Luckless Sydney defender Alex Johnson bounced back from five knee reconstructions and a total of 12 knee operations to play nine NEAFL games over the second half of last season.

The 26-year-old is now ready to get his 2018 campaign on its feet after overcoming a pre-season setback which kept him out of action for the opening eight rounds of the NEAFL competition.

Johnson will play his first game of the season as the Swans take on Sydney University on Friday afternoon in an AFL curtain-raiser to Marn Grook at the SCG in which Sydney will meet Carlton.

Development coach Jeremy Laidler said although Johnson had faced and conquered a mountain of setbacks, he was ready to kickstart his season.

“It’s a great story and his attitude has been unquestionable,” Laidler said.

“I could always see he was going to get himself up no matter what the doctor said. The doctor said he wasn’t going to play footy again but he didn’t let that stop him.

“He’s been in the dungeon for a fair while and he is quite pasty because he’s been indoors for so long, but you get him into the sunlight and he shines.

“He’s been training for a good few weeks now and he feels good in his body. He probably could have played last week but we held him back one more week and we can’t wait to see him pull on the boots.

“It’s been a long stint on the sidelines but I’m sure he’s just as excited as I am for him.”

The Marn Grook curtain-raiser will give a host of Swans pushing for AFL selection a chance to impress the senior coaching panel.

Dan Robinson, Robbie Fox and Dean Towers have starred in the reserves competition in pursuit of AFL recalls, while Colin O’Riordan and Darcy Cameron have been in stellar touch as they push towards senior debuts.

Meanwhile, defender Nic Newman was on Thursday night rewarded for exceptional form in the NEAFL when he earned an AFL recall for Sydney's match with Carlton.

The 25-year-old has produced some outstanding football off half-back and in the midfield for the reserves side this season and last week tallied 29 possessions and two goals to earn a game-high nine NEAFL MVP votes against the Brisbane Lions.

Newman, Ben Ronke, Tom McCartin and Ryley Stoddart have all inspired the NEAFL side in impacting at AFL level off the back of strong reserves form.

The Swans are placed fourth and charging towards Round 9 off the back of three straight wins, including a 16-point victory over the Lions last Saturday.

But a match with the competition’s front-runners now awaits.

Sydney University sits two wins clear atop the ladder, is the only undefeated side after its opening seven games and is flying off the back of a 58-point victory over the Northern Territory Thunder.

Midfielder Tom Young, who played 28 AFL games for Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs between 2011 and 2014, is running fourth in the race for the NEAFL MVP and last week finished with 25 touches and two goals.

Former Swan and Bomber Craig Bird is averaging 28 possessions a game, while forward Jacob Derickx has booted 17 majors to be running fifth on the NEAFL's goal-kicking leaderboard.

But the Southport Sharks were running first ahead of Round 7 and Sydney was clinical in an 88-point win at the SCG.

Laidler said the Swans were relishing another chance to meet a side flying in first.

“We know we’re up for a big challenge in Sydney University,” Laidler said.

“We’re going to have be on our game and we’re ready for a big challenge.

“Going into Southport and Brisbane our mindset was pretty good from the start of the game and our intensity and pressure was at its peak. We have to bring that from the start against Sydney University because they’ve got some really good players.

“We know how they play and we can’t wait.”