PRESEASON TRAINING: Wednesday 18th December 2024

[demon3165 2,804]

1 hour ago, 58er said:

Yes we are both Dees fans and I did attend RDB’s Memorial Service last year flying in and home from Brisbane on the one day.

There is no one in the AFL that is greater than our RDB.  He stands above in credibility performance and loyalty to a cause. 

Jock McHale 38 years coach 8 flags is up there including 4 in a row flags.

Edited Friday at 21:38 by demon3165

[nedleg 177]

18 hours ago, Ghostwriter said:

They resume training at 10am on Thursday the 9th of January at Casey Fields. The schedule thereafter has yet to be announced.

If you and your kids are here for most of January there’s these sessions…

 

At this stage they’re set to commence at 10am. 

Thanks. Will miss those but fingers crossed we can sneak something in once the schedule is announced. 

[Slartibartfast 17,614]

Player summary, part 2:

Adams: Evaluating Jed is a bit difficult because, if it hasn't already been mentioned, he looks a lot like Petts!  And now that Petts is doing a lot of training with the backs it's even more confusing! When he first came his running was very poor but it's slowly improving.  Rather than being a long way back he's now managing to keep up with the slower groups. I'm not sure how much of an issue that is given his most likely position is deep back but it's an area he'll have to work hard on. Encouragingly he's done a full preseason.  He's been a bit more involved this PS than others and he's had some good cameos one being a really good pack mark which drew applause from coaches and players alike.  His kicking is good and decision making okay but he still doesn't get involved as much as you'd like. I can see why we drafted him but he's a slow burn and being behind Tmac, Lever, May and Petty he's likely got another learning year at Casey.  He'll need to show a lot more this year and will be an interesting watch.

Hore: He's done what he's always done, all of the sessions in a reliable and solid matter. Marty is what he is and what we've seen in the past is what we'll get in the future.

Verrall: Will is an interesting player.  The major negative is his running is terrible and in the time trials I reckon he was 20 to 30 seconds our slowest player with one of the fitness staff running with him over the last couple of hundred yards to help him finish. His running issues are nothing new but don't appear to be improving much and that is an issue. He's also a bit of a tweener, not quite big enough for a ruck and is he agile enough to play a KP role. But he has attributes.  For a tall he's very good below his knees and once the ball hits the ground he stays involved with some nice skills. But in his primary position as ruck he's outclassed by Tom Campbell and of course Gawny. And tbh I've not seen a major improvement this PS but others have commented that he's "bulked up" and looking much stronger.

Campbell: Tom will be a terrific back up for Gawny.  He started in rehab doing a lot of running but has progressed into the main group where he's been providing Gawny with some solid competition in ruck drills, something he didn't have last year.  He's a neat player, knows the caper and looks to have fitted in really well.

Sharp:  The kid can run which is a huge advantage as it's allowed him to get to so many contests in the match sims.  He's a neat player and his skill level reminds me a bit of ANB in his younger days although he's probably a bit neater below his knees than Nibber was. He does a lot of off ball work from what I've seen and played almost exclusively on the wing, often against Lingers (boy do they cover some ground) and I reckon he'd have learned a lot. I see him as best 22 at the moment but of course it's "dancing with your sister" time so I not overly confident about that. I am confident he'll work his way into best 22 over time and be a good solid player.  He'll just get to so many contests and provide so many options and you'd expect him to be very damaging later in games when others are spent.

Fritsch:  Started in rehab and only moved into full training towards the back end of this period. But he was running freely and quickly from day one and looks to be really fit now. His skills have been on display and he looks a cut above a lot of the time but he always has. If he can get a good run of fitness leading into the season he should be set up for a good year.

Sparrow: I hesitate to judge players physiques but it seems pretty obvious that Tom has trimmed down and is looking much leaner and defined than last year. He's in the midfield/wing group and hasn't missed a session. He's having a good PS and will have the opportunity to improve on last year.

Fullarton: Again he looks bigger in the shoulders than last year but who knows. He was training well initially but then moved into the rehab group and has been doing a lot of running. On the track Tom looks to have so many good attributes but his challenge is to demonstrate them on gameday so we'll just have to wait and see. Hopefully he's out of rehab after Christmas and gets a good run for the rest of the PS.

