Slartibartfast

I headed down to training early as we usually hit the track well ahead of schedule. Vanders was the first to arrive and did a slow lap with a few leg stretches as well. Saty was next but I didn't take much notice of him but he seems to have eaten well over Christmas. Jones, Hannan and Tomlinson arrived and wondered over to rehab with Baker joining them a few minutes later. Bennell was there doing nothing and did so all day. I didn't see him do any training at all. KK and May were missing as well as Joel Smith. The main group arrived about 5 minutes later and did some gentle running and exercises and then over to the tan for the 3K trial. Needless to say ANB led them home with Bedford only 15 metres behind. Nibbler looked as though he'd at least done the run this time compared to the first 3Ker when he seemed to hardly break into a sweat. Cory Wagner, Langdon and TMac were next in (from memory) and over the next few minutes they all arrived. Preussy beat Max home and all the mids were well bunched. Back to Gosch's for what is now called a craft session with the players breaking into about 3 groups and doing drills that have already been documented. Then finally we got a three quarter ground match sim drill but it didn't seem flat out to me and there was little if no tackling although it did get a bit willing at times. It was hard to pick a standout with lots involved at various stages. TMac, Weid, Petty, Fritsch and Melk were the main forward targets and they rotated throughout the drills. Overall players to impress me were Pickett who kicks just as well on both feet, Vanders who seems to be "right", Trac (again) with a mention to Weid who handled the ball well and kicked with confidence. At the end there was a goal kicking competition involving Trac, Fritta, Jordan, Preuss and Hunt. They took shots until they were eliminated and I won't tell you the answer just yet - I'll let some healthy speculation take place. All in all a warm up session I'd say. Conditions weren't easy but they weren't terrible either.

I'm certainly no expert and have never claimed to be and I confess to not anticipating the effect last year's disastersous preseason would have on team performance. What I've learned over the last 12 months or so is how important a preseason is. We've heard so often players who are having good seasons say it started with the preseason. I didn't listen to that as I should have. Misson told the Board that our preseason would impact our start and of course injury before the first match and during the season didn't give us any chance to gain momentum. Burgess said a team that had as many have post season operations and so many off the track was always going to be in a bad position. Elite sportspersons who come back after injury always take time to return to their best form. We've seen it in many sports countless times and I can't see why footy would be any different. And Saty if your assertion that it was all mental is correct that's the most depressing of scenarios. Let's see how this season goes, it will tell us a lot.

Throws seed on barren ground. Those that don’t understand now either don’t want to or just never will.

Jack Watts deserves a mention.

I'm a bit sick of this stance. Do you think Goodwin hasn't rewatched the game? Do you think the assistant coaches haven't rewatched the game? Do you think they didn't take that game into account when making decisions about player's future? Do you think they didn't watch to see where our system fell down and how WCE dismantled us? Do you think they didn't watch that game as part of each individual player's preseason preparation? Of course Goodwin has watched the game and so have the assistant coaches. What they haven't done is sit down with the players and go over it the way they go over most games. They know the players know what happened. There is no point sending the players off with a review of that game in their minds at the end of the season. They would have wanted to send them away with a much more positive message. And before you say "well that didn't work" just review the presentation by Mahoney at the Members Information Night to realize why we had a shocking 2019. It had nothing to do with "not reviewing the game".

Saty they weren't ready physically. If what you're suggesting is right nobody would consider practicing. Tennis players, golfers, cricketers and the list goes on. They'd do a few running and gym sessions and not lift a bat, racket or club. We all know that's not the case. They practice what they do before a game. They hit ball after ball after ball This is important in an individual sport but doubly so in a team sport because not only do you have the individual skills that need honing you have a game plan to mesh with 21 other players that needs hours of practice. In 2019 we didn't have that and it showed in every facet of our game. People often use Oliver as an example of someone who "didn't need a preseason to have a good season". Rubbish. 2019 was a shadow of his 2018 and if your assertion is correct it should have been better given his age and the natural progression that should have taken place. People are focusing on the injury toll but it's the preseason. The skills practice so many missed out on. The game plan execution so many missed out on. The match fitness so many missed out on. It's been reported that the PA players went to the three quarter time huddle knowing we were shot physically. All they had to do was keep running. They did and they won easily despite the game being in the balance at that point. We weren't physically ready and we were not "ready to go". It's quite simple really.

Written on 2nd July and was ahead of the curve. Subsequent information provided by the club confirmed it. It's the greatest reason to have the greatest optimism going into 2020. Bring it on!

