PRESEASON TRAINING: Friday 2nd February, 2024

[Demonland 70,250]

7 minutes ago, Brenno said:

Sparrow – I know some on here are big Tommy fans, but from what I saw today he is in danger of losing his spot to one of the young and hungry up and comers if he doesn’t improve.  He just seems to have stagnated. Taj, Kynan, Kolt, Lauire could all push him out if he is not careful.

In fairness to Tom he just returned to the main group after a couple of weeks in rehab. It might take some time to hit his stride.

[Cheap Seats 3,310]

Sounds like houses are burning down in Casey

[Demonland 70,250]

8 minutes ago, Cheap Seats said:

Sounds like houses are burning down in Casey

Live scenes from Casey

[picket fence 16,639]

2 hours ago, smiFFy said:

so, if Windsor is a lock (and that's exciting for selection, and I look forward to seeing if he gets a run in the preseason matches to start) which wing position does he take then? Hunter if his niggles persist I suppose?

Yep Hunters wing if not fit!

[Lexinator 1,517]

Thanks for the report @picket fence, Deep Purple are awesome! How's Juddy going? Must be flying under the radar again, haven't not heard much about him.

[picket fence 16,639]

1 hour ago, Jeremy said:

You’ve yet to highlight JVR all summer in any training reports Picket, is this because his name’s not  Ben Brown or has he actually not been getting near it much in sims? Would be nice to hear he’s kicking goals and taking marks 

Look he's going all right without dominating! Ya know he occasionally runs under the ball, then has to check himself just watch for it!

[picket fence 16,639]

1 minute ago, Lexinator said:

Thanks for the report @picket fence, Deep Purple are awesome! How's Juddy going? Must be flying under the radar again, haven't not heard much about him.

Solid if unspectacular, will put him on my "watch" list next!

[Lexinator 1,517]

1 minute ago, picket fence said:

Solid if unspectacular, will put him on my "watch" list next!

Thank you! 😊

[Demonland 70,250]

7 minutes ago, Lexinator said:

Thanks for the report @picket fence, Deep Purple are awesome! How's Juddy going? Must be flying under the radar again, haven't not heard much about him.

Can't speak for other trackwatchers but usually if I don't mention somebody it's not necessarily because they weren't noticed or aren't training well it could just because they are doing exactly what is expected of them by training hard and diligently.

Judd is exactly that. He's a kid that trains hard and does all the right things. He is one of our better users of the footy. I haven't been to the Friday Casey match SIMs, which I guess is the closest thing to match conditions at training as opposed to the Wednesday 13 on 13 end to end "circle work", so I haven't had a chance to see Judd the defender in match conditions at training so I can't critique his defending abilities under the closest thing to the pressures of a game. Having said that I have no doubt he will continue on the trajectory we saw him begin last season. We have a good one here in Knuckles.

[DeeSpencer 24,686]

50 minutes ago, Brenno said:

Sparrow – I know some on here are big Tommy fans, but from what I saw today he is in danger of losing his spot to one of the young and hungry up and comers if he doesn’t improve.  He just seems to have stagnated. Taj, Kynan, Kolt, Lauire could all push him out if he is not careful.

 

Great report, but on Sparrow I’m happier to know he’s back in the main stuff than I would be concerned on the back of one training. Has been out of the main drills for a while so I’d imagine there’s some rust 

[picket fence 16,639]

1 hour ago, Demon_spurs said:

Thought this was a "Lazy" report, oh hang on wrong Album...Thanks for the update PF

LAZY was of the "Machine Head" album track 2 side 2. It is still a regular on the set list and Purple will be in the studio later this year to record another album

Cheers P.F oh and for those who ventured down to casey for the first time remember

BLACK NIGHT IS A LOOONG WAY FROM HOOOOME!

[picket fence 16,639]

4 minutes ago, Demonland said:

Can't speak for other trackwatchers but usually if I don't mention somebody it's not necessarily because they weren't noticed or aren't training well it could just because they are doing exactly what is expected of them by training hard and diligently.

Judd is exactly that. He's a kid that trains hard and does all the right things. He is one of our better users of the footy. I haven't been to the Friday Casey match SIMs, which I guess is the closest thing to match conditions at training as opposed to the Wednesday 13 on 13 end to end "circle work", so I haven't had a chance to see Judd the defender in match conditions at training so I can't critique his defending abilities under the closest thing to the pressures of a game. Having said that I have no doubt he will continue on the trajectory we saw him begin last season. We have a good one here in Knuckles.

EXACTLY DEMONLAND😇

[Matt Demon 1,407]

I'm just going to add to the Windsor love in, I've been on long service leave so I've been able to attend most sessions and he's just got better and better as each week goes by. The confidence he has to take on the game is great to see, he's an exciting prospect.

[daisycutter 29,303]

3 hours ago, smiFFy said:

so, if Windsor is a lock (and that's exciting for selection, and I look forward to seeing if he gets a run in the preseason matches to start) which wing position does he take then? Hunter if his niggles persist I suppose?

no way on a wing, except relieving off the bench for short periods. he's too undeveloped to have the stamina for the wing. 

