waynewussell

Yes, 13thFlag is right, Jimmy continued in the full match-play activity. He was feeling the intensity and may have had a bit of a niggle. I left at 11:15 due to parking restrictions. The match play activity was very impressive. We will be using a fast, play on, follow up, play the wings style which relies on high level delivery. We will come unstuck when kicks are poorly directed, BUT... It will look fantastic when in full flight. Expect rapid movement sweeping down the wings and surges of quick scoring, coast to coast. That's what they are training for! Propping, stopping and being indecisive is out! There was so much to be impressed by, I hated leaving early. Viney is ready! He sticks like glue when chasing and is a master of repeat efforts. Dawes will add speed, and kicking distance to the forward line. Pedersen will be valuable, particularly while Mitch is recovering. I noticed Matt Jones more today he seemed right at home and kicks well. Nathan Stark has speed carrying the ball and reminds me of Barts. Nathan Jones was excellent in match play. By the way, the tackling was intense and several players were bought to the ground with a thud. Dunn ran into McKenzie at full speed and left No13 struggling for breath. Davey was good. Hogan contested well but on most occasions was spoilt by the intense back pressure. Sylvia, Grimes, Strauss and Tapscott (playing half forward) all took part in the full scale match play. I will add more plus photos a little later.

Full on running ball out of defense activity under way at both ends of ground Watts Garland Jones excelling at one end Great tackles by Jetta and McKenzie Watched Toumpas and Viney at other end Jimmy evasive but nailed by bigger bodies a few times and slightly injured after slipping on sprinkler cover Davey his old self in this group Pederson very good Chris Dawes with scorching pace on the lead Viney seems very capable in traffic

Also at training They started at 9:45 Only blokes not sighted are Frawley, Trengove and Clark. Toumpas, Bail & Sellar are doing a kick and lead activity, Gawn and Roden are hand balling Everyone else is in the main group who are doing the circular handball under pressure activity in smaller groups Lots of voice and enthusiasm The Invisible Man is here!

Jimmy has been confined to lap work, ball handling and short sprint work for most of his short time at the club. He is building a fitness base and has had a few niggles. I would expect him to become part of the mainstream in the next few weeks.

Demon WA, how dare you be so uncomplicated and concise, yet so clear and logical. Let's call it 'a common sense approach'. Unfortunately, common sense isn't that common when it comes to the AFL and the Media.

Thanks Maldonboy... great to get your insight!

Good read Rod Grinter RS... Yes, I found myself clapping that Blease effort and very nearly gave out a "Whooop", but fans are so conservative while watching training. Agree with you re Wats and Jetta, thought Couch was good in match play and have a high opinion of Pederson. Just a note on match play routine, there are only five or six 'defenders' against 'the rest'. This demands they work very hard for a short period before subbing out. It was in this context that Blease had his excellent moment, I believe.

You're right there Notorious... I forgot to include him in my final list. Dunn would be in my top 6 or 7. I think the point here is that, barring injuries, we have several good options filling in around Chip, Garland, Grimes and McDonald.

I probably should have included Barry in the potential backs as he is being employed in a defensive running role at training. Playing Nicho as a mid has appeal but you would have to slot him in to the following list... JONES TRENGOVE RODEN McKENZIE VINEY EVANS TOUMPAS KENT TAGGERT COUCH MAGNER GRIMES, HOWE, JETTA, SYLVIA, TAPSCOTT at times

Here's how I see our backline options shaping up, roughly seeded... FRAWLEY GRIMES (some time in midfield) McDONALD GARLAND WATTS (not permanent) NICHOLSON GILLIES STRAUSS MacDonald TERLICH SELLAR TYNON DAVIS I have Jetta and Tapscott vying for other spots further forward.

Good to see Garland back with main group, was clean by hand and efficient kicking. Magner only jogged a few slow laps. Roden continues to be a live wire and mentor for Viney and the likes. Gillies looked right at home in the backline set-ups. I l;ike the way Sellar is developing into a versatile and reliable tall. He is genuine depth if not first 22.

One interesting aside from today's session... at one stage Sellar had a go at Barry about the hang time one of the youngter's kicks had when he was trying to hit up an option running out of defense. It was a small incident but highlights the way the players are attempting to pressure each other to perform

Forgot to mention how good Shannon Burns was, all poise, pace to burn, balanced goal kicker!

Dropped in for 90 minutes on my way to tennis. Several players somewhere else including Hogan, Trengove, McKenzie, Dunn, MacDonald, Grimes, Evans, Davey, Gawn, Jamar, Spencer, Taggert, & Matt Jones. For this reason session was not as impressive as last weeks. There were about 24 players in main group, including two invitees, whereas I counted 31 a week ago. Quite a bit of time early on was spent with the tackle expert in setting up a new tackle activity. Jones walked laps, Clark made an appearance for some short kicking whilst Sylvia, Toumpas, Straus, Clisby. And the other rookie worked on short runs and ball handling. Standouts in the match-play activity were Terlich (pace, ball carry & kicking), Frawley, Pederson, Blease, Dawes, Couch, Barry & Howe. Those with kicking issues were Nicho Tom Mac and surprisingly Watts. I will add a bit more later... Have to watch play on court 6 right now!

Comprehensive and quality report from Crusty via Roger. Thanks for attending and putting in the time to produce the 'goods'!

The intensity of training and the ability of the players to recover quickly and go again is way beyond what we have seen before. I counted 16 players who were not at the club or were not available in 2012 who are now training with us. Evans & Taggert are doing the full set. Big Max is not far off. He is the giant of the club, has filled out and will be a weapon if able to stay fit. Howe lead his group in the 400 metre runs, Byrnes lead his and Frawley just pipped Pederson in the other group. The groups then ran a shuttle with Nicholson coming to the fore, Byrnes also doing well and Davey and Blease big improvers. Of the newbies, I was impressed with the speed and carry of Kent, who trained with the mids along with Dom Barry. By the way, Barry did very well in the 400's and the shuttle After the shuttle the groups then repeated the 400's, followed by another shuttle! The group now has a fantastic fitness base to take into match practice. I will put up some pics with further comments after the cricket!

Love your work Biff

Does this make everyone feel a little bit better? http://www.heraldsun.com.au/afl/more-news/collingwood-midfielder-marley-williams-faces-assault-charges-in-western-australia/story-e6frf9jf-1226544226090

I think we can expect the club/leadership group to repond with suspension & fines

It was a top catch by Wade... but the Huss took a beauty as well.

Spencer is looking more like Big Jim by theday... I noticed he now kicks the ball a bit like Jim... who knows!!!!