Here is part two of my assessment of the youngsters form in the pre-season exclusive to sydneyswans.com.au.

Simon Phillips (played three games)

Flipper missed the first couple of games with injury but played the last three and played the role he did when in the side last year. He buzzes around and is really busy, he seems to make things happen and has great endurance and uses that during the game so he keeps on the move and has good pace. He is a unique player in our team, he is a real front-and-square crumbing player and we really don't have another like him so he gives himself a really good chance this weekend.

Tim Schmidt (five games)

Played all the games and showed he is capable of playing senior footy. It will be a really interesting match committee meeting today as he is right in the mix to play round one and hopefully the cards fall his way.

Earl Shaw (three games)

He played in the ruck predominantly and that is his position so he is really stuck to the one area of the ground at the moment. He is competitive in that position, his ruck work is fine, but he certainly needs to improve his around the ground play, that is reading the play and getting into the right position to contest the footy as much as possible.

Jonathan Simpkin (five games)

He played all five games after being elevated from the rookie list and showed plenty when we had to ball, or when he had the ball in his hands. He has very good evasive skills, is a smart player and reads the play well. Now he really needs to focus on the defensive side of his game and that is what lets him down at the moment. We are a very accountable team who plays one-on-one footy and that is the area Jonathan really needs to work on that hardest. We know he can win the ball and get the ball and do good things with it, but when the opposition has got it he has got to find his man quicker and put pressure on.

Nick Smith (three games)

Nick is one of our new rookies and he played the first three practice games. We were all very encouraged by his performance, he was hard at the ball, knows his ability level and makes good decisions when in possession. We look forward to his development in the AFL Canberra competition this year.

Kristin Thornton (three games)

He was solid and a bit like Ryan Brabazon. While not making any major mistakes he has to get himself involved more so that is the focus for Kristin going forward, injecting himself into the play as much as possible and at the right times.

Jesse White (four games)

He played a key position in most of the games as a key forward or defender and is a big strong kid who I would say has been the most impressive of the four draftees this year. Athletically he is ready to go, he is physically the right size to play, he just has a lot more learning of the game to do and I think he will do that. He is sone chance to play this season but we have to wait and see.

Of the injured players, Luke Brennan started training with the group last week so hopefully he has that patella tendonitis under control and he will have a good month of training with the team then look to play but there is no rush.

Matt O'Dwyer had the same injury as Luke but is probably two weeks ahead of Luke so has another 3-4 weeks of training before playing. Matthew Davis has completed about three weeks of training after suffering from osteitis pubis for about 2-3 years and we need him to complete every session for another month before playing.

Daniel O'Keefe injured his quad before the first pre-season game so he missed all the games but has been back training for the past three weeks but before he did a fair bit of work before Christmas so he doesn't need as much to get back to playing and should play with the reserves this weekend.