Recruiting manager Trevor Woodhouse talks about the club's five selections in the 2010 NAB AFL Pre-Season and Rookie Drafts

Draft summary
"Over the journey we've tended to pick mostly West Australian guys and done pretty well out of it. We looked across the country and in terms of what we've seen talent wise they come up as well as anyone else.

"In terms of specific positions, we had a little bit of that in mind. We picked a couple of little guys, Ryan Neates and Lewis Broome, and we don't have a lot of little guys in our squad.

"The mature players, Andrew Strijk and Ashton Hams, are well credentialed at the WAFL level. Playing 50-60 games at that level tends to stand them in good stead both physically and mentally for when they enter this system.    

"With Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls, I guess some people would say he had his chance and didn't quite make it. I'm not sure about that at 21."

Player comments
Pre-Season Selection No.5: Ryan Neates
DOB: 26/6/91, Height: 169cm, Weight: 65kg
Recruited from: Claremont
"He's little, but very quick and a hard runner. He played mainly onball in the colts, but we'd like to see him develop another side of his game - a bit like a Hayden Ballantyne - and play as that small inside-50 player. He can develop that role and go through the middle as well.  He's also pretty good tackler for his size, which is pretty important with the way the game's being played with the inside-50 pressure. He played state 16s and 18s and had a really consistent year with the colts, so he's a pretty well credentialed kid."

Rookie Selection No.11: Lewis Broome
DOB: 2/3/91, Height: 169cm, Weight: 65kg
Recruited from: Claremont
"We've probably gone out and taken a little bit of a project player with Lewis and hopefully we can develop him over a period of time. His major emphasis is going to be his bulk and body strength, but he's a clever, inside-50 player who can pinch a goal and for his size he's a good little tackler. He's not too different going back to the Davey boys coming through and even the Stokes kids at 17-18. They were all very tiny and didn't get drafted until they were 20-21. He's very much a long-term project for us.

Rookie Selection No.27: Andrew Strijk
DOB: 18/10/87, Height: 183cm, Weight: 84kg
Recruited from: West Perth
"We interviewed him a couple of years ago, so we've been watching him for two or three years. He's always had natural talent and he's had a couple of really consistent years now in the WAFL. We see him as a player that is a little bit more ready to go than the 17-18-year-old kids you pick. If you do need someone to step up, well he can a little bit quicker than the developing kids. He's a lovely kick, so he may be used out of the back half on the smaller forwards."

Rookie Selection No.40: Ashton Hams
DOB: 6/9/86, Height: 174cm, Weight: 74kg
Recruited from: South Fremantle
"He played his junior footy onball, even forward and in recent times he's played that small back role, sometimes freed up. He's a good left-foot kick, has a bit of grunt in him and likes it physical. He's played on Hayden Ballantyne and Trent Dennis-Lane in the WAFL and hasn't been embarrassed, so I think given the opportunity he won't die wondering. 

Rookie Selection No.53: Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls
DOB: 9/2/88, Height: 188cm, Weight: 82kg
Recruited from: Richmond
"His strong points are his pace and his agility in lateral movement. He's certainly more of an outside player, which is not adverse at Subiaco Oval. He can carry the footy and he's good in traffic. If a guy is good at 17 you'd like to think he's still got some ability at 21. You can lose the mental part, which you might have to rekindle, but his natural attributes, I wouldn't have though they'd be washed up at 21."