Sydney have lodged paperwork South Adelaide forward Hayden McLean as a rookie for the 2019 season, under the AFL's pre-season supplementary list rule.
McLean will replace Jack Maibaum on the Swans' list, after the defender recently suffered an ACL injury, ending his 2019 season before it began.
McLean, 20, was named as Sandringham's Best First-Year Player in the VFL last season, and was training with South Adelaide in the SANFL.
The young Victorian was the vice-captain of Vic Metro in 2017.
“Hayden has been a member of AFL Academy and did his AFL club placement with the Swans – he was impressive in that time,” Sydney Swans General Manager of Recruiting and List Strategy Kinnear Beatson told sydneyswans.com.au.
“Having been overlooked in the draft, he had a very successful season with the Sandringham Zebras in the VFL playing as a key forward/pinch hitting ruckman, often against players such as Matthew Leuenberger (Essendon), Brayden Preuss (North Melbourne) and Zac Smith (Geelong). We’re really pleased that Hayden will finally get his chance at AFL level.”
The Swans had until March 15 to sign a player using the rule.
