GEELONG’s six newest draftees have hit the ground running at GMHBA Stadium as their playing careers at the Cattery get underway.

Under the watchful eye of new head of development Matthew Egan and VFL coach Shane O'Bree, the new recruits have been inducted into the Cameron Ling Academy group and are learning the ropes of what it takes to make the grade at AFL level.

The newly named player development program guides the club’s first-to-fourth year players through the early stages of their career with football and education sessions.

“We feel really well resourced in the academy area,” Egan says

“We’ve got Shane O’Bree mainly looking after the first-year players, so he’s got a big group of players that he’s all over.

“Nigel Lappin, a really experienced coach, he’s taken on more of the second-to-fourth year players in the academy. We’ve got 14 players in the academy so it’s a big group.

“We’re doing a fair bit with them, they are getting through all the main sessions with the group and then we do two to three extra sessions a week with them. Some craft, education on ground and a group meeting.”

The Cameron Ling Academy coaches shared with Cats Media how each of the six new draftees are travelling below.

 Toby Conway (Selection 24 National Draft)

“Toby is going really well. He’s a great character and adds a bit of humour to the group which is great,” the Academy coaches say.

“He has developed some great habits already.

"He's a Geelong boy so he fits in very easily. A few of the Geelong Falcons were pretty close before they came to the club which helps, they’ve got close bonds with players already. He’s dragging the first-year boys together really nicely.

“His footy is going really well. He’s playing most of his time in the ruck against Rhys at the moment. He’s getting great exposure working closely with Josh Jenkins the ruck coach at the moment on his basic ruck craft.

“He’s had a little bit of a knee issue previously, but the high-performance guys are doing a lot of work with his knee strength and it hasn’t affected his training at all, it’s just strengthening it up for the future.”

Mitch Knevitt (Selection 25 National Draft)

 “Mitch has again fitted in really well, he’s a local boy so that makes the transition easier,” the Academy coaches say.

“He’s getting a bit of exposure between inside mid and wing – he played most of his footy as an inside mid. We’re exposing him to the wing just because of his running ability.

"He is a great listener and improving quickly.

“He’s a really big size, reminds me a bit of Joel Corey as a six foot three inside mid. He’s really comfortable in the group, is understanding the game really well early so he’s tracking well.”

James Willis (Selection 32 National Draft)

 “Brucey Willis has settled into the club well,” the Academy coaches say.

“He had some knee issues last year that has affected him at the start of pre-season. We're working with the medical team to have him best placed going into the season.

“He’s a really solid mid already, so his body shape is not far off what he’s going to be as an AFL mid. We are starting to see his strength of contested ball, spread and good ball use in his training.

“He understands the game really well. He’s starting to look more comfortable as our only interstate draftee this year and we are seeing him come out of his shell."

Flynn Kroeger (Selection 48 National Draft)

 “Flynn is a little bit like James Willis where he hasn’t been able to get out on the track a lot. He was getting closer and just had a little niggle in his hip flexor,” the academy coaches say.

“He’s a really strong inside mid, a little bit like Brucey (James Willis) where they can compete for the inside work. He’s really powerful and will be able to get out of contests really well.

“We’ve seen a little bit of it the last few weeks now that he’s starting to integrate into training. He’s still got a little bit of work to go just to build his fitness up but he is getting closer and closer which is exciting.

 Cooper Whyte (Selection 64 National Draft)

 “Cooper Whyte again is another Geelong boy which helps with his transition,” the academy coaches say.

“He’s probably been a surprise packet in some of the games early.

“He has a really nice kick, is good in tight where he can get the ball and break out of contests and has a really good running ability. He’s probably one that hasn’t had any setbacks and is getting through the pre-season at the moment, really, really well.

“He has the ability to find the ball and he can play multiple positions – we’ve tried him inside mid, half-forward and some trainings he’s done some half-back craft which is exciting for the club."

Ollie Dempsey (Selection 15 Rookie Draft)

 “Ollie has got that x-factor already,” the academy coaches say.

“He hasn’t played a lot of footy the last two years – I think he’s played six games so he’s pretty raw. He’s working on building up his strength in his body just to handle the big hits that AFL provides.

“He’s a really versatile sort of player – he can play half-back or half-forward and is mainly playing half-forward for us.

“He’s got a really good jump at the ball and floats through the air. He’s a real character around the academy group and adds some humour and light-hearted sort of stuff with the boys. He’s a really hard worker and is always doing extras so his growth is going to come pretty quick I reckon.”