MISSING Sydney swingman Sam Reid expects to start pre-season training in good shape after calf and Achilles problems ruined his 2016 campaign.

The 24-year-old premiership forward was unable to make it to the line for a senior game with injuries restricting him to just eight quarters of NEAFL football.

He was close to selection by the time finals arrived but the Swans decided not to risk Reid as they chased a second premiership under John Longmire.

"It was obviously very frustrating and disappointing but I am confident with the work I have done in the back end of the year," Reid told the Swans website.

"I should be right to hit the ground running come pre-season."

Reid, who enters the final year of a five-year deal in 2017, has played 98 games but has constantly been hampered by soft tissue injuries.

He hurt his hamstring in the 2015 finals when playing well against Fremantle and was unable to help as the Swans went out in straight sets that year.

He shapes as a key player next season as he is versatile enough to play forward or back, and with Xavier Richards being delisted, Reid can slot straight into the Swans' forward line.

Reid was comfortable with the decision not to play him in the finals, although Sydney fell just short in the Grand Final.

"It was a long shot to get back to play but at the very least we were hoping I would be able to get to a point where I had a normal off-season, which I haven’t had for about three years now," he said.

"I am now able to do a proper off-season program, the same as everyone else has and have no variation to what I do.

"I will be right to go on the first day of pre-season."