Spectators of the QBE Sydney Swans Academy under-15 South side could be forgiven for seeing double when it comes to Luke and Josh Dever.

Not only are the Dever brothers twins, they also share elite athleticism as well as fast-developing football skills, which have highlighted them as players with plenty of potential at the Swans academy.

Luke Dever, who recently took out the 2000m steeplechase at the NSW Junior Athletics Championships, took up football just a few seasons ago.

“I actually had one year (playing Aussie Rules) in the under-10s and I played rugby league as well, and mum told us we had to choose and I ended up choosing rugby league at the time,” he said.

“I then came back to AFL because I’ve always liked it and went to the games.”

Josh Dever, who chose AFL as his number one sport, has also excelled in both athletics and football, winning the 3000m and the 1500m at the NSW Junior Athletics Championships as well as starring on the football field.

“I chose AFL because I liked the physical side of Aussie Rules but I also like it because unlike in rugby league, I got to run a lot more,” he said.

“In AFL, because I play in the midfield I get to run a lot more and that’s why I like it.”

The 14-year olds, who attend Marcellin College in Randwick, said they are both enjoying the experience of being a part of the QBE Sydney Swans Academy program.

“I really enjoy the opportunities and the focus all the coaches have on improving you and your game,” Luke said.

“There was a time when Paul Roos made a slideshow which showed what we were doing right and what we needed to work on in the next week at training.

“It’s sort of like the Academy focuses a lot on your development and taking it day-by-day, and they help you get to where you want to be as a player.”

Josh said he enjoyed the Academy’s focus on skills and ball work.

“With the Academy, it’s a lot more skill based and while we do a lot of our own running training it’s good to catch up on the other side of things,” he said.

“It’s more focused as opposed to club training where there is a range of different abilities, it just means it is the top groups and the quality is a lot better.”

Both boys have their sights set of excelling in either football or athletics, and intend on pursuing both for as long as possible.

“We like both football and athletics, so we want to try and excel at both, but if the opportunity ever arose to play Swans footy, that would be really good,” Luke said.