SYDNEY Swan Mitch Morton knows he may be the luckiest player on the field in Saturday's Grand Final against Hawthorn.

The 25-year-old small forward had forged a reputation at West Coast - and then more prominently at Richmond - as a mercurial goalkicker.

After coming to the Swans at the end of last year, Morton knew he needed to add more tricks to his arsenal.

He spent most of the year in the Swans' reserves in the NEAFL before getting his first senior crack as a substitute against the Western Bulldogs in round 21.

He played the following week against Hawthorn as a sub, was dropped for round 23 against Geelong, and has since bounced back with superb finals showings against both Adelaide and Collingwood.

He's now on the verge of the ultimate rags to riches story.

"It's surreal. I've had 30 people tell me I'm the luckiest man in the world and I agree with them," Morton said at Friday's Grand Final parade.

But his change in fortunes has had little to do with luck.

Swans' manager of player personnel Kinnear Beatson said they identified the need for a natural goalkicker at the end of 2011, and traded pick 79 to Richmond for his services.

But the Swans had question marks - and it took Morton until the second half of the season to answer them.

"It was whether he'd buy into the team ethos," Beatson said.

"But he's impressed the match committee and the senior players with his adaptation to the game-plan."

Morton played most of the season dominating the NEAFL, but it was more than the goals he kicked that won him the admiration of coach John Longmire and his teammates.

"I've changed from being a good offensive player to someone who … I'm probably better defensively at the moment to be honest and that's taken a lot of work," he said.

"I just want to try and get the balance right tomorrow. Definitely the first thing I'm packing is my pressure and intensity."

He kicked two goals against the Crows in Adelaide in the qualifying final, and then last week against the Magpies, laid an impressive seven forward-half tackles in the preliminary final.

"We set very high standards for each other and if you're getting a game for the Swans, then you're probably doing everything right," he said.

"I think my last 10 or 12 weeks I've done everything right to be in this position. I'm proud that I worked my way into the team, but I want to stand up and play a role tomorrow.

"I know what I'm there for, to put pressure on, I'm the front line of our defence, if anything else happens that's a bonus, I'm not there to kick spectacular goals, I'll leave that to 'Goodesy' (Adam Goodes) and 'Jetts' (Lewis Jetta).

"For me it's about putting pressure on and being the first line of defence."

It's a big change in mindset for the man that played 71 games for West Coast (12) and Richmond (59).

Terry Wallace lured Morton from the Eagles to the Tigers in 2008 and coached him for two successful seasons.

Morton kicked 76 goals in 38 games during those two years.

Wallace said Morton had his ups and downs at Richmond as the Tigers predominantly played through Matthew Richardson.

He said he was not surprised the Swans have plumped for Morton in the decider after his excellent finals campaign.

"Kicks-marks-handballs wouldn’t show that he had a big game against Collingwood, but I thought his tackling and forward pressure probably created three or four goals for them," Wallace said.

"I was certain they'd keep him in the side because coaches like to know that there's forward pressure and he delivered that.

"I thought he was a fantastic bloke. I found him a great to coach. We had a couple of little issues about doing the team things at times.

"He played some good footy. I got him for the reason of what he's doing now at the Swans."

And Morton now knows exactly what that reason is.

"It's a lot different to the way I've played the rest of my career but that's the standard we've set, that's the role I play, so that's all I'm there for," Morton said.

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL