thirty-one

Glad I didn't decide to drive down, go harass my sister and then head to training this week, as I'd be at the wrong place. Thanks for the heads up!

I think a few might be suffering from training yesterday. AMW looked unwell to me, lots of sitting and looking pale, and disappeared behind the shed at AAMI Park. Melksham wandered off too in the usual direction.

Salo having work done on his hammy, running it out. McAdam and AJ running the boundary. Both participated in the drills.

Agrees, Roo.

I admit, my memory doesn't stretch back to much. The only reason I have any knowledge of The Golden Era is because I'd read my mother's scrap books religiously. Anything before then or from 1965 to about 1980 didn't exist. Most of the 2010s don't either cos I was in the States. Aka I don't do quizzes much.

The girls' toilets didn't have any of those troughs, just sayin...

Club has an update on Culley. Broken arm, into surgery tomorrow, expected to miss four weeks.

I'm not sure but I think I saw McAdam walking back to the G when I arrived at training around 10am. He was not wearing a flame head training top. He was talking to a trainer then walked off on his own. Poor dude's a Ferrari, he's always in the garage being fixed.

Training finished before midday! A few are doing some extra drills.

Trelly is going to be an interesting pickup. He did some pretty nuts fending off and feinting during that last match sim.

Another match sim, much less congested, wing to wing. A bunch are watching on. Tommy Matthews was doing a bit of ball gathering and snaps at goal. Just swapped groups. Disco in the back line. Other group is playing keepings off, pretty easy when there's four defenders and eight on the other side.

Petty and Kentfield running the boundary. Still in footy boots. Presumably precautionary, they don't need another concussion.

Match sim using only half the ground. Very congested.

In the stuff we are allowed to see, what we see at Gosch's, there are activities that are aimed at the forwards creating space and leading, giving the player with the ball a target. There's also a lot of emphasis on keeping possession of the ball until there are good targets closer to or in the forward line. Lots of finding or making space all across the ground and pinpoint kicking (Steele, yes!). I've also noticed that at the same time as we are streaming forward, one or two players are dropping back well behind the play. This doesn't always happen but if one side loses possession, it allows the other side to move the ball back to their forward line and have someone to receive it. Roo is showing a lot of improvement on the running to space or finding space. Fritta is good at that too. AJ is doing pretty well at that too I think. (The forward has two backmen on him and one inside 50 side of the oval to work in. ) They are being coached on this and I'm hoping it will be a thing of beauty this year and years to come. So maybe we'll be better? Fewer long, unconsidered bombs into the forward line. While I think of it, someone was asking about Heath. A lot of the exercises, even match sim, don't use rucks. The ball is thrown up and whoever grabs it gets it. Or sometimes the centre square crew handpass the pill to each other and at some point the whistle blows and someone wins pass the parcel and off they go. It's hard to say how well a ruckman is going if you don't see him rucking. Yes he has to take marks, which Heath does rather like Big Ben Brown did, arms reaching over everyone, and work below his knees (haven't noticed this but the match sims can be very fast moving and I've not been looking to see how Heath is doing). Okay, this has taken half an hour to type on the phone, hope there's not too many autocarrots. Cheers!

Bali, I believe. They are spewing, missing training three times in a row.

Max did a bit of match sim. By the last quarter of it, a few of the players were gassed. They were yelling for Roo to take some centre work but he was off field, cooling off a bit. He did some running and was back out there after a break. After all, not many players do the whole two hours of the game. Same with a few other players, particularly the young blokes. The match sim often doesn't use the rucks - the "umpire" throws the ball in a random direction and whoever is closest gets possession and starts the sim. Also they played some of it without full forward/pockets/full back at one end. I think it was a bit of a lighter session. The players would disagree I think. Also if I heard correctly, there's no training on Friday. The players are on a four day break after today's session.

Reporting on training for Demonland is harder than it looks, especially with a phone that is determined to use the wrong words and change a player's name. Anyway, it wound up at 12:15 with a lot of gassed players. Happy birthday to Disco Turner!

Seem to be subbing players on and off in the match sim. A couple of them are feeling a bit off, nothing serious. Max is back in the sim.

Tom Campbell is here, still in neck brace and with kiddo.

Jeffo back in the match sim.

Pretty sure AMW is here, as is Bowey. Bowser is on the bike right now. Sharp running the boundary now too.

Jeffo is in runners. Running the boundary.

Pretty sure that Roo just brought Culley down in a great tackle. Looks like keepings off for that group, two defenders on one forward on this side. Finding space and leading is the name of that game.

So far, the only players who aren't joining the main group are Salem, Melksham, McAdam, Viney, Bowey and Henderson. Mihochek has joined the main group. I don't remember seeing him in it before.

Three groups. Finding space, up and down between the arcs, closer more congested work, forwards contested marking.