Kirk in pushing the Swans forward. Where for most of the day such attacks had only hit the roadblock created by Roos' defenders Michael Firrito and Drew Petrie, finally O'Loughlin broke loose and conjured two goals to set the stage for that tense, accident-prone and inevitably controversial finish.

The talking point will be Kirk's shot with 66 seconds left on the clock that appeared to clear the line before Firrito touched it. But if they could, or even did, convert any of those late chances, the two premiership points were accepted by the Swans as just reward for a sterling effort on a far from perfect day rather than a worthless consolation prize.

"We had a real crack," said Bolton. "Obviously there were some areas that cost us the game in the end but we had a real crack; the intensity and commitment to compete was there."

One thing that wasn't there was Hall and his absence, in the first three quarters particularly, proved crucial. With Michael O'Loughlin struggling, O'Keefe working up the ground to find the ball, Nick Davis in the horrors - he kicked one goal but missed two easy shots - and debutant Jesse White used only in bursts, it was a day when Hall's sheer physical presence might have made a difference.

That was made particularly obvious by the cameo of North Melbourne spearhead Nathan Thompson. Although he kicked just two goals in the second quarter as the Roos reversed an early 20-point deficit, the way Thompson commanded the ball cast the less physical Swans attack in an unflattering light.

However, if they have to live without Hall for two more months, Adam Goodes had easily his best game of the season, kicking two goals and gathering 21 disposals. It was an influential, if not yet dominant display, one Roos said could be a "watershed" for his gifted midfielder.

"You could see early he was up and going and he made tremendous effort to run," Roos said. "He kicked a couple of goals, too, so that was a lot more like we know 'Goodesy' can play."

Even better was the form of the unheralded defender Paul Bevan who blanketed the dangerous North forward Shannon Grant. Just another positive to be taken from a game the Swans could/should have won, but were quietly pleased not to lose.