Small, that is, compared to my mental image of them. They bash buggery out of each other on the field so I always have them pegged as gargantuan types who have to turn sideways and bend over to get through doorways.

But at the Dragons launch on Friday, I was surprised to see that most of the players were no taller than me - and I'm a distinctly average 180cm. Some were even shorter - though curiously, their listed height in the official NRL season guide said they should have been taller than me.

The season launch took place at loads of locations in Wollongong and St George. Like last season it was a community-style launch, where players visit hospitals, schools, plant trees and clean up the environment.

In an era where boozy season launches inevitably lead to trouble these days, the Dragons approach is genius. It shows they're responsible and interested in linking back into the community. If the other NRL clubs had half a brain they'd be doing this too.

And, to be honest, it's a lot more fun than a night-time dinner and drinks do at some function centre. You just had to see the look on the kids' face at Waniora Public School - where I tagged along - when the likes of Ben Creagh, Brett Morris and Beau Henry turned up.

High performance manager Jeremy Hickmans was there too but I don't think the kids knew who he was - certainly no-one asked for his autograph.

The players were there to help the kids learn literacy and I for one, felt a little envious. I'd have loved for the Dragons to come to my school when I was in Year 5 (though in Year 5 I went to Lakemba Public, so it would probably have been the despised Bulldogs who turned up).

The kids found out that Ben Creagh doesn't reckon there are any easybeat teams in the comp (I disagree - they're called Cronulla), that Brett Morris would have been a zookeeper if he didn't play footy because he loves animals and that Beau Henry's most embarrassing moment was being dacked during a game (though he also made an oblique reference to a mysterious ``shaving'' incident during the pre-season training camp).

After the lesson, came the important stuff - the kids getting their posters and caps autographed.

I did my autograph hunting later, when the whole team congregrated for lunch - though it was for my wife not me. She's quite the Jason Nightingale fan.

But if anyone's in doubt whether these community launches work, they just needed to see the looks on these kids faces. They work alright.

SEE SATURDAY'S MERCURY FOR MORE ON THE DRAGONS SEASON LAUNCH