Damo I don't know and to be honest I don't care. Draft and trade speculation is fun. Here is Trav's speculation, posted 27th November: GC - Rowell (confirmed) GC - Anderson (confirmed) Melb - Jackson (confirmed) GWS - Ash Syd - Flanders Ade - McAsey Freo - Young (confirmed) Freo - Serong (confirmed) Freo - Henry (match Carltons bid) Carl - Stephens Melb - Pickett Haw - Kemp Port - Berman Dogs - Weightman Compare with Cal's predictions which were made before Trav's made on 25th. https://www.afl.com.au/news/149384/cal-twomeys-2019-phantom-draft-top-30-your-clubs-whispers What are the odds? Not long, but who cares?

You care enough to read it and post!

I wasn't thinking of him!?

Then put him on ignore and everyone will be happy. The perfect Christmas win win.

Disappointing report I thought. No word on KK or Spargo nor any news on Bennell. Hope he’s more informative later.

What do you base this on and why would you make the comment?

I don't know if Brayshaw played injured but it did look like it. Perhaps it was just his rotten preseason. But he hasn't missed a session of this preseason which indicates to me there was no longterm harmful effect from the decision to play him. And who would you have picked? Jordan, Chandler, Bedford? The reality was in the last half of the season an underperforming Brayshaw was better than the alternative. And the fact that he hasn't missed a beat in preseason indicates the Club knew exactly what they were doing given his medical situation, whatever that was.

I think he's training solidly. He's clunking a few marks and he's being spoiled a few times. He's being covered by Lever, May and OMac so it's reasonable competition. If you're glass half empty you'd criticize him and if you're glass half full you'd be happy with him. He's getting his first real run at preseason this year. He'll have some pretty solid help in the forward line with TMac, Fritta and Trac all very capable overhead. The focus of the oppositon will be elsewhere initially I'd have thought. He'll also have some quality smalls at his feet with luck and his job on a lot of occasions will just be to get the ball to ground. His kicking for goal today was fantastic as he slotted one from tight on the boundary and another from a fair way out. He's getting the ball in match sim regularly without dominating but like all forwards he relies on the delivery at least giving him some chance. Given your view there's nothing there to change it, I'm of the opposite view and happy with what I've seen.

I thought if I got there a bit early today it might be a good idea given the heat. I was right. At 8.45 a rather smaller squad than Monday arrived from AAMI. I usually start with rehab because in previous weeks the rehab boys are out first, but not today. In fact the rehab tent wasn't even set up. They play some rather unpleasant music from there and monitor the GPS figures I think but not today. Finally Tomlinson makes up the entire rehab group today and starts his routine and looks very comfortable. I'd think he'll be close to fully ready after the break. It seems like ages since we heard the news of his calf but it's only about 4 or 5 weeks and clearly they are building him up carefully. About 30 players start with some gentle exercises one involving a player with an exercise band around the other players hips who is in the "up" push up position. They pull at all different angles and the player must not fall over. It's then into a lot of different groups with some leading and kicking drills, there are some stoppage drills and a little bit of marking practice. It's all at a pretty leisurely pace and there's not a lot to report or see really so I start thinking about who is not there. May, Jones, Viney, Spargo, Hibberd, KK, Melksham(?), Hannan, Baker, Dunkley, AVB, Jetta, TMac, Petty, Preuss, Brown and JSmith are missing along with Neita of course. But the squad is still big enough to do some three quarter ground match sims but it's all at a notch down from Monday. The focus is transitioning the ball from the backline to forward line and with fewer player on the ground it's all done very well. Jackson and Weideman are the forward targets and Lever is giving Jackson a hard time but earns a free from an illegal spoil on the boundary and slots it nicely. But the best is yet to come for Jackson who takes the ball off the top of a pack and casually strolls into goal. It's these little cameo's that get you excited. Not many could do what he did. Rivers kicks a great goal from a good run and a long way out and gets the applause of everyone and Kossie plays "catch me if you can" a couple of times but of course nobody can. The young kids are enjoying the slightly slower pace and less congestion and we are seeing some of the skills come out. Reports of Jackson's kicking deficiencies seem misplaced as he was kicking off both sides of his body today very well. The "best 22" do what the best 22 do when the match sims are on. Oliver, Harmes and Trac get a lot of it, Gawn wins in the air and the players are just really enjoying the drills. When match sims finish there is some goal kicking practice and then it's all over by 11.15. Viney and TMac have ventured down to have a look, Bennell is starting to ramp up his running on the other side of the ground and James Jordan keeps slotting every shot he has. A good bunch of Demonlanders down there today so others will add their bit and their perspective. Tomorrow will be a big day I reckon, I'll see if I can get some inside information on where it is.