[DeeZone 8,940]

Thanks Brenna MD and all posters a great cross section of DL love the reports, observations and special comments.

[picket fence 16,639]

1 hour ago, Brenno said:

I headed down to Casey for a few hours this morning whilst I was “out seeing a client” 😉.  It was hard to tell who was who on occasion as a lot of them didn't have numbers on the jumpers and were wearing caps. So go easy if I botch a few things here. I’ll do my best to share my observations.

I arrived around 9.40 and the drills were underway. Clarry was running at a solid pace for most of the session and according to the man himself he thinks he is a “couple of weeks away” from joining the main group. Will Verrall did quite a solid amount of running along the boundary with Clarry and didn’t look far off.

Viney wasn’t participating in the drills when I first arrived but joined shortly after and played through the entire match sim later in the session. Whatever he limped off with the other day clearly is no issue. Fullarton also jogged for about an hour and didn’t seem to be uncomfortable but was at minimal pace. Salem was hanging around near the interchange bench for a while during match sim, but he did not train at all to my knowledge.

I didn’t see Petty, Bowey, BB, Hunter, Melky, or Smith at all. They may have been on the far side of the ground from me or inside on the bikes, but as far as I can tell none of them participated today. Jefferson participated in a few drills, but I didn’t notice him after the first 20 minutes. There were about 30 mins or so of ball movement drills before the good stuff started!

 

Match Sim was made up of 3, 20 minutes “quarters” and there was AFL Umpires there to officiate.  The teams started off with what seemed to be a mix of the best 22 and depth players on both sides, with the starting backs lined up on the starting fwds.  Having said that the blue team was clearly stronger through the middle, even with Gawny and a few others on team white.  

After the first 2 “quarters” there was a changeup in teams and the blue team was stacked with our likely best 22. Interestingly ANB, Billings and Thommo all lined up in for the white team. Some interesting inclusions on team blue included Windsor on the wing and Howes and Macca playing down back. Macca looks fit and held his own today. Thommo and Disco might be stuck in Casey for a while longer it seems, although both did some nice things. Our key defensive depth looks great…. The key forwards on the other hand look very thin. Roo was quiet today but is a great focal point when moving the ball forward. However as good as he is as a target, we really need another Key Fwd to step up or it might be much of the same in 2024.

There seemed to be a focus on scoring quickly and coming from behind in this period, The white team were given a 30 odd point lead for the blues to hunt down, which they did comfortably.  At one point during match sim Laurie received the ball during a center square stoppage and blasted it forward in a hurry. Chappy then yelled out, “Connect Bill, Connect!”  I liked this as it shows they are working on a major issue we have had for the past 2 seasons. A work in progress but at least a sign they are addressing it. I was pleasantly surprised with our game style today, I thought the ball movement looked much faster then previous years and they used the corridor quite often too, this had mixed results but that's to be expected. 

Although Blue dominated the session, I must say there were some good signs from our younger brigade and depth players. All the draftees took part in the match Sim and showed signs of what they could become. Really liked Kolts energy and attitude, a future leader in the making IMO. Kynan had some very nice moments and looks like an absolute work horse, just goes, and goes. And Windsor…. Ill get back to this lad.

Taj lined up in quite a few CBAs and did some nice things when faced up against our starting Mids, He really stood out to me today, as did Laurie. Positive signs aside, Gawn, Track, Viney & Gus were our starring 4 for blue at this point, and they looked  levels above the opposition. Overall, the standard was to good watch and I left with optimism for the season and our future with our youngins all showing a bit. Just some notes on individuals:

 

ANB - Undoubtably starting 22, he was BOG for white by a country mile IMO. Great player for our young players to watch and learn from.

Kosi – Everything he touches turns to gold. He really stands out with everything he does. He does stuff that no one else on the list can.

Track - looks to be in extremely good nick and was just a powerful beast all day.

Viney - Seemed completely unhindered to me and at times untouchable. Kicked a very nice goal during match Sim.

Gus – Looks to be fine after his big knock. Played a mix of halfback and midfield. I really like the look of him in the guts and should stay there until Clarry is back IMO. Track, Oliver, Viney, Gus should be our priority mids in 2024. Elite!

Windsor – I will be shocked if he doesn’t play round 1. It’s the first time I have seen him play live in any form and he looks like a ripper. Used the ball well, ran hard to give and receive, competed better than expected in the contest and just looked like he belongs.  I may have just caught him on a good day and his consistency might not be there yet, but I am a fan already. A shoe in to take Hunters role, just a matter of when.

Sparrow – I know some on here are big Tommy fans, but from what I saw today he is in danger of losing his spot to one of the young and hungry up and comers if he doesn’t improve.  He just seems to have stagnated. Taj, Kynan, Kolt, Lauire could all push him out if he is not careful.

Schache – Never been a fan of this bloke, however I must admit he impressed me today. Got bullied a tad in the ruck Vs Gawn but that’s to be expected. He shouldn’t have to go up against many starting rucks at AFL level and from what I saw today he may well be our backup ruck/fwd this year.  He had a great moment when he competed in the ruck with Gawn, smothered an attempted clearance kick then followed up with a big tackle locking it in. The boys and coaches loved it!

