Sydney Swans Set To Blood Rookies

[TalkingFootball]

Assistant Coach Peter Berbakov gives an appraisal of some youngsters & rookies.

Originally Posted by sydneyswans.com.au

“Overall, the new players have fitted in well, they’re all of good character and are all working very hard. They’re all willing to have a real go at it. There’s no shrinking violets here!”

Lewis Jetta: The great thing with Lewis is that from the highlights package we saw before we drafted him, we’re now seeing similar stuff from him at training. His pace and his kicking skills are really going to be a super asset to us.

Gary Rohan: Gary’s been impressive, he’s proving himself to be a terrific athlete. He’s starting to really take it to some of the more experienced runners during the pre-season. From a conditioning perspective, he’s certainly got the makings of a good footballer.

Sam Reid: Sam is nearly 12 months younger than some of the other guys who got drafted, so we look at him as a 17-year-old (Sam turned 18 in December 2009). He’s a great athlete too, he’s come in as a 6’5” player who is very quick, and as a young guy, he’s probably got a further 6-8 months of development to go.

Byron Sumner: In the last month, he’s probably been the standout out of all of the newly drafted kids, so come practice games and mock-pressure type drills, he’s certainly stood out as being a very smart footballer. His last month of training has been super, you wouldn’t put it past him that he’s a chance of playing some senior footy this year.

Trent Dennis-Lane: Trent’s another one that has performed super well in the pre-season, he’s probably beaten a couple of senior defenders in forward v back drills, so he’s certainly got some skill to him. He just needs to keep making sure he can continue along with his training so that he can play some good pre-season cup footy.

Ben McGlynn: Ben had a slower start to the pre-season while just trying to get his body in check, but since he’s been up and running, he’s virtually in our top three running athletes and like Byron, he’s been a standout in the game drills and mock-pressure games. He’s certainly shown that he’s going to be a very good player for us, and help us achieve a better balance of hard in-and-under players as well as outside quick players.

Shane Mumford: Mummy’s been super ripe from the start. He’s another good athlete - he has blended in well with the players, shown good leadership and a real enjoyment of getting to training and getting the most out of it. It’s really just a matter of managing Mummy a little bit until the games start up. For a key position ruckman, he’s fit, he’s quick and he’s competitive.

Josh Kennedy: Josh had a slow start because he had minor hip surgery before he came to us. His clean hands and ability in close are going to provide us with another terrific hard in-and-under player in the mould of Kirky. He’s going to add another dimension and more depth to our midfield.