He may no longer play for the Swans, but 2005 premiership player Paul Bevan is still contributing to the Sydney club from afar.

Bevan, who played 129 games for the club, made the move to Perth early this year to take up a position with the Perth Demons in the WAFL, but did not expect his move would lead to an exciting career opportunity with his former club.

Just weeks after his move, Bevan received a call from Swans Manager - Player Personnel, Kinnear Beatson, who offered him a role as West Australian recruiter for the Sydney Swans.

“It was very unexpected,” Bevan said.

“Kinnear called me just before the pre-season competition started over here and just wanted to see where I was at, and he just thought it was a good opportunity while I was living over here to check out the local talent.

“I just jumped at the chance to be still involved with the club in some way, obviously I’m not playing, but to help the club to potentially find players who will play for them in the next few years is a great opportunity.

“I’m still involved in the game over here, so it was a good way of using my knowledge of the WAFL over here and giving a little bit back to the Swans.”

Bevan took on the role, which is focused on identifying and reporting on some of the West’s up and coming teenage talent.

“My main area is the Colts age group,” he said.

“The Colts usually play at about 9am on a Saturday, so I go and watch a game or two over the weekend and just report back.

“I’ve been given a list of players to watch that obviously have shown a little bit of talent beforehand, so I’ve got an idea before I go to a game of what players to look for.

“It’s mainly the 16 and 17 year olds at this stage, but in saying that there are some good kids going around that could play senior footy very soon.”

While Bevan has only taken on the role on a part-time basis, he said it is perfectly aligned with his full-time role at Training Sense.

“My role is a full-time job with a company called Training Sense, and we offer traineeships to talented sports people,” he said.

“We train them up and offer a course to them and we actually pay them for the work they do back at their home clubs.

“Some of the kids I’m actually watching on the weekend are kids that I’ve dealt with through my full time job.

“I think it’s a good little connection there.”

Beatson said the decision to keep Bevan on board with the Swans was a no brainer.

“We were searching and thinking of who we could find to fill the role (of recruiting in WA) and then we became aware that Paul was over there, so I rang Paul because he was held in such high regard by everyone at our club.

“We contacted Paul and ran it past him about what the role would involve and found that it complemented some of the other work he was doing there and his football, so he was very keen to have a look at it for the year.

“We thought we’d be better off to have someone that we know and someone that we value in a role like that, rather than someone that we’re sort of hoping could fill the role.”

Beatson said it was great to have Bevan involved with the club following his many years of service as a player.

“It’s been great so far and has been a win-win to have him involved,” he said.

“I think supporters would be pleased to know that one of our own is still involved with us in some capacity even if it is interstate.”

Want to see the Sydney Swans take on some of the best talent in the West?

Experience the passion when the Sydney Swans play their first home match of the 2012 Premiership Season at the Sydney Cricket Ground against Fremantle on Saturday April 7, 2pm.

Tickets are available from just $25 for an adult, or $53.50 for a family of four. Click here for tickets.