Petty: Well the major news which you all know is he's now officially a swingman as he's trained mainly with the backs but has done some forward work. He's a great competitor at training and he's shown all his well know attributes with positioning and marking. I'm hoping for a better season from him as he's done a full PS to date and hasn't missed a beat. Where he plays will depend on Tmac's form I guess and whether Jeffo takes his chances when they come.

Pickett: Just wow, he's dominated training in match sims with his speed, agility and vision.  He's training with the mids and if he plays the season there will give us a completely different look.  Whether we can afford to miss him up forward will be interesting but he's just looking great.  What a bummmer he's missing the first 3 games.

Chandler: Fit, tough, involved and running better than ever finishing in the top 5 in the 2k time trial. It's sometimes easy to forget that even more mature players can improve as they move through their middle 20's but I think Chin will do that, just think of ANB's improvement over his time with us. He's not missed a beat this PS and appears to have taken on a much greater leadership role. I've had the pleasure of meeting him, he's a ripper, and leadership seems to be a natural place for him to be.

Sestan: I called him "smokey" from day one and he's still one.  Couldn't run much when he first got to us and was overweight for an AFL footballer but that has improved significantly now that he's into his third PS. He's got lots of attributes headlined by his kicking which is great but unfortunately he spent some time in rehab missing a lot of match sim sessions. He's playing with the forwards and doing a bit of clearance work and I'd imagine he'll play midfield at Casey but whether he can get fit enough to do that at AFL level who knows.  I don't know what role he'd play in the seniors but he's giving it everything and won't die wondering if he could have given more. One of my favourites, I hope he makes it.

Mentha:  When I think of Ricky I think of a big smile and dancing feet!  He loves to dance, dodge, twist and turn. He's about on a 50/50 success rate atm with all that but boy is it fun to watch.  He's quick, has nice skills and good vision and if he can find the ball he will become a fan favourite pretty quickly. He's a young bloke on a steep learning curve and it looks like he's loving the journey. Great to have him on our list.

Woewodin:  Was training well and involved but ended up in the rehab group. I can't really add much because I haven't noticed him all that much so maybe other track watchers can fill in the gaps. Very neat player. Has he improved on last year? I hope so but I don't know.

Brown: He looks taller to me but that might not be right. He excels at the running drills and looks better all round to me this year with his strength and agility. He's playing midfield and wing, mainly on the other side of the ground to where I stand but I've got this kid with a bullet this season as I can't see what he hasn't got. He's very clean, agile and quick.  His kicking is perhaps his main area for improvement but he's moving solidly in the right direction.

Johnson: I didn't really have much expectation when we drafted him given his lack of high level footy but JT has picked a good one I think.  He's strong with good pace and ground ball skills. His marking is solid and he stays involved in the game when the ball hits the ground. It will be fascinating to see how he improves in an elite program but I expect him to start at Casey as he'd be behind a lot of our other talls.

Kentfield:  Luker is big and strong and has done a full preseason to date.  He's doing everything reasonably well and he moves very well but he hasn't been all that involved in match sims but it would be hard for him as there are a lot in front of him and the match sims have mainly been ball movement where the tall forwards don't do much contest stuff.  Another learning year for Luker but one thing he has in spades is the body to play AFL.

Moniz-Wakefield: I really like Andy, he's a bright happy bloke with some really good AFL attributes.  He hasn't stood out to me this year at PS as much as I'd like but sometimes I just don't see blokes.  I know that sounds silly but there is so much going on and you're trying to take in so much. The good news is he's done all the training and is setting himself up well for the season.

George:  Roy is in the Ricky class, fun to watch and looks like a really engaging character.  Whether he finds a way on to our list I don't know but he's been a lot more impressive than I expected and certainly has some of that indigenous magic. He's only done a couple of sessions so it's very early days.  I guess the first step is hoping nobody else picks him up.

In summary  I reckon it's been a very good preseason simply because so many have done the majority of the sessions. The list looks happy and engaged.  Troy Chaplin has certainly brought a different focus to the forward line with what seems to me much more instruction and involvement than Stafford. That's not a criticism of Greg, just an observation. Different coaches have different ways of doing things.  When Scotty West was in charge of the mids in the late 00's he did all his coaching on field and he'd have the mids on field when other where looking at vision learning the ropes. But I like the fact that the players are hearing different voices at training and messages delivered in different ways.

