JAMES Harmes says the team is remaining positive about its 2018 campaign, after falling nine points short to the Sydney Swans at the MCG on Sunday.

Harmes said it was important not to dwell on the loss and bounce back against West Coast Easgles at Optus Stadium next Sunday.

“If we play our brand, we know we can match it with anyone. Coming into the game, we were pretty positive and when we bring that game, we’re really hard to play against,” he told Melbourne Media.

“If we take a positive out of it, we had more scoring shots, but we just couldn’t convert.

“We’ll take a lot of positives out of the game and we’ll review it and move onto next week. We’re really looking forward to the challenge to get over to [play] West Coast and hopefully have a win.”

Harmes said the team would take great confidence from its win over West Coast on the road last year – although this time it will be played at the new Perth venue, Optus Stadium.

“I think we travel really well … and it should be a great game, so we’re all looking forward to the challenge,” he said.

“We’ll move on from this week and have a real dip.”

Harmes, who had 26 disposals, said he felt he was in career-best form.

“Probably. I’m playing a bit more midfield time and having a run-with role, so I’m loving footy at the moment,” he said.

“It’s good when you’re getting a kick, so hopefully I can keep that up and play out the season.”

Meanwhile, Harmes said it was sad to see Swan Alex Johnson suffer yet another knee injury, after having previously undergone five knee reconstructions.

“We wish him all the best in his recovery and hopefully it’s not an ACL,” he said.