LUKE Parker has become the youngest player to join the Sydney Swans' leadership group and the gun midfielder says he has the confidence to give his more experienced teammates some serious direction. 

Parker, 22, was added to the club's leadership group on Wednesday marking another significant milestone in his impressive young career.

The midfielder, currently the Swans' reigning best and fairest winner, wasn’t shy in identifying what made him a leader. 

"For me, it started off with a lot of ‘lead by example’ stuff out on the field and that was not a questionable thing for me," Parker told AFL.com.au's First Bounce show on Thursday morning.

"The next step was voicing my opinion and being able to drive the group. I think Rhyce Shaw gave me the confidence that what I actually say is valued, and it gave me the confidence to really start talking up and driving the group."

On the back of a standout 2014 campaign, in which he averaged career-highs in disposals (26 per game), clearances (five), and contested possessions (13), Parker can now rightly be considered one of the best midfielders in the competition. 

He has also backed another Swans youngster to emerge and step up in the absence of All Australian defender Nick Malceski.

Malceski left for Gold Coast in the off-season, opening up a position for speedy half-back Gary Rohan to step up and make the position his own. 

"We saw it last year in the finals, him (Rohan) taking on the game and he really opened up our play and set up our ball movement," Parker said.

"He's such an exciting player when he gets the ball in his hands and hopefully we're able to use that a lot more."

Parker has played 82 games in four seasons on the Swans' list, after being drafted with pick No.40 in the 2010 NAB AFL Draft.