The 20-year-old, who recently agreed to terms to a two-year contract extension at the Sydney Swans, has developed into the club’s ‘Mr Versatile’, as he’s capable of filling a number of roles on the field.
Cunningham’s adaptability, which has seen him take on tagging roles against some of the competition’s top midfielders as well as jobs through defence and up forward, has resulted in the third-year Swan playing every game this season, with his career tally set to reach 20 this weekend against GWS.
Speaking to SwansTV for Volkswagen’s Beyond the Boundary, Cunningham said the more roles he can learn, the more attractive he will become at the selection table.
“I came into the pre-season this year thinking I was a midfielder or a forward and I worked pretty hard across the board during pre-season,” he said.
“I now like to see myself as an adaptable player and I suppose it makes it easier to get picked in a side, and if there is a job needing to be done, I’m happy to put my hand up and do it.
“I feel I’ve got the support of the coaches and the players and they know I can do it, and that obviously gives me that confidence to do whatever role it may be.”
Cunningham has excelled in a range of positions this season, including picking up a career-high 22 possessions last Friday night against Richmond, which came just two weeks after his career-best four-goal haul against the Gold Coast.
While proud of his individual efforts, Cunningham said his defensive roles, such as tagging Fremantle’s Stephen Hill, Essendon’s Brent Stanton and North Melbourne veteran Brent Harvey have been the most rewarding this year.
“I do rate the games highly when I tag blokes and sort of cut their influence down because I’m doing a team role,” he said.
“I consider myself a team player and that’s what team players do, they do things for the team so I wouldn’t necessarily say my four-goal haul or getting my most touches last weekend are my best games.
“My best games have been the ones where I’ve tagged and done the team things.”
Cunningham assessed his job of curbing the influence of Dockers’ midfielder Hill as his toughest and most satisfying challenge this season.
“Stephen Hill was the toughest just because he’s got that combination of endurance and speed and he’s a very smart player and he’s come a long way in the last couple of years,” he said.
“He was definitely one of the hardest just because of that combination.
“He’s a vital player for Fremantle and to be able to run with him allowed me to learn a lot.”
While Cunningham has learnt plenty on the job this season, he has also learnt a thing or two from his senior mentor, Kieren Jack.
Cunningham said the Swans co-captain, who also arrived at the club as a rookie and began his career as a tagger, was an excellent teacher and was also someone he felt he could relate to.
“He’s done an amazing job to come from where he’s come from and from the background he’s had, obviously with his father playing rugby (league),and to come off the rookie list, like myself,” Cunningham said.
“He’s someone to aspire to be like and to look up to and he’s got a lot of knowledge on the game and has been around for a long time.
“He’s obviously co-captain of the club and he’s just a great bloke to feed off and learn off as well.
“There are a lot of guys to learn off around the club, but I look to him because I suppose he’s come along the same path as me and I can’t really go past him.”
Cunningham will now have plenty of time to develop his game after signing a deal which will see him wear the red and white until the end of 2016.
The young Swans’ re-signing comes at a coincidental time, with the club set to face GWS this Saturday, a team that overlooked Cunningham in his draft year.
While Cunningham was disappointed at the time, he said the Swans’ lifeline via the 2012 Rookie Draft was the best outcome he could have asked for.
“I don’t really like to look back because I worked really hard to get to where I am and I’m so grateful for what the Swans have done for me,” he said.
“I do owe the Swans a bit because I was sort of in between nowhere at that stage and they gave me a chance and since then I haven’t looked back.
“I really want to repay the faith and that’s why I didn’t want to move anywhere and I wanted to stay and hopefully I can continue to play for a long time and have an impact on the club.
“To wear the number seven for another couple of years after the famous Dennis Carroll it’s very exciting and very humbling to be able to do so.”
