I attended my first preseason training this morning in hot and breezeless conditions.

I’m not a big fan of training techniques so I’ll concentrate on some observations on individual players, and let others comment on set plays.

My initial observations were very pleasing:

TMac has certainly changed his body shape (and hairdo) looking much lighter and running  comfortably; 

Tomlinson is generally not noted for his agility but a dedicated summer of training sees him looking lighter and quite fast too.

Tholstrup looks and trains like a man on a mission and his repeated efforts certainly don’t go unnoticed.

Bowie has muscled up and his kicking was a weapon 

Rivers looks supremely fit and continues to give the impression he’ll play more midfield time this year .

Not overly impressed by the fitness of McAdam who seems to be coming from a fair distance behind the others in fitness

Petty likewise to McAdam seems a fair way off match fitness, understandably.

 

5 minutes ago, joeboy said:

Not overly impressed by the fitness of McAdam who seems to be coming from a fair distance behind the others in fitness

Petty likewise to McAdam seems a fair way off match fitness, understandably.

 

Sounds like these two have a bit of work to do if they want to be in round zero calculations.

McAdam was stationed at full forward in Friday's match sim and was very quiet unless the ball was in his area. Compare that to his days in Adelaide where he often played further up the ground.

 

49 minutes ago, joeboy said:

I attended my first preseason training this morning in hot and breezeless conditions.

I’m not a big fan of training techniques so I’ll concentrate on some observations on individual players, and let others comment on set plays.

My initial observations were very pleasing:

TMac has certainly changed his body shape (and hairdo) looking much lighter and running  comfortably; 

Tomlinson is generally not noted for his agility but a dedicated summer of training sees him looking lighter and quite fast too.

Tholstrup looks and trains like a man on a mission and his repeated efforts certainly don’t go unnoticed.

Bowie has muscled up and his kicking was a weapon 

Rivers looks supremely fit and continues to give the impression he’ll play more midfield time this year .

Not overly impressed by the fitness of McAdam who seems to be coming from a fair distance behind the others in fitness

Petty likewise to McAdam seems a fair way off match fitness, understandably.

 

Thanks Joeboy - More please.!!

obvious comment     and you used more than 3 words.   many thanks   a different view,   they all help

joeboy; cub reporter extraordinaire

2 hours ago, joeboy said:

Not overly impressed by the fitness of McAdam who seems to be coming from a fair distance behind the others in fitness

Petty likewise to McAdam seems a fair way off match fitness, understandably.

I went to training last wed and had similar thoughts.

Petty was limping quite noticeably near the end of training and McAdam looked pretty gassed.

Which as you say is understandable for petts given he is coming off that foot injury.

In fact even though they never really communicated anything other than a very loose rehab time frame he is ahead of the worst case scenario that was floated (ie lisfranc requiring 10-12 months rehab) 

With Mcadam one thing i did notice is how skilled he was in the handball in tight area drill they did a few times. good hands and great evasive skills. Strong too, as evidenced by standing up in tackles. 

And i was surprised how quick he is off the mark. In the match sims he also took a couple of strong marks - very sticky hands. I think Melk's defensive (but can still provide an offensive threat), medium forward role is his if he can get his tank up to scratch by round one.

Edited January 29, 20241 yr by binman

RETURN FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES 6 REBOOTED

Picket Fence. Thanks very much the gates are open again and about 70 or so Dees fans in attendance. There are scribes with I. Pads, people with note pads scribbling away, interestingly Ive never used notes or anything else whilst compiling my reports, so there ya go. Oh wait hold the phone, this report just keeps on getting wackier and more way out, like a drug induced stupor.. There in fron of my eyes is Charleton Heston ( AKA Taylor) from the original "Planet of The Apes"What is he doing here?? Hello Taylor whats going on man why are you here and how are you here?

Taylor" And who might you be?? You like like a B grade extra in a Z Grade cheap flick"

P.F '' Yeah thanks for that, I'm here doing a footy training report my name is Picket Fence"

Taylor " A gumshoe eh"? Well Fence I'll tell you what Im doing here, the producers are casting for some Ape's for the next installment and sent me back from the future ( Sound familiar ?ED) to get some from a place called LuliePie" 

P.F LULIEPIE ????? sounds terrible, I think I'll just stick to the old Fourntweenties thanks"

Taylor. These Luliepies are totally life like and are exactly what the producers need coz they dont need any makeup and walk exactly like the apes on the set. They look like this

 

P.F "Ok, I know the script I'll take you there on one condition!"

Taylor" And whats that????

P.F "Talk to the producers and get me a big Acting Gig in the big apple"

Taylor " Done"

TRAINING REPORT MONDAY 

Conditions very hot but plenty of shade, No slitheras but did see some Bigfoot prints adjacent the Moat

NO SHOWS OLIVER, BBB, SMITH, FULLARTON, MELKSHAM

MODIFIED DUTIES HUNTER , PETTY Both on the bikes, and later JEFFERSON running and VERRAL same

NOTE SALEM, MONIZ-WAKEFIELD all back in FULL TRAINING!

