AMID all the praise for Mitch Morton after his performance in the Sydney Swans' victory over Hawthorn in the Grand Final, there were two teammates who were in the same position but failed to enjoy the same good fortune.

Kinnear Beatson, the Swans' manager of recruiting and list management, said the club decided after the 2011 season that it had to recruit three players to fill specific holes on the list.

It took Morton, Tony Armstrong and Tommy Walsh for those roles. Given that Morton has become a storied member of the premiership team and Armstrong and Walsh were two of the three emergencies, you'd have to say that the recruiting swoop was a success.

Beatson said the Swans decided after last season that they needed a natural goalkicker, hence the decision to take Morton from Richmond in exchange for pick 79.

"We really needed some bolstering in that area," Beatson said.

The Swans also decided they needed a small defender with good foot skills, hence the decision to take Armstrong and selections 35 and 68 from Adelaide in exchange for Lewis Johnston.

Their last need was for a large-bodied player who could play forward or back, and moved picks 35 and 68 on to St Kilda in exchange for Walsh.

Armstrong and Walsh were tantalisingly close to premiership glory, especially Walsh despite the fact that he'd played only three games for the season.

If ruckman Shane Mumford had failed to come up from his hamstring injury, Walsh was likely to come in. Lewis-Roberts-Thomson would have played as the relief ruckman, leaving Walsh to play the role of the big-bodied swingman.

Trent Dennis-Lane was the other emergency.

Beatson said Morton's performance in kicking 41 goals for Richmond in 2009 had been a strong factor in the decision to take him.

"Everybody thought he could play. You don't kick that many goals unless you can play," he said.

"It was just a question of whether he would buy into the team ethos."

Morton, now famously, bought into the team ethos in the second half of the season and played a key role in the Grand Final victory.

He kicked two second-quarter goals with snaps from 20m out — archetypal goals from a natural goalkicker — and in the last quarter he forced the ball free in a passage of play that ended with a goal to midfielder Kieren Jack.

Beatson shrugged off suggestions that the Swans had shown unheralded foresight in drafting Morton, Walsh and Armstrong.

"We recruited for specific needs. It was as simple as that," he said.