He's spent the year breaking down the attacking play of opposition teams. Now Sydney Swans star Aliir Aliir wants to start taking apart something else: misconceptions about refugees.

World Refugee Week has given Aliir an opportunity to reflect on his own journey, as well as help dozens of new Australians get started on their own. The Swans hosted a citizenship ceremony at the SCG on Monday and Aliir was on hand to hear the stories of the country's 26 newest citizens and their families, and tell them all about his.

Welcome aboard: Sydney Swans star Aliir Aliir helped usher in these new Australian citizens, families who are originally from Iran and Fiji, at a ceremony at the SCG on Monday. Louise Kennerley

Aliir was born in 1994 in a Kenyan refugee camp to South Sudanese parents who immigrated to Australia seven years later, desperate to escape the endless bloodshed in their homeland and give their children a better quality of life.

Aliir, now 24, has grasped that opportunity - and so have others who fled Africa in similar circumstances like North Melbourne's Majak Daw, Socceroos players Thomas Deng and Awer Mabil, and middle-distance runners Joseph Deng and Peter Bol.

They are among a generation of refugees who are giving back to Australia through their sporting accomplishments. And there's many others who have come from all over the world, Aliir says, doing the same in an array of different pursuits - if people care to look.

"I know some people are saying things like refugees shouldn't be here ... but we all just want a new and better life," Aliir said.

"Yes, I understand there will be some kids who do bad things - the media these days, if someone does something wrong, they put a whole big picture of them but they don't know the other good things refugees are doing. I want to be able to help (change) that.

"There's a lot of refugees doing good - lawyers, doctors, you name it, there's a refugee doing it. You can't just shut the door because a small group are doing bad, because you haven't seen the rest who have taken their opportunity. The more stories like that we can get out, hopefully everyone else can hear what it's like and learn."

Aliir, an AFL multicultural ambassador, is pushing a worthy cause at a time when the very concept of multiculturalism is under siege in parts of the western world - and as the league itself continues to grapple with the thorny topics of racism and diversity.

Aliir said the AFL's Sudanese contingent keeps in regular touch through a WhatsApp group, while he catches up with those in other codes whenever possible to check in, aware that their importance as a role model is amplified.

"We all have different paths and we want to make it easy on other kids who are struggling or whatever the case may be, and tell them that refugees can be successful here. We want to make that transition easier for them," he said.

There is no better example of that than Aliir, who is enjoying a career-best season for the Swans. In the regular absence of experienced backmen like Nick Smith, Heath Grundy and Jarrad McVeigh, Aliir has stepped up big time and discovered new levels of consistency and capability.

He is now ranked number two in the AFL for intercept marks, behind only West Coast's Jeremy McGovern, the established king in that department.

"I've been working on my weaknesses as much as my strengths," Aliir said. "Being able to read play early, I've worked on that, my one-on-one body work. And I think my leadership has stepped up. I've never really seen myself as a leader but being out there, you've just got to take charge."