2005 premiership hero Nick Davis is on a mission for the Swans and it may be even more challenging than kicking four goals in the final quarter of a cut-throat semi final.

Davis has a new role at the QBE Sydney Swans Academy, aiming to scout talented young athletes who aren’t currently playing junior AFL and develop them into top-line recruits.

And Swans senior coach John Longmire has set him a tough target. “John wants me to find a full spine of players in the next five years,’’ says Davis, who has been appointed the Academy’s Talent ID and Development Manager.

“I’m pretty keen to cast the net far and wide. I’ll be guided by John and (Swans recruiting manager) Kinnear Beatson about where our senior Swans list is at, and what players we’re going to need in the next few years.

“That will be the mandate from them, and I’ve just got to go out and try to find them and get the numbers through the door at the Academy.

“Our AFL junior talent pathways are really strong but now we’re looking outside the square to try to find other people who may not have had much contact with our sport.’’

Davis, who played 168 AFL games, spent the past five years as a development coach with the Swans senior program before moving across to the Academy in January.

“I spoke to John Longmire and there was an opportunity to diversify and expand my football knowledge and coaching base to the talent ID area,’’ Davis says.

His unique background will help him in the role. Davis moved to Sydney when he was four years old and played multiple sports in the harbour city when he was young.

“I grew up in Sydney, I played rugby league and rugby union and cricket and basketball as well as Australian Rules,’’ he says.

Now he can combine that insight with his AFL playing and development coaching experience to spot and then nurture young prospects.

“I’ll be backing my eye and my knowledge of other sports to decide whether someone has the right attributes for AFL. Then, with my coaching background and training in skill acquisition, I can put a program in place and teach them.’’

Davis is developing a network of people who can talent spot in different sports and has already been out and about himself, attending a range of events in NSW including national junior athletics competitions, basketball tournaments and the state OzTag carnival.

Given that he’s looking for athletes who could potentially form a ‘spine’ of key position players for the Swans in the future, he’s especially interested in bigger types.

“Everyone in talent ID is looking for the tall athlete because sadly you can’t teach people to be tall,’’ he jokes.

But Davis knows height and athleticism are not the only attributes that count, especially for those who want to convert from another sport to AFL.

He played alongside Irishman Tadhg Kennelly and Canadian Mike Pyke at the Swans, who both switched from other football codes to become AFL premiership players.

“As much as you look for the athlete, you have to look at the person as well,’’ Davis says. “Tadhg and Mike were two of the most dedicated and hard-working people I’ve come across, and they had to be to make that transition from Gaelic football and rugby union.

“I might go out and find a kid that can run 100 metres in 10.5secs and is also a state-level high jumper, but if he hasn’t got the dedication and the desire and the right personality to put in hours of hard work to learn a new game, then we’re wasting each other’s time.

“They don’t necessarily have to immediately quit the sport they’re currently playing because I think diversity in sport can make really good players.

“If they’re from soccer or cricket or athletics or basketball they can continue to do that whilst learning our game, and then there might be a decision later where they choose.’’

There are more than 700 boys and girls aged between 11 and 19 in the Swans Academy and Davis says the system works very well when it comes to scouting kids already playing AFL.

“Our AFL talent pool is great and the Academy system has been working really well for the last seven years. So my job is just to look at other avenues we can tap into, to add another talented stream of boys and girls who we can introduce to the game. Our facilities and coaching are great; there are plenty of advantages we can give these kids.

“We don’t expect them to be super AFL players when they walk in the door, but this role gives them a path into the Academy for specialised testing and training sessions.’’