Hearing some of the reports, it sounds like playing Jackson as a deep forward given his height, agility and speed (lead up) and ground ball skills when the ball hits the deck, could be the plan..? He’d make a challenging Match up for oppositions, and would free TMac and Wied to lead up wings etc...

I headed down to training early as we usually hit the track well ahead of schedule.  Vanders was the first to arrive and did a slow lap with a few leg stretches as well.  Saty was next but I didn't take much notice of him but he seems to have eaten well over Christmas.  Jones, Hannan and Tomlinson arrived and wondered over to rehab with Baker joining them a few minutes later.  Bennell was there doing nothing and did so all day.  I didn't see him do any training at all.  KK and May were missing as well as Joel Smith.

The main group arrived about 5 minutes later and did some gentle running and exercises and then over to the tan for the 3K trial.  Needless to say ANB led them home with Bedford only 15 metres behind.  Nibbler looked as though he'd at least done the run this time compared to the first 3Ker when he seemed to hardly break into a sweat.  Cory Wagner, Langdon and TMac were next in (from memory) and over the next few minutes they all arrived.  Preussy beat Max home and all the mids were well bunched.

Back to Gosch's for what is now called a craft session with the players breaking into about 3 groups and doing drills that have already been documented.  Then finally we got a three quarter ground match sim drill but it didn't seem flat out to me and there was little if no tackling although it did get a bit willing at times.  It was hard to pick a standout with lots involved at various stages.  TMac, Weid, Petty, Fritsch and Melk were the main forward targets and they rotated throughout the drills.

Overall players to impress me were Pickett who kicks just as well on both feet, Vanders who seems to be "right", Trac (again) with a mention to Weid who handled the ball well and kicked with confidence.

At the end there was a goal kicking competition involving Trac, Fritta, Jordan, Preuss and Hunt.  They took shots until they were eliminated and I won't tell you the answer just yet - I'll let some healthy speculation take place.

All in all a warm up session I'd say.  Conditions weren't easy but they weren't terrible either.

 

Today was a "quiet" return from the Christmas/New Year break, compared to the exhausting, relentless sessions that we saw before the break.  Having said that, the players had already run a 3 km trial before starting the main exercises which lasted until nearly midday after a 9.30 or thereabouts start.

The rehab group consisted of Tomlinson, Jones, Spargo, Baker & Hannan, who all seemed to be running freely with Jones and Tomlinson certainly at full stretch.  They must be very close to return to the main group and with multiple pre-seasons behind them it would seem not so critical to their overall fitness.

Viney, Jetta and VDB were running their own 3km around the oval ( perhaps they arrived late to go with the main group) but they still had to do it.  It really gladdened the heart to see VDB absolutely "street" the other two, and was a good 300m ahead of them at the end. 

Not sighted today were Joel Smith, May ( who apparently was in the gym inside) and of course KK ( mmm..) and Neitschke.  I can't say that I noticed Marty Hore either, but others may be able to confirm that. Bennell turned up for 5 minutes, but didn't participate (mmm...)

Brayshaw was wearing the number 43 which confused the watchers for a while, especially with a hat on to disguise himself even further. We even saw "the invisible man" Kyle Dunkley, called such because he will get 25 touches in a game and nobody notices..... he does the same at training!

And that is the main observation from today.  Of the 44 on the list 35 were on the track in full training.  What a comparison with last year!!  It means that the coaches can run nearly 2 teams in match simulation, something that was never done in 2019. 

Now I haven't much to report about the actual session, because it was just a series of drills with a small half ground match sim for only 15 minutes or so.  Scoop Junior has covered off most of this in an earlier post.

Just another observation in that Chandler has stacked on the muscle, and was heavily involved in all the midfield exercises.  In sharp contrast Preuss has lost a heap of weight and for those that can't get to training, when you see him during season proper you will simply not recognise him from before!

It was good to see Lewis and Stafford running goal kicking practice at the end with a final competition to see who didn't miss.   I won't steal BB's thunder, so he can let you know later......

Edited January 10, 20205 yr by george_on_the_outer

I'll go for Fritsch or Jordon. (In reply to B-Bob)

Enjoyed all the reports - thanks to all!

Edited January 10, 20205 yr by Roger Mellie

55 minutes ago, PaulRB said:

Hearing some of the reports, it sounds like playing Jackson as a deep forward given his height, agility and speed (lead up) and ground ball skills when the ball hits the deck, could be the plan..? He’d make a challenging Match up for oppositions, and would free TMac and Wied to lead up wings etc...

The 3 most common deep forward targets that I noticed were T Mc, Melksham and Fritsch. They are also our 3 most dangerous one on one forwards. If Jackson gets a game at this stage I can't imagine he'd be any kind of target. He looks best when allowed to move around in space. 

Whilst the main group was doing match sim he did ruck training with Preuss, Gawn and Bradtke and held his own.

