DAVID Swallow's blossoming fourth season has raised a few eyebrows, but not those of former teammate and now Gold Coast reserves coach Josh Fraser.
Fraser is 11 years Swallow's senior, but the two share a special bond, having both been chosen as No.1 draft picks.
Fraser was the first name read out by Collingwood in 1999, and for 200 games with the Magpies, sat under the most intense spotlight, scrutinised on whether or not he lived up to top billing.
Being taken at No.1 puts players in an exclusive club, but it also issues them with a unique set of challenges, whether they like it or not.
Having left Collingwood to join the Suns for their inaugural season in 2011, Fraser has seen Swallow from day one.
After two seasons as his teammate, then a year away, and now returning on the coaching staff in 2014, he said the 21-year-old hadn't changed.
While there was just more than a decade between their draft days, Fraser said they were worlds apart in terms of attitude.
"When I first started, I was a bit naïve, a bit immature at times and compare myself to Dave, he was ahead of me in leaps and bounds," Fraser said.
"I was amazed at the maturity he had, how level-headed he was and how much he worked … he wanted to earn respect through his actions.
"A lot of people would have looked at me early in my career and thought "you can see the pressure is affecting him", whereas I looked at Dave and I wouldn't know any pressures Dave carried around with him.
"He just gets on with the job week to week. He's always trying to improve and get better."
And that's exactly what Swallow has done.
In the Suns' first three years, it was Harley Bennell and Dion Prestia that leapt forward with runner-up finishes to Gary Ablett in best and fairest counts in 2012 and 2013 respectively.
Swallow would comfortably be in the top three so far this season, with his 24 disposals and four tackles a game through the first seven rounds, along with his seven goals.
The vice-captain is a wrecking-ball. He's fearless and will happily knock his own teammates out of the way to win a hard ball.
It's an approach he's had from the start, but one that hasn't always been appreciated by outsiders.
"Growing up watching champion players, you think of (Michael) Voss, (Nathan) Buckley and (Scott) Burns, and those guys that were just so combative and willed their teammates around them … Dave's in that mould," Fraser said.
"He's got his deficiencies, but the thing I love about him is you never have to question his effort, it's always high.
"He's one of those guys the boys love playing with. They grow an extra leg when he's around. He's just got a real presence among the group."
Fraser said the No.1 draft tag never affected Swallow and he didn't expect it to in the future.
"He could have had every right to use it as an excuse but he never did. To me looking in, once he got onto a list, he treated it like an opportunity like everyone else had.
"He never thought of himself as a high draft pick, he moulded himself into the group and set a standard with work-rate that other young players had no choice but to follow."
