For young draftee Harry Reynolds to be brushing shoulders with Sydney Swans stars Lance Franklin and Luke Parker on day one of his AFL journey was “a dream come true”.

Two months later, in perfect focus of the bright-eyed gaze of Reynolds is the ravenous pursuit of excellence of Sydney’s biggest names – and the 18-year-old defender is hungry for more.

Since penning a deal with the Swans at last November’s Rookie Draft, Reynolds has called the likes of Josh Kennedy, Dane Rampe and Jarrad McVeigh teammates, with the gun trio committing every ounce of energy to crashing the tackle bag, hitting targets off the boot and fine-tuning patterns of ball movement.

Training with Kennedy and company is a far cry from Reynolds’ 2018 season, with the Victorian placing himself on the radars of clubs at the Sandringham Dragons and Brighton Grammar.

But the insatiable quest for prowess of Sydney’s stars has struck a chord with Reynolds in the thick of the pre-season slog.

“It’s been great to be around such great names, see how they train and see how annoyed they are when they make a mistake,” Reynolds told SwansTV.

“Coming to the Swans has really put into perspective just how hard some footballers work to keep improving – even the best players in the competition.

“I’ve loved it here and have learned so much in the short time I’ve been here.”

Reynolds is now working overtime to polish many aspects of his game, with the former Brighton Grammar captain splitting his time between the midfield, half-back and full-forward in school footy.

Reynolds continued to showcase his impressive versatility at Sandringham, with the youngster averaging 18 disposals per game for his TAC Cup side as he juggled a number of positions.

But the new Swan has always considered defence his home – and he believes a number of his primary strengths could hold him in good stead.

“I think I’m quite a good mark overhead and I like to fly for my marks,” Reynolds said.

“I’ve also got good run off the backline, and I like to think I’m pretty quick over five or so metres, so I think those attributes could really contribute to helping out the team in the future.”

Reynolds was able to put footy to one side over the recent long weekend, and he says he enjoyed returning to Melbourne for a quick visit.

“I caught up with family and I caught up with a few mates, so I had a good time,” Reynolds said.

“It was great to get back and see all of them.”

But now he’s returned to his interstate home where Kennedy, McVeigh, Rampe and the rest are tackling the pre-season grind.

And their relentless appetites sure have grabbed the attention of ready-to-learn Reynolds.