Previewing the season

The Bulldogs' Facebook page tells me it's 'one more sleep' until season 2013 gets underway. We start the season tomorrow, with a match against Brisbane.

Despite my passion for the Dogs, I'm not someone who gets excited pre-season. I don't follow the draft picks, I merely glance at our practice match efforts, happy enough if we win, but ready to rationalise it if we lose (I mean, Hawthorn haven't set the world on fire, right?)

I don't agonise about who's looking good at training or who's injured again (well, just a little...Tom Williams, will you ever get your body right and be the player we know you could be?)

So I expect tomorrow will see me a little confused about the unfamiliar faces. But that's a scenario we've faced a few times the last couple of seasons, where there have at times been so many new blokes running out for us that someone exclaimed, 'Pass it off quickly to, um, Anonymous'!

Last year was, well, dismal. The most disappointing thing was our fade-outs, our seeming lack of fight, and dare I say it an unattractive brand of footy that seemed bereft of purpose.

So that's what I'm hoping for the most this year. Improvement in the kids that seemed to have lost their way. A bit of spark, imagination, and liveliness in our approach to the match. And a Brownlow for the unassuming and phenomenally talented Ryan Griffen would be great too - he's carried the midfield on his back the last couple of years.

So one more sleep, hey?....