Pyke booted two goals for the Sydney Swans reserves against Belconnen in the AFL Canberra competition at Ainslie Oval on Sunday.
Swans reserves and development coach Brett Allison said it was pleasing to see Pyke spend some time in attack, considering his pre-season had been spent in the ruck.
The 25-year-old, 200cm tall was named an emergency against St Kilda in round one after being elevated from the rookie list due to the long-term knee injury sustained by first-year draftee Campbell Heath.
But Allison said Pyke's contribution up forward, along with his developing ruck work, kept him within reach of an AFL debut.
"He certainly is close to a call up, but at the moment Jesse White's form is probably holding him out," Allison told sydneyswans.com.au.
"Certainly if Jesse or Darren Jolly was to go down – and we hope that doesn't happen – he's next in line as a ruck option for us at the moment.
"But it was good for Mike to play in different positions on the weekend and we were able to play him forward and teach him about the game."
Allison said he had been impressed by Pyke's determination to make it at the highest level.
"A lot of that has got to do with him having a professional sporting background already as a professional rugby union player."
"He certainly knows the right way to train hard and at the elite level – that's been a major advantage for him over the first-year under-18 players in the AFL system. That's why he's picked up the skills and the ruck work really quickly.
"He's also got a fierce drive to make it and he's made a huge sacrifice, giving up the rugby code. He had been offered another professional rugby contract, but he's come over here to play senior footy instead."
