PRESEASON TRAINING: Monday 2nd December 2024

[binman 43,747]

28 minutes ago, gs77 said:

Here's one of the groups from the latter set of time trials.  Billings setting the early pace ahead of Trac, Kolt, Salem, etc.

Salem, followed by Rivers, Viney, Roo and Clarry:

Trac taking the lead:

Trac and Kolt breaking away in the push to the finish line from followers led by Billings:

Recovery!

Bit of talk previously about clarry being a bit overweight.

I wish my overweight looked like his!

[Slartibartfast 17,619]

I'm a bit late to the party but I made it down to training today and the boys were really put through their paces. The time trials were interesting.  Harvey went out hard and held on well only to be overtaken by a few of the mature boys but he's fit enough to play AFL.  Clarrie was at the back of his group but only by a small margin but he was totally spent at the end of it and I thought he was going to be sick. But then to my surprise he was up and at it in all the later drills.  Interestingly they all did the time trials with shirts off and reports of Clarrie being overweight are grossly exaggerated, he might not be at his thinnest but he is far from fat.  He looked in very good shape to me and as others have reported he's in good spirits.

He was in the same group as Kolt who beat him but interestingly when all that group finished they fell to the ground in exhaustion but the Kolt didn't.  He stayed on his feet and encouraged the others to get up.  Leadership written all over this kid.

Sesso also seems to have slimmed down well and is running much better than previous years.  I don't think he's there yet but he's made big steps towards AFL fitness and if he continues as he is he might be a smokey for R1 when Koss is out.

Verrall is really struggling in the running.  He was a long way back in the time trial and in the end one of the trainers ran with him to keep him company.  He really needs to get that right because he's way below AFL fitness at the moment and he's now entering his third preseason. I'm not suggesting he's not putting in the effort, just that he really struggles with this sort of running.  Interesting in later running drills he was keeping up much better which was a positive.

I was also interested in Aidan Johnson's performance.  He looked pretty comfortable out there and kept up well in the time trials and other running. Beyond that I didn't really notice him much in the drills.

To my surprise Petts is training with the backs as is Windsor.  McVee is there too so it would seem that Duke and Knuckles won't be in the midfield this year which is against expectations. I don't see how Petts, May (who does look like he's been in a good paddock) Lever and Tmac fit in the one backline and it's hard to see Tmac missing out because he is in the best knick I've ever seen him.  He's moving really well, he's really lean, his ball handling and kicking is good and his lateral movement is better than for a while and I'd suggest that's as a result of his feet being injury free.  I've been to all but one session and he's the standout so far for me but I'm a big fan so perhaps I'm bias.

Beyond that it was a great day for the track watcher I didn't think.  Lots of little drills which didn't really show much and the boys were spread out all over the field making it hard to get an overall picture.  I liked what I saw from Langford who to my eye didn't appear much taller than Clarrie when I saw them standing together but it's hard to tell given Clarrie's hair.

Fritter was doing heaps of running at a very good clip and he did it for a long time. He looks really fit so I've no idea what his issue is.  McAdam also did a fair bit of running and looked comfortable and he looks in good condition.  I wonder if they just want to get him really fit before throwing him into full training and exposing his body to the level of stress.

I can confirm previous report on Sparrow.  He looks really lean and he was running really well.  I think he may have got a rocket at the end of last season, he looks a new player. Billings also looked really fit.

I'm going again on Wednesday and hopefully they'll do a bit of full field ball movement which is where I think you can judge players more critically.

Boy was it humid at training today, skills were pretty good given the level of fatigue and the conditions.

 

[Ghostwriter 1,800]

1 hour ago, Nascent said:

Couple of references to the dees picking up Roy George. Is our list not full? 

Wouldn't have thought he would qualify as a cat-b rookie?

We have one cat. B rookie spot remaining. Idk under what criteria he’d qualify but according to JT that’s how we’d pick him up. 

[BC_1718_DC 1,367]

23 minutes ago, DistrACTION Jackson said:

Next training session someone has to find out if Sinnema is available as an academy selection!

He is yes. Tied to our NGA. 

[gs77 4,445]

1 minute ago, adonski said:

Ready made

Got anything for us on Jeffo watch?

Sadly no!  The squad was divided into three groups, each doing work on a different part of the ground - I think Jeffo was in one of the areas further from where I was situated.

[DistrACTION Jackson 9,224]

19 minutes ago, 12345_54321 said:

He is yes. Tied to our NGA. 

I’m scarred from Ah-Mu. He was in our NGA but wasn’t available to us under the rules…

[640MD 3,427]

Many thanks to All. First thing I read when I wake up,  almost like being there,  

[gs77 4,445]

Jed Adams

Billings

[gs77 4,445]

Bowey

Chandler, Trac & Langford

 

 

[gs77 4,445]

Kolt

Kynan Brown

 

[gs77 4,445]

Laurie making Jonesy nervous...

