Sydney Swans young gun Jordan Dawson this year enjoyed more games for the senior side, got a taste of his first AFL victory and was in the thick of action for a number of wins for the ages.

And the 21-year-old says the dangling carrot his 2018 campaign threw up is “fuelling the fire in my belly” as the 2019 season draws near.

“It was good to get in a few games over the back half of 2018 just to get that confidence that I can play at AFL level,” Dawson told Swans Media.

“And getting your first AFL win is a pretty awesome milestone to tick off. It’s definitely added further fuel to the fire and I want to get more games under my belt and become a more consistent player in 2019.

“The emotion of my first AFL win was something I had dreamed of since I was a little kid, so it was incredible to finally find myself in that situation and I’m really hungry to chase more games and more wins next year.

“It was really important to return for pre-season training in really good shape, really attack it, keep fuelling the fire and building my confidence that I can play at AFL level – and hopefully I can do that early in the year.”

Dawson signed with the Swans at the 2015 AFL Draft, played one senior game in 2017 and piled up four AFL matches in 2018.

The young Swan, who can make contributions as a forward and midfielder, lapped up the euphoria of his first AFL win as Sydney pipped Collingwood at the SCG in Round 20.

Tom McCartin pulled off a miraculous goal to put the Swans ahead with just two minutes left on the clock, and they would hold on for victory in Alex Johnson’s return to AFL footy, Harry Cunningham’s 100th senior match and the commemoration of South Melbourne’s 1918 premiership win over Collingwood 100 years earlier.

Dawson would wait just another week to soak up the elation of another unforgettable win, with the Swans storming to seven goals across the two middle quarters to set up a nine-point victory over the Demons at the MCG in Round 21.

Dawson took on plenty of minutes in both the forward line and midfield in 2018, and the South Australian says he’s open to playing wherever he’s needed in the season ahead.

“It’s about finding what the best position is for me in the team, whether that’s playing as a forward or in the midfield,” Dawson said.

“But at this stage I look like playing in the forward line and then hopefully building the trust of the players to go into the midfield and play my role there.”

Dawson is at halfway of his fourth pre-season as an AFL footballer and is soon set to return to the grind alongside Josh Kennedy, Luke Parker, Isaac Heeney and the remainder of Sydney’s list.

Dawson, who’s primarily played in the NEAFL in his three seasons in red and white, said the Swans logged a rock-solid opening block of pre-season training in the lead-up to the Christmas break.

“The intensity from everyone has been huge, it’s been a solid start and it’s been a good first half of the pre-season,” Dawson said.

“I feel the best I’ve felt in probably a few years. Everyone out training is in pretty good nick, so the post-Christmas hit should be really good.

“What I’ve been eyeing since the end of the 2018 season is to just put my best foot forward, come back fit and make sure I’m fit going into the season. Staying injury-free is my biggest focus and then I want to build from that.”