Observing training my guess is that Chin will take ANB's role and Sharp is likely to take the wing as Windsor moves back. The makeup of the forward line will be interesting with the main query being whether we use two or three KP players. 

Anyway it appears a fair bit of training after Christmas will be done at Casey which I won't be able to get to.  Hopefully they have some at Gosch's that I'll be able to get to.

[stinga 586]

11 minutes ago, Slartibartfast said:

Player summary, part 2:

Adams: Evaluating Jed is a bit difficult because, if it hasn't already been mentioned, he looks a lot like Petts!  And now that Petts is doing a lot of training with the backs it's even more confusing! When he first came his running was very poor but it's slowly improving.  Rather than being a long way back he's now managing to keep up with the slower groups. I'm not sure how much of an issue that is given his most likely position is deep back but it's an area he'll have to work hard on. Encouragingly he's done a full preseason.  He's been a bit more involved this PS than others and he's had some good cameos one being a really good pack mark which drew applause from coaches and players alike.  His kicking is good and decision making okay but he still doesn't get involved as much as you'd like. I can see why we drafted him but he's a slow burn and being behind Tmac, Lever, May and Petty he's likely got another learning year at Casey.  He'll need to show a lot more this year and will be an interesting watch.

Hore: He's done what he's always done, all of the sessions in a reliable and solid matter. Marty is what he is and what we've seen in the past is what we'll get in the future.

Verrall: Will is an interesting player.  The major negative is his running is terrible and in the time trials I reckon he was 20 to 30 seconds our slowest player with one of the fitness staff running with him over the last couple of hundred yards to help him finish. His running issues are nothing new but don't appear to be improving much and that is an issue. He's also a bit of a tweener, not quite big enough for a ruck and is he agile enough to play a KP role. But he has attributes.  For a tall he's very good below his knees and once the ball hits the ground he stays involved with some nice skills. But in his primary position as ruck he's outclassed by Tom Campbell and of course Gawny. And tbh I've not seen a major improvement this PS but others have commented that he's "bulked up" and looking much stronger.

Campbell: Tom will be a terrific back up for Gawny.  He started in rehab doing a lot of running but has progressed into the main group where he's been providing Gawny with some solid competition in ruck drills, something he didn't have last year.  He's a neat player, knows the caper and looks to have fitted in really well.

Sharp:  The kid can run which is a huge advantage as it's allowed him to get to so many contests in the match sims.  He's a neat player and his skill level reminds me a bit of ANB in his younger days although he's probably a bit neater below his knees than Nibber was. He does a lot of off ball work from what I've seen and played almost exclusively on the wing, often against Lingers (boy do they cover some ground) and I reckon he'd have learned a lot. I see him as best 22 at the moment but of course it's "dancing with your sister" time so I not overly confident about that. I am confident he'll work his way into best 22 over time and be a good solid player.  He'll just get to so many contests and provide so many options and you'd expect him to be very damaging later in games when others are spent.

Fritsch:  Started in rehab and only moved into full training towards the back end of this period. But he was running freely and quickly from day one and looks to be really fit now. His skills have been on display and he looks a cut above a lot of the time but he always has. If he can get a good run of fitness leading into the season he should be set up for a good year.

Sparrow: I hesitate to judge players physiques but it seems pretty obvious that Tom has trimmed down and is looking much leaner and defined than last year. He's in the midfield/wing group and hasn't missed a session. He's having a good PS and will have the opportunity to improve on last year.

Fullarton: Again he looks bigger in the shoulders than last year but who knows. He was training well initially but then moved into the rehab group and has been doing a lot of running. On the track Tom looks to have so many good attributes but his challenge is to demonstrate them on gameday so we'll just have to wait and see. Hopefully he's out of rehab after Christmas and gets a good run for the rest of the PS.

Petty: Well the major news which you all know is he's now officially a swingman as he's trained mainly with the backs but has done some forward work. He's a great competitor at training and he's shown all his well know attributes with positioning and marking. I'm hoping for a better season from him as he's done a full PS to date and hasn't missed a beat. Where he plays will depend on Tmac's form I guess and whether Jeffo takes his chances when they come.

