WHEN Michael O'Loughlin announced his retirement from the Sydney Swans, the news hit Adam Goodes particularly hard.

The pair grew exceptionally close during their time at the club after O'Loughlin took his fellow indigenous player under his wing when Goodes arrived in 1997.

But rather than dwell on the impending absence of his great mate, the dual Brownlow Medallist decided to do what he could to encourage the Swans to add another "brother" or two to the ranks.

Coach Paul Roos spoke often of Goodes' penchant for "terrorising" the Swans' recruiting team in the lead-up to the NAB AFL Draft and in the end, it paid off.

Kinnear Beatson and his colleagues heeded Goodes' call and drafted indigenous duo Lewis Jetta (No.14) and Byron Sumner (No.54) on November 26.

Jetta and Sumner were the first Aboriginal players picked by the Swans since they took Dwayne Simpson at No.59 in 1998 and Goodes was delighted with their arrival.

"It was fantastic. We haven't had any new Aboriginal brothers at the club for a while and to get Byron Sumner and Lewis Jetta - two quality kids - is great," he said.

"I'll take Trent Dennis-Lane (of Burmese heritage) under my wing as well. He's definitely a brother to me.

"I'll look after those boys and encourage them along, just the same as the other boys, but it's good to have a little more brotherly love around the place."

Goodes even went so far as to call Jetta the night before the draft to assure the young West Australian that he wouldn't fall any further than No.14.

"I said to him if he could get through to No.14, we'd definitely pick him up," Goodes recalled.

"I was on the recruiters' back to get him at No.6. That didn’t happen and we were lucky enough to get Gary Rohan, who's a fantastic inclusion as well.

"For Lewis to get through to 14, we're stoked as a footy club and me individually as well. We reckon he’s going to be a high quality player."

Roos said Goodes' presence would be an important asset for the club as it helped its young players settle into a new environment.

He added that the co-captain would be particularly influential on his indigenous teammates - just as O'Loughlin had been so helpful to a young Goodes more than a decade ago.

"They all get along very well, the Aboriginal boys. Adam will take a really active role with those two boys and make sure they acclimatise well to the city and the club and all those sorts of things. We're really fortunate to still have Adam around," Roos said.

While he was happy to have added some more indigenous players to the club’s ranks, Roos said a player's football ability would always be the primary consideration.

"The main thing for us is their talent," he said.

"It doesn’t matter whether they're Aboriginal or whatever their backgrounds are; we just want to get talented kids that can play."