Vanders and Petty were first out doing a gentle walk around the boundary and some stretches, Baker and Hannan not far behind. So over to rehab to start my day (yes @Vagg I'm on the improve!) where Baker, Hannan, Tomlinson and later Jones did their stuff. Baker and Tomlinson are still on gentle runs, Hannan about 75% now and Jones running pretty much flat out. Oscar complained about the cold and Mitch said he was looking forward to stepping it up. The rest of the group had arrived and I was pleased to see TMac with them. He did all the warm up drills before wandering over to rehab where he did a few run throughs. Meanwhile a group in front of me lined up in single file dancing on the spot. The coach would then tell them to break and move 5 yards to the left or right and off they'd go. Poor old Lockhart, who was at the front of the line suddenly found himself 10 yards from the others having moved the wrong way. Laughs all around! They'd broken up into about 4 groups at this stage and spent about 5 minutes in each and rotated through them but then thankfully we went to match sims which concentrated in starting the ball in different areas of the ground, setting up and then "play". It's so much more interesting watching this than the other stuff! Meanwhile there were a few missing. No Neita, no KK and no Preuss. Bennell had made a late appearance and was doing the gentlest of jogs along the boundary. The match sim started and Mitch Brown copped a knock to the head and was taken straight off and was not seen again. Pickett, Jackson and Rivers were involved early but sat out some later ones. Jackson is learning that it's hard work against men. Gawn and Oscar weren't letting him near it much but he was still involved. Pickett is doing his best to get involved but isn't much and Rivers looks the best of the new lads to me. I comment to a friend that whilst we'd love to see the new blokes really do well it's probably good they aren't beating our best 22 players!! Fritsch looked all class and was just clunking the ball in greasy conditions. Harmes was in everything, Oliver finding it with ease, TMac was back on the ground (I was confused at this stage) and taking mark after mark up forward and Langdon doing what Langdon does. May was rock solid down back and Vanders and Dunkley had a good battle on their wing. The standard was a bit lower today because of the conditions and it was difficult for the big blokes to mark. Having said that Petty was very good I thought playing up forward and TMac as well. Running finished the session off with different people doing different things and the session ended at about 11.30.

From the above as far as I can tell: Lever - full training Preuss - full training Weideman - full training Tomlinson - rehab, light jogging Spargo - moon boot AVB - full training modified for load Bradtke - full training except for last Friday where he did little. Load management?? Petty - out of rehab but load management. Only played one of two match sims on Friday Baker - rehab, light jogging Hannan - rehab, 75% running JSmith - full training Jetta - full training Chandler - full training but missed Wednesday. Full training Friday Oliver - full training KK - 75% running Jones - 75% running TMac - Full training until Friday. Watched training Bennell - rehab, light jogging

Great report fr_ap, must have taken a while to type! I've been an irregular track watcher in previous years but for one reason or another I've got down more often this year and it's been interesting to see the continuity of training over time. I think people who read the reports need to understand that it's virtually impossible to see even 20% of what's going on when it's not match simulation or stratch matches as the players are usually broken up into 3 or more different groups who move to different areas of the ground and you just can't watch everything. So if, for example, you see Rivers in a medium intensity drill in front of you and he hits the target regularly with his kicking you'll have a totally different impression than if you see him in his first scratch match under pressure. Neither report will be wrong. My view is fr_ap's report is taken from a different aspect to mine. I watched this scratch match (for want of a better description) yesterday through the lens of the first of the season. The skills were scratchy and I nearly said in my report that if we played like that in the first game we'd get thrashed. But I didn't because I think if you watched any team have their first scratch match it would be very much the same. There are many reasons for this. Firstly it's December and the first time they've really gone hard. Secondly the cumulative effect of weeks of really hard training has an effect, especially during the second stint of the practice. And thirdly every player knows what the other is going to do because they know the game plan and where people should be. As Saty has said in another thread last week was a really hard week, designed to be the most exhaustive of the PS to date. This has an impact. I remember one player saying to me some years ago they just wanted PS to end because he was sick of being sore. As we watch players running round it's hard to remember how tired they are, we don't know what little niggles they've got or if they're practicing something rather than doing what they'd normally do. These things are particularly relevent for younger players and we still have a pretty young list. I watch training for attributes, cameos or the such to see what players can do (or can't). My description of Jackson's ground ball gather is a good example. I don't really care if he misses a kick or drops a mark but when I see he is capable of taking a contested ground ball at full tilt and dish it of with his left hand I'm impressed. Not many can do that. When I see Rivers kick in drills and consistently hit targets I'm impressed. He can do it. When I see Pickett dodging and weaving in the handball drills I'm impressed because few if any are doing it as well as him. Or when I see someone like Dunkley doing well on Langdon when I really haven't noticed Dunkley much during other sessions I take notice. And that's the sort of thing I report. Sorry to bore you but I think it's important to understand where people are coming from when they report and to understand that often while the reports will be of the same players it will often be reporting different things. While the reports might seem contradictory they are probably not. It's why having different people reporting is so good as it gives a much more rounded picture for those that aren't there. And then of course there's the different reporters prejudices but lets not go there.........

