""The last few years you have seen the teams that have done well in the Wizard Cup really set up their season, so its something that we have been working on to have a really good crack at it."" Welsh said today at the Wizard Cup press conference.
Staying in Melbourne is also driving factor for the team, not wanting to travel for the region competition, should they be knocked out against Carlton.
Welsh believes the key to success against the Blues is development of the second and third year players like Stanton, Dyson and Laycock.
""Those sort of guys are the ones we are going to be looking for especially on Sunday, to stand up and get a feel for senior footy and push hard to carry us through the year."" Welsh said.
""We have got the stage where we are making the finals, but we aren’t happy with where we are finishing. We were only 10 points out of a prelim last year.""
""We have done some really important team building things over the pre-season that can hopefully get us that one step further.""
One of these was a leadership trip to Japan. As the youngest member of the team to go, Welsh believes it really assisted in developing his leadership skills and communicating with different people.
""Because I was the youngest I really wanted to get something out of it, and in the end for everyone it was a really beneficial trip.""
He also believes that having a younger player in the leadership group can only be a benefit for the club.
""Its good for our younger guys, it’s not that easy when you come to a club in the first couple of years and maybe go up to James Hird or Matthew Lloyd with their problems. It’s easier to come to myself who is in their fourth season and then relay it onto the other guys in the leadership meetings.""
The Bombers take on the Blues at the Dome on Sunday at 5:10pm.
