New recruit Michael Talia is excited by the opportunity to learn from premiership defenders Ted Richards and Heath Grundy.

Talia joined the Swans during the recent trade period after playing 30 games with the Western Bulldogs since being drafted in 2011.

The 22-year-old is set to bolster the Swans’ defensive stocks and knows he will have to work hard to earn his place in the side.

“Obviously I am early on in my career and think I can add value to a list that is in a premiership window,” Talia said.

“Ted Richards and Heath Grundy have been stalwarts of those (defensive) positions and they still have years left in them.

“I am hoping to have a good pre-season, earn the respect of the playing group from the start, crack in and hopefully earn a spot (in the senior team).”

The young key position player was drawn to the prospect of playing for a club with a rich history and respected culture throughout the competition.

A phone call from co-captain Kieren Jack following his trade to the club has helped ease his nerves ahead of his first official day of pre-season training with teammates later this month.

“I spoke to Kieren on the phone for about 20 minutes so he was really good in helping me settle in,” Talia said.

“A few of the other boys have sent me text messages so I am really looking forward to meeting all the guys so it is going to be exciting times ahead.”

Talia will begin training with the first to fourth year players when they return to the track on November 23.

“I am really looking forward to the pre-season to be able to match up on guys like Kurt Tippett and Buddy Franklin as they are two fantastic forwards,” he said.

“That will give me a lot of confidence going into the season so in that sense it will be really good to train against the best.”