The Swans are viewing their three-point loss as close to the ideal dress rehearsal for the September action, while an exuberant Damien Hardwick said the Tigers were better placed for this year's finals series than their ill-fated campaign last year.

Trailing by 33 points midway through the first term, the Swans hit the front in the third term, only to be headed by a desperate Tigers side with everything on the line.

The Swans were missing Franklin, Josh Kennedy, Mike Pyke, Ben McGlynn and Craig Bird against the Tigers but expect all but one to be fit for next week.

Although Longmire did not name names, Bird is considered the least likely of the five to recover in time.

Franklin, who has had knee issues this year, was a late withdrawal due to soreness.

"Certainly we'd expect them all to train this week and be ready to go next week," Longmire said.

"As it sits, there may be one miss out of that group, but which one it is I'm not too sure at the moment.

"We wanted McGlynn and Kennedy to play. That would've been good for them to play.

"But they weren't quite right and when your medical staff talk to you on a Thursday, Kennedy wasn't quite right, so we took the option not to play him.

"We'd be a bit silly if we pushed him a bit hard at that time.

"We worked really hard to get into a top-two position and be able to make those decisions and not risk any players.

"Anyone that had a niggle didn't play."

The defeat did not cost the Swans the minor premiership, their first since 1996 and only their third since 1945.

"Super. To be able to get off to a slow start that we did and be able to sit here now at the end of the home-and-away season and go into a home final next week is what you want," Longmire said.

"But we also know the work is very much in front of us now and we look forward to it."

Longmire said the finals-like intensity of the game would hold them in good stead for the coming weeks.

"We knew coming in it would be red-hot, which is exactly what you want," Longmire said.

"We got that and it's a good thing I hope. But we won't know. You still have to go out there and do it next week and it's on again."

The dream is alive for the Tigers, who will play in their first consecutive finals campaign since their golden run from 1971-75.

They will meet Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval in an elimination final likely to be played on Sunday.

Despite qualifying the hard way, Hardwick said the Tigers were a better team this year than 12 months ago, when they finished fifth in the home and away season with 15 victories.Hardwick said the Tigers' ability to beat Sydney for contested possessions was proof of that."I think our boys have got an unbelievable belief faith in what they're doing," Hardwick said.

"However they go is entirely up to them, the way they play, the spirit they show. The tenacity to fight back when you've been headed in the final quarter three weeks, four weeks in a row is testament to how far they've come.

"Without being disrespectful to last year, we'd have lost those games. This year we don't look like losing those games.

"We've turned the corner and laid the foundations of sustained success. It's been an important year for us going forward."