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Welcome back to season 2009 of Blues Brothers! It's been such a long off-season - we've been biting at the bit to get stuck in season 09. The first edition of BB for this year will cover probably one of the more popular guys on the team. Why? Hmmm let's see, he's famed home-made t-shirts are rapidly becoming legendary among members of the club. He's always up for a chat about anything in particular. And he's definitely one of the most passionate when it comes to anything Blues related. No one really knows if he's Australian or Canadian. He's got a pretty cool nickname. He was named Blues Rookie of the Year winner in his first season in 2007. Of course he is none other than the famous Ewan "Obi" Williams!!!

BB: Cheers for coming in and giving us your time Obi. We've got plenty of questions to shoot your way so we'll get right into it. 

Obi: I just hope I can make it through without sustaining any season-ending injuries! 

BB: Haha – we promise we’ll take it easy on you… at least until towards the end of the interview. Now 2009 was obviously the Blues best ever season, with the club finishing 4th overall. What do you think happened to cause the sudden change in fortunes for the Blues? 

Obi: Not surprisingly I think it had a lot to do with skill development, but I also think our success can be attributed to the camaraderie and the positive atmosphere that we've created within our club. Regardless of the score, we really worked well together as a team and I sincerely feel that it was that positivity and that sense of brotherhood amongst the Blues which helped us win some big games. 

BB: Being a Blues Rookie of the Year winner, we think you'd be a good guy to ask as to who you think could be this year’s winner. Judging from the pre-season training so far, who do you think out of the current crop of 2009 recruits look the goods so far? 

Obi: My two front-runners right now are Denton and Jack; however I've seen flashes of brilliance from all of the rookies. It's encouraging to see the development of many of our players who are new to the game and I know that we'll soon have the confidence to put any of them into the starting line-up and know that they'll contribute. 

BB: You're pretty involved with the Blues off-field operations (apart from all the help you provide on training sessions and on match day) you're also the Club Secretary. What's your favorite aspect of your off-field role with the club? 

Obi: My favorite part is making ridiculously detailed spreadsheets. No seriously, I enjoy helping with player management because it allows me learn a little bit more about each player on the team and to be honest, it forces me to talk to people, which is not my forte. 

BB: Haha – love those spreadsheets of yours.. Now last year we picked on then coach Jason Cain, this year we have a new target in Jaye Macumber (aka Jmac). Do you have any dirt on Jmac which we could use? 

Obi: I have absolutely no dirt on J-Mac, and I wouldn't dare open my mouth even if I did! To this day, I continue to pay the price for comments I made last season which have since become a bit of an inside joke amongst the Blues. 

BB: Such a suck Obi! You're seemingly a pretty laid back guy who doesn't get too fired up too often. Is there a hidden dark side to Obi? What are your pet peeves? 

Obi:I won't go into my pet peeves aside from mentioning my low tolerance for ignorance, bad drivers and meandering pedestrians. As for a hidden dark side, I'd have to be honest and say that I'm very hard on myself, so it's not something that people would see on the outside. Although I'm one of the quietest and shyest guys on the team, I do get fired up in my own way. But since I don't really have a breaking point, it means that I can do some policing on the field when things get heated. It's all about balance; I'll step in for my teammates when they need to be told to relax a little and they'll stick up for me when I get steamrolled by an opponent. 

BB: The Blues played the Wildcats in Round 9 last season, beating them by 3 points. It was a pretty heated game - you were on the sidelines due to injury. How tough is it to watch your team mates in battle and not be able to run on to help? And who do you think was the angriest Blues player on the day? 

Obi: That was a very physical game so it seemed like the whole team was angry, although J-Mac was probably the angriest and he paid the price with a red card. Being injured and sitting helplessly on the sidelines for 13 weeks was incredibly tough. What made it tougher was the fact that I don't know the skills or the strategy of the game as well as others, so I couldn't even lend any advice to our players. I guess the one positive of being injured for almost the entire season was that it allowed me to learn a lot about the game from the sidelines, and it allowed me to watch the development of all the players on the Blues which was a truly spectacular sight to behold. 

BB: Now imagine if you were playing against the Blues. Who from the Blues would you not like to line up against and why? And who would you like to line up against and why? 

Obi: I could name every player on the team for various reasons, but I'll pick 3 so we're not here all day. I would not like to line up against D2 because he would break me in half; Jase Cain because he would make me look foolish; and Keno because he'd run circles around me and do back flips over me. If there was anyone I'd like to line up against, it would have to be Campa simply because we have some unfinished business from the ice hockey rink. 

BB: Off the topic of footy for a bit. What do you do for a day job? What does it involve? 

Obi: I work in advertising/media. My current position involves learning something new about consumers, markets and the media and then turning those insights into effective advertising and communications strategies. 

