Sydney Swans forwards coach Steve Johnson is eager to see young livewire Will Hayward bury the frustration of an injury-hampered 2019 campaign with a thriving pre-season tilt.

A broken jaw and hip troubles limited the 20-year-old to just 13 senior games and 12 goals, a below-par season for a man who last year became the 11^th-youngest player to kick 50 career majors in the AFL era.

But Johnson, who’s coached Hayward in two of his three seasons at the top level, is excited to see the spritely Swan smash the 2020 pre-season campaign.

“Unfortunately for him, his hip got really sore and he was playing under a fair bit of duress for the majority of the second half of the season until he eventually went in and had that fixed up,” Johnson told SwansTV.

“He’ll be ready to go at the start of the pre-season and we’ll be able to get some strength in his body again and get his running capacity up high, and we’re really excited to get him back into the forward line again next year.”

Although he was a spectator on the day, Hayward says the exhilarating scenes of the Swans’ last match of the season is adding to his drive on the cusp of pre-season training.

Sydney’s 45-point win over St Kilda at the SCG saw club icons Jarrad McVeigh, Kieren Jack, Heath Grundy and Nick Smith close the book on their storied careers.

McVeigh and Jack celebrated the occasion with final-quarter goals, and the four retiring greats – as well as 300-game milestone man Lance Franklin – were chaired from the ground before an idolising 33,722-strong crowd.

“You have a look at the last game of the year and the emotion we saw from Macca (McVeigh) and Smooch (Smith), Reg (Grundy) and Kizza (Jack) – it just shows how much the club means to them,” Hayward said.

“We all want to continue to show that passion for the club and it all starts in the pre-season. The plan is to rip in hard and shape up really well for next year.”

Hayward and close mate Oliver Florent last week signed contract extensions in a massive plus for Swans supporters.

Hayward is now locked in until at least the end of season 2024 and Florent 2022.

The 2016 draftees are just two of many exciting prospects emerging in red and white, with names like Isaac Heeney, Callum Mills, Nick Blakey and George Hewett also promising to enjoy outstanding careers.

“It’s awesome that so many good young players are coming through,” Hayward said.

“There’s a lot of energy with those blokes and they’re the ones you love running out with. The youth we’ve got here is really exciting and awesome to be around.”