Promising defender Aliir Aliir aims to repay the Swans' faith by becoming only the second player of Sudanese descent to debut in the AFL.

The 21-year-old recently signed a new one-year contract, giving the key backman another opportunity to earn and "hopefully hold down a spot" in the senior side.

Less than a week after the Swans' season finished, Aliir was already setting himself for a big preseason in preparation for an even bigger 2016.

"For me preseason starts now," Aliir said.

"At this stage the aim is to come back in the best shape possible and then hopefully eventually crack into the seniors.

"If I can hold down a spot there hopefully everything will take care of itself."

Aliir became the first player of Sudanese descent to be drafted into the AFL when the Swans plucked him from East Fremantle with Pick 44 in the 2013 National Draft.

In two seasons under the guidance of the Swans' development coaches, Aliir has matured into a reliable defender with the NEAFL Swans to this year play 16 games and be adjudged among the team's most consistent performers.

Aliir hopes to follow in the footsteps of North Melbourne's Majak Daw who became the first Sudanese-born player to make an AFL debut.

Before migrating to Australia and settling initially in Brisbane, Aliir spent the first six years of his life in a Kenyan refugee camp.