Barlow, who impressed with two goals against Melbourne during the Swans' eight-point win in the NAB Challenge cup match at Visy Park on Saturday, said having spent time as a rookie and senior list player gave him a good grounding for life in the AFL system.
"Obviously this is a big year for me. I'm in my fourth year – I've seen and watched it – so this is a really good opportunity now to have a big year for me," he told sydneyswans.com.au.
"My goal is to play round one and then build from there … Hopefully I can play as many games as possible and hold a position”.
Barlow said chipping in with a couple of majors against the Demons added to his confidence, but he understood there were other areas of his game he needs to work on.
"Kicking two was good, but obviously there is a lot I can work on. My tackling wasn't good, so I need to learn to shut my opponent down", Barlow said.
"After last year, I was pretty disappointed with my injuries and I was down on confidence. That was our third game – including the intra-club match – so I think my confidence is growing each game and hopefully it will continue to grow.
Barlow said his forwards coach John Blakey had helped him out considerably.
"They're happy and they've just told me to back myself … [the coaches] have been really good in helping me grow up and mature as a player," he said.
On the Swans' first win for 2009, Barlow said there were some good positives to take out of the match.
"We've got such a good forward line with [Ryan] O'Keefe and Jarred Moore and even Jesse White and Patty [Veszpremi] are pushing up, so you'd think all of us working together can make a presence," Barlow said.
