WA young gun Chad Warner has made huge strides in a breakout season at Sydney but coach John Longmire says he faces many more lessons before he can be considered a star.

In just his third season, Warner is the league’s only midfielder alongside Norm Smith medallist Christian Petracca to be rated elite for goals and score involvements.

But Longmire is adamant the 21-year-old taken from East Fremantle at pick 39 in the 2019 draft still has plenty to learn before he can be considered among the game’s best midfielders.

An accomplished ball user, Warner is set to face one of his biggest tests this season on Saturday night against Fremantle’s star-studded midfield back in his home state.

“We were always confident that he would continue to improve and we saw enough to believe that he was going to be a pretty good player for us,” Longmire said.

“He’s making natural progressions. Since he’s been at our club he’s continued to improve every year.

“The challenge of being a good AFL midfielder is the challenges keep coming every week.

“This week it’s Brayshaw, Serong, Fyfe and Mundy. They’re equal top of the ladder at the moment and their midfield is a big driver of that.”

Perth was also where the seeds of Warner’s stunning season were planted late last year.

Warner, his younger brother and fellow Swan Corey, Angus Sheldrick and Logan McDonald spent the first two months of pre-season training with Claremont before linking up with the Swans in mid-January.

“He had a good pre-season and built on what he’s been able to do in the previous two,” Longmire said.

“He’s got a strong work ethic in a training sense but it was also really important for him to get back and spent time with guys like (Josh) Kennedy, (Luke) Parker and (Callum) Mills.

“He’s been able to fit into that group and learn the game but also learn what the others do and how you prepare to play AFL.

“He’s getting better each year.”

Younger brother Corey, 18, has also made inroads in his first season at AFL level after being taken by the Swans with pick 40 last year.

“Corey has shown some real athleticism but we’ve been really pleased with how he’s developing,” Longmire said.

“He’s got great speed, great endurance, and he’s got a fantastic work ethic. He’s a different player to Chad so he’ll come along at a different rate.”