When it was time for the Sydney Swans to take their first pick in last night’s AFL Draft, North Ballarat wingman Dean Towers had his fingers crossed.

The Swans had been the first AFL club to get in touch with the 22-year-old, who had impressed many in his second season with VFL club, the North Ballarat Roosters.

After the club’s initial contact, Towers said it was his preference to head to the Harbour City in 2013.

“I had my fingers crossed with the Swans because they were the first guys to talk to me out of all the clubs and showed me a bit of support along the way,” Towers told sydneyswans.com.au.

“I was just so excited about the prospect of playing with the Swans. I saw the club’s pick at 22 and the next one was 44, and I just had my fingers crossed that Sydney would take me and I heard my name get called out and I was just over the moon, and it was all I could hope for really.

“I am just so excited about the whole opportunity with a club which has such a great culture and is such a respected team.”

Towers, who grew up in the small south-west Victorian town of Colac, had a break-out season in this year’s VFL competition.

The classic ‘late developer’ found his best football in his early twenties and this year was named in the 2012 VFL State Squad and also took out the Fothergill-Round medallist as the most promising up and coming player in the VFL.

Towers described himself as a player who likes to ‘run and carry and break the lines’, and said he hoped to mirror his own game on the performance of talented Fremantle wingman Stephen Hill.

“There are a few players I admire for different reasons, but I think I get a lot of enjoyment out of watching Stephen Hill from Fremantle,” he said.

“To watch him sort of bring a smile to your face when you look at what he does and then I think ‘that’s what I can do’ I reckon and I just get the enjoyment out of watching guys do things that you can relate to.”

The Swans’ newest recruit will be arriving in Sydney this weekend, and will join the pre-season program on Sunday.

Towers said he was looking forward to the challenge of moving interstate and joining the club, and now can’t wait for it all to begin.

“I’ll be arriving on Sunday afternoon, and I’m looking forward to it,” he said.

“I’m looking at moving interstate as an advantage and I’m looking forward to getting up to Sydney and starting a whole new journey again with a new club.

“I’m just looking forward to working on my footy skills and trying to fit in as best I can.

“I’m also looking forward to picking up the culture of the place and it’s always a buzz when you first come into a new environment and you’re just so excited and running on adrenaline for most of the pre-season, so I just can’t wait.”