BEFORE we broke up last week for the break,we did a mid-season review and looked at all our KPIs and tried to get apicture of how we've travelled so far, as well as how other teams aretravelling.
We've done a bit of a reflection and a bitof a review of where everyone is at, and with eight wins and four losses, we'reobviously pretty happy with the development of the group so far.
To be brutally honest, I don't think weexpected to be 8-4 at this stage of the season. It's hard to know where toplace yourself, but we were obviously hoping for improvement on last year.
You always hope your core and your seniorleaders stay fit and healthy and play well, and then the wildcard is thedevelopment of the younger guys who have been in the system for one to threeyears.
You hope they take jumps forward, butsometimes they plateau. Obviously guys continue to improve, like Campbell Brown,who is a five-year player but has been really good for us, while Brad Sewellhas taken another step up.
"Buddy"
Ben McGlynn has come off a rookie list anda real contributor, so we've had some significant development in those youngerguys, which has really helped us.
If I had to pick one of those players, anda moment that has typified that sort of improvement, I think probably McGlynncoming off the rookie list and having such a significant influence on the waywe've gone would be it.
There was a game against the Kangarooswhere it was a pretty tight arm-wrestle, and he really stepped up in the thirdquarter and got us up and going. He's been fantastic for us this year.
Of course, it's also hard to go past"Buddy's" nine-goal performance.
We're really happy with the development ofthe whole group though, including those at Box Hill. We've got guys waiting inthe wings that are playing really good footy, like Zac Dawson, Brent Renouf,Garry Moss, Mitch Thorp … he's the one who is knocking the door down by kickinggoals on regular occasions.
Xavier Ellis and Josh Thurgood are otherswho are waiting for opportunities to open … we've got a lot of guys in thatcategory, like Beau Dowler and Beau Muston, who are still waiting. It's a goodsign for us though, that we have out list pretty much intact.
We've still got to get Mark Williams backinto the team, Richie Vandenberg and Tim Clarke, so there's lot of pressure onthe Box Hill guys.
So far, they've been pretty good. They'vebeen training hard and playing well, and they all understand they've got towait for that opportunity.
They're always the first guys to knock onyour door to go through their game on the weekend, so we're in a really goodsituation as far as depth is concerned.
We blew the cobwebs out on Monday and theytrained really well. Most of the guys took the opportunity of getting away forthe mid-season break – some went interstate, some went to country
They've come back pretty refreshed, andthey're looking forward to getting back into it. They always come back from thebreak with a bit of spark about them, and are ready to attack the second partof the year.
It's when the business part of the seasonstarts. You would have seen on the weekend that there were three upsets, andthe three teams got blown out of the water in the first quarter after havingthe break off.
It's really important from our perspectivethat we come ready to play in the first quarter, so that's how we're going totry to focus the group back into match-mode now.
Since we're playing Collingwood thisweekend, we'll talk about Zac Dawson and “that” match last year when he linedup on Anthony Rocca. Since then, he's become a much better player.
He's stronger, smarter, and more mature,and he's done a lot of work with Ross Smith and Danny Frawley. He's a muchimproved player; it's just that Stephen Gilham has stepped into the role downback and hasn't put a foot wrong.
It's made it hard for Zac, and with Brownplaying well and Trent Croad playing down back, it's even harder. But he'simproved since that game last year more than we thought he would.
This week, "Buddy" should be upfor selection but Ben Dixon will probably be another week or two away. TimClarke is starting to jog, but should still be four weeks away.
