Slartibartfast

This is a slow time of the year so I thought I'd put my thoughts down about our preseason to date. I've seen all but one training session but keep in mind it's one man's opinion and there is so much going on that you see only a fraction of what each player is doing on any particular day. But over the journey you get a fair view of all players. General Comments: Fitness: the players do appear fit and of particular note for me is the great condition our second year players have come back in. Windsor, Kolt and Brown all look really fit and have done almost the entire preseason. I think it's important and it indicates that they may not suffer "second year blues". We've also had the majority of players doing a full preseason. Those in the rehab group are well documented and none appear to have long term recoveries in front of them. Training: the drills have been similar to last year and to my eye there doesn't seem to be much change in the program. There seems to be an emphasis in using the corridor and moving the ball quickly but this is common with previous preseasons. On Wednesday, in windy conditions, when there was a little more pressure put on the ball carrier using the corridor proved problematic with a number of turnovers. Personnel May: he's doing another preseason and from memory hasn't missed a session. JvR: another that has done every session and looks fit and strong. He hasn't shone in the full field drills but many of them don't seem to be designed to allow key forwards much opportunity. He's a leader on the field and trains with high intensity. Salem: Started in rehab from day one with the 1 - 4th years running the boundary and has now progressed through his rehab and is in full training. He looks really fit and his skills and experience really show out in the full field drills. McVee: he's a rolls royce. Hasn't missed a session and is just so composed. He's trained mainly with the backs but has been involved with some clearance work. He's been pretty heavily involved in the drills and his kicking is a highlight. Petracca: well if you had doubts about his commitment you can just put that to bed. He's ripped, he's involved and he's special. Most importantly he doesn't seem hesitant about physical contact and regardless of what happens at the end of 25 I'm sure he's 100% committed to the 25 season. Windsor: Has moved to the backline and is an absolute standout for me this preseason to date. If Judd is a roller then Duke is a Lambo - so fast and with the skills to go with it. It's quite exciting to think what he could do this year coming. Viney: He only knows one way and you know what that is. Things haven't changed and he looks in great shape and hasn't missed and significant training. Lever: Slow laps have progressed to faster laps but he's in rehab and progressing slowly. See the injury update for more info. Spargo: For a bloke that hasn't played since round one last season he's been commented on quite a lot this preseason. Running, running and more running for Spargs as he progresses through his recovery and has now progressed into some of the skills sessions. It's been a long journey to get to where he is and I'd imagine it will take some time to get his touch back but he'll be a great addition to the playing list whether it be really good depth or in the 22. Turner: Another of the highlights for me and has shown some impressive skills and played well in the match play drills. Great hands, good kicking for goal and a lot of involvement when the ball hits the ground. Unfortunately tweeked something later in the preseason and has spent a few sessions doing what they do in rehab - run, run, run. He doesn't look in any discomfort and did the majority of the PS to date. Gawn: He's the best ruck and contested ruck in the AFL. It shows at training. He looks lean and fit. Shame about his injury but if he can still run with it I know what I'm going to be seen in January while he recovers. Tholstrup: the Kolt was a leader when it was the first to fourth years and I'm a big fan. He's hard to place but has been training forward and with the mids. Energetic, faster than I remembered, involved and very encouraging to his teammates. IMO can play and will surprise. Oliver: so much said but in the end Clarrie looks happy and relaxed and to my eye looks very fit. Perhaps not as ripped as in 21 but a different class of fit to 24. His ball handling is back and he's just getting it all the time. And his tackling is back too. I think we didn't really appreciate how much that hand injury impacted him last year. He's so important to us but things look good at present. Langdon: Lingers has been fantastic. So involved, so much running and his kicking is so improved on his earlier years. Laurie: Others have commented on his kicking and skills but I haven't noticed them this PS all that much. Where his running was elite last year (second behind ANB in the 2k trials) he's dropped a little this year. He's neat but there isn't much I can add other than he's done all the seasons and trained mainly with the forwards and some mid work as well. Bowey: Another standout who trained from day one with the young blokes. He looks terrific and his kicking is elite. Involved with high skills in ball handling and decision making. Hoping for a genuine break out year. All the signs are good. Melksham: I had him delisted at the end of 21 but initially in the 25 PS he was looking so fit and involved. He isn't there filling in the numbers he's right in the mix. Sadly he's done a hammy I suspect in the second last session and let's hope it's minor. Langford: Lots has been said and I can't add much. Just looks hungry and composed and "comfortable at the pace". Yes he's been caught a few times and he'll learn from that. Better in PS than in games. His footy IQ is elite, he just knows how to be involved, he works hard and his vision is great. I don't think his pace is an issue but his kicking is a little up and under over the shorter distances and is something to work on. He's a genuine class player in the making. Lindsay: really all I've seen from his is run, run, run and then do it again. He's been involved in a few of the quieter skills drills which are mainly done on the other side of the ground to where I stand so I can't offer much. But as I said to a mate "JT pick Windsor out of the pack and he looks great, no reason XL can't be the same. Jefferson: If you've read the training report, and if you've got this far into this I assume you have, much has already been said and I agree with it. He looks bigger and stronger. He's more involved. He's got very good skills and he's had some really good cameo moments. He's progressing nicely and I'm buying shares but they are slightly speculative. He's also done all sessions with is in sharp contrast to last year when he was on his own program well into February and if you remember he started in the backline for Casey. Howes: he's tall. If he's not as tall as Lever he's not far off it. He's just gone about his business. He makes very few mistakes and he's quietly involved if you know what I mean. He's one of those players you don't notice until you do and once you have you see he's much more involved than you thought. He's trained with the backs and done all sessions. McAdam: look there's been a lot of debate and quite a lot of criticism of him and while he's been in rehab and then absent I think he's looked in really good shape. He's just run so much with apparently no injury and I think they are just trying to do something different with him to get him through a season. So not much to report, make your own judgement but he looks fit and committed to me but I'm a glass half full sort of supporter. Rivers: looks great. Training with the mids and doing all the sessions. He's really powerful through his legs. There's no reason not to hope he picks up through the midfield and just adds to what he showed last year. Tmac: where to start? Well as one of the older statesmen he started from day one and was a standout for a good part of the PS. Perhaps a little quieter in the last few sessions but all he does is so clean and while many deny it, his kicking is very good. He's also extremely fit finishing high up in the time trials. It's hard to see him not in the starting 22 on form which makes it hard to see why Petty is going back. For me you