New young guns this season?

[Dry Rot]

Halfway through the season who do see are the new young guns from any team?

Tigers seem to have picked up a gem with Cotchin and Jack has impressed me from the Swans.

[Throughandthrough]

Some bloke named Rioli @ the Hawks started the year well, so did some bloke named Hill @ the Dogs, but he's gawn a bit quiet in the last month.

[hujsh]

Palmer, Ibbotson Wannameri

[1eyedog]

Ben McKinley started the season of very well, dropped off a bit but looks a good long term prospect also Josh Kennedy (is it his first year?). Thought he played really well against us at the Phone Dome. Bacher Houli looks good to, strong and fast ready made for the AFL.

[westdog54]

Cale Morton seems to be a standout in a very ordinary side.

Melbourne might have done ok there.

Interesting to see in the HS yesterday that West Coast were having a whinge that changes to the FS rule on WAFL games played meant they missed out on Cale and Jarryd Morton.

FFS, if they thought they were that bloody good they should have drafted them. Its not like they didn't have a chance. They chose Masten over Morton and now they're just going to have to live with that.

[BulldogBelle]

Matthew Kreuzer from Carlton, Nathan J Brown from Collingwood & Ryan Gamble from Geelong all look impressive also.

[whythelongface]

Palmer, Ibbotson Wannameri


Now he looks like a kid who can play. Played a bloody good game against us - couldn't believe he was a first year player.

[bornadog]

Young Pups find feet in Dog house
Jennifer Witham
6:37 PM Sun 08 June, 2008

WESTERN Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade believes he is beginning to see the benefits of a youth policy introduced to his club three years ago, with the continued emergence of younger players. The youth policy was emphasised on Sunday against the Saints when the club's youngest player in Callan Ward debuted.

"It's a real pleasing thing at the club that we've got a lot of talented youngsters," Eade said.

"Josh Hill was best on ground for Williamstown yesterday, we want to get him back. And Jarrod Harbrow and [Shaun] Higgins [who]is out injured.

"It was [Andrejs] Everitt's first game back, Farren Ray has been back for a few weeks, he's a good young lad.

"Callan can play, and there's still some other young lads like Brennan Stack that we want to give a game because he's really improved.

"The pleasing thing that has been part of our philosophy over the past two or three years is to get as many kids in [as we can].

"For depth, you sometimes revert back to players that are sometimes going to play five or six games for the year, and it is best to go with kids in that situation.

"We've cleared the decks a bit and in the last two years we've probably had maybe 10 or 12 drafted lads in, who we think can all play."

Eade also spoke of the development of defenders Everitt and Tom Williams, who featured across halfback during Sunday's 27-point win.

He said while the Dogs have improved defensively in the past two years, they have further to go in all aspects of their game.

"[Defence] was just part of this development stage; 2006 in many ways was a good year, but it was a bit of a millstone because people get excited about the way you play and what you can achieve," he said.

"Then inside and outside of the club you get ahead of yourself. It was still part of the development phase, we knew we had to get a bit stronger, we had to be better at the contest, and we had to put more pressure on the opposition.

"So that's been a work in progress, and this is the year we've really focused on that. I think there's also a lot of improvement left, which is a good thing.

"Everitt is going to get better, Williams is going to get better, and generally except for probably four or so older players, we are a young team that can improve.

"With some other players that are going to come back in, 'Westy' [Scott West] is going to come back in, young Higgins is going to come back in, Hilly can get back in.

"Individually, there are a lot of areas we can improve in, and certainly as a team."

Exclusive to AFL BigPond Network

[FrediKanoute]

I don't thnk I've been this excited about a group of youngsters.....we have a good spread of talent and what has been impressive this year has been then passing of the baton somewhat from the old firm to the new brigade. Johnno and Westy haven't had to win games for us (though they occaisionally do), but the contributions from Coon's Crossy, Boydy etc have compensated!