Training - Friday 5th December, 2014

[Slartibartfast 17,985]

Nobody will be upgraded until they demand a spot in the team and from what I can see it's unlikely a rookie will do that in the first half of the year.

[ILLDieADemon 804]

Very impressive that Neal Bullen is up there.

Am I the only one who thinks of NUTRA BULLET every time I see Neal Bullen on the screen?

[McQueen 17,867]

Am I the only one who thinks of NUTRA BULLET every time I see Neal Bullen on the screen?

Fair chance.

[Elwood 3184 1,362]

The Toumpas sceptics need to cut him some slack. He is really only going through his first preseason after a number of injuries including the hip operation in the year he was drafted. He's also had to contend with those constant unfair comparisons to Ollie Wines. Be happy that he's training well ATM and is a chance to have a breakout season in 2015.

[Cheesy D. Pun 1,765]

Disposal efficiency % is a horrible stat to quote in isolation.

inside mid percentages are always going to be lower as they rush kicks out of stoppages.

Backmen in the main should have a better % as they do a lot of chipping backwards to unmanned teamates

Watts efficiency doesnt surprise as he gets a lot of kicks where has time to dispose of them.

Grimes is a whipping boy as he tends to turn over a bit when there is no pressure on at all.

He should not be on his own and singled out. I am not critical when balls are turned over under pressure. But three players come to mind who turn it over and miss targets under relatively little or no pressure. TMac, Terlich, Grimes. There are others.

People kept quoting Bartrams d/e% which wasnt bad - but he would make horrible clangers ( almost momentum killers) under no pressure at all. Did two against Stkilda a few years back which swung the momentum of the game.

It is not the qty of kicks that miss the target- it is when you do them, where you do them, and under how much pressure you are under when you do them.

I would have thought Watts' efficiency has a lot to do with him being a great kick of the footy - credit where its due.

[DistrACTION Jackson 10,179]

Are there any photos from this training session?

[bing181 9,411]

The Toumpas sceptics ...Be happy that he's training well ATM and is a chance to have a breakout season in 2015.

A decent season would suffice. When did Nathan Jones ever have a breakout season?

Incremental improvement.

[Moonshadow 17,678]

Nobody will be upgraded until they demand a spot in the team and from what I can see it's unlikely a rookie will do that in the first half of the year.

Isn't Trenners on the LTI list? Would that mean a rookie is likely to be upgraded while he cannot play?

[RalphiusMaximus 6,102]

Isn't Trenners on the LTI list? Would that mean a rookie is likely to be upgraded while he cannot play?

Yep. It's been thrown about for a while that Trenners is out for the year so one Rookie is basically an automatic upgrade. They offered that to Evans and he turned it down and retired instead.

[The Devil Inside 2,147]

Are there any photos from this training session?

On my Twitter account Demonpk

[Slartibartfast 17,985]

Isn't Trenners on the LTI list? Would that mean a rookie is likely to be upgraded while he cannot play?

Not unless he's going to play in the seniors. Promoted rookies get paid more.

[Arrow 1,257]

Not unless he's going to play in the seniors. Promoted rookies get paid more.

Incorrect. They earn more via match payments than a listed player but promoting them and not playing them doesn't financially benefit them unless they play in the seniors.

[McQueen 17,867]

Does anyone know what the Maroochydore schedule is?

I'll be in Vic for a couple of weeks in Jan and it'd be great see the boys at training but reckon it might land smack in the middle of the trip north.

[old dee 23,998]

Does anyone know what the Maroochydore schedule is?

I'll be in Vic for a couple of weeks in Jan and it'd be great see the boys at training but reckon it might land smack in the middle of the trip north.

The lot of a Dees supporter

You expect more McQueen?

[The Chazz 4,077]

Does anyone know what the Maroochydore schedule is?

I'll be in Vic for a couple of weeks in Jan and it'd be great see the boys at training but reckon it might land smack in the middle of the trip north.

In Maroochydore between 12th - 22nd January.