TRAINING DRILLS MANY AND VARIED

1 One on one full stoppage simulations and hemming opponenent in at boundary

2 Random player ground ball gets and then precision passing to leading forward option

3 Rotating forward entries from centre transitions to forwards leading with one on one defenders as checkers spoilers

4 Whole ground manoeuvers from back to forward

PLAYER WATCH 

SHACHE Standout player today for mine took several strong contested grabs againast quality defence May and Thommo and perhaps the penny has dropped about being more hungry and agresive at the ball

Mc ADAMS Um sorry I don't buy this fitness lacking thing , he is an excitment machine who figured in goals and knows where to run and go

WOEWODIN Continues to improve and looks confident and strong

JED ADAMS Looked pretty composed by hand and foot and could surprise

BILL LAURIE Trained very well and generally disposes well, but I'm not sure he has the X factor needed

KOOYONG KOLT We have a goodun in this guy,punches well above his weight and at one stage provided 3 pressure acts in a row and resulted in a turnover. A lot to like

MARTY HORE For some reason he just looks like he's ready to go, works well into a contest and disposal is very sound

ANDY MONIZ -WAKEFIELD Some serious X Factor, involved and very skilled in linking up.

As you would expect MAX, LEVER, MAY, THOMMO,RIVERS, KOZZY NIBBLER, et al all trained as seasoned pro's

HIGHLIGHT..... A drone was hovering over Bowsers head and he thought swatting it was a good idea, got close but no cigar.. Funny to see though.

Drills are a lot more corridor based and feature the ability to a) Select the best option in traffic b) Execute skills to best advantage. Its coming together and the intensity is definately obvious

Cheers P.F

Edited January 29, 20241 yr by picket fence

N.B Not sure I saw Trac!??

22 minutes ago, picket fence said:

 

SHACHE Standout player today for mine took several strong contested grabs againast quality defence May and Thommo and perhaps the penny has dropped about being more hungry and agresive at the ball

 

If Schache could somehow reach his potential as a top 2, 199cm player we could be laughing.

Won't hold my breath just yet though.

13 minutes ago, picket fence said:

PLAYER WATCH 

SCHACHE Standout player today for mine took several strong contested grabs against quality defence May and Thommo and perhaps the penny has dropped about being more hungry and aggresive at the ball

Cheers P.F

Picket that's a second Joshua boost in recent reports. Many here would have him closer to the penny dreadful end of the spectrum but none the less an interesting watch. Has some ability just needs to overcome perennial stagefright.

27 minutes ago, picket fence said:

NOTE SALEM, MONIZ-WAKEFIELD all back in full training!!

Brayshaw??

Surely Sparrow is back in full training after the mountain of running he's been doing?

Sparrow and Brayshaw in full training😁

1 hour ago, Tarax Club said:

joeboy; cub reporter extraordinaire

Joeboy; reported house down.

Edited January 29, 20241 yr by TRIGON

46 minutes ago, picket fence said:

N.B Not sure I saw Trac!??

Might’ve slept in from his late night at the Aus Open last night 😂

30 minutes ago, DistrACTION Jackson said:

If Schache could somehow reach his potential as a top 2, 199cm player we could be laughing.

Won't hold my breath just yet though.

With Brown and Fullarton now out then there is certainly opportunity there for him.

Interesting that he trained well because didn't someone mentioned that he was all that impressive last Friday during the match simulation?

55 minutes ago, DistrACTION Jackson said:

If Schache could somehow reach his potential as a top 2, 199cm player we could be laughing.

Won't hold my breath just yet though.

Hearing this form many many people.. interesting nonetheless — look fwd to seeing if any of it is real or not.. but if he remotely lives up to his true potential & has learnt how to make an impact in the contest aerially then we could be in for an interesting depth-chart up fwd.. but I won’t hon my breath either as it’s something that’s often never learned, and is more intrinsic.. BUT 🤞 

25 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

With Brown and Fullarton now out then there is certainly opportunity there for him.

Interesting that he trained well because didn't someone mentioned that he was all that impressive last Friday during the match simulation?

I watched 3x 15 minutes quarters and he probably took 1 or 2 marks for the entire game up forward and missed a set shot. Maybe he fired up in the last quarter.

Interesting to note that PF has talked him up 2 or 3 times this year in his training reports.

There is definitely an opening for him if he's good enough to take it.

 

With Grundy gone, Fullerton, BBB and Petty injured Schache has a sniff.

Plus Smith out who often plays forward.

No excuses for not training full on and more.

So its JVR, TMc, Schache options for tall forward and ruck relief. Jefferson is an option but maybe not ready yet?

Looks like we will rely on Fritsch and McAdam to fire up. Track may have to play mainly on ball?

