"It's great that people see me as an AFL player now," he said.

"Probably the first game that I felt I was having a good contribution away from the ruck was against Port Adelaide [in round 14] but that followed up with a disastrous game against Collingwood.

"That's the thing about development. You can't necessarily pinpoint an exact moment, or a time, but the last four or five weeks have been really good for me.

"Sometimes you can get a bit ahead of yourself and that's something that I don't want to do and it's something that this group doesn't want to do. The positive thing is that we all know what our role is and we just try to achieve that every week."

The phrase ‘former Canadian rugby union international’ has preceded every mention of Pyke in the media since his arrival at the Swans but performances like his round 22 effort against the Brisbane Lions have slowly dispelled the need for such qualifications.

In the absence of injured pair Mark Seaby and Shane Mumford, Pyke led the ruck against the Lions to gather 15 disposals, 33 hitouts and eight tackles.

He said his teammates were instantly supportive when it became clear he would assume the No.1 ruck role, albeit temporarily, but he conceded it was impossible not to feel some added responsibility.

"As a player, you try not to but it's only natural, I think. In saying that, the most important thing for me is that I don't stray from my role. If I can do the basics right, that's how I can help the team," he said.

"No one's put pressure on me; the coaches haven't put pressure on me. I probably put more pressure on myself than anyone. I know what I have to do, I know what my role is and I just try and do that every week."

While Sunday's clash will be Pyke's first experience of the AFL finals, it's far from his first appearance on one of sport's big stages.

His runaway try against the All Blacks in the 2007 rugby union World Cup was testament to his ability to thrive under intense pressure and he gave a glimpse of his approach when asked how he was preparing for his finals debut.

"The good thing is that the field's the same size, the ball's the same size and I'm pretty sure the posts are the same width, so not much really changes," he said with a laugh.

"There's probably a bit of a lift in intensity and the guys will be going a bit harder at it, but that's something you always want to be a part of. That's what you play for."


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