I went to training this morning too Coulda, and can't agree with you regarding de Boer. His kicking was a little loopy, but he wasn't indecisive in the practice drills I saw. With Crowley unseen in the preseason, I can see de Boer taking a midfield role early on.
There weren't too many stand outs ( in a positive way) in the drills. Even Walters with his different coloured shoes tried to baulk and weave before delivering the ball. Crozier made some good long passes, and Taberner looked very impressive, running off his man. Although Taberner was playing on Moller for a while, so it might not be saying too much.
Fyfe looked awesome in the drills, Mundy had better muscle definition than I remember, and McPharlin seemed very fit. Grey got a bake because he took a bounce before passing it in to a leading forward, who had now been covered. Duffy still tries to do too much, but he has self belief.
I watched on the other side of the oval to the club rooms, so may have seen different stuff.
And I think others have predicted Sylvia's demise at the end of the season well before this episode, Coulda. We need confirmation about the skinfolds, tragic if true.