CAMPBELL Heath talks to sydneyswans.com.au about his first senior game, the importance of having a full pre-season, and the wooden cabin cruiser he'll spend some time on in the off-season...

What was the high point of the season for you?
Definitely playing my first senior game, that was my highlight. I didn’t really expect to play this year. It was always a goal of mine to play this year, but to play at round 9 was a big surprise and it was good experience to get two games. It was good to get a taste of it, and it helps me for next year.

What did those two senior games tell you about where you need to get better?
Probably just the pace of the game. I’m used to junior footy, so just the pace of it, the stronger bodies, and decision-making. When you get the ball, there is no time, so you have to get rid of it or you’re gone, as I found out with my first touch! So I’ll work on those things and hopefully I’ll be right.

What did you most like about the way the team went about it this year?
The Swans in general are so approachable. They make you feel right at home. We’re probably one of the closest clubs in the AFL because a lot of us don’t have friends outside of footy so we all stick together. It’s like a family pretty much. If you have hard times, you can always come to your mates here.

The Reserves had a difficult end to the season. How was that to deal with?
We had trouble getting enough numbers, with a lot of injuries and blokes in and out of the seniors, and emergencies travelling with the senior team. We were a bit under-manned and a lot of the boys were getting tired towards the end of the season so with those factors combined, we dropped off.

Did you get satisfaction watching the seniors improve at the end of the year?
It was amazing watching the turnaround and seeing them all play for each other. It has brought everyone a lot closer and a lot tighter and it’s been really good.

Which of your team-mates stood out this year?
Mummy’s effort was great, he just dominated this year and has been one of the most consistent blokes.

Jets was really good, to see a young bloke play his first game and pretty much hold his spot all year. And I thought Mal (Nick Malceski) was amazing, he was so consistent. I pretty much model myself to his game style so to watch him at his best is really good.

Where do you need to improve next year?
I’ve got to get fitter because I only did three quarters of the pre-season last year, after coming up here when I finished Year 12. I missed a five week period of hard running at the start so I was playing catch up all pre-season. So hopefully no injuries this year and I get a full pre-season.

What are you doing in the off-season?
We have a wooden boat at home (in Gippsland in Victoria), it’s a cabin cruiser so I’ll spend weeks on that. We have a little ski boat as well and I’ll get out surfing and fishing too.

It has four beds on it so I’ll get a few mates out there too. We’ll take it out at Lakes Entrance. And after a three week off-legs period, I’ll start running every few days with some mates back home, around a local golf course where the ground is nice and soft.

I have two mates, one is John Butcher who plays at Port Adelaide, and Koby Stevens from West Coast, who live near me, so they are my two best mates and we’ll spend heaps of time together and train together.

All the young players have to come back to Sydney for a 3km run in late October, just to make sure we’ve all been sticking with the running program we’ve been given. And then we start pre-season on November 8, though the senior players don’t start till the 29th, so the young players, we’ll be here by ourselves for a bit.

Campbell Heath in action during season 2010: