Over heard a bit a conversation between May and a trainer when they walked past. Trainer said he must be pretty happy with where he's at and May said his skin folds look good and he's dropped a few kilos.

Make of that what you will

Just a small observation but Harvey Langford pulled off a very cool J’ai Ali move where he was kicked the ball and he caught it his left hand behind his body and in a scooping motion spun it around to the front of his body washing off the momentum in the movement while the ball looked superglued to his hand. So nonchalant So exciting.

Other than that The new Pickett was moving nicely in Sim play, Kolt still rushes things. CJ has the skinniest ankles I have ever seen, Jefferson can strike the ball but sadly I don’t see him coming on with his defensive mindset, just not a see ball get ball type. Langdon excelled in the fwd 50 entry drill (kicking to a player marked by 2 others) Chin impresses in training , most thrill moment was watching Xavier T break two tackles from best 20 players including one from Kossie that had intent, kid is an assassin, top 5 rising star and plays r1

1 hour ago, DeeSpencer said:

If Lever, Adams and Taylor are our backline based on this match sim we’re in trouble.

Yellow just all over white. Salo and Langdon controlling things

Nice intercept and run through the middle by X Taylor now tho, gets it to Kossie for the finish

Petty, Turner and May (yes 1 year left on contract, given a rev up and a point to prove) still to come into the back 6

Watched the entire session today. Key takeways;

• Culley: Lived up to the preseason hype

• Kozzie: Looked a class above

• Steele: Often involved & did not miss a kick.

• Trelly: Found space in forward drills and some nice tackles.

• Windsor: Had his kicking boots on and they were working.

• Luka: Some good grabs, wont be surprised if he gets games.

• Moose: Is a beast.

• Jeffo: Hot and cold. Has nice soft hands.

• Fritta: Fit and energized.

• Kalani: Looked good for a very raw kid.

• Kolt: Showed a bit in match sim.

• Max: Punched ball over the boundary and coached spectator to watch the ball into his hands :).

• Coaches: Good drills with lots of instruction.

2 hours ago, Rooooooooooo said:

3 goals and an assist for Jefferson

Roo back out there

YEEEEEES, ITS ALL ACCORDING TO THE MASTER PLAN😁

What’s the current opinion on Pickett 2.0? Is he about to become the steal of the draft or should I temper my expectations?

3 minutes ago, Roost it far said:

What’s the current opinion on Pickett 2.0? Is he about to become the steal of the draft or should I temper my expectations?

Yep, biggest heist of the Draft IMO

My observations

Standouts:

Steele - performs every action with intent and professionalism. His kicking was sharp and his transition from attack to defence was elite.

Culley - his aerial presence is a standout. What his added is driving his legs out of contested situations.

Kentfield - presents at the kicker with intensity and follows up his work on the ground well for his size.

Chandler - goes under the radar in such reports but he trains at a high level, does the basics incredibly well. His forward craft like snap kicks and defensive pressure look stronger than ever.

Windsor - his 2 steps before he kicks have slowed and this is helping his execution. Looks more balanced. His flair and confidence are high. Ceiling is huge.

Fritsch - his leading patterns and evasiveness were at times unplayable to the defender he was opposed. Will be suited to the faster game plan in being able to find space in the 50.

Not to be overly negative but a couple of things I did notice also:

Howes provides great overrun lap from behind but doesn’t think of ‘what’s next’ when he runs to a certain area so the chain dies out.

Langford for his many positives which have been noted throughout the pre season does often take a second to long with ball in hand.

Salem was uncharacteristically sloppy with the footy a couple of times.

Ricky Mentha has some super high level moments of speed or skill but will just as quickly lapse in concentration.

I’ll finish by saying that I feel for Shane McAdam. Two of his three years here spent running laps and watching his mates kick the footy. I hope he gets a chance to show his ability this season at some point.

7 minutes ago, picket fence said:

YEEEEEES, ITS ALL ACCORDING TO THE MASTER PLAN😁

6 minutes ago, Dannyz said:

Not to be overly negative but a couple of things I did notice also:

Howes provides great overrun lap from behind but doesn’t think of ‘what’s next’ when he runs to a certain area so the chain dies out.

Langford for his many positives which have been noted throughout the pre season does often take a second to long with ball in hand.

Salem was uncharacteristically sloppy with the footy a couple of times.

Ricky Mentha has some super high level moments of speed or skill but will just as quickly lapse in concentration.

I’ll finish by saying that I feel for Shane McAdam. Two of his three years here spent running laps and watching his mates kick the footy. I hope he gets a chance to show his ability this season at some point.

This is appreciated actually, the idea that everyone is just training the house down is unrealistic, good to get a different perspective because let’s be honest we’ve finished 14th two years in a row now, it’s good to hear what we need to improve on instead of just some fluff piece

I read a lot of x player kicks it to a 2v1. Is that in the attackers favour or defenders? I hope it defenders because that's what you need to train not an advantage play.

