David King has declared Sydney a genuine premiership threat in 2022.
The Swans exceeded expectations last year, jumping from five wins in 2020 to 15 victories in 2021, with their batch of exciting youngsters and seasoned veterans lifting the club to a surprise finals appearance.
King is bullish about the Swans approaching the new season, hailing their crop of players under 23 as the best in the competition.
King told SEN Breakfast: “They can win it.”
Kane Cornes replied: “The whole thing?”
King: “They can win it.”
Cornes: “I don’t think that’s an outlandish statement at all.”
King: “They’ve come with a rate of knots the last 12 to 24 months and these kids in the midfield are something special.
“They’ve got the best bracket of under 23-year-olds in the comp.”
Swans ace Isaac Heeney says a “brutal” pre-season has the playing group well prepared for the upcoming campaign.
“It feels like it gets harder and harder,” Heeney told SEN Breakfast.
“The game steps up, the professionalism steps up, the way everyone pushes themselves, the levels you go to just to find that edge steps up every year.
“It has been brutal pre-season and like you said, contested footy is something that stands up throughout the season, but also in those big games throughout finals.”
Heeney recently re-signed with Sydney on a six-year deal until at least the end of 2028.
The Swans are next in action against North Melbourne in the AAMI Community Series on Sunday.