Sam Reid was among the emerging wave of sparkling Sydney Swans talent as names like Jude Bolton, Ted Richards and Marty Mattner journeyed the twilight years of their careers.

And just as a host of established Swans marvelled at the promising rise of a young Reid from the moment he arrived at the club in 2009, the 2012 premiership forward is now singing the praises of the young stars of today.

Aliir Aliir, Oliver Florent and Jordan Dawson are among the 70 per cent of Sydney’s list aged 24 or under, while first-year draftees Nick Blakey, Justin McInerney and James Rowbottom have already made their AFL debuts.

Ben Ronke, Tom McCartin, Ryley Stoddart, Colin O’Riordan and Darcy Cameron formed the debut class of 2018, and the likes of Isaac Heeney, Tom Papley, Will Hayward and George Hewett are enjoying swift rises of their own.

Reid, an experienced 27-year-old campaigner with 143 goals from 133 games beside his name, spoke glowingly of the young generation of Swans.

“Our young boys like Ollie Florent, Jordan Dawson and Aliir Aliir have all been really strong this year,” Reid told the Big Sports Breakfast.

“It’s not just our most senior players leading the way; those young guys have come in and are playing really important roles. The fact there have been a lot of young guys come in to play really important roles has been really impressive.”

Sydney is fresh off the bye and eyeing consecutive victories ahead of a clash with Hawthorn at the SCG on Friday night.

The Swans rubber-stamped an impressive five-game stretch with a resounding 45-point victory over the West Coast Eagles when they last took to the pitch.

Hawthorn enjoyed a bye in Round 12 and fell to Essendon in a 19-point defeat at Marvel Stadium last Friday night.

While Reid says some players would prefer to not stop for a bye, he believes many enjoy the chance to give their bodies a break.

“It’s probably up to the individual,” Reid said.

“Some guys love the bye because after 10 or 11 weeks your body does start to get a bit sore, and you’ve copped a few knocks here and there. Some guys love the buy and some guys would prefer to just keep going.”