David Astbury
David has put on about seven or eight kilos. We're looking for him to step up into a leadership role in our defence this year. He's got all the capabilities, he's just got to believe in himself to do it.
Jake Batchelor
We see Jake being a rebounding defender - an elite kick, good decision-maker and with good endurance. He's a smart footballer. We're looking to get him playing early in the season.
Andrew Browne
He was the only ruckman training at the start of pre-season. He's lost a little bit of weight, which is what he needed to do with most teams looking to play just one ruck. A big improver on where he was this time last year.
Reece Conca
He's in our rehab group at the moment, coming off ankle surgery, but we obviously see him as fitting into the midfield. We're expecting to use him as an outside mid. He's a promising young player who should play early.
Daniel Connors
It was a breakout year for him in 2010. He's trained really well. He's a rebounding defender who will hopefully play a bit through the midfield as well this year. He has really worked on his decision-making and making sure he hits targets all the time. Daniel took a big step forward on the NZ camp.
Pat Contin
Last year he was in the VFL ones and twos, and was struggling with his weight, but he's come back in great shape - he's down about 6kg after fitness guys put it to him, and he's now as fit as anyone. He covers the ground really well and has a terrific kick, so he just needs to maintain that momentum.
Trent Cotchin
It's the first pre-season he's done in his life - he's flying on the track and we've had to hold him back a little. This is his fourth year now, and it's the year for him to step up and become an elite AFL player. Tremendous leader around the club.
Matt Dea
Missed a lot of last season with stress fractures in his feet, but has put on a couple of kilos and the couple of games he played last year showed some good signs. His basketball background means he's a good decision-maker, but we're really working on his skills.
Brett Deledio
He's probably the biggest he's been. He's put on a bit of size and he's absolutely flying on the track. He and Cotch are probably the two standouts. He had a breakout year across half-back, and is looking to play there again, with bursts in the midfield. We're expecting big things in 2011.
Tom Derickx
From Margaret River, he's surprisingly strong, which probably comes from being 22 and a tradie. He had a good training session the other day and took some really good marks, and he's going to put some pressure on Gus (Angus Graham) and Brownie.
Shane Edwards
Titch had an outstanding year, and came sixth in the best and fairest. He had a shoulder reconstruction over the pre-season so he hasn't been doing any competitive stuff. We're looking at him playing more inside this year. Has the potential to be an A-grader.
Mitchell Farmer
Mitch has been in the rehab group after an op was done on his knee. He's been a bit slow recovering from that, but we're looking at moving him forward this year after a good year at half-back last year. He could be another Jake King - having two Jakes would be a good thing for us.
Nathan Foley
Dimma (Damien Hardwick) keeps saying he'll be like a first-round draft pick for us after he's missed so much footy. He's on track to join the main group after Christmas, as his ankle seems to be fine. Hopefully he'll be ready to go in round one.
David Gourdis
David has been upgraded after a couple of good games towards the end of last year that showed he can play at the level. Has been a little bit off the boil to start pre-season, but is getting back into it. Really needs to work on his decision-making and skills.
Angus Graham
Big Goose had a cleanout in his ankle after the season, but he's back running really well now. He's lost about five kilos, which is a good thing for him. Was our first ruck towards the end of the year, and really showed in a couple of games that he can play.
Ben Griffiths
Played six games last year and we won all of them, so he's the x-factor. He could be a big plus for us as a key forward. Had a shoulder reco after hurting it late in the season. Just starting to get himself back into the main group at training. Massive tank.
Shaun Grigg
We were looking for an outside mid, and Griggy can play both outside and inside. Dimma has always liked him, which helps. He has great endurance and is a good kick. Very versatile, he can do run-with roles as well as play high-forward or wing, and he's a good mark. He broke his leg late last season so has been in the rehab group, but joined the main group this week and has been training the house down.
Dylan Grimes
Played in round 22 and played well. Always asking the coaches about how he can improve. Will leave no stone unturned to get where he wants to get.
Bradley Helbig
Brad has only been here a couple of weeks, but he's a tough inside midfielder who kicks the ball really well. He's getting his head around the way we play. A smaller version of Dusty (Dustin Martin).
Robert Hicks*
Played a few games last year, but hasn't come back as well as we expected in the pre-season. Needs to get more intensity and understand where he's at at AFL level, but his pace could make him a good asset for us.
Tom Hislop*
Tommy is battling away - he had his knees done before pre-season and everything was going well, and a slight change of direction has slowed him down a bit. The rest of his body is in as good a nick as I've ever seen. He's a great kid.
Bachar Houli
Bachar worked hard to get from Essendon [to here], and he was one of our off-season targets. Very good kick of the footy, and will play high-forward/outside-mid for us. Hard trainer, and showed some good leadership skills on the NZ trip.
Daniel Jackson
Has been injured for the whole pre-season so far. His leadership in the midfield is great. He makes it a lot easier on the other mids when he's up and running. Simply can't afford to get suspended next year like he did this year.