Looking thin on for Forward talls. 

 

 

3 hours ago, picket fence said:

RETURN FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES 6 REBOOTED

Picket Fence. Thanks very much the gates are open again and about 70 or so Dees fans in attendance. There are scribes with I. Pads, people with note pads scribbling away, interestingly Ive never used notes or anything else whilst compiling my reports, so there ya go. Oh wait hold the phone, this report just keeps on getting wackier and more way out, like a drug induced stupor.. There in fron of my eyes is Charleton Heston ( AKA Taylor) from the original "Planet of The Apes"What is he doing here?? Hello Taylor whats going on man why are you here and how are you here?

Taylor" And who might you be?? You like like a B grade extra in a Z Grade cheap flick"

P.F '' Yeah thanks for that, I'm here doing a footy training report my name is Picket Fence"

Taylor " A gumshoe eh"? Well Fence I'll tell you what Im doing here, the producers are casting for some Ape's for the next installment and sent me back from the future ( Sound familiar ?ED) to get some from a place called LuliePie" 

P.F LULIEPIE ????? sounds terrible, I think I'll just stick to the old Fourntweenties thanks"

Taylor. These Luliepies are totally life like and are exactly what the producers need coz they dont need any makeup and walk exactly like the apes on the set. They look like this

 

P.F "Ok, I know the script I'll take you there on one condition!"

Taylor" And whats that????

P.F "Talk to the producers and get me a big Acting Gig in the big apple"

Taylor " Done"

TRAINING REPORT MONDAY 

Conditions very hot but plenty of shade, No slitheras but did see some Bigfoot prints adjacent the Moat

NO SHOWS OLIVER, BBB, SMITH, FULLARTON, MELKSHAM

MODIFIED DUTIES HUNTER , PETTY Both on the bikes, and later JEFFERSON running and VERRAL same

NOTE SALEM, MONIZ-WAKEFIELD all back in FULL TRAINING!

TRAINING DRILLS MANY AND VARIED

1 One on one full stoppage simulations and hemming opponenent in at boundary

2 Random player ground ball gets and then precision passing to leading forward option

3 Rotating forward entries from centre transitions to forwards leading with one on one defenders as checkers spoilers

4 Whole ground manoeuvers from back to forward

PLAYER WATCH 

SHACHE Standout player today for mine took several strong contested grabs againast quality defence May and Thommo and perhaps the penny has dropped about being more hungry and agresive at the ball

Mc ADAMS Um sorry I don't buy this fitness lacking thing , he is an excitment machine who figured in goals and knows where to run and go

WOEWODIN Continues to improve and looks confident and strong

JED ADAMS Looked pretty composed by hand and foot and could surprise

BILL LAURIE Trained very well and generally disposes well, but I'm not sure he has the X factor needed

KOOYONG KOLT We have a goodun in this guy,punches well above his weight and at one stage provided 3 pressure acts in a row and resulted in a turnover. A lot to like

MARTY HORE For some reason he just looks like he's ready to go, works well into a contest and disposal is very sound

ANDY MONIZ -WAKEFIELD Some serious X Factor, involved and very skilled in linking up.

As you would expect MAX, LEVER, MAY, THOMMO,RIVERS, KOZZY NIBBLER, et al all trained as seasoned pro's

HIGHLIGHT..... A drone was hovering over Bowsers head and he thought swatting it was a good idea, got close but no cigar.. Funny to see though.

Drills are a lot more corridor based and feature the ability to a) Select the best option in traffic b) Execute skills to best advantage. Its coming together and the intensity is definately obvious

Cheers P.F

One of the best reports ever. 

10 minutes ago, manny100 said:

Looking thin on for Forward talls.

Apart from JVR, and Petty, who else from our forward talls could be relied on to take marks and kick goals?

So long as we can prevent the oppos from taking easy marks, then we have the "play tall" forwards like Fritsch and perhaps McAdam to compete in the air and the small forwards like Kozzie and Chandler to prosper at ground level.

Balanced with a strong defence and an attacking midfield, the lack of dominant forward talls might not be a disaster yet.

GO DEES

 

5 hours ago, joeboy said:

 

TMac has certainly changed his body shape (and hairdo) looking much lighter and running  comfortably; 

Tomlinson is generally not noted for his agility but a dedicated summer of training sees him looking lighter and quite fast too.

 

 

This is pleasing indeed.

Both in recent years have put on extra weight to play deep forward and on key backs. I can't help but feel with two elite runners for their size that this has impacted their fitness a lot the last few seasons.

I'm fairly bullish about Tmac going back as even last year in short stints at the end of games filling in back there he was sound and steady.

Loving hearing how motivated Tomlinson sounds to be to get back in the side. If he is lighter hopefully his pace is better and can move up the ground more as a marking option.

Checking thread to see some good news and i hear Schache is the answer? 

think i’ll wait a month