Only way up is for Barcelona

The last time a team had so many rookies was the ill-fated takeover of Austria by a new GM. He traded lots of veteran players to build the team how he wanted, however poor drafting and poor results on the field saw him leave after just two seasons and leave Austria in a total mess.

Barcelona might have a lot of rookies this year but the buck stops there if you want to compare them to the old Austria side.

Coming off a 0-14 season the Dragons couldnt stop anyone on defense and couldnt run the ball. Luckily they could pass quite well and finished 7th overall in the league, not bad considering every defense knew Barcelona would have to pass as their rushing game was so poor.

HB Jamal Robertson had a poor season but he wasnt to blame, an offensive line became old and unimaginative and changes had to be made. A new GM took over in Ross Mather who allowed many players to leave and brought in several new faces. Former rival DE Junior Ioane came over from London, Rheins leading tackler from last year LB Cneyt Topcu also arrived in a trade.

However an amazing FIFTEEN rookies arrived from the draft and will make the Dragons roster as they were savaged last year by retirements and also made many trades. The only way is up surely for this team, it might take some time but once the new rookies develop and learn the game in the FWL the Dragons could have a great nucleus for the future.

A great trade brought in HB ReShard Lee who will start for the Dragons, Lee a backup with the Admirals has great skills and could be the best move by GM Mather this year. The WR's are a talented bunch and WR Damon Savage is coming off one of his best seasons in the league. They struck gold in the draft with QB Tee Martin and WR Travis McGriff, two sleepers who will make the team. Martin could be a future starting QB for the Dragons. QB Tony Romo had a good season last year despite the weaknesses on his team and should remain starter.

The offensive line should be improved with rookie 1st rounder Zarah Yisrael and last years top pick Lincoln Kennedy, both of whom should start.

Outside of LB Topcu and Eddie Strong the LB's are slow however, rookie 2nd rounder LB Grant Steen will need time to get to a quality level. The secondary lacks speed but young draftees could get a lot of valuable experience.

A huge shakeup was needed for the Dragons and Mather has done that, now its time to add to his team and get them back to winning ways.