Apologies to those who missed the updates as I was posting them on the Match Day/Team Selection thread.

I arrived as the team was doing their warm up and instantly noticed Viney, Tyson, Jones, Watts, Salem and Bugg were not present. 

Of the long term injuries only Vanderberg was there.

Once the warm up concluded the team was split into several groups for some ball work. That is when I noticed Trengove in a group of 4 having a lazy kick to kick. The other 3 were White, Maynard and Vandenberg. That basically proved to me Trengove would not be selected this week.

On the other side of the ground was Weed,  Spencer, Ben Ken, Keilty, King and Johnstone doing some light drills. This also ruled out Weed.

Hogan, Pedders and T Mac were competing in one on one marking drills with each winning their fair share. I thought  this set up might be the one to go with up forward on Sunday. 

Shortly after, the team was split into respective positions for more ball work.

Backs were made up of Oscar, Wagner, Jetta, J Smith and Frost. Frost looked unrestricted in movement but did consult the doctor pointing out his buttock area for a few short minutes and then was back into it. This drill basically consisted of high kicks and spoiling.

The midfield set up was interesting. Max and Pedders would contest ball ups and the mids would try and win clearances. The players in that group where JKH, Lewis, Vince, Harmes, Stretch, Hannan, Oliver, Trac, Melksham and Brayshaw. There were two teams of 6 in this drill and they looked as sharp as ever.

Forwards were Hogan, Garlett, Kent, ANB and T Mac. This was a simple drill of high kicks and some contested marking.

Hunt and Hibberd were together in what seemed like a link up type of drill. One of the coaches would kick to them and in turn they would turn quickly with the ball and kick it to another coach.

This drill lasted about 10 minutes.

Next, they moved to a half ground match simulation. The defence as mentioned above lined up on the forwards also mentioned above. Hunt and Hibberd were also in this drill along with Brayshaw.

The ball would start at the back of the centre square with Lewis usually starting the movement and the ball would move up the field quickly to the forwards.  This pleased me the most, Hogan and Garlett were moving quick and looked sharp throughout. Hogan is clearly keen to get back in there and he was a sight for sore eyes. From his marking to ground ball winning he looked great. A lot of love for this guy from teammates and coaches. He was even dirty at himself for not taking clean marks and missing targets by a short distance, Jesse just breathes football. Simply awesome watching him train.

The ball movement was crisp and precise most times and the boys definitely look refreshed and eager.

To finish off they participated in a leisurely type of drill where the final link would be a defender trying to snap or banana a goal from all over the place. The whole team roared when Oscar snapped a beauty ala Buddy style from 40m out. Celebration by Oscar was great too. Brought a laugh to everyone watching this as Frost and Smith were trying opposite foot snaps on the run. Pleasant viewing.

Players slowly made their way out of the track and stopped for endless photos and autographs. 

Whilst that was going on Brayshaw continued to run with Cross and was clearly putting in the hard yards. He participated in the whole session and still had energy to keep on running. Fantastic sight.

Clearly the positives were Jesse,  Gus and to a lesser extent Garlett in which he looked really nippy and clean with ball. 

Another positive is the team got through the session well and let's hope they replicate it on Sunday. 

Did I mention how good it was to see Jesse out there?

Edited July 7, 20178 yr by Demon77

Terrific report. Fantastic stuff.

How did hoges train?

3 minutes ago, binman said:

Terrific report. Fantastic stuff.

How did hoges train?

Like he hasn't missed a beat!

Great report, thanks.

You mentioned "noticed Viney, Tyson, Jones, Watts, Salem and Bugg were not present. "

Any word from the sidelines re Watts and Salem in particular?

3 minutes ago, monoccular said:

Great report, thanks.

You mentioned "noticed Viney, Tyson, Jones, Watts, Salem and Bugg were not present. "

Any word from the sidelines re Watts and Salem in particular?

Sorry, I don't have any info on those two.

Thanks for the comprehensive report D77. Your thoughts on Joel (S.O.S.) Smith please.

I was a little surprised at his selection in the team given how little time he's been back from injury.

12 minutes ago, Dee Dee said:

Thanks for the comprehensive report D77. Your thoughts on Joel (S.O.S.) Smith please.

I was a little surprised at his selection in the team given how little time he's been back from injury.

SOS is obviously rated very highly by those in the know.  Unfortunately most of us have only seen 20 minutes of him, but what I saw I liked. 

18 minutes ago, Dee Dee said:

Thanks for the comprehensive report D77. Your thoughts on Joel (S.O.S.) Smith please.

I was a little surprised at his selection in the team given how little time he's been back from injury.

Smith moved well throughout the session and by observing him from ground level I was surprised at how smooth and quick he moves.

Watching him move with confidence was pleasing and my first thought was, he would be a great match up for Cripps when he has a stint forward.  

I realise his selection has surprised a few but Goody has shown us before the faith he has for certain players. Best example, Wagner. Wagner missed the first part of the season and was brought in on the back of one game for Casey. 

 

5 minutes ago, Demon77 said:

Smith moved well throughout the session and by observing him from ground level I was surprised at how smooth and quick he moves.

Watching him move with confidence was pleasing and my first thought was, he would be a great match up for Cripps when he has a stint forward.  

I realise his selection has surprised a few but Goody has shown us before the faith he has for certain players. Best example, Wagner. Wagner missed the first part of the season and was brought in on the back of one game for Casey. 

 

The lad seems to be one of those very fast learners, here's wishing him the best for Sunday.

1 hour ago, Demon77 said:

Smith moved well throughout the session and by observing him from ground level I was surprised at how smooth and quick he moves.

Watching him move with confidence was pleasing and my first thought was, he would be a great match up for Cripps when he has a stint forward.  

I realise his selection has surprised a few but Goody has shown us before the faith he has for certain players. Best example, Wagner. Wagner missed the first part of the season and was brought in on the back of one game for Casey. 

 

Report much appreciated D&77  I was hugely impressed by Smith's JLT game against Carlton and seeing him up close on the fence thought we have a real player here. I reckon Goodwin thinks also and will be worth going tomorrow just to see his progress .

Cheers D77 much appreciated 

14 minutes ago, Demon17 said:

Report much appreciated D&77  I was hugely impressed by Smith's JLT game against Carlton and seeing him up close on the fence thought we have a real player here. I reckon Goodwin thinks also and will be worth going tomorrow just to see his progress .

He possesses a bit of X-Factor, mainly with his leap. He almost took a mark better than his dad that day.