Jordan Dawson is looking forward to learning from some of the best in the business when the Swans’ recruit joins his new teammates for preseason training.

Dawson, who hails from Robe in South Australia’s south-east, is due in Sydney on Friday to commence a football career which came to fruition when Kinnear Beatson and company selected him with Pick 56 at Tuesday’s National Draft.

He joins Callum Mills (Pick 3) and Tyrone Leonardis (Pick 51) as the latest additions to a list featuring the likes of Lance Franklin, Jarrad McVeigh, Josh Kennedy and Luke Parker.

Dawson, a tall high half-forward with a booming left-foot, said playing alongside such a “star-studded” group will be a dream come true.

“I reckon I’ve got the best players in the comp to learn from,” Dawson said.

“Sydney is known for its culture, there’s probably no better club to go to so I couldn’t be happier.”

The 18-year-old was watching from home with family and friends when his dream was realised, his parents shedding a tear as the 189cm forward was plucked at pick No. 56 at the Adelaide Convention Centre.

It was an anxious wait knowing his destiny was out of his hands and, especially, when the picks ticked into the 50s.

Dawson recalled: “You feel a bit helpless as you know you’ve done everything in your power you can do – played all the games, had all the interviews and done all the testing – but at the end of the day it’s up to the recruiters.

“When the announcement came through, I was so relieved. It was a pretty surreal and unique experience. To see my family react in the way they did was pretty special.”

A flood of messages and well wishes followed, one of the first was from the Swans’ own James Rose.

Rose and Dawson were teammates at Adelaide’s Scotch College before reuniting at Sturt’s first 2014/15 preseason training.

A couple of weeks later Rose was drafted to Sydney.

“It was great watching his first couple of games,” Dawson said of Rose.

“He looked pretty pumped up (against GWS) after kicking those goals on debut, it was great to see.

“It’s pretty special that we went to school together, trained at Sturt and now we’re both at the Swans.”