NORTH Melbourne midfielder Andrew Swallow says a number of positives came out of his side’s 15-point loss to the Sydney Swans at the SCG on Sunday.

He said North's overall display and caretaker coach Darren Crocker's attacking ethos offered hope for the remainder of the season as the club looked to build confidence.

Defender Josh Gibson’s effort to nullify Swan star Adam Goodes’ influence and set up several of North’s attacking forays was one of the highlights.

“Gibbo [Josh Gibson] did a great job on Adam Goodes. He got away a couple of times but in a lot of the one-on-one contests I thought he was great,” Swallow said after the game.

Gibson and Adam Simpson both picked up 26 possessions in best on ground performances for North.

Swallow also praised backmen Scott Thompson, Scott McMahon and three-goal forward Corey Jones, who appeared to have cracked open the game in the second quarter for North.

“I thought Corey gave us a good target down forward. He's got his chance now and he's starting to show some good form,” he said.

“Crocks [coach Darren Crocker] has given us a licence to run and take the game on," he added. "You probably feel you can take some risks. He encourages you to back yourself and use your skills."

Swallow, who booted two majors, picked up 18 possessions and was one of North's best, pinpointed the Swans' running half-backs as key to a vital win for the home side.

“The first half we were right in it,” the 23-year-old said.

“We probably got overrun with their half backs like [Rhyce] Shaw and [Martin] Mattner who got them going.”

The tough North midfielder added that he hoped the Kangaroos could take a leaf out of the Swans' book in that aspect of their game as they look to finish 2009 on a high. 

“There are a few areas we can work on... just getting that run off the half-back line, spreading the space and getting out to the open side.

“Hitting up our forwards today was a lot better than what it has been and we've got to continue to work on our stoppages.

“We did a lot of good things but there are a lot of things we can work on. We don't want to have honourable losses... we want to get some reward for the effort we're putting in.”