AFL Rising Star winner Dan Hannebery and his Sydney Swans team-mates will fear no-one in this finals series.

Hannebery, 19, has become the second Swan after their star Adam Goodes (1999) to win the Rising Star.

Soon after Wednesday's awards function in Melbourne, Hannebery said the achievement had not sunk in because he was focussed on the elimination final this Sunday against Carlton at ANZ Stadium.

The Swans are on a roll, having won their last four games, and Hannebery said if they execute their disciplined game plan properly, they feel they can go a long way this month.

"We definitely have huge confidence in ourselves at the moment, we think we can match any side, the way we're playing," Hannebery said.

"As `Roosy' (coach Paul Roos) says to us time and time again, and it stacks up, if everyone does what they're told to do, basically we're confident we can win.

"It doesn't matter if it's Carlton or (minor premiers) Collingwood."

Hannebery has become a key member of the Sydney team in only his second season, playing 19 games this year.

He was the unanimous top choice of the nine Rising Star judges, polling the maximum 45 votes, while Melbourne's No.1 draft pick Tom Scully was 10 behind in second place.

Richmond's Dustin Martin also starred this season and was an award nominee, but he was ineligible for the overall prize after accepting a rough conduct charge in April.

Martin's ineligibility meant Hannebery became the favourite for the Ron Evans Medal.

Hannebery played his first seven AFL games last year while he was still at school in Melbourne, but not everything has gone his way.

The teenager learnt a harsh lesson about the flipside of AFL fame when he and schoolmates were suspended from Xavier College last October for some end-of-year pranks.

Hannebery had to front the Sydney leadership group after the incident.

"It was a pretty tough time ... I made the wrong decision," he said.

"There was a lot of fuss, a lot of media crews, and it probably took me a couple of days to realise what I'd done and how careful you need to be.

"You do realise, especially after speaking to some strong people at the club, it does hit you pretty hard that you need to make sure your socks are pulled up all the time."

Otherwise, Hannebery has impressed the Swans with his talent and professionalism.

There is plenty of AFL pedigree in his family - dad Matt played for the Western Bulldogs, while uncles Mark Hannebery (Collingwood, Essendon) and Luke O'Sullivan (Carlton) also had senior careers.

The way Hannebery is going, he will surpass them all quickly.

But for now, all he wants is for Sydney to go as deep into this September as possible.

"It's a huge honour, obviously the company you're in when you win it, a lot of great players have won it," Hannebery said of the award.

"It hasn't really sunk in, because a lot of my focus is going into this Sunday.

"Hopefully I can be part of a successful couple of weeks for the Swans."

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