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We need a ruckman or two though because i heard big Wes is gone country or something, maybe snare a Mitch Andrews or Andrew Ruck?

Wes has a big offer on the table from Josh Pullman's club in qld..

the returning blokes you mentioned are all coming off long lay offs - Pratt has done 2 knees, Miles 1 and Robbo 2 so i'm not holding my breath on all getting back to their previous levels in 2013..

as for Cass he went up to Darwin to play and is injured already..

This is one of the best things going around, Harding is doing a great thing with this, pity other clubs can't do the same!

Early days mate im not as pessimistic as some..i was wondering what had happened to Joshy Pullman, i liked him and feel he didnt get much of a run at it, would love to have him back

Great to hear Nottey is impressing enough to be highlighted. After a terrific 2012, he shapes as an increasingly more important player for us in 2013.

Agree with Swandog on this.

Tuesday, 11th December 2012
By Greg Harding

Last week we eased up a little in terms of training load after 42km the previous week. We ended our week with a hill session at Lake Monger where we completed a short but intense 6km hit out in very warm conditions.

This week we ramp things up again, and last night the running component was especially brutal. Repeat effort running in the muggy weather really tested a few, but the boys got through it really well.

It was a disappointing result today in the AFL Pre-season and Rookie Draft on a number of counts and we copped a couple of kicks to the guts. Former Colt and Melbourne Demon Jamie Bennell was listed by West Coast which is great for him, but under the new AFL alignment system, he will now don the blue and black of East Perth. It makes me crook to be honest to see our players have to play for the enemy. Imagine 2014 when potentially Nic Natanui and Andrew Embley's WAFL clubs become East Perth as well!

Kyle Martin had agreed to terms with the club to come across as an elite inside mid from Frankston, but when Collingwood snapped him up we obviously lost a pretty good player. And the AFL world turned their collective backs on Dayle Garlett which is devastating for the kid. Hopefully he can show some of that scintillating talent for the Ducks next year and prove the many critics wrong.

2 weeks till christmas and the players are starting to feel the benefits of the tough program, and by the time we break in 10 days time, our squad will be in really good shape physically.

GH

Monday, 17th December 2012
By Greg Harding

An uneventful week followed the rookie draft where the players have well and truly fallen into the rhythm of a tough pre-season. We have testing tonight to see how all of our hard work has paid off beginning with the obligatory skin fold tests and ending with a 3km Time Trial. Given the work we have done over the past 5 weeks, we are sure to see huge improvements.

Bad news today with the retirement of club legend Josh Roberts. Theres not too much he hasn't done in his playing career with State selection and a Premiership as Captain thrown in amongst 2 Swan Medals as one of the more dominant midfielders of the early 2000's. One of his greatest assets was his hardness and disregard for his own safety. Every week he put his body on the line for the club and his teammates and it is that unwavering hardness at the footy that we will miss most. Im sure he's still got 1 or 2 good years left in his old body, but ongoing work commitments in the Real Estate game meant that something has to give and unfortunately thats footy.

So the in's and outs of a footy club continue, and with it comes the opportunity for young players to step up and take on more responsibility. It always hurts when good players come out of the system, but at the end of the day all young players need sometimes is a chance to succeed. For players like Faulkner, Burnham, Boekhurst, Smith and Outridge etc, that chance to be a player that a club is built around is now upon them, and it will be great fun to watch them take on that challenge.

One week to go before christmas before a well earned break. To all of our supporters, Merry Christmas. Stay safe if your travelling on the roads and lets look forward to attacking the 2013 season in Black and White.

Sad to see a WAFL champ in Roberts retire, thanks for the memories

Tuesday, 8th January 2013
By Greg Harding

After a great christmas break the players returned last night to the usual round of fitness testing and body fat screenings. For WAFL players, who have to juggle work and footy and who don't have the luxury of being full time athletes, this 17 days away from the club is the most important time of year.

Use it well and the 6 week block of training prior to the holiday season is worth gold, both in regard to endurance and injury prevention. Use it poorly and the previous 6 weeks is a waste of time! 17 days of being sedentary can quickly wipe away all of the hard work that has been done and put players so far behind the 8 ball that they never recover. These breaks are more a chance to freshen up mentally and they are not an opportunity to eat and drink and sleep as much as possible. Across this down time period, we held optional sessions on 6 occasions which involved pure running sessions at Steel Blue. We were extremely happy to see up to 26 players on some days, use these sessions effectively in order to hold their fitness levels.

Yesterday, our 3km time trial results showed that almost all of the boys have shown a great level of professionalism. Brett Robinson continues his great pre season form by winning in 10.15 and was followed closely by Tim Geappen. Many players held or improved their times with Kyle Hams most impressive with a 30 second improvement. This was all done in scorching conditions and on grass which also slows down times a fair bit. We are in good shape and exactly where we want to be. Training will ramp up quickly with only 5 short weeks before intra club matches begin!

Cant wait for the season to start already!

Greg