The Inside Word | Dylan Main Player Column Round 1

ANOTHER pre-season down and another season about to begin. It’s been a long build up to Round 1 and with a lot of fresh faces there is plenty of energy and enthusiasm around the club. 

After losing upwards of 700 games experience over the off-season with some legends of the club retiring, who will be sorely missed, we had to move on quickly. 

Personally, I have had an interrupted pre-season with an on-going injury, however this has allowed me to have a good look at some of our aspiring youngsters coming up through the ranks. In particular, I like the look of Kyle Hamersley with his silky skills and just how he has taken on the pre-season with everything he has, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him debuting at some stage this year. 

Alternatively, we have had a few reserves players from last year have some very promising months of training which will make selection quite difficult for our coaches. Caleb Datson will make his debut for the club this weekend after a few seasons in the senior squad and going off his scratch match last week he will fit in just fine with his leg speed and skills off the wing. I have also admired the fast progression of defenders Chris Ah Siu and Seaton Thompson who will be looking to cement their spots in the team throughout the year. 

In addition to the young players coming up we welcome Andrew Haydon to the club who looks like he could be a straight swap for the departed Shane Hockey with his fierce attack on the ball and a never say die attitude. Kade Stewart will also be a great asset that we have managed to bring back after he spent a couple of years at Hawthorn and a year back at Katanning. Kade’s strong leadership qualities have seen him slip straight into the leadership group this year alongside a newish group in Mason Shaw, Haiden Schloithe, Nick Suban, Blayne Wilson and myself.

Looking ahead to the season we feel the team will be a lot more versatile this year with the majority of players possessing the ability to play multiple roles. Along with this our style of play will change slightly and hopefully provide some better viewing for our loyal supporters. 

Although we are young on paper our core group is still very experienced which will hold us in good stead towards the pointy end of the season and with a few youngsters who knows where it could take us. 

In saying this, it is always hard to tell where you are at heading into round one so we are all just looking forward to putting everything we have learnt and practised over the past five months into action this weekend against Swan Districts!