1
Went to observe training at Pally again tonight.
Not too much to see, reasonable numbers, well over 50 over all grades. Lots of nippers running around and getting underfoot. Still, that's the price you pay when you are successful in the juniors.
Firsts not looking too shabby, passable front row, and getting there in the second row, though line outs are still rubbish. Back row is useful, without being spectacular. Still going to miss Joe Savage though.
New half back looks the goods, and some solid centres. Two good wings. One looks and plays like a tank with a Maserati engine, although I didn't see him there tonight. I'm told he's the Force Academy player who played no.8 for us last season.
The scratchie against Soaks this weekend should give me a better idea of where we're at, although I've got no idea what the Soaks standard will be like this year, after all the poachin' and a stealin' they have apparently been subject to at the hands of Uni. Still, Soaks are one of those clubs with the happy knack of always being able to pull some thing out of ... the air.
By all reports Cott was a surprise packet last weekend and accounted for Wests. Hard to believe, after their pretty ordinary performance against a depleted Palmyra the week before.
Heard nothing about the other clubs, except that Joondalup have acquired a mess of English players and half a dozen players of South Sea Island origins. Hats off to them if it pays off, but can't work out why they raided Wanneroo and Perth if they have that many quality overseas players.
Maybe this weekend will draw out some more info about how the other clubs are travelling before the first game of the season on April 2.