Lappin on how the playing group is developing

Training has been progressing really well.

The assistant coaches have done a great job designing training, to get what we need to get out of it.

The boys are starting to get a little bit antsy, as always happens this time of year, which makes you realise they are ready for games.

They have all come back in really good condition post-Christmas, it looks like they are ready to go which is exciting. 

Lappin on Geelong's new draftees

Our first draft pick in Harley Barker is coming off an ACL. He is a pretty exciting player, just watching he has a great attitude, he is a good learner and he is a very smart boy.

Jesse Mellor is just starting to get back into training, after getting over some calf complaints that he carried a bit through last year. He is exciting, a powerful forward.

Hunter Holmes, obviously Max's brother, has acquitted himself really well. He has conditioned well, he has put on a few kilos which is exciting. He is actually really good inside the contest, so he has been really good to watch from that point of view.

Nick Driscoll, even though he was drafted as a rookie, he has been exceptional with the small sample that we have seen from him. He is powerful, he is very competitive and he is skilful. 

Lappin on the progression of some other young Cats

The second and third year players, you are just looking for growth in them.

Mitch Edwards has pretty much trained the whole pre-season, which is exciting.

Then you have guys like Lawson [Humphries] and Connor [O'Sullivan] who were great players in our AFL team last year, look like they are ready to take the step.

We are a strength based program, so we always talk to the boys about what are the things that got them drafted and let's make sure that we continue to build on those.

But it is also how do we connect these guys to the group, how do we get them to feel comfortable so they can bring their strengths out. 

Lappin on what he is looking for from a development perspective

We want them to bring their strengths and show us what they are capable of.

But more than that, how well do they acquit themselves and how do they make the team better?

We talk a lot about what are they doing when the ball is not in their hands, how well do you understand our system? How well are you connecting to all phases of the game?

Those are the things that we are looking for and coaching. Then fundamentally, are you doing well enough to make sure that you are getting picked every week?

If not, we have got some things to work on but that is exciting. None of the younger players are the finished product at the moment.