Sydney Swans rookie Nick Smith has found his first year with the club to be a learning experience.

Taken with the Swans’ first pick in the 2006 Rookie Draft, fifteenth overall, Smith arrived in Sydney late last year, and has enjoyed his time with the club so far.

“It’s been really good, but a lot different to last year.  I didn’t really know what to expect.”

“It’s a lot different to junior football.  The games are a lot more tactical, and involve lots more commitment.  It’s been a lot different too, moving away from home.

Smith easily identified the biggest difference between junior football and playing professionally.

“How much training there is, for sure!  That’s probably the biggest and the footy is just a lot quicker as well.”

Smith played junior football with his school side, Scotch College, and represented Victoria Metro in the under-18s championship in 2006. 

The left-footed midfielder, who has played in the Sydney Swans’ Reserves throughout, 2007, believes his own performance so far this season has been mixed.

“I started ok, and then it was not that good for a while.  [My form has] been alright, not great.”

The dominant reserves team remains undefeated in 2007, and Smith said he has enjoyed the experience of playing in the side.

“It’s really good, playing with a bunch of good blokes.  It’s good playing before the seniors when there’s a bit of a crowd there.”

“Although we often win by a lot, we don’t really compare ourselves against other teams, we compare ourselves against ourselves, what we try to do and what we try to achieve.  We can have bad games and still win.”

His goals for the rest of 2007 are fairly simple.

“Obviously I want to be here next year and make a go of it,” he said.

“And in between I want to just play good footy, keep working hard at the gym, and play well.”