DOB: 21/08/92
HEIGHT: 178cm
WEIGHT: 72kg
POSITION: Forward
He plays more inside than Jason Johannissen and what really attracted us to him was his speed to carry the ball out of stoppages using his legs. Also, he's very competitive; he was the leading tackler in the TAC Cup this year and his agility is at an elite level. He smashed the record at the state screening for agility, had the best in the country, and he plays that way as well. He's got to improve his kicking as he was encouraged at Geelong to try and kick the ball quickly out of packs and also to run and carry but we've analysed that and think with a bit of technique work and development we can improve that.
SELECTION NO.39 - Jason Johannissen (East Fremantle/Willetton Jnrs)
DOB: 08/11/92
HEIGHT: 176cm
WEIGHT: 68kg
POSITION: Midfielder
He's a bit more immature in terms of not having gone through all the established pathways. He's a really good character kid, he's got elite speed and really good agility. He moves Stephen Hill-like, and we see that with two to three years of development he could be really good in terms of fitting into our midfield. Tom Liberatore and Mitch Wallis, who are the real inside midfielders, can get the ball out to a Johannissen who can run and break the lines. He's a good decision maker and a good kick. He's got to get stronger but we see him as a long-term investment and he's got a good attitude. He's from the same WAFL club as [recent draftee] Jayden Schofield so that will help him with the relocation.
SELECTION NO.55 - Ed Barlow (Sydney Swans)
DOB: 27/01/87
HEIGHT: 196cm
WEIGHT: 99kg
POSITION: Midfielder
He impressed when training with us and the match committee were really strong on getting Ed in. We basically felt younger players were our priority and once they'd gone, we'd consider Ed. We think he can come in and play a role. He's a bit of a mixture, he could play as a hit-up forward or as a run-with type player or as a medium back. He's very versatile and he will suit the modern game in terms of being able to chew up game time because he's got such a big tank.
SELECTION NO.70 - Mitch Hahn (Western Bulldogs)
DOB: 10/05/81
HEIGHT: 188cm
WEIGHT: 99kg
POSITION: Forward
Mitch has a desire to keep his career going. I haven't spoken to him but there's no doubt he thinks he can play a lot of senior games and hopefully play in a premiership. He did have a bit of an injury-interrupted year this year with the knock in the NAB Cup, but he's been training well this pre-season. He's over in New Zealand with the boys on the training camp and he's really looking forward to getting on with things now.
OVERALL
We've got two boys with elite speed - Dahlhaus and Johannissen - and we've really satisfied the need to get some quick players into our midfield for the long-term in the hope we won't need to trade in quick players in four years like we've done this year. We've really built the midfield for the future.
Our key criteria in choosing rookies were having the attitude to get better and train the house down.
It's going to be very competitive for positions at Williamstown and at AFL level so in terms of internal competition, it's good and if players don't perform, they'll soon be back at Williamstown or even the reserves.
