Sydney Swans rookie Brandon Jack will be watching a lot more Discovery Channel this year after some pointed advice from the senior coach.

While pace has always been an asset of the younger Jack’s game, Brandon said coach John Longmire has implored him to use his ability to target the opposition this season.

“John Longmire made a comment to Gary Rohan last year about watching the Discovery Channel to watch the cheetahs chasing down their prey and he said that to me this year, so that’s the tip that the coach gave me,” Jack said.

“It was interesting and it’s that mind frame that I think I’ve got to have in using my pace to really chase people down and really hunt down the other players like a cheetah and its prey.

“I haven’t really worked too much on my pace; I think I’m just kind of lucky that I am naturally fast, but I need to work on how I can use my pace more smartly in games, so not just running forward but also defensively and chasing people down.”

Defence and forward pressure are new focuses for the 18-year-old, who admitted he was more centred on his offensive game before he was rookie listed by the Swans this season.

After two matches with the Sydney Swans reserves, Jack said he understands the importance of playing ‘Swans football’.

“Kicking goals was my focus when I was playing before I came to the Swans, but now it’s not my top priority,” Jack said.

“My role as a small forward is really not about how many touches I get or how many goals I kick, it’s how much pressure I can put on or how many tackles I can get and those second and third efforts.

“As a reserves-grade player you want to be playing the kind of football that’s going to put you in good stead to play in the AFL and going out and kicking 10 goals or getting 40 touches in reserves is not going to hold up in AFL football.

“It’s the one-percenters that we really thrive on and it’s the pressure that stands up in AFL football and that’s what we as a young group have been working on.”

Jack hasn’t been short of positive role models since joining the club at the beginning of the year, having moved in with older brother and newly appointed club co-captain Kieren.

Brandon said he had always admired Kieren’s rise at the Swans, and hopes he can achieve similar success in the future.

“When Kieren first started at the club he was pretty much in the same position as me and was right at the bottom,” he said.

“He had people who doubted him but he always believed in himself and he kept working hard, so it’s just great for him.

“We’re pretty similar in terms of how we think and our work ethic and that we don’t let people tell us we can’t do something.

“If I can end up being half the player he is then I’d be happy, but I think I want to work as hard as I can to try to be as good as he is.”

In the meantime, Jack said he would continue to ply his trade with the Swans reserves, who posted consecutive wins over UWS and the Gold Coast Suns reserves to open the season.

“We’re a really young group this year and our start has been very impressive against two AFL reserve grade teams,” he said.

“We’ve been able to keep high standards against those kinds of teams and that’s something we’ve really worked towards and are really happy with.”