It has been 171 days since our last game.

After some initial time spent reflecting and reviewing the 2014 season in its entirety, the planning of our 2015 campaign began.

The National Draft for a club is always exciting, as the culmination of years of work by the recruiting staff comes to fruition.

Whilst the anticipation of a club leading into each draft is palpable, understandably it doesn’t match the uncertainty and nervousness of the young men and their families whose lives will forever change in the space of seconds when their names are called out.

To Isaac Heeney, Jack Hiscox, James Rose, Abe Davis, Sean McLaren, Nic Newman, Jordan Foote and Lewis Melican,– welcome to the Swans family.

Be prepared to work hard, test your limits, have disappointments and be challenged on and off the field.

And also be prepared to learn, mature, be supported, nurtured, and make friends that will last a lifetime. You will have a number of experiences that you would never have dreamt of only a few months ago. Tonight is just one of those experiences.

As all new players to the club, tonight you will be presented a book by the name of “In The Blood”, written by lifelong Swans supporter and Life Member Jim Main.  It charts our history from the late 1800’s. It features in detail the men who have gone before you – from Vic Belcher, Bob Pratt, Herbie Matthews, Bob Skilton, Peter Bedford and Barry Round, to the modern day warriers Tony Lockett, Paul Kelly, Stuart Maxfield, Brett Kirk and Adam Goodes, as well as hundreds of others who have left their own mark on this club.

At the back of the book there are 13 blank pages. Use these pages to write your own story. Fill in the blanks for your contribution to this club, and leave your mark.

To the families and friends of our new players, also welcome. We understand the enormous change that occurred to your family unit when your son’s name was called out last November. However you will also go along for the ride, and be there for the ups and downs that all careers inevitably have.

For those of us here, who could forget Jude Bolton’s mum Rosalie’s speech last year? She spoke of how much joy she had watching her son develop from a boy, to a young man, and then to a father, whilst at all times being supported by a network at this club that genuinely cared for him as well.

We take the responsibility of looking after your sons very seriously. Our staff and playing group are all committed to the development of each and every one of them.

Damian and Sue Melican - our recruiters won’t forget the first comment you made when they arrived in your lounge room in Birragurra to tell you that they were interested in recruiting Lewis… “Kinnear” – you said -  “have you really thought about this”. I can assure we had!

I’m sure that you would never have dreamed that just 4 months later Lewis can not only cook (of sorts!), and drive in the traffic of Sydney, but also play in a pre-season game on television.

I’m sure all the other families have similar stories.

Players outside of those first year draftees – drive yourself and others to set the standard. Enjoy your work, by working hard. There are no easy ways.

To our team – We have 18 days until the first bounce against Essendon.

Pre-season began on the 17^th of November. Since then we have, on average, run over 310km, spent over 50 hours working on skills, plus many more hours spent attending to injuries, having meetings, and generally setting the foundations.

And all to get to the starting grid in the best possible shape.

We also know that there are 17 other teams, and 800 other players doing exactly the same thing.

Some do ask – what exactly lies before us in 2015? The truth is that I don’t know. It’s impossible for anyone to know.

However what I do know is that these 44 men that you see behind me, and the fantastic staff who sit behind them, are absolutely committed to the challenge ahead. Committed to playing the type of football that gets us into a position to challenge again.

As supporters, please take a minute to have a good look at every one of these men on stage.  I’m sure that you’re glad you go to the game wearing the red and white to cheer them on each and every week.

And you have confidence in their ability to work to get the most out of themselves. Confidence in their willingness to challenge and support each other. Confidence in their proven ability to overcome hurdles, and raise the bar again.

I stand here proud to be coach of this team and what it stands for. Its time to get back in the ring……