Ben Jakobi*
We liked him at this time last year before the rookie draft, and we got him to Coburg to work with him. He's been one of our best runners, and he's a very good kick. We think he'll really benefit from being in the AFL system.
Jake King
Jake had a terrific second half of the year and finished ninth in the best and fairest. He kicked 12 goals in the last five of six games, and gave away a handful as well. He was a real key towards the end. No surprises, he's had a few operations - groins, hands, fingers, nose. We see him playing a big part as a pressure forward next year.
Dean MacDonald
Dean is a mid forward, with people saying he's similar to Paul Medhurst. He's very good overhead, has good speed, is a good reader of the ball and a good shot. He has arrived with a bit of weight on him, so he's got a bit of work to do.
Dustin Martin
He came back a little bit behind, because it was his first time, but he caught that up in about two weeks. You put him in to some contested training, and he's as good as anyone I've ever seen - not bad for a 19-year-old. We're really working on his defensive skills now - you don't do much of that in the under-18s.
Luke McGuane
Has put on five or six kilos. We've desperately needed a bigger back, so that's great for us. He's loving it, walking around the gym and showing off the lats.
Brad Miller*
Brad is a player we identified as a good back-up for our key forwards. His attitude has been great, and he also provides good leadership and coaching for our young forwards. Plenty of experience after a decade in the system.
Kelvin Moore
Kel had a terrific season last year, but has been in the rehab group after a hip operation. He'll be back with the main group after Christmas, and he's another who is critical to us winning our own ball in the backline.
Mitch Morton
Mitch went to the midfield halfway through last year, and towards the end of the season he played some really good footy for us as an outside mid. We're looking for that again, as well as him going forward. It's a big year for Mitch with the chance to solidify that spot.
Robin Nahas
Robbie, by his own admission, didn't have the season he should have. But he's come back in good nick, and has been one of the best on the track offensively so far. Needs to get his defensive game together, and he is working on that.
Ben Nason
Naso has had a few medical interruptions to his pre-season, including a groin injury, but he should be back after Christmas. He had a terrific season, playing 19 games after being picked at 71, so the big test is backing up from that, working on winning his own ball and his body work.
Chris Newman
He's been flying - his leadership is outstanding and he's an elder statesman at just 27. He has an old head on his shoulders. He had a great season last year, and we're expecting even better this year.
Jamie O'Reilly*
Jimmy showed a little bit when he played towards the back end of the season, which is a terrific effort from him after coming from Ireland just 12 months earlier. It's also a credit to Tim Clarke, our development coach. Really hard worker.
Jayden Post
He hasn't missed a beat this pre-season. Knows he's up for that forward/second ruckman role, but really needs to improve his concentration and intensity to stay involved in games for longer. He's still only 20 and keys take longer to develop.
Alex Rance
We've had Rancey down back this pre-season - he was thrown around a bit last season as we tried to work out where he was best suited. We've been using him as a hybrid defender, and he's really worked on his decision-making and kicking.
Jack Riewoldt
Jack had a pretty good season last year with our best and fairest, the Coleman and a trip to Ireland. Is in rehab right now after his finger injury, and is driving everyone nuts about getting back to the main group. Next year is a really important year for Jack. He's going to be really focused on by the opposition, so he's got to become a little more team-oriented and has to work a bit on his defensive side as well. But if we get anything like last year, we'll all be pretty happy.
Troy Taylor
Last year was pretty unsettled off-field, but his brother and sister are moving to Melbourne and he's going to live with them, so we're hoping that will be a good thing for him. He's got some raw talent, and if we can harness that, it'll be a good thing for all.
Will Thursfield
Will asked for a trade, which didn't eventuate, so he's back here at the club. The slate is clean, and Will knows what he has to do. He needs to put on some upper-body weight as ever, and he needs to work on the offensive side of his game. He's a good kick and decision-maker, but he needs to get into positions to win the ball rather than just negating all the time. Impressive so far since returning.
Shane Tuck
He was super for us last year after starting out probably thinking he wouldn't play many games. As we did last year, we'll throw him around and he'll play all over the place again. We know what we get from Tucky; he's honest, he gives everything he's got and you can't ask for more than that.
Tyrone Vickery
It's his third year coming up, and the big boys take a while, but he's a lot bigger than last year. Another who is affected by the new interchange rules, so he'll play more forward with little spurts in the ruck. As a result, we've done a lot of work on how to play him as a forward.
Jeromey Webberley
Webbers had a hip operation so he's really only integrating back into training now. He's got an elite kick, a real weapon, so we need to get the ball to him as much as we can. Like a lot of our guys, he needs to improve defensively.
Nick Westhoff*
Played in the twos for Coburg all year. He started the year really well, but tailed off significantly at the back end. He's very agile for a big man, and we'll try him in a few positions this year. He hasn't put on much bulk, but he's being doing well in our ruck training.
Matthew White
Whitey is another who we thought might be just a bit of a top-up player for us, but he ended up playing a lot of games, and had a reasonably good year. Has elite endurance and good speed, and runs good patterns. Needs to win more of his own footy.
*Rookie-listed player
The views in this article are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the club or the AFL.
