Sydney co-captain Brett Kirk says he's excited to see what the club's new recruits have to offer in the upcoming NAB Cup, as he continues to adjust to life without a host of departed veterans.
The new-look Swans, who will play their first full-contact intra-club match on Friday, have an almost full complement of players to choose from ahead of next week's pre-season opener against Carlton in Blacktown.
And after the club's longest off-season in recent memory following their early exit in 2009, Kirk insists no one's position in the senior line-up is assured with competition for places stronger than ever.
"Spots are up for grabs this year, come February 20 against Carlton we've got to pick a squad of 18 and there's probably 35 guys that might be able to play," Kirk said.
"So we're looking forward to the (intra-club) hit-out this Friday. We've got some new young exciting guys and some guys from other clubs who we're really looking forward to seeing play."
"You're only as good as your last game and we finished off the season pretty poorly, so we want to get off to a good start and really show our supporters and our members that we're really coming to have a real crack this year."
The 33-year-old admits we was unsure how well he would cope with the absence of so many familiar faces this season, but says the new arrivals have fitted in well both on and off the training field.
"Last year was the end of quite a few of our close mates' careers and there's no doubt going into this year I was thinking how was I going to handle it personally, not seeing Mick and Leo and Crouchy (Jarred Crouch) and these guys around the room," he said.
"But football clubs adapt quickly otherwise you fall off the edge and now I feel like these (new) players have been around for a long time and I feel really comfortable with them."
Asked if the change in personnel would significantly alter the Swans' style of play, Kirk replied: "I don't think we're going to throw everything out in terms of the way we play our footy."
"I think it's stood for a long time, the hard accountable style of footy we've played and there's no doubt that'll be obviously the core of the way we go about it but with some new players (comes) some new direction and some new ways to go about things."
Meanwhile, Kirk welcomed the chance to go head-to-head with close mate Jude Bolton in Friday's intra-club match.
"I've said publicly before if I wanted to go into the trenches Jude's coming with me because I love the way he fights and scraps," Kirk said.
"And if I play against him it's a great competition because we're both in their biting and scratching and you just know he's not going to give up and neither am I, so it's a great battle and one that I look forward to."
Bolton is equally eager to get one up on his long-time team-mate, and is prepared to go to desperate measures to ensure he prevails.
"I'll be matched up against Kirky and he's got a few stitches on the forehead at the moment and you never know, we might have to bring another block of wood to hit him over the head or something," Bolton joked.