In this week’s edition of the Game Plan, the Sydney Swans Development team of Stuart Maxfield, Jared Crouch and George Stone discuss some of the Swans up-and-coming talent this season.

Jed Lamb

Maxfield: What Jed has shown is that he can play at AFL speed. He’s probably rotated a bit more on and off the bench and has been playing through the midfield, but he’s just hitting the ball at pace and has been cleaner. He’s really shown the attributes and the traits that we recruited him for and has been doing all of that at top pace.

Stone: I think since Jed moved into the midfield he’s really shown a lot of improvement. He did have an injury which set him back, but when he came back from that we played him through the midfield and he really started to show what he can do.

The other thing is that he is starting to convert the chances he has in front of goal, which is really good. His overall game has improved and that’s the pleasing part about it. It may not result in a senior game this year, but he certainly has given us a lot of confidence in why we recruited him.

Campbell Heath

Maxfield: We see Campbell as a third tall defender and we’re confident that if he got the opportunity at senior level that he’d be able to perform that role really well. He is a real leader out on the ground and he steers the other players when he’s out there. He wins his one-on-ones, but he also knows when to drop off and influence another contest. He is week-in, week-out performing well as he tries to force himself into the senior team.

Crouch: Campbell also knows the basics with the ball. He is not always trying to create. Sometimes you think you need the perfect pass, but Campbell knows when to take the one that is just in front of him and more often than not, it’s the right decision. Everything is about the basics, and he does them really well.

Stone: Week-in, week-out, he’s been playing on key forwards, which is probably outside his weight. He really does punch above his weight, but that’s helped him learn this year and I think it’s really improved his body-on-body work. His kicking and decision making is also becoming good, so he could be a bright prospect given his improvement this year. I think he has nearly - next to Jarred Moore - been our best (reserves) player for the year on a consistent basis.

Alex Brown

Maxfield: For a guy to come back after a double hip scope at the start of the year and with a really immature body in that he was quite skinny, he’s shown some real promise. He uses the ball really well and he reads the play well, he just needs to build up to a bigger body, because then he’ll have more confidence going into the physical contests. He has shown some great talent so far.

Crouch: He certainly doesn’t shirk the issue and he’s prepared to put his head over the ball or back back into a pack. He’s got the courage, which is something you can’t always coach into them. He is composed when he has got the ball in hand, so it’s just about getting a good pre-season behind him to work on those areas.

Stone: He is a good size and height and when he does get stronger and fitter, he is going to be a very handy size as a defender or on the wing. He is showing some really good signs.

Mitch Morton

Maxfield: Mitch has been super in terms of consistency and his attitude, particularly for a guy who wasn’t getting a senior game. He had to make sure he was playing the role that he was going to play at senior level in the reserves, and he seemed to be able to master that and that’s why he got his opportunity at senior level.

Stone: The other thing about Mitch - he’s had a stellar season in the seconds - but when you come to a new club you’ve got to win the respect of the senior guys who are there, and I think it took a while, but he’s really earned his chance this year. He had to change the way he played and the big advancement for Mitch is that the senior guys now accept him as part of the team, and I think that’s been a major step for him.

Tommy Walsh:

Stone: Tommy’s last month has been really good. He’s just shown that he’s starting to understand the game a lot more now, and that’s taken time and hasn’t always been easy for him.

Crouch: I think he now understands his size and what he can do. He understands how to use his body and that he can be a bit more physical, which is different to where he comes from playing Gaelic football. For mine, that has been one of the biggest improvements in the last month and it’s funny how that then translates to taking a lot of marks and kicking a few more goals just by knowing you can control your area.

We also can’t underestimate the effect the senior players like Matt Spangher, Mitch Morton and Jarred Moore have had on Tommy’s development. Those on-field coaches, particularly Moore, are just invaluable.

Maxfield: He did play most of his footy at St Kilda as a defender, so he is just now starting to learn the subtleties of playing as a forward, including leading patterns and how to use his body. That’s starting to become a bit more instinctive for him now.