Pickett: Just wow, he's dominated training in match sims with his speed, agility and vision.  He's training with the mids and if he plays the season there will give us a completely different look.  Whether we can afford to miss him up forward will be interesting but he's just looking great.  What a bummmer he's missing the first 3 games.

Chandler: Fit, tough, involved and running better than ever finishing in the top 5 in the 2k time trial. It's sometimes easy to forget that even more mature players can improve as they move through their middle 20's but I think Chin will do that, just think of ANB's improvement over his time with us. He's not missed a beat this PS and appears to have taken on a much greater leadership role. I've had the pleasure of meeting him, he's a ripper, and leadership seems to be a natural place for him to be.

Sestan: I called him "smokey" from day one and he's still one.  Couldn't run much when he first got to us and was overweight for an AFL footballer but that has improved significantly now that he's into his third PS. He's got lots of attributes headlined by his kicking which is great but unfortunately he spent some time in rehab missing a lot of match sim sessions. He's playing with the forwards and doing a bit of clearance work and I'd imagine he'll play midfield at Casey but whether he can get fit enough to do that at AFL level who knows.  I don't know what role he'd play in the seniors but he's giving it everything and won't die wondering if he could have given more. One of my favourites, I hope he makes it.

Mentha:  When I think of Ricky I think of a big smile and dancing feet!  He loves to dance, dodge, twist and turn. He's about on a 50/50 success rate atm with all that but boy is it fun to watch.  He's quick, has nice skills and good vision and if he can find the ball he will become a fan favourite pretty quickly. He's a young bloke on a steep learning curve and it looks like he's loving the journey. Great to have him on our list.

Woewodin:  Was training well and involved but ended up in the rehab group. I can't really add much because I haven't noticed him all that much so maybe other track watchers can fill in the gaps. Very neat player. Has he improved on last year? I hope so but I don't know.

Brown: He looks taller to me but that might not be right. He excels at the running drills and looks better all round to me this year with his strength and agility. He's playing midfield and wing, mainly on the other side of the ground to where I stand but I've got this kid with a bullet this season as I can't see what he hasn't got. He's very clean, agile and quick.  His kicking is perhaps his main area for improvement but he's moving solidly in the right direction.

Johnson: I didn't really have much expectation when we drafted him given his lack of high level footy but JT has picked a good one I think.  He's strong with good pace and ground ball skills. His marking is solid and he stays involved in the game when the ball hits the ground. It will be fascinating to see how he improves in an elite program but I expect him to start at Casey as he'd be behind a lot of our other talls.

Kentfield:  Luker is big and strong and has done a full preseason to date.  He's doing everything reasonably well and he moves very well but he hasn't been all that involved in match sims but it would be hard for him as there are a lot in front of him and the match sims have mainly been ball movement where the tall forwards don't do much contest stuff.  Another learning year for Luker but one thing he has in spades is the body to play AFL.

Moniz-Wakefield: I really like Andy, he's a bright happy bloke with some really good AFL attributes.  He hasn't stood out to me this year at PS as much as I'd like but sometimes I just don't see blokes.  I know that sounds silly but there is so much going on and you're trying to take in so much. The good news is he's done all the training and is setting himself up well for the season.

George:  Roy is in the Ricky class, fun to watch and looks like a really engaging character.  Whether he finds a way on to our list I don't know but he's been a lot more impressive than I expected and certainly has some of that indigenous magic. He's only done a couple of sessions so it's very early days.  I guess the first step is hoping nobody else picks him up.

In summary  I reckon it's been a very good preseason simply because so many have done the majority of the sessions. The list looks happy and engaged.  Troy Chaplin has certainly brought a different focus to the forward line with what seems to me much more instruction and involvement than Stafford. That's not a criticism of Greg, just an observation. Different coaches have different ways of doing things.  When Scotty West was in charge of the mids in the late 00's he did all his coaching on field and he'd have the mids on field when other where looking at vision learning the ropes. But I like the fact that the players are hearing different voices at training and messages delivered in different ways.

Observing training my guess is that Chin will take ANB's role and Sharp is likely to take the wing as Windsor moves back. The makeup of the forward line will be interesting with the main query being whether we use two or three KP players. 

