Just 12 months ago, Swans defender Jordan Lockyer was one of a group of talented youngsters anxiously awaiting his name to be called out on AFL Draft day.

Like many young footballers, the West Australian teenager faced the nervous wait of finding out whether he’d be playing in his home state or moving east to pursue his AFL dream.

“I remember last year I was really, really nervous,” Lockyer told sydneyswans.com.au.

“You just have no idea where you’re going, so I think the guys in the Draft this year will probably be just as anxious not knowing where they’re going, or not knowing if they’re going to have to go away from home, which was how it was for me.”

But the Swans’ decision to pick up the 191cm defender at pick 43 has been a perfect fit for Lockyer, who said he felt at home as soon as he set foot in the Harbour City.

“It was an easy decision for me,” Lockyer said.

“The Swans were really good to me and I remember Dennis Carroll and Kinnear Beatson flying over to meet me two days after the draft and they were really welcoming.

“They pretty much went through the whole process of moving over and where I’ll be living and they made me feel really welcome.

“The guys at the club have also been really nice and especially the guys I was living with last year, Tony Armstrong and Campbell Heath, because they really got me through my homesickness and all that.”

While Lockyer’s 4000km transition from West Perth to Sydney has gone smoothly, his first season on field for the Swans has encountered a few roadblocks.

After a promising pre-season, Lockyer was struck down with ongoing hamstring injuries, which resulted in the teenager missing the latter part of the Swans reserves season.

Now just one day from Lockyer’s second pre-season at the club, the young defender said his sole focus was to stay fit during this year’s program. 

“I think my goal for this pre-season is just to try and stay injury-free,” he said.

“I am injury-free at the moment so hopefully I can go into next year carrying a bit of confidence after preparing my body in this upcoming pre-season.

“Last year I had a few little set-backs in the pre-season, but I managed to knock it all off and hopefully this year I can complete a full pre-season and take that into the upcoming season as well."

Lockyer’s experiences in 2012 have also better prepared him to handle time on the sidelines in the future.

The teenager said his decision to follow the example of the more experienced Swans who suffered from injuries in 2012 really assisted his own recovery.

“I learnt a lot this year just from the guys who flowed in and out of rehab with their recovery processes and the way they looked after their body, so hopefully I can go in and stay injury-free,” he said.

“What I learnt was about preparation and everything about that, including making sure you tick off all the boxes recovery wise, and just doing all the little extra things to make sure you stay on the track.”

But for now, Lockyer is staying positive about his second season at the Swans, starting with a gruelling pre-season program.

“Obviously it’s going to be pretty tough. It was pretty tough last year and I was on a modified program, so I’m guessing it’s going to be a lot tougher this year, but I can’t wait," he said.

“I really just can’t wait to get back into it.”