Preseason update: Dalhousie Tigers (Men)

The third and final returnee practice Thursday was the last chance for last year's players to get the rust out before open tryouts.

There are several holes to fill, the biggest being left by the departure of left back and captain John Ballantyne. Look for sophmore Hussein Rajan to step up and fill that role. While he's smaller than Ballantyne, Rajan is faster and showed a lot of poise on Thursday.

The captaincy will be filled by all-Canadian Ross Hagen.

Thursday's practice showed a team fairly comfortable with each other. "We like to pass the ball," said head coach Pat Nearing, and that passing was certainly on display.

They'll have to learn to pass to new players, though, as Nearing estimates 5 rookies will make his team. On top of that, Nearing says he has three transfer players--players who enter Dal from other schools, often coming for the med school, cites Nearing as an example. This, says Nearing, will help with depth in a league where three games in three nights is not unheard of.

The men hold open tryouts tomorrow, then finalize the team on Saturday before a Tuesday game against Halifax City of the NSSL.