Despite narrowly falling short to GWS on Saturday, Hawthorn Coach Sam Mitchell says he was pleased his side was able to produce a "much improved" performance off the back of a tough fortnight.
But while the coach said the intent and endeavour of his young side was better this week, he was still left feeling "disappointed" following the 13-point loss.
"I had a chat to the players after the game, and mentioned it was disappointing again today, but for a different reason," Mitchell said post-game.
"The last two weeks we were very disappointed in everything we produced.
"Today we just weren't quite good enough, but we fly home proud of our effort, instead of a bit embarrassed by it."
Despite getting within seven points with under six minutes to go for the match, Mitchell said his side ultimately couldn't hold off GWS' momentum for long enough.
"They had a couple of key moments, and it was a game that came down to that," he added.
"We gave ourselves a lot of chances and unfortunately just weren't polished enough to finish them off.
"There were so many inside 50 entries were we just couldn't quite get a mark or pull one down, get a crumb, or a clean shot.
"But full credit to the Giants, their pressure was outstanding. We handled the pressure much better than we have in the last couple of weeks, so that's something to work with."
Mitchell gave a special mention to Finn Maginness who restricted former Giants captain and All Australian Josh Kelly to six disposals, and furthermore to his young midfield brigade who were able to win the clearance stoppage.
"Finn is so diligent, he's been in some really good form for a long time at Box Hill, getting his job done week after week," Mitchell said.
"He had to wait quite a long time to get his opportunity back in the seniors and the rest of the team have to take some credit, because it's a collective effort on a player as good as Kelly - I have enormous respect for him.
"There were a few small wins in the game - I thought our midfield was much more competitive throughout the game.
"We were able to win the midfield battle from stoppage, but transition wise we weren't able to get it all done."
Hear more from Mitchell post-game.
