Hasleby sees Bulldogs as further advanced for 2014

PRE-season training has gone to plan, the injury list is virtually empty and some recruits have added to the depth meaning that South Fremantle coach Paul Hasleby feels the Bulldogs are further advanced coming into 2014 than any other time he has been in charge.

Hasleby is now entering his third season as coach of the Bulldogs since retiring at the end of 2011 following one season back in the WAFL with South Fremantle following his glittering AFL playing career with the Fremantle Dockers.

In both the last two years, South Fremantle has got off to slow starts and been hurt by injury troubles in both instances, but been able to show a glimpse of their abilities with strong finishes.

Now coming into 2014, there are virtually no injuries, the majority of players are back again and in most cases fitter than ever, and then there is the addition to the squad of James Sellar, Brock Higgins, Steve Mills and Josh Pullman.

Hasleby is as happy as he could be with South Fremantle's preparation for the 2014 season that begins on Saturday against Subiaco at Leederville's Medibank Stadium at 4.05pm.

"We are certainly further advanced than in any time I have been coaching at this club. We have a lot of forward options and it's very handy as a coach to bring in James Sellar and Josh Pullman who will not only be outstanding contributors for us, but among the best players in the competition," Hasleby said.

"That really frees up Ben Saunders and if Paul Mugambwa can play as the fourth best forward then we know we are going to have a good team in that regard.

"We have been developing over the last couple of years with a lot of young players but we feel that this year we have the balance right with the youth mixed with some classy experience."

Pressure on for spots at South Fremantle is enormous coming into 2014 and that's exactly how any coach wants it to be.

"The best 22 will pick themselves from the work they have done over the pre-season but for us these matches is about getting confidence in the game plan," he said.

"The last two years we have started the season slowly which has put us behind the ledger and under pressure from an early period. We want to be up and about early this season and we have gone in with the mentality of trying to get as much confidence in what we are doing as we can."

Coming into 2013, a host of South Fremantle's key players had limited pre-seasons and as a result had slow starts to the season itself, but it's the totally opposite now heading into 2014 with everyone up and running, and ready to fire.

"Personnel-wise last year we came into the pre-season with a lot of injuries. We didn’t have Mugambwa training, we didn’t have Johnny Sgherza training, we didn’t have Gillespie or Borovac training either, and going into our first pre-season game Zac Strom was our only forward when we played Perth," Hasleby said.

"That meant a lot of guys missed a lot of pre-season so we were underdone, and then we lost Ben Saunders in Round 1. That is in the past, though, and it's just good having everyone available now and with some targeted recruiting, I think there is a real hunger in our group to improve and they all know there is genuine competition for spots."

By Chris Pike