For the first time I arrived before the players who wondered over at about 9.15. For consistency my first stop was rehab and there was some good news. Vanders and Petty weren't in it. Bradtke was along with KK, Jones, Hannan, Oscar Baker and Bennell. Jones was doing a lot of running scaling down to Bennell who was doing gentle 100m runs. Tomlinson was also there and doing gentle runs for the first time. The usual warm up drills with a bit of stretching and some short runs and kicking followed before they broke into groups for some kicking, leading type drills where the skills were pretty good. Viney was in fine form in front of me along with Chandler who was out in full training despite missing Wednesday (as did Vanders). Another drill involved some leading and marking against a defender in genuine contest work and the first player of the day to really impress was Joel Smith. He was in everything, marking really well and getting a lot of it. We noticed an umpire doing some warm up laps and were excited to see some real match practice. It was 100% flat out but with "respectful tackling". What fun!! Players to impress: Fritsch: If there was a "best on ground" it surely went to this bloke. Had the ball on a string, was clean and clunked mark after mark. The only downer was his kicking was a little off but he looks to have make another step up from last year based on today. Harmes: Just involved in everything playing half back. Made space, was clean with the ball, kicked it well and made good decisions. I think there is little doubt he'll play back this season and hopefully play that Laird/Lloyd role. Melksham: in everything. Jetta: he was back with his dancing feet, got plenty of it and kicked very well. You'd have been proud of him Saty! Langdon: Just did what he did at Freo. Up and down the wing, plenty of possies with his execution still a bit off. Dunkley: I call this bloke "Mr Invisible". Never seem to notice him but today he was on a wing in front of me marking Langdon and he got his fair share of it and looked comfortable. Bedford: I saw this bloke a lot at Casey last year and he never really got involved but today he did - often. Sadly he fumbled a fair bit and didn't make the most of his chances which was odd because he's got neat skills. Jackson: I don't want to hype this bloke too much but he did one thing in front of me that was special. Langdon was gathering a ground ball and for all the world looked like it was his. Jackson swooped (and I mean swooped) in at full pace, gathered it cleanly and gave a left hand handball off to a teammate. It was a thing of beauty. This kid could be anything. But to balance my report it's only fair to say he missed some marks he should have taken but it's the first time he's played in a genuine full pressure situation. He gets more of the ball on the ground than in the air and the more I see him the more I can believe the talk of midfield in a few year. Pickett: He was involved, had no trouble with the pace of the game and did some nice things but also make mistakes missing a chest mark he should have taken at one stage. But he's got that typical indigenous talent of speed and lateral movement. His closing speed is terrific. Oliver, Brayshaw, Gawn, May and Lever all did well but you've seen them do it often. There were two sessions of match sim each lasting about 10 minutes with the draftees sitting out the second along with Vanders and Petty. They finished with some serious running before the end at about 11.15. Spargo was there in a moonboot and TMac didn't train, I've no idea why. Vanders and Petty seemed to get through fine and Jones doesn't seem far away. Hannan was also doing much more than a week or so ago and Baker did some running at about half pace which I haven't seen before. Tomlinson and Bennell look a long way off and KK has been on the same program for the week it would seem. It was great to see something like real footy.

I think Nietschke looks a little like Langdon in build. He's quite fair. Did the guy on Lever have long hair? If not sounds a little like Smith. I was getting quite confused between Rivers and Fritsch today. Thankfully one is left footed!

