This year we had an influx of new young players arriving at the club via both the national and rookie drafts. The Sydney Swans is a good environment for these players to come into because we’ve got many good role models, good systems and good structures. For a young kid, it’s a great opportunity to be at this club, but on the flip side, there is no doubt that they’ve got to work extremely hard to get their opportunity.

Boys like Timmy Membrey, Dean Towers, Harrison Marsh and Matty Dick will all have to work really hard to get games at the Swans. It will be a challenge for them to make their mark, but in the long run, if they are good enough they will be rewarded for their efforts and will play plenty of football here.

Already, there are a few guys that are pushing for senior selection but they all know that they’ve got to be working extra hard to get in front of the guys who are already playing good senior football.

It’s all about taking opportunities, and as a young fella you want to be trying to play as many games as you can. No one ever wishes for injuries, but sometimes that can be when these younger guys get their chance.

The perfect example was Dane Rampe, who worked extremely hard over the pre-season. He was fit enough and he impressed enough that when there were a couple of question marks over some of the small defenders for round one, he was able to get a game, but that’s only because he was ready.

That’s another thing that we stress to the young guys - that the window of opportunity in a successful team is quite small, so you have to be ready to take that opportunity whenever it comes your way.

Another one of our up-and-coming players who has impressed this season is Jed Lamb. Jed has had a good pre-season and has impressed in his two NEAFL games so far. He’s going really well and Harry Cunningham is another one who is now playing really well after a slow start.

Another player that everyone wants to talk about is Tommy Mitchell. Tommy is now on the road back again after some on-going injuries issues, and he’s had limited game time and a limited pre-season. We will be looking to get more minutes into him, but he will still be a few weeks away from being back to playing full game time.

For all of our young kids hoping to don the red and white guernsey, it really is a hard situation, but as a young kid, to be drafted to the premiership team and a successful club is something they all would have hoped for.

In the long run, if these kids are good enough then they’ll play a lot of senior football. They are going to have to work hard for it and they are going to appreciate their games when they get them.