All 47 players will be back at the club participating in some form of preseason training. Up until today, players over the age of 30 had not been required at the club, a measure introduced to combat the fact that players had been playing deep into September the last three years.
Despite the extra time off, most of the plus-30 players had been in at some point over the previous two months joining in sessions with the Cats younger players.
Cats players with limited programs over the next few weeks will include Brad Ottens who is recovering from a boating mishap, Steve Johnson who is working hard to shake persistent hip problems that plagued him last year and Simon Hogan who will look to increase his workload after injuring his back at the beginning of preseason.
General Manager of Football Operations Neil Balme, was pleased with the output of all players so far in the preseason.
“We don’t want to individualise players in the preseason but we have been really impressed with all the players output so far and how they have presented themselves for the preseason.” Balme said.
“Having spent the last three years playing right up to the end of September we have had to give the players a bit longer in their holidays and they are really showing the benefits of this.”
The Cats will build up their preseason in the coming weeks before the club’s community camp in Western Sydney from February 10-12 and their first NAB Cup match the following week.
