Dockers forward Hayden Ballantyne believes Sylvia is a great acquisition to the club but said the 28-year-old had been training away from the main group in the first half of the pre-season.
"Col's been doing a bit of his own work one-on-one with a few of the coaches," Ballantyne said.
"He hasn’t trained too much with us. He’s working through some fitness stuff with the coaches. But obviously he’s a very skilled player and he’ll contribute really well for us."
Speaking at Fremantle's golf day, Ballantyne said the pre-season had been a tough slog in the Perth heat but the players had thrived in the demanding conditions.
"The boys have come back in ripping nick and all pretty much reached our targets as far as 3km time trials go and skinfolds, so the boys are looking good," Ballantyne said.
"Matt de Boer has really improved his 3km time trial. He’s a real workhorse around the club and he’s dragging everyone else along with him, so it’s great leadership from him."
Ballantyne said the Dockers had not dwelt on the disappointment of the Grand Final loss to Hawthorn despite admitting he had a poor day in the decider.
"My performance was average at best. As I have said, I can't control that now," Ballantyne said.
"What's done is done. If we dwell on it now we can't do anything about the future, so we're working towards 2014 and that's what we have our sights set on."
Life has changed significantly for Ballantyne since the disappointment of September. His partner Alyssa gave birth to a baby girl, Avery, a fortnight ago and Ballantyne is experiencing the joys of fatherhood for the first time.
"It's been good," Ballantyne said.
"Avery is awesome, but I'm not getting too much sleep at the moment, so training has been tough for the past few days.
"Mainly just the sleep, interrupted sleep all night. Other than that she's a happy, healthy baby and I'm pumped.
"Alyssa has been awesome during the whole process and I've learned a bit myself. It's awesome."
