It was quite difficult to narrow down a list of roughly 80 highly talented footballers for this little segment which can only mean good things for the Animals family as we will look to have 44 even contributors running out on the park for both sides each week. A wise man named J-Rod once told me that it’s a team’s bottom 6 players that wins premierships and that’s what we as the Animals strive for. Having said that here’s 5 players that I feel have a bit of X factor about them judging off their pre seasons
Brent Simons
Faces on the training track lit up when we saw the return of Brenna to Bennettswood Reserve. Our 2017 Best and Fairest winner returns and that is a big win for our midfield. Those who’ve seen him play know that he is a bull at stoppages who can also be damaging on the outside and is arguably the hardest bloke to tackle in our entire squad. Fellow midfielders Barra, Birdy and Howie will be rapt to have him back alongside them in the trenches.
Hugh Schache
Speaking of gun midfielders ‘The Schach Attack’ is a welcome addition from the res factory of footballers and could be the equivalent of Baxter last season as res recruit of the year. He has been ultra-impressive throughout the entire pre season and has featured prominently in all the practice matches. One of many players from our list from The ‘Bendighetto’ he has featured in the Bendigo Pioneers TAC Cup side and the Sandhurst Dragons who are renowned for producing good footballers.
Collins Bros.
Thought it’d be unfair to single out just one as let’s be honest they’re a package deal and like the little girl from the Old El Paso ad says ‘Why don’t we have both’? Trigger and Jesse have fitted into the Animals Family seamlessly and have shown great leadership on the training track beyond their years and their flexibility to play a variety of roles will come in handy for the coaching staff. One may cop an unfair tag however as opposition coaches may be seeing double!
Kev ‘The Postman’ Moloney
What a post this will be. The Postman has stated that he wants to have a really serious crack at football this season and he has not missed a single beat throughout the pre-season. It looks like he’ll be playing a highly important role rotating through the Ruck with ‘the difference’. It is expected he will give great ‘delivery’ with his taps giving first use of the ball. Some might argue that he will be a great ‘package’ and will put his ‘stamp’ on the competition.
Jack Hunt
It’s getting quite hard to keep track of all the Hunt brothers migrating from that little island called Tasmania and we at the animals are always welcoming of those from the Apple Isle. Jack stands out with his height and luscious long hair but he also has a great deal of football talent and has one of the best pair of Mits at the club. He was influential in the forward half against Elsternwick and expect him to be clunking big pack marks and regularly hitting the scoreboard like he showed in promising glimpses last year.