After an up and down 2008, Jimmy Cowan has been given the job of leading the Highlanders in 2009, beating out his Southland teammate Jaime Mackintosh for the role.

Jimmy Cowan had several run-ins with the law last year due to his problems with drinking, which led to him being charged twice for disorderly behaviour in the space of a couple of months, with another charge being dropped by police. His problems with alcohol almost led to him being axed from the All Blacks, and had it not been for the All Blacks management enforcing a complete alcohol ban on Cowan, he would never have had the chance to redeem himself in the black jersey.

Fortunately, he adhered to the liquor ban - and went on to produce some of the best form of his career to date. And, by the end of 2008, he had leap-frogged Andy Ellis and Piri Weepu to become the best halfback in the country.

All his hard work has now paid off, as he becomes the first Southlander to captain the Highlanders. And while he lacks experience captaining, he has a strong group of guys around him who will offer him the support he needs.

Cowan has stated that he will take a lot from what he's learned playing alongside Richie McCaw, and use that to help turn the form of the Highlanders around in 2009. From what we've seen of them at training, we think 2009 will be a major improvement on their 2008 season - which is one best forgotten.

Jaime Mackintosh and Jason Shoemark have been named as vice-captains to Cowan.

It's great to see Cowan taking his rugby more seriously, and giving alcohol the boot - it's saved the career of one of New Zealand's most gifted players.

Over the course of the next five days, we will be reviewing the five New Zealand Super 14 franchises for the upcoming 2009 season. Last Friday the squads were announced, and we will be looking at who's in, and who didn't make the cut.

We're starting off with the Otago Highlanders, who have been struggling for the past few seasons - mainly due to the fact that they haven't been able to keep the same squad together for any long period of time.

We said earlier in the year that if the Highlanders were to stand any chance of improving on their poor 2008 season they needed to keep the same squad together in order for them to grow as a team.

Well, the great news for Otago fans is that they've finally been able to do that (minus one or two players), and all the draft players from last year have returned to the deep south.

We certainly don't think they'll go on to win the title (although Israel will be hoping they can...), but by keeping the bulk of 2008's squad they can certainly improve, and will be able to surprise a few sides.

They will be most improved in the back line, where they have secured the services of some good talent. Most importantly, Fetu'u Vainikolo has returned to Otago, which gives them some flair out wide and a genuine try-scoring machine. Added to the mix are Jason Shoemark and Jayden Hayward, both of whom have been outstanding in the Air New Zealand Cup. Israel Dagg is also coming south, and will replace Paul Williams, who is returning to the Blues. That's four exciting players, and should be the answer to Otago's lack of try-scoring talent in recent years.

Their forwards will continue to be a handful for the other sides in the competition. Although they're not full of 'superstars', they're very good at the set pieces, and will be led well from the likes of Jaime Mackintosh, Adam Thomson and Tom Donnelly. The loss of Craig Newby is pretty big, as is the loss of Hoani MacDonald, but they have enough talent to move on.

The only concern with the squad is that rookie winger Karne Hesketh has not been selected. He was undoubtedly their best player in the Air New Zealand Cup, and the top try scorer with seven. Why on earth you'd leave him out is beyond us - apparently it has something to do with his lack of genuine pace, but when you can break tackles like he can who needs pace? He must feel more than slightly aggrieved that he's missed out, while Lucky Mulipola has made it after a poor season.

It's a real shame that one of the other teams didn't pick him up in the draft, because he really is a great player.

For the Highlanders to succeed in 2009 they have to start winning at home, and return to the days where the House of Pain meant just that - no one could beat them. Now-a-days, it's more of a House of Pain for Otago fans. If they can start winning at home, they will be able to make a strong push for the semi-finals, especially as they have always been good playing in South Africa. It's a long road ahead, but they are finally able to grow as a team - and that could mean that success is just around the corner.

Here's the full squad:

Jaime Mackintosh (Southland), Clint Newland (Otago), Chris King (Otago), Anthony Perenise (Wellington, draft), David Hall (Souhtland), Jason Rutledge (Southland), Hayden Triggs (Otago), Tom Donnelly (Otago), Josh Bekhuis (Otago), Ross Kennedy (Otago), Adam Thomson (Otago), Tim Boys (Souhtland), Aland Soakai (Otago), Steven Setephano (Otago), George Naoupo (Hawkes Bay, draft), Jimmy Cowan (Southland), Sean Romans (Otago), Daniel Bowden (Otago), Matt Berquist (Hawkes Bay, draft), Jason Shoemark (Hawkes Bay, draft), Jayden Hayward (Taranaki), Johnny Leota (Otago), Kendrick Lynn (Southland), Brett Mather (Otago), Lucy Mulipola (Otag), Fetu'u Vainikola (Otago), Ben Smith (Otago), Israel Dagg (Hawkes Bay,draft).

It's been another completely forgettable season for the Otago Highlanders - a season filled with disappointing results, and games that simply seemed to slip through their fingers in the dying minutes.

For a province built on a proud history (rugby and otherwise) and a strong, "Southern Man" attitude, the results have been hard to swallow for most fans. For those hardy enough to continue following the Highlanders, the steady decline of the franchise has been unbearable.

There's a perfectly good reason why the Highlanders have gone from front runners to bottom dwellers - and that reason is player drain. Otago has been hit the hardest by the recent drain of players to Europe, and you only need to take a quick look at the quality of players missing from last year to understand the effect it's had:

Carl Hayman, Anton Oliver, Clark Dermody and Josh Blackie - and that's just a few. Add to that Nick Evans, who's returned to the Blues, and you can start to make sense of the rapid decline in Otago rugby's results and performances.

Although reluctant to go to the draft for players, this year they really had no choice - and they did end up finding some solid players. But a trend is devleloping over the years - the Higlanders un-earth good players, only to have them snatched up by their home provinces for the next season - and this trend is bound to continue. Two perfect examples of talent unearthed by the Highlanders this year spring to mind - Anthony Tuitavake and Richard Kahui. What will happen to them next year?

If Otago is to have any chance of reclaiming some of their lost pride, they need some help from the NZRFU. Players selected in the draft should be made available to the club that first selected them, so that teams like the Highlanders have a chance of building up a strong core of players, rather than having to start from the beginning again - every year. You could almost guarantee that the Highlanders would move up the competition ladder - if they could just stick with the same squad for more than a year!

If this problem is not resolved soon, the future of the Highlanders will remain up in the air.

So with that said - an appeal to the NZRFU from us here in the Attic:

Please remember, guys - this is the club that gave us great All Blacks like Jeff Wilson, Josh Kronfield, Taine Randell, Carl Hoeft, Kees Meeuws, and Tony Brown. Do something about it's future!

On a more positive note for the Higlanders - lets remember their amazing win over arch rivals Canterbury, which was a very rare highlight in an otherwise very disappointing year. But - a highlight none-the-less.

Fetu Vainakolo, Adam Thompson, Jaime McIntosh, and Paul Williams all deserve credit for their performances this season, while we wish the best of luck to outgoing captain Craig Newby, who is off to Leister. He's had a strong career at Otago since coming down from North Harbour, and he'll be sorely missed by the club and its fans.

Let's hope that the bulk of the Highlanders squad can be retained for next year. If it is, we just might see a revival in the deep South.