Bulldogs' colts mid-season report

IT HAS been almost four years since Terry Dean first tabled his recommendations in addressing deficiencies in the colts system at South Fremantle.

At the end of the 2013 season our program is regarded the benchmark as the premier talent building system in Western Australia. Along with the work done by the Warriors development group, South Fremantle now stands alongside many of the more illustrious systems in identifying and nurturing young football talent. 

With our expectations and goals set at much advanced levels we have again been able to achieve high standards in the 2014 season. I am proud to report that once more the hard work of our volunteers and coaching staff has again produced a season of promise in the colts program. Many of the young talented players of the last three years are now establishing their position amid the senior squad at the club, and I feel more talent will be revealed throughout this season.

With 10 players involved in the WA State Academy and several more making debuts in the reserves team it is a credit to the volunteers, staff and players who continue the high values and carry on the good work established in previous campaigns. Our resources and talent pool has been stretched to its limits and we still have been able to focus on achieving goals set for ourselves and our players. 

Many of these players could soon impact the fortunes of the senior squad by the end of the 2014 season. Names like Jarrod Pickett, Jarrod Garlett and Jacob Dragovich will soon appear in the senior team list and will be keenly watched by supporters and talent scouts alike. Many more of the younger squad members continue to evolve and ascend to the standards required in colts football at South Fremantle.

With the positional changes in the coaching department it was necessary to restock our staff. Jason Ireland was promoted to the senior coaching group which gave an opportunity to another Warriors graduate to fill the position. Dave Depane briefly filled that role until being promoted to the vacated Player Development position. His replacement in Mark Carrington, also graduated through our ever successful development program. It is pleasing to see that we have been successful in growing the talent in all areas of the football club.

On the field the players have been able to ensure that we continue to enjoy success. They have kept up the winning culture that has grown over the past three seasons. Sitting second on the WAFL ladder and looking forward to yet another finals campaign it is pleasing to see contributions from all players on our list. We have had 41 players represent the side this year and with promotion of our state players to senior ranks eminent we look forward to unveiling more young talent in the back end of the 2014 year. 

Our pre-season strategies of enabling our elite 15 players to working exclusively with our fitness coordinator Ryan Gaias has produced some remarkable results. The rise of fitness in new squad member Cameron Loersch has had a significant impact with Cameron leading goal kicking (41 goals) in the competition. Jarrod Pickett and Callum Ah Chee featured strongly in the pre-season Gerry Bahen sprint classic. Other members such as Jacob Dragovich and our captain Brad McPhail were able to impress selectors and were elevated into the state team.

Our State 18s representatives have been Jermaine Miller-Lewis, Callum Ah Chee, Jacob Dragovich, Brad McPhail, Matthew Ah Siu, Jarrod Pickett, Jarrod Garlett, Bailey Matera, Kade Stewart and Billy Frampton.

June has been a trying month given the lack of availability of our state and senior players. With Saturdays loss to ladder leading Swan Districts it is essential that the remaining members of the playing list still continue to improve. They have been great and done all that is asked of them as young men. First year players in Jesse Mirco, Brandon Donaldson and

Joel McComb have all featured in our best player lists weekly and should impact the fortunes of the side over the coming weeks as we look to introducing many more new faces.

It is up to the remaining player group to ensure that the quality of performance does not slip and realise that the responsibility is all on their young shoulders. With the dedicated colts committee delivering the correct message I am confident that we can still see the program achieve much more in back half of the season.

I sincerely thank all those involved with the colts system and look forward in working alongside each of you as we keep giving our best efforts to the players so that they may achieve their dreams.

Arthur Maskos 
Colts Head Coach