Laurie – Thought he was a mile off the pace in his AFL games last year but looks to have stepped it up bigtime. He found a lot of the ball and looked clean, calm, and effective.

Howes – Not sure if he will play down back in the AFL but during the drills and match sim he had moments that made you take notice. The kid can play, just not sure how he gets a look in.

McAdam – Took a few BIG marks, one on poor old Gawnys back. He must be getting sick of that! McAdam will add to our forward line potency for sure. He didn’t get a huge amount of it but he was impactful. Looks the goods.

Spargo – Looks super fit and was his creative self. Big fan!

Lever – Loved his voice and leadership, I still think he will be our captain one day.

Gawn – Dominated the ruck and was never out marked as expected. Today did highlight how badly we need to ruck depth ASAP though.

 

Anywho, it was a great morning, and I am excited for the season to start!

I’ll do my best to answer Any questions you lot may have!

GO DEES!

Wonderful Report! Ur thoughts on Billings?

[Lexinator 1,517]

33 minutes ago, Demonland said:

Can't speak for other trackwatchers but usually if I don't mention somebody it's not necessarily because they weren't noticed or aren't training well it could just because they are doing exactly what is expected of them by training hard and diligently.

Judd is exactly that. He's a kid that trains hard and does all the right things. He is one of our better users of the footy. I haven't been to the Friday Casey match SIMs, which I guess is the closest thing to match conditions at training as opposed to the Wednesday 13 on 13 end to end "circle work", so I haven't had a chance to see Judd the defender in match conditions at training so I can't critique his defending abilities under the closest thing to the pressures of a game. Having said that I have no doubt he will continue on the trajectory we saw him begin last season. We have a good one here in Knuckles.

Thanks Andy. Yeah, it's hard to keep an eye on every player, every session so I don't expect him to feature all the time, but appreciative of the report nonetheless. I have a soft spot for the kid, a real gem unearthed and importantly seems like a genuine and kind kid. Thanks again. 

[rjay 24,577]

27 minutes ago, daisycutter said:

no way on a wing, except relieving off the bench for short periods. he's too undeveloped to have the stamina for the wing. 

If he keeps putting pressure on and performing at training there is plenty of way he can play on a wing.

[daisycutter 29,303]

19 minutes ago, rjay said:

If he keeps putting pressure on and performing at training there is plenty of way he can play on a wing.

you would risk burning him out. he's only young and better suited at the moment to a more burst role requiring less stamina. he's still just a kid. if he ends up as a winger then he needs to buildup for it over a longer time period.  when he does get blooded he should be given a role where he can show his talents, not being over exposed on a wing straight off which only sets him up for a poor intro.

[DeeZone 8,940]

I take your point DC but Windsor will be introduced into the team in a similar way to Riv, Jacko, Kozzi and bowser. The coaches have managed the debutante’s extremely well so far.😁

[Jeremy 941]

27 minutes ago, daisycutter said:

you would risk burning him out. he's only young and better suited at the moment to a more burst role requiring less stamina. he's still just a kid. if he ends up as a winger then he needs to buildup for it over a longer time period.  when he does get blooded he should be given a role where he can show his talents, not being over exposed on a wing straight off which only sets him up for a poor intro.

Ollie Hollands did very well on a wing last year in his first year 

[DeeSpencer 24,686]

40 minutes ago, daisycutter said:

you would risk burning him out. he's only young and better suited at the moment to a more burst role requiring less stamina. he's still just a kid. if he ends up as a winger then he needs to buildup for it over a longer time period.  when he does get blooded he should be given a role where he can show his talents, not being over exposed on a wing straight off which only sets him up for a poor intro.

What’s the role? He’s not going to be playing forward pocket or back pocket and every other position is flat out running these days.

I’ve only seen him used on a wing in training. As long as his time on ground is kept around 65-70% he shouldn’t be burnt out immediately. Rested or back to the 2’s if he fatigues.

[DeeSpencer 24,686]

 

hopefully this is just a Kossie pump up video and not reflective of our inside 50’s overall, because these are not good 

[Dee Zephyr 19,146]

7 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

 

hopefully this is just a Kossie pump up video and not reflective of our inside 50’s overall, because these are not good 

Wow, you have concluded these aren’t good from a 35 second clip with two kicks inside 50. Please explain how you came to that?

Edited February 2 by Dee Zephyr

[DeeSpencer 24,686]

4 minutes ago, Dee Zephyr said:

Wow, you have concluded these aren’t good from a 35 second clip with two kicks inside 50. Please explain how you came to that?

Using my eyes?

The first is a long hoof to Gawn by himself on the defensive team, that’s about the worst inside 50 kick you can make in footy.

The second involves Langdon having to stop and prop only to chip it what I assume isn’t 15 with a kick Tracc makes look good. Harder to no just how bad that is without context but it’s not the free flowing ideal connection you’d prefer to see