THE 2019 season was a difficult one for a number of Blues, who spent a fair portion of their time watching teammates on the sidelines.

However, they’ve had a tangible impact on the Club’s pre-season so far.

With practice matches just around the corner and the countdown to Round 1 ticking below six weeks, Director of High Performance Andrew Russell was quick to mention the efforts of 2019’s unluckiest Blues.

He said the performance of the quarter was something which was genuine cause for optimism leading into the home-and-away season.

Caleb Marchbank: “It was a really important week for a couple of guys. Guys like Caleb Marchbank, who is coming back from his neck injury. He had a fantastic week and we got him into gameplay by the end of the week which is great for him. His confidence is going through the roof and he got the boys excited by what he did on the training track this week.”

Tom Williamson: “Tommy Williamson did the whole week: he trained hard and is getting into really good physical shape, with his footy following that as he gets confidence in his body back. He certainly moved with genuine confidence.”

Darcy Lang: “Darcy Lang didn’t have a great preparation last year because of his ankle issue. This year, he has shown some fantastic stuff. He has kicked lots of goals in training, he has looked sharp so it’s almost like we’ve got an extra player on the list compared to last year.”

Sam Docherty: “Docherty continues to have a great preparation and he’s done 100 percent of the program since day one. It was just another week for him and he’s getting closer to being ready to play.”