22 minutes ago, Baghdad Bob said:

I headed down to training early as we usually hit the track well ahead of schedule.  Vanders was the first to arrive and did a slow lap with a few leg stretches as well.  Saty was next but I didn't take much notice of him but he seems to have eaten well over Christmas.  Jones, Hannan and Tomlinson arrived and wondered over to rehab with Baker joining them a few minutes later.  Bennell was there doing nothing and did so all day.  I didn't see him do any training at all.  KK and May were missing as well as Joel Smith.

The main group arrived about 5 minutes later and did some gentle running and exercises and then over to the tan for the 3K trial.  Needless to say ANB led them home with Bedford only 15 metres behind.  Nibbler looked as though he'd at least done the run this time compared to the first 3Ker when he seemed to hardly break into a sweat.  Cory Wagner, Langdon and TMac were next in (from memory) and over the next few minutes they all arrived.  Preussy beat Max home and all the mids were well bunched.

Back to Gosch's for what is now called a craft session with the players breaking into about 3 groups and doing drills that have already been documented.  Then finally we got a three quarter ground match sim drill but it didn't seem flat out to me and there was little if no tackling although it did get a bit willing at times.  It was hard to pick a standout with lots involved at various stages.  TMac, Weid, Petty, Fritsch and Melk were the main forward targets and they rotated throughout the drills.

Overall players to impress me were Pickett who kicks just as well on both feet, Vanders who seems to be "right", Trac (again) with a mention to Weid who handled the ball well and kicked with confidence.

At the end there was a goal kicking competition involving Trac, Fritta, Jordan, Preuss and Hunt.  They took shots until they were eliminated and I won't tell you the answer just yet - I'll let some healthy speculation take place.

All in all a warm up session I'd say.  Conditions weren't easy but they weren't terrible either.

 

Thanks for that BB now some will think I am being sarcastic but I am not, good to see you were happy with the Weid's  performance today.

We need him to be consistently in the best players in 2020.

Edited January 10, 20205 yr by old dee

Thanks everyone for the reports!

I’ll back in Jordon for winner of goal kicking contest. He’s a lovely kick from what I’ve seen so far. Fritta would be the favorite as he’s usually a neat kick, but some days his radar loses the plot. Pruess probably the worst kick there but could surprise as he did kick a few last year!

Edited January 10, 20205 yr by Lord Travis

Are there any injury concerns for Harry Petty? 

Edited January 10, 20205 yr by chook fowler

34 minutes ago, george_on_the_outer said:

Viney, Jetta and VDB were running their own 3km around the oval ( perhaps they arrived late to go with the main group) but they still had to do it.  It really gladdened the heart to see VDB absolutely "street" the other two, and was a good 300m ahead of them at the end. 

 

Thanks for the reports all!

Might be because running on grass is better than the tan? Both softer and also level? Did all 3 then complete all the craft session? Think Viney could have a big year, with his first decent pre-season in years.

I'll take Pruess as the smoky goal kicking winner.

21 minutes ago, chook fowler said:

Are there any injury concerns for Harry Petty? 

No, trained fully with no concerns.

 

Had a bit of a wander around the park and took in a bit of the training this morning.

@DeeSpencer, Jetta, Viney and Vanders were running fast laps earlier (while the main crew did the tan)...it looked as though Vanders was absolutely streeting them but turns out he was on a different program running sets of 2 laps while Jet and Vin were running continuos. Must say he did look in great shape though.

Just a few general observations.

Tomlinson is huge.

Jackson moves well, positions himself well and is a nice kick. if he gets an early call up it will be as a forward, maybe with a run through the middle.

In the ruck craft sessions Max moved him off his line way to easily but that's to be expected, a kid v the best in the game.

For the time being Tomlinson may have to do the relief ruck work, not my ideal but we do what we do.

Rivers has an AFL ready body, if he has a good preseason will play early.

Tracs strength and balance are going to come to the fore this season...expect him to move up another notch, holds position nicely whilst fending off and taking the ball. Very hard to take off his line.

Pickett offers us what we don't have up forward, don't be surprised if he plays first game.

Good to see the numbers out on the track and looks like Tomlinson and Jones are not far off full training.

They seemed to be putting in longer and harder work in the rehab group.

 

1 hour ago, PaulRB said:

Hearing some of the reports, it sounds like playing Jackson as a deep forward given his height, agility and speed (lead up) and ground ball skills when the ball hits the deck, could be the plan..? He’d make a challenging Match up for oppositions, and would free TMac and Wied to lead up wings etc...

Just a comment, but i do not want to see this bloke getting killed in his first year. Some might say Watts, but at least wait until Bennell is in the side....

53 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

 If Jackson gets a game at this stage I can't imagine he'd be any kind of target. He looks best when allowed to move around in space. 

Maybe we oughta call him "Buck Rogers"...

13 minutes ago, rjay said:

Had a bit of a wander around the park and took in a bit of the training this morning.

@DeeSpencer, Jetta, Viney and Vanders were running fast laps earlier (while the main crew did the tan)...it looked as though Vanders was absolutely streeting them but turns out he was on a different program running sets of 2 laps while Jet and Vin were running continuos. Must say he did look in great shape though.

