Last year five players made their AFL debut for the Swans - Lewis Jetta, Gary Rohan, Sam Reid, Campbell Heath and Trent Dennis-Lane.

Parker’s elevation for this weekend’s game means the Club has blooded nine players since round 1, 2010.

Swans coach John Longmire said it was exciting to see so many young players take the step up to the senior side.

“It’s tremendous for the future of the footy club. To sit here this early in the season - we’re not at the half way point - and have four debutants already is great for the football club,’’ Longmire said.

“They’ve all earned their games. Luke’s a big bodied midfielder who gets plenty of the ball. He can take a really good mark overhead and he can play forward as well, so we’re really excited to have him in the team.

“He joins Sam Reid, who is a 19-year old centre half forward, Alex Johnson who is a 19-year old key defender, and then there’s Jetta and Hannebery, among others. We’ve done a lot of work on the playing list and it’s good to see these kids coming through.’’ 

There will be 10 players in the senior side this week aged 22 or under, including last year’s third best and fairest, Josh Kennedy.

Eleven current senior Swans players, including ruckman Shane Mumford who was runner-up in last year’s Club Champion Award, have played fewer than 50 games.

Since the end of the 2009 season, 21 new players have joined the Sydney Swans, out of a list of 45.

Parker, who has put on six kilograms of muscle since arriving at the Club last year as the Number 40 pick in the 2010 draft, was recruited from Dandenong Stingrays U18. He played his junior football at Langwarrin in Victoria.

“I knew my time would come if I just kept playing consistently in the reserves and now I can’t wait to get out there on Saturday,’’ Parker said.

In a case of the old and the new, Parker has been included in the Swans team alongside 2005 premiership defender Lewis Roberts-Thomson.

Roberts-Thomson will replace injured ruckman Mike Pyke, while Jarred Moore - who played limited game-time as the substitute in Canberra - makes way for Parker. 

Longmire confirmed he would use Roberts-Thomson’s versatility to assist Mumford in the ruck.

“Lewis Roberts-Thomson has played in the ruck before and he has got the ability to go into the ruck and compete really well. He is good at ground level and is a real competitor,” Longmire said.

“He has played four games in our reserves now, and two of real quality. His ability to run and compete, particularly in his last game was really impressive. He is a senior player, we have selected him to play a couple of different roles for us and hopefully he can fulfill it.”

Sydney Swans team list

B: L.Roberts-Thomson, T.Richards, A.Johnson
HB: T.Kennelly, H.Grundy, N.Smith
C: R.Shaw, C.Bird, J.McVeigh
HF: B.McGlynn, S.Reid, D.Hannebery
F: A.Everitt, A.Goodes, R.O'Keefe
Foll: S.Mumford, J.Bolton, J.Kennedy
Interchange: N.Gordon, L.Jetta, M.Mattner, L.Parker    
Emg: L.Johnston, J.Moore, M.Seaby

In: L.Roberts-Thomson, L.Parker
Out: M.Pyke (Quad), J.Moore

New: L.Parker (Dandenong U18)