Anyway it appears a fair bit of training after Christmas will be done at Casey which I won't be able to get to.  Hopefully they have some at Gosch's that I'll be able to get to.

Thanks so much.  Great summary  Comment re Viney playing as defensive small forward when resting?  One of the best ways to break lines is by runners and handball.  No so much who gives the handball but the number of handball receives(rarely see the stats).  Langdon is the perfect example.   Any of the newer guys or improvers stand out in that regard?

[58er 6,558]

4 hours ago, demon3165 said:

Jock McHale 38 years coach 8 flags is up there including 4 in a row flags.

I am sure if the times of their records were altered or reversed McHale may have got more recognition. But I have never heard anyone revere his playing career like RDB if in fact he played of which I am  not sure if. 

[Demonstone 22,812]

McHale played 261 games for Collingwood from 1903 to 1920, a huge number for that era.

He won one GF as a player, one as playing Coach and seven more as Coach.

191 of his games were consecutive, which was the VFL record at the time until broken by Jack Titus in 1943.

As we all know, Jim Stynes then became the new record holder with 244 but will likely be passed in 2025 as Collingwood's Jack Crisp needs only eight more games to take the mantle.

[demon3165 2,804]

26 minutes ago, 58er said:

I am sure if the times of their records were altered or reversed McHale may have got more recognition. But I have never heard anyone revere his playing career like RDB if in fact he played of which I am  not sure if. 

Different era but have a look at McHales record, he was known as the prince of coaches, but no doubt RDB was one of the best.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jock_McHale

[640MD 3,427]

On 19/12/2024 at 01:37, Theo said:

Saintsational and Bomberblitz, PuntRoadEnd forum

,

Asking for a friend,

Is there a similar site for Carlton blue baggers, apart from big footy. ?

Ta

[Jumping Jack Clennett 1,809]

10 hours ago, Demonstone said:

McHale played 261 games for Collingwood from 1903 to 1920, a huge number for that era.

He won one GF as a player, one as playing Coach and seven more as Coach.

191 of his games were consecutive, which was the VFL record at the time until broken by Jack Titus in 1943.

As we all know, Jim Stynes then became the new record holder with 244 but will likely be passed in 2025 as Collingwood's Jack Crisp needs only eight more games to take the mantle.

We should pay someone to line him up like Maynard did with Gus. I guess we don’t play him till after round 8 , so hopefully someone from another side will stop him from breaking our Jimma’s record.

[Theo 275]

14 hours ago, 640MD said:

Asking for a friend,

Is there a similar site for Carlton blue baggers, apart from big footy. ?

Ta

TalkingCarlton   Hard to read as page is all in blue. Nowhere near as good as Demonland

[Lucifers Hero 40,348]

14 hours ago, 640MD said:

Asking for a friend,

Is there a similar site for Carlton blue baggers, apart from big footy. ?

Ta

Some are here:

https://demonland.com/links.html/

Edited 3 hours ago by Lucifers Hero

[dpositive 1,675]

Thanks all for great commentary. I have been to a few sessions and found it hard to identify anything as comprehensive as you all do so really really appreciate your efforts.

I am pleased that you all seem to see intensity in the sessions and the new voices that will add to differences that must be introduced.

Just one additional thing. I have always thought our players seem to ignore the significance of shepherding to create space for the ball carrier. Particularly after giving off the ball. An often intense effort in tracking  the ball or contest, getting the ball, it is then given off to another and the effort stops or lapses. Has there been any concentration on that continued effort to give the ball carrier time and space to get balanced and deliver better? 

[sue 9,139]

1 hour ago, dpositive said:

.....

Just one additional thing. I have always thought our players seem to ignore the significance of shepherding to create space for the ball carrier. Particularly after giving off the ball. An often intense effort in tracking  the ball or contest, getting the ball, it is then given off to another and the effort stops or lapses. Has there been any concentration on that continued effort to give the ball carrier time and space to get balanced and deliver better? 

I suspect the lack of shepherding these days is because the player disposing of the ball instead tries to run to space to offer an option to receive again.   In days of yore, there was more emphasis on kicking it forward asap, so protecting the player about to kick was more important.