Just a few general observations.

Tomlinson is huge.

Jackson moves well, positions himself well and is a nice kick. if he gets an early call up it will be as a forward, maybe with a run through the middle.

In the ruck craft sessions Max moved him off his line way to easily but that's to be expected, a kid v the best in the game.

For the time being Tomlinson may have to do the relief ruck work, not my ideal but we do what we do.

Rivers has an AFL ready body, if he has a good preseason will play early.

Tracs strength and balance are going to come to the fore this season...expect him to move up another notch, holds position nicely whilst fending off and taking the ball. Very hard to take off his line.

Pickett offers us what we don't have up forward, don't be surprised if he plays first game.

Good to see the numbers out on the track and looks like Tomlinson and Jones are not far off full training.

They seemed to be putting in longer and harder work in the rehab group.

 

Jees RJ, that is a good, positive report. Loved it....

@Baghdad Bob, how do you see Sparrow tracking? 

I too spent a nice morning perched on the Goschs fence trying to follow a lot of players and a lot of coaches in a lot of activity across the ground. Based on prior reports I was disappointed in the sessions intensity until I found out that they did the 3km time trial prior. Not much to add without repetition. I will say the three players who stood well above my expectations based on output and execution were Bedford, Dunkley and Weid. Special mention to Vanders who was in everything and moving at a fair tick, if he stays fit he will break some bodies in 2020. 

34 minutes ago, McQueen said:

@Baghdad Bob, how do you see Sparrow tracking? 

Sparrow is a solid player both physically and as a footballer.  He moves well, his kicking is solid and his hands are pretty clean.  I'm unsure of his lateral movement (not a negative, not a positive) because I've just not noticed it and I'd want a bit of evidence on that before I form a solid judgement. In my view it's a critical attribute.   I do know there was some disappointment that he got injured last year as he would have got some game time in the seniors.

All in all he's really just beginning.  He had a good preseason last year and a few games in the seniors (due almost solely to injury) and then just went at Casey.  My suspicion is he'll be a good solid player who might find a permanent role over time and will be good depth. He's done nothing to hurt his chances this PS but he hasn't jumped out of the box either.

For me the one that has progressed from last year and has some really good AFL attributes (speed, kicking, good lateral movement, clean) is Chandler.  It's very early days but he's my smokey based on "dancing with your sister" training.  I agree with BRFE that Bedford has come on - looks like he's got some self belief this year - and has gone from a really long shot to much better than that. He's got great endurance (second in the two 3K time trials) and his skills are neat.

The reality is that if we stay reasonably fit there are lots of players you'd like to see get games but many won't.  Jordan, Chandler, Sparrow, Rivers, Jackson, Pickett, Lockhart, JSmith and Dunkley all show a bit.  The fun will be to see which ones get a go and take their chance.

Bedford 2nd in the 3km time trial again.    Wonder how he would go in the midfield?

5 hours ago, don't make me angry said:

Goods new Gus is fit to run time trial

I heard from the family member of a player that they didn't just do 100 x 100's on the last day of training before Christmas. That wasn't enough for Burgo he added a little kicker that brought tears to my eyes just hearing it. Every 20 x 100's they did a 2.2km time trial. Looks like if they survive Burgo they'll survive anything. 

6 minutes ago, It's Time said:

I heard from the family member of a player that they didn't just do 100 x 100's on the last day of training before Christmas. That wasn't enough for Burgo he added a little kicker that brought tears to my eyes just hearing it. Every 20 x 100's they did a 2.2km time trial. Looks like if they survive Burgo they'll survive anything. 

Hell!!! I think I would rather drag my nut sack across broken glass. That would have been hell doing a time trial between the sprints.

Edited January 10, 20205 yr by Frustrated Demon

The session was definitely low/medium intensity - as in minimal physical contact or tackling etc.

Drills seemed to be focused on threading zone traffic by hand and maintaining possession. Both leaving defence and full field drills. 

They Practiced overhead marking. Forwards and defenders.

Each full field drill ended with ball kicked to a leading forward inside 50, with the  marking player completing the shot on goal. Not sure if this is to keep goal kicking front of mind in training. 

A heap of running. The 3k time trial and then most players did repeat 100 metre sprints later in the session while others did the 3/4 field drills.

Wind was atrocious at times so foot skills harder to judge - they seemed to handle it ok, but not great.

Bennell walked around the whole session and acted as a witches hat in drills. Obviously being encouraged to get amongst it but clearly under instruction to not run and not kick as yet. Forget anything but 2nd half of the year at best. May missing is a concern to me also given his history. 

 

 

Got down there today early for a short time. Everything has been covered by others but I can add that watching Baker in the timed sprints he was just going registering 5s plus while Jones was a consistent 4, as was Tomlinson and then Hannan 3.8 etc. Then the rehab group did some agility work moving quickly between cones, but not Baker who just sat to the side. At the end he was in discussion with a physio and looking at his groin muscles. May have a touch of OP?