May

[gs77 4,445]

McAdam

TMac

 

[gs77 4,445]

Judd McVee

[Melonmonster 124]

25 minutes ago, DistrACTION Jackson said:

I’m scarred from Ah-Mu. He was in our NGA but wasn’t available to us under the rules…

Do we actually get access to the kid ? Rather not get my hopes up 😂

[Adam The God 30,407]

2 hours ago, kev martin said:

Chandler, Lever, and Petty walking from AAMI with the coaches as I arrive. Some are already on Gosch's, they are getting down to prepping. The sun block, hydration, the Tech in the jersey, and all in runners. Plenty of buzz around for our first full hit up. Yet no balls on the field. The time trials! They are hyped and ready. Those ahead of their times appeared to be, Sparrow, Kolty (maybe flu related), Sharp, and another but cannot recall. They got to sit out when the others did 5 more sets of 120 metre runs close at the end of the training.

Kossie is fit and running very well. Goody got round him soon after his run and gave him the warmest of embraces, slaps, and words.

Verral struggled, though ended his running with some push. Sestan ran better than other years, a little slow but not struggling.

Langford led for some time, looks like a competitor, overrun close to the end. (Between some drills Tracc was getting around him, offering some insights)

Great to see Maysie and Melk back.

They all got round each other after the running, plenty on their haunches. Great effort all round.

Shane McAdams back on the exercise bike. His body shape is good, looks like he has been working out.

Lever has increased his workload, with a variety of running drills. My guess is that of Achilles awareness. 

Fritta is putting in hard runs. My guess is that his goal is being very fit.

Xavier Lindsay is on a modified program and is going at about 70% effort.

Spargo spent most of his time on the bike.

Rumours were spreading that Roy George is being picked up. 

The drills were a little off. Windy, hot day, with some exhaustive running, I reckon caused some astray kicking and fumbles. 

 Ricky Mentha has good hands, also doesn't do two errors in a row. It was apparent that he puts his head into it, after a mistake.

Looks like Kossie, Rivers and Woey are in the mids squad, whereas Windsor and Petty are backmen.

I like what Chaplin is doing as a forwards coach. He was getting the smalls to crumb. Two of them would follow the flight of the ball, the talls would bring it down, then the smalls either, handball to their partner who would snap, or they would snap. He was very hands-on at describing the movement patterns he wants from those marking forwards. 

The backs worked with the mids. They were getting the connections and fast ball movement down the wings. Langdon with leather poisoning and Sparrow running the wings very well, often the last one with the ball.

Goody set up a full field structure, getting them to position where he wants them. Looks like a high press, with no one in the forward 50.

Some goal kicking from the mids and forwards, as the backs settled down for a chat about structures.

Jed Adams had some testing from the trainer, after some sims. Appeared to have a slight limp

A good session. 

Thanks Kev.

I wonder if Sharp is going to play a high half forward ANB role, Sparrow to the opposite Langdon wing, and Windsor behind the ball and through the guts.

[Ghostwriter 1,800]

2 hours ago, demon3165 said:

Has Sparrow trimmed down a fair bit?

Spaz (and pretty much every OG player) looks lean and perfectly toned, muscly but not bulky, sorta ‘streamlined’ and in general, agility has improved. It’s incredible how markedly different some of them look compared to this past season.

Even players like Vines and Melks who have been in amazing shape all along are looking in the best shape of their careers. Honestly, it’s astounding how incredibly fit and toned they are. Even Bowser’s rocking an impressive six-pack.

According to one of the Club physiotherapists it’s due to the conditioning program and a focus on increasing stamina. And it’s clearly paying off because when they run to the boundary for drinks between drills there’s no apparent signs of excessive fatigue; no one struggling to suck in air, no one grimacing, no bloated red faces and no vomiting, which would be forgiven and even expected such was the intensity and length of the session coupled with the relentless heat (the sun went behind a tiny cloud only once giving a whole 60 seconds of relief 😅).

Shane Mc is also in amazing shape. He’s been training “full on” since preseason started, not with the main group (as we know) but just as strenuous. He’s in a really good place mentally as well. Definitely the most confident and upbeat since he joined us. Methinks our psychologists are killing it. 

[Deeoldfart 8,061]

What a fabulous / positive thread …….. and it hasn’t been derailed once by needless one-up man-ship.  A real pleasure to read.  Huge thanks to all contributors!  

[Lord Travis 10,763]

Thanks heaps to all the track watchers for getting down and sharing some great insights and photos. Love hearing about youngsters like Kolt stepping up!

[DistrACTION Jackson 9,224]

1 hour ago, gs77 said:

Jed Adams

Billings

 

How does Adams look btw?

[Demonland 73,139]

 

[Demonland 73,139]

 

[Roger Mellie 4,102]

Thanks for all the ripper reports, track watchers!

I'd be keen to hear how the Jones/Radford coaching is going. So far there's been some positive comments about Chaplin as forward coach. Any observations?

Also keen to hear how the Roy George listing might work. As I understand it, we have 1 spot left as a Cat B, but it's never been crystal clear where AMW's spot on the list is at. Is he a Cat A rookie or Cat B? Can we shift him from one to the other to squeeze in George as a Cat B or SSP Rookie? So confusing!

[JTR 2,854]

Amazing work track watchers/photographers!

Much appreciated  ❤️💙

[Redleg 41,423]

2 hours ago, Ghostwriter said:

We have one cat. B rookie spot remaining. Idk under what criteria he’d qualify but according to JT that’s how we’d pick him up. 

Did JT tell you that?

[binman 43,747]

19 minutes ago, DistrACTION Jackson said:

How does Adams look btw?

With his eyes?