Roos says the coaching change mid-season at Tigerland is starting to bear fruit.
Rawlings took over on an interim basis from Terry Wallace after Richmond's round 11 loss to the Bulldogs. Since then, the side has enjoyed a revival of sorts with three wins and a draw.
Winning the tackle count in the last two games helped the Tigers secure consecutive victories - the first time they'd gone back-to-back this season.
Roos believes the 12th-placed Tigers are on the right track.
“They seem to be, if you look at the statistics, a little bit more defensive minded," Roos said from the SCG on Friday. "[They have] more contested possessions and their tackling's gone up a bit.
“Their defensive mind-set has increased. I'm sure Jade would say it's only a small window of time but when you're watching them play, they've got some really disciplined players now with a few run-with roles and one-on-one contests and they're trying to win some contested footy.
“They were a reasonable contested team under Terry and that's continued to improve under Jade.”
Roos brushed off suggestions the Swans would struggle on the wider open spaces of the MCG against a mobile midfield that features in-form 250-gamer Ben Cousins, Brett Deledio and Richard Tambling.
And he said the game's significance for the Swans - Michael O'Loughlin's milestone 300th game for the Bloods - is enough motivation to perform at a similar intensity to last week's one-point loss to St Kilda.
“It's a massive day for him and to win it is the best way to remember the day,” said Roos.
“They'll be super-keen to do well for Mick and hopefully we don't go over the top and everyone just keeps playing their roles and maybe lifts another five per cent and that's the best way we can help Mick.”
A win would maintain the Swans' mathematical chance of finishing in the eight.
Roos, however, continues to stress the importance of the bigger picture.
“The balance (of younger and older players) is really good at the moment and we showed we can be super-competitive against the best team in the competition so we've just got to maintain that consistency," Roos said.
“If we're good enough to play finals then that's fantastic, but our main focus is to maintain that balance of youth and experience together over the month.”