[McQueen 17,867]

In Maroochydore between 12th - 22nd January.

I'm in on the 8th so I might get the Friday session.

Cheers.

[nutbean 8,838]

I would have thought Watts' efficiency has a lot to do with him being a great kick of the footy - credit where its due.

Agreed - his disposal is very good. The point is still relevant that many mids D/E suffers as they are getting quick, drop the ball on the boot kicks from congestion. Watts does get the ball more in clear space meaning he does have more time to dispose. I will repeat , that I like Watts having the ball in space as he is more than just a good disposer of the ball, he can be a damaging user of the ball.

[nutbean 8,838]

To be fair though, Bartram worked damn hard and became a reliable kick if not a good one. He at least got to the point where he could take the safe option and get it right.

The issue with Grimes is more mental than anything. It's when he has too much time that he overthinks things and winds up messing up. When he's under the pump I find he's a better decision-maker and hits his targets better, probably because he's just taking the option that presents itself and not trying to finesse things.

We must have different memories.. I loved Barty's hardness but I don't believe he ever got his kicking right. It always was a major flaw in his game.

Some players will turn the ball over, but Grimes, like Bartram before him do it even once a match when it is under zero pressure and costly - it is deflating and momentum killing.

[Beats 190]

We must have different memories.. I loved Barty's hardness but I don't believe he ever got his kicking right. It always was a major flaw in his game.

Some players will turn the ball over, but Grimes, like Bartram before him do it even once a match when it is under zero pressure and costly - it is deflating and momentum killing.

IMO Bartram had an awkward kicking style which affected his efficiency.

Grimes is a different kettle of fish, as others have said it looks to be all mental. Grimes is a solid kick, not bad, not good. He hits targets under pressure, for mine the majority of his clangers came from marks. He would look up, ignore the first option and then with no movement up the field he would try to pin point a pass/ do a kick outside his limits. The memorable ones he kicked on the full were all down the line kicks that ended up a metre or two outside the line, not like they went 10 rows back. Just a player with a lack of options trying to do too much.

In terms of momentum killers, Pedo had 2 this year that are up in the top 5 worst I've ever seen.

[DeeSpencer 26,266]

IMO Bartram had an awkward kicking style which affected his efficiency.

Grimes is a different kettle of fish, as others have said it looks to be all mental. Grimes is a solid kick, not bad, not good. He hits targets under pressure, for mine the majority of his clangers came from marks. He would look up, ignore the first option and then with no movement up the field he would try to pin point a pass/ do a kick outside his limits. The memorable ones he kicked on the full were all down the line kicks that ended up a metre or two outside the line, not like they went 10 rows back. Just a player with a lack of options trying to do too much.

In terms of momentum killers, Pedo had 2 this year that are up in the top 5 worst I've ever seen.

It's part of the problem. He so often goes back off the mark and then scans the field looking (and not finding) options. If you watch the Hawthorn players, as well as the Sydney kicks in McVeigh, Malceski and Rhys Shaw, instead of dropping the full distance back from a mark they often quickly gather then roll out to the direction they wish to kick before sharply pin pointing a short kick to an available target. Hawthorn do this and spread the ball from one flank to another using a series of brilliant short kicks. Often with their best kicks involved but even their lesser kicks learn how it's done. Grimes doesn't kick Bartram style floaters or shanks, but he has a very very slow and mechanical release. Garland and Dunn get away with it more because they have the ability to reliably kick long and get the ball 60m down to a taller option. I don't think Grimes has confidence in his longer kicking.

Not so much in this early period of training that has a focus on conditioning, but as preseason continues the backline do a heap of kicking drills, so hopefully someone can report on Grimes and hopefully some improvement.

[Bay Riffin 1,493]

The Toumpas sceptics need to cut him some slack. He is really only going through his first preseason after a number of injuries including the hip operation in the year he was drafted. He's also had to contend with those constant unfair comparisons to Ollie Wines. Be happy that he's training well ATM and is a chance to have a breakout season in 2015.

wasn't he flying on the track last pre-season ?