SYDNEY Swans midfielder Matthew O’Dwyer says the calibre of the club’s young players means its future is in good hands.

O’Dwyer just hopes he will be around to share in the good times when they arrive.

After two years on the rookie list and a third on the senior list, the 21-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season.

Happily, he has spent the past two weeks in the senior side as part of coach Paul Roos’ pledge to play his youngsters.

Some encouraging performances have resulted: 16 touches and a goal against Richmond were followed by a tougher night at the office against Geelong, with 11 touches in a narrow loss.

But with four games in three years at the Swans, O’Dwyer said it was crunch time for his career.

“With a lot of the older guys leaving, there are a lot of spaces left on the list that the young guys can fill,” he said.

“All I need to do now is be consistent and earn my spot on the list. The club’s not going to just hand blokes a spot on the list.

“Hopefully I can perform well in the next two games and stay on. Anything can happen but it’d be good to be here next year.”

Halfway through the season, the fleet-footed midfielder had feared he was going to miss out on a chance to display his talents on the AFL stage.

He admitted to mixed feelings as he watched many of his teammates relishing their opportunities to play in the senior team.

Kristin Thornton, Nick Smith, Dan Hannebery, Jesse White, Brett Meredith and Patrick Veszpremi all played senior football before O’Dwyer was given his chance.

“They did talk about giving the younger blokes the opportunity to play and I suppose I didn’t take my chances playing in the reserves and performing there,” he said.

“I didn’t deserve to play in the seniors. It was good to see the young blokes coming through and playing well but at the same time, you kind of want to be their shoes.”

But O’Dwyer earned a game with a change in focus that showed a willingness to take opponents on with his pace.

His return coincided with the Swans’ clash against Richmond at the MCG in front of a healthy crowd and he relished the experience.

It was the first time O’Dwyer had played at the ground since the 2006 TAC Cup grand final with the Calder Cannons.

“My first time there, we had a little bit of the crowd there before the grand final but it’s a lot different when you’ve got 50-odd thousand along watching,” he said.

“It’s so good. You go from watching these guys like Adam Goodes, who’s won two Brownlow Medals, to playing beside them and playing on grounds like the MCG.

“With the crowds they have, it’s a really good feeling and a bit of an adrenalin rush.”

But watching Geelong stars Gary Ablett, Jimmy Bartel and Joel Corey tear up ANZ Stadium in round 20 left O’Dwyer in no doubt about the level to which he and his teammates needed to aspire.

“It was a bit more of a learning curve, playing a much better opposition like Geelong,” he said.

“They’re a lot more proactive than the Tigers were – they’ve got a bit more arrogance and they’re a bit more confident against teams like us.

“But all the young guys who have played this year have shown signs they can play at that level. It’s pretty much up to us to give this club a good future.”