The Lions have their second bye this weekend and completed their last training session on Wednesday morning before four days off.
After a nightmare season that has them in 15th place with a 3-14 record, Rawlings said the coaching staff could see advances in the group they would try to build on over the final few rounds.
After the bye the Lions play Adelaide (home), Gold Coast (home), Collingwood (away), West Coast (home) and Sydney Swans (away).
"We've got a fair bit we reviewed over the last six-week block and there's been a lot of advances in our game," Rawlings said.
"It hasn't translated to a heap of wins, but we feel as though we've got the players still enthusiastic.
"I think you get a lot of momentum with how you enter the pre-season.
"These last five games we play some teams around us on the ladder and some teams in the top four, so I think it's a really good patch of games for us to assess what we have improved in, how it measures up against the teams around us and also the ones in the top four.
"Then maybe we have some momentum to go into the summer to launch into next year which you hope would be a better year."
They may return with a match against the Crows, but Rawlings admits the second staging of the QClash against Gold Coast in round 21 has already caught the Lions' attention.
"I think forever and a day when these two teams play each other there'll be a lot of spirit and it will be a great contest," he said.
"You've seen with all the other Derbys and Showdowns, no matter where they are on the ladder they're generally involved in a good contest, so I'm sure that will be the same for Brisbane and Gold Coast "
The Lions will be without their skipper Jonathan Brown for the rest of the season after his second round of surgery for the season for facial fractures.
Rawlings has been in touch with Brown and said one positive out of the injury was that he'd have a full pre-season to prepare for 2012.
"I don't think the after-effects of the surgery were as bad as the first time," he said.
"I think the concussion effects were a bit worse than everyone may have thought from the initial incident. He's been recommended to rest a fair bit, which will be hard for him because he's such an active guy, but hopefully in the next few days we'll see him around the club a bit more."
Michael Whiting covers Brisbane Lions news for afl.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @mike_whiting
