The 18-year-old, who was selected by the Swans at pick 37 in last Thursday’s AFL Draft on the Gold Coast, arrived in Sydney from Adelaide on Sunday and was thrown straight into pre-season training on Monday morning alongside the entire senior Swans squad.
Rose, who grew up playing for Sturt Football Club, told SwansTV that while he felt a bit overwhelmed on his first day at SwansHQ, he was excited for the journey ahead.
“It was very daunting to begin with, with all of those famous faces,” Rose said.
“I think it will take some getting used to, but I hope I’ll start feeling pretty comfortable pretty soon.
“I’m really just excited to get started.”
As is the norm with new draftees, Rose will be eased into his first full pre-season and will take part in a host of specialised weight, fitness and skills programs.
Playing predominantly as a forward through his junior years, Rose said he hoped to learn how to play a range of different roles at the Swans, with a place in the midfield a possibility.
“I’m an athletic-type who can take the ball well overhead and can also be pretty clean on the ground when given the chance,” he said.
“I think it would be pretty exciting to get into the midfield and build a bit of a fitness base.
“I know to play my best football in the midfield I’d have to make good decisions with everything, so it’s something I’d like to do in the future.”
Rose said he also hoped to improve his fitness in the three weeks before the Christmas break, as well as form relationships with the club’s senior players and coaches.
“I want to start to get really comfortable with the guys,” he said.
“That’s my main goal so I can train my best and then do my best to impress the coaches and then go from there.”
One player Rose has already struck up a relationship with is key forward Kurt Tippett, who has taken time out to welcome the young player to the club.
Rose said Tippett had gone out of his way to spend time with him, and said he looked forward to learning as much as he could from the Swans’ number eight in the future.
“Kurt Tippett has been the one who has made an effort to have a bit of a word with me,” he said.
“He’s someone I’ve looked up to for a number of years now and I think he’s into his eighth year, so he’s someone with a lot of experience and is someone I can learn from pretty quickly.”
Off the field, Rose has begun to settle into his new settings, sharing a house with West Australian duo Aliir Aliir and Harry Marsh.
“They seem really nice, but I don’t know them too much yet but they seem alright on the outside,” Rose said of his new housemates.
“Harry does most of the cooking, but I cook a pretty mean chicken risotto, so maybe I can give that a go!”