BB: Excellent, now that we know that, the One-Words-Worth this week, we're going to tap into your advertising background and have you identify the most suitable product endorsement deals for the following players: 

Obi:

Denton Levy - Green Giant vegetables because he's a tall, muscular, friendly guy.

Chris Staples - The P90X fitness system because he's managed to transform himself during the off-season.

Jacob Sone - Timex watches because he takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'.

Kien La - Energizer batteries because he keeps going and going and going...

Jason Caissie - The board game Monopoly by Parker Brothers because he's living the dream with nice cars, nice houses, and nice suits. 

BB: Rumours have it that that some Blues players are currently in the process of putting together a rock album soon to be released? Since you're the drummer, for the purposes of this question we're gonna call you Ringo. Who is the John Lennon, George Harrison and Paul McCartney of the band? 

Obi: I'd prefer to be called Larry Mullen Jr. from U2, but I guess I'll settle with being compared to the weird looking and nerdiest Beatle. John, George and Paul are all brilliant in their own way, so I hope Bridle, Chaps or Carl don't take offense to my classification. I'd have to say that Chaps is Paul because he's a real showman who is always functioning at 150%; Carl is George because of his meticulous approach to the music; and Bridle is John because he's the cool, calm and collected one. 

BB: You're famous in the league for showing up in a home-made t-shirt when attending events - with mottos/logos fitting for the night (eg. recreating the Blues logo in the same style as the Obama campaign logo shortly after his inauguration). Can you clue BB in to some ideas you may have for this year? Or is this all classified information? 

Obi: You can rest assured that you'll be seeing some ridiculous things this season! I will gladly endure the awkward expressions I receive from strangers because I'm not out to impress anyone. I do it because it's my way of trying to show everyone how proud I am to be a part of such a great team.

BB: Now as usual we also like to give fans of BB guests a chance to ask some questions of their own. We had a few kids write in with some questions for you. Danny and Jasey have both been long time fans of yours. Here are a few questions to get you squirming in your seat: 

Danny: How long have you been with the Blues and how did you get involved with this great club and footy in general? At risk of rubbing it into their fans and officials, we hear that the Dingos missed out on recruiting you, and how does this story involve a girl called Amanda? 

Obi: Get comfy, cause this is a long story! I'd always loved footy growing up but never played the game because of my size, or lack thereof. Living in Geelong, I used to go to Kardinia Park to watch the Cats and I would also travel to the MCG for a few other matches. My Grandpa was a Carlton Blues fan, so they're my #1 team, followed closely by the Cats. 

My first training with the Central Blues was in April of 2007 and it's true that Amanda can take credit for recruiting me. We worked together and she knew about the Australian connection, so one day she asked me if I played footy. I told her that I'd never played the game in my life, but ironically I was going to my first training session with a team that day right after work. That team was the Dingos, whom I picked because I didn't know the Blues existed and because they trained closest to where I was living at the time. 

Amanda convinced me right then and there to play for the Blues because her husband Torrey was on the team. It made perfect sense too because I would know someone associated with the team and also because I am a fan of the Carlton Blues in the AFL, so the thought of playing in a Blues jumper was very tempting. I also felt that playing for a new team in it's 2nd year of existence was far more appealing than trying to break into a well established team. 

So as the story goes, at 4:00pm on a Tuesday afternoon I was scheduled to go train with the Dingos, but by 4:15 that very same afternoon, I had made alternative arrangements to train with the Blues. The timing of our conversation was completely life-altering, and I'm a huge believer in fate so I know that's why Amanda happened to walk past my desk that afternoon and ask me about footy.  

Jasey: I have been lucky enough to have gone to some of the same drinking holes as you, and notice that your accent changes from Canadian to Australian sporadically... Is it true that you have used the magical Australian accent to chat up chicks? 

Obi: This is true, although that was almost 10 years ago. Unfortunately I lost my accent when I last moved here from Australia, so now it only comes out when there are other Australians in the vicinity and when my blood-alcohol level is elevated. 

Isabella: I'm just wondering, do you know my real name? 

Obi: Oh geez... and look at the time, I think we'd better wrap this up! 

BB: Haha – sorry Isabella looks like Obi has run out of time. But before you go mate, was there something about Obi which some of the newer players and our fans out there may not know about you? 

Obi: I'm a hopeless romantic and I'd probably make a few teammates want to spew if they had any idea; I have a healthy obsession with the band U2; In high school I was a pretty hardcore skateboarder and snowboarder; I've been to over 100 concerts; I have child-sized hands and feet; I'm quite injury prone (I've broken 6 bones and have been carrying some sort of injury for the past 25 straight months); and finally, I'm incredibly shy and I am still petrified to talk to pretty girls. 

BB: Cheers for your time Obi. As always, a great pleasure chatting with ya. We look forward to you getting back into some form and seeing you running the ball out from the Blues back line. Thanks to our fans as always.

We really appreciate your support and all the great feedback. Keep sending in the mail and we'll endeavor to get through all your requests as quickly as we can.