38 minutes ago, Great Sage said:

.....

• Jeffo: Hot and cold. Has nice soft hands.

  .......

🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤷

3 hours ago, Rooooooooooo said:

Strongly dislike may but he is training his [censored] off

I had a chat to Steven and mentioned your sentiments. he said that's OK, cause he strongly dislikes you!

11 minutes ago, Dannyz said:

Howes provides great overrun lap from behind but doesn’t think of ‘what’s next’ when he runs to a certain area so the chain dies out.

I noticed a number of turnovers from him today, but also that he got pressure on Koz and laid tackles where just about no one else from our team would.

And I want to see him taking the game on as much as possible at training. Even at Casey he’d have 25 touches but not a single one of them is aggressive. All short sideways or long and wide.

I suspect if he makes it long term he’ll be a defensive stopper first but he has to grow his offensive side, if for nothing else just to get out of trouble when it’s hot. He coughed the ball up in embarrassing ways at times last year

14 minutes ago, AzzKikA said:

I read a lot of x player kicks it to a 2v1. Is that in the attackers favour or defenders? I hope it defenders because that's what you need to train not an advantage play.

4th clip from the Dees instagram story today shows the drill they were working on with kicking to an AJ lead to a pocket to beat the intercepting defender.

Beautiful morning at Gosch’s, good temp, no wind.

Plenty of power on show as they go against each other. There is some care being shown (not as forceful in tackles as pre Christmas hits). That sense of trepidation for this tracker as they close down each other in contests near to the spectators. A tension exist to the possibility of injury, passes my thoughts.

They were serious and professional again, except one stage earlier on, they gathered in a circle which ended in rapturous applause and joy.

The goal kicking has been integrated into the warm up drills. Smaller groups, with kicks over the mannequin or a snap after bouncing the ball off the mini trampoline. Only a few kicks from the boundary. Plenty going through or close to the goal. A few of the longer snaps ending anywhere.

The sim ran cross field and with very small width. I get a sense that the boundary line is the enemy. My guess is that the ball will move quickly through the middle and most congestion will be in the forward or back 50 arc.

Ball movement was very angular, rarely a straight down the line hit up unless it was a small pass to open the field up.

Plenty of forward leads off the back of the defender.

The defenders checked closely through the middle and their intensity was up.

It was all watched closely by King, who continues to voice his teachings when needed or appropriate.

Edited 48 minutes ago48 min by Kev

Thanks to all the track watchers. I was there as early as Berry and left 90 minutes later. The reports above have been comprehensive and I have little to add...

I enjoyed the competitive forward lead to a pass, and midfielder trying to hit the target. For me, Roo and Fritsch were head and shoulders as forwards. Roo hits the ball at pace, with strength, and is showing signs of stickier fingers this year.

Steele and Kolt were the best of the kickers in this activity... the former at 100% or close to it.

Jefferson and Kalani were clever getting out the back, as others have pointed out, but neither have the hustle and bustle of JVR

It was good to see McAdam able to do more than run laps. He is progressing!

May will be an important player again in 2026. He is getting fitter every session and rumours of his demise are exaggerated

Langdon was a standout today

Don't think we will see Melksham or Viney in round 1

McDonald continues to be the most consistent spoiler in 1 on 2 'defend the lead' activity

Heath is looking more competitive in the aerial contests and more confident in belonging

Sharp is the fastest hammy patient I have ever witnessed!

31 minutes ago, Kev said:

Beautiful morning at Gosch’s, good temp, no wind.

Plenty of power on show as they go against each other. There is some care being shown (not as forceful in tackles as pre Christmas hits). That sense of trepidation for this tracker as they close down each other in contests near to the spectators. A tension exist to the possibility of injury, passes my thoughts.

They were serious and professional again, except one stage earlier on, they gathered in a circle which ended in rapturous applause and joy.

The goal kicking has been integrated into the warm up drills. Smaller groups, with kicks over the mannequin or a snap after bouncing the ball off the mini trampoline. Only a few kicks from the boundary. Plenty going through or close to the goal. A few of the longer snaps ending anywhere.

The sim ran cross field and with very small width. I get a sense that the boundary line is the enemy. My guess is that the ball will move quickly through the middle and most congestion will be in the forward or back 50 arc.

Ball movement was very angular, rarely a straight down the line hit up unless it was a small pass to open the field up.

Plenty of forward leads off the back of the defender.

The defenders checked closely through the middle and their intensity was up.

It was all watched closely by King, who continues to voice his teachings when needed or appropriate.

Kev, do you think it was anything to do with injured players coming back to the main group. Obviously hard for you to answer but just interested in the vibe of the thing.

Edited 22 minutes ago22 min by Salems Lot