Captain Blood says Swans still the hunters AS jealous rivals complained bitterly of the financial advantages enjoyed by the Swans this week, Jarrad McVeigh highlighted a more salient reason for Sydney's success and consistency this century. "I'm a Swans player throughout my whole life, in everything I do," he said. I take that responsibility very seriously and along with the other leaders at the Swans, I will continue to push my teammates in this area throughout 2013 and beyond. It is the creed of the Bloods and as of next Saturday, the Swans' next premiership quest is under way with a clash against Greater Western Sydney, though McVeigh is looking forward to one final weekend as an everyman -- admittedly one who bleeds red and white -- before the slog begins. Reigning premiers are usually designated the role of hunted come the renewal of hostilities but that does not necessarily ring true with the Swans in 2013. Partly it is due to a surprising lack of faith from McVeigh's rival skippers in Sydney -- only one captain of the 17 other sides voted the Swans as a likely grand finalist in a survey this week, with Hawthorn and West Coast the most favoured teams. "We know teams will be looking at us and really setting themselves for the games against us but we will take a really strong mindset in," he said. We will be hunting oppositions this year ourselves because we want to get better and the competition improves every year . . . so we will be getting after teams as well. In a fashion, the Swans have already drawn a line between last season and 2013 through key changes to their leadership. Champion Adam Goodes has been replaced in the co-captaincy shared with McVeigh by Kieren Jack. Like McVeigh, Jack played his junior football at Pennant Hills. "For two players to come through the one team and become captain is a pretty good effort," McVeigh said. He leads by example the way he plays. McVeigh, 27, is relishing the chance to spend his final days of relative freedom with his wife Clementine and daughter Lolita, as any who heard him speak at the AFL's season launch on Wednesday will understand. "It is always good when the football actually starts," McVeigh told The Weekend Australian. It is really exciting and I will be watching the game on Friday night but then I'll just try to relax over the weekend, to get some family time in and get some rest because it is the last weekend we'll have off for a while. We'll probably get away, go off for a drive somewhere then head somewhere nice for dinner, relax and enjoy it. It gets pretty full-on from here on in. Not that McVeigh has had an easy time of it over the past week given various club and promotional obligations in Sydney and Melbourne. The premiers' season launch was followed by an appearance at Etihad Stadium for the annual press call of captains. But it was at the season launch where McVeigh, recognised as an outstanding captain and footballer, proved himself a formidable speaker when providing an address alongside league chairman Mike Fitzpatrick and chief executive Andrew Demetriou. This was no ordinary player's speech. McVeigh touched on the drug scandal that has engulfed sport across the country but then demonstrated how the AFL can be a force for good when discussing a personal tragedy when his daughter, Luella, died on the eve of the 2011 finals series. Even if the printed word does not do justice to the power of McVeigh's speech it is worth noting, particularly given his plea to parents of young children considering the merits of whether to allow them to play sport. "Football has brought so much light to my life," he said. In the last two years I've experienced extreme lows and extreme highs, from the loss of our baby daughter Luella to another pregnancy and the birth of Lolita and then the premiership last year. I had such a range of emotions as I stood on the MCG after the final siren last September. It was a massive high to know we had done it. To share that elation with teammates was a very special moment for me, remembering what we had been through, but also celebrating what had been achieved and it brought home to me that, as terrible as things can be, over time they do get better. But that couldn't have happened without the amazing support that I received from so many people, not only at my own club, but the entire AFL community. The Geelong players wearing black armbands just after Luella died, (the) messages of support from players at other clubs and the hundreds of well wishes I received from ordinary fans of all teams. If anyone is questioning whether their kids should play footy after all that has gone on recently in the world of sport, I can only say the vast bulk of footballers and football people are quality individuals with values I admire.