Well 640, there were skill errors. Not every handball found its mark, not every kick found a target, not every tackle stuck but overall the standard was pretty good. No player looks really out of it. Some aren't natural athletes in the way of ANB or Bedford. Clarry, Trac and Brayshaw wouldn't match Robert Harvey. But they are so far ahead of last year it's amazing. Last year they didn't have players to make up a drill. This year they stand on the sidelines because just about everyone is there. The disappointments for me are KK, who is still just running and Harry Petty who is the same. I worry for KK. I don't know what the problem is but he hasn't played since June and if it's still a concussion issue that's really sad for him. But I don't think anyone is overstating the ability of the draftees. Jackson and Pickett both have some real X factor, but it's not the real thing yet so we can only hope it translates. There is no reason why it shouldn't as they seem to have all the attributes. Jackson particularly has surprised me. He's quick. He's quick over the ground but he's quick to recover, he's competitive in the drills and he's got surprising skills. When I first heard we were thinking of drafting him I was disappointed. I couldn't be more the opposite now. It's the time of excitement. We have the basic 18 or so we know will play if fit. But we've got so many that could surprise. Jordan, Sparrow, Neita, Chandler and Bedford from last year's draft have all shown something. Not all will make it but we don't need that, we just need two or three to really push. And this year's lot look terrific. That's about 8 that we didn't have as realistic players last year.

Nice to meet you dpositive. Always good to put a face to a name. As for Nietschke's nickname, it's not mine, it's what he's called at training. They're an imaginative lot. River's nickname is, yes, you guessed it, Riv.

He's got neat skills, has good endurance and just seems to know where the ball is going. He's the same build as Langdon and seems to play the same role just running up and down the wing. He's still wearing the red hat which is "no tackle" (I assume) but he's showing no sign of the ACL. It's hard to judge in training but he just looks like he can play. I've seen 4 sessions now and he hasn't missed a beat. He just seems to be involved but that could just be the red hat.

Training was underway by 9.10 when I arrived and my first port of call was rehab. Walking around to the rehab group I look for Vanders but sadly no sign. I don't think we can deduce anything from him not being there. He was fine on Monday so hopefully, and most likely, it's just managing his loads. There were three in rehab. Joney, Petty and KK. They were doing the usual running of around 100m repetitions and as always didn't seem to be in any trouble. But that was all they did for the day and they didn't do a lot. Later, Bennell and Oscar Baker made an appearance but didn't do any work that I saw although by that stage I'd moved to the other side of the ground and wasn't concentrating on rehab. There was still no sign of Spargo. So onto the drills. Across the ground from flank to flank teams of initially 8 per team would move the ball by foot from one end to the other. Lots of hard running in these drills and the kicking was okay. Later this exercise reduced to 6 and was handball only. Much more running as quick at that. There were a couple of highlights involving the new boys. The first was Kossi, nobody could catch him and his lateral movement and ability to avoid tackles was very good. His skills are also very good, natural and duel sided. The second was Rivers in the 6 player handball drill. In this drill a player was often out the back and able to run into the open "goal" and as Viney ran in Rivers took him down, hard. It was the only tackle of the sot that I saw and I reckon Viney loved it. Rivers looks very like Fritsch in his movement and physique and has similar kicking skills. Jackson was also very good in these drills. He's exceptionally athletic and is also duel sided by hand. I haven't noticed whether he has the same skill by foot. He's very quick off the mark and for a young bean pole he's really well coordinated. His ball handling is also clean and he knows how to be involved. None of the young blokes looked out of place in these drills. They moved on to a short session of match sim with some body contact by it was not fierce. Someone else may be able to explain but there are two teams but there are also two who wear white vests. No idea what the point is here but today it was CWagner and Melk. No real standouts in the match sim for me but it was brief. They then broke into four groups. One was goal kicking, one marking with the emphasis on positioning, one was clearance work and the final one was tackling, wrestling and some really gruelling exercises. This last group was exhausting just to watch but the players really seemed to enjoy it, particularly the wrestling. They finished with some running with Langdon, Jordan, Sparrow doing well but in the final 400m run around the group ANB dominated. Bedford also was very good, Neita right up there along with Hunt and Oscar. Training finished at about 11.30. With a fit list this year Casey will be fun to watch if the young blokes are playing. I'd expect Sparrow to make a bit of a run at senior footy and Neita looks likely. The last few spots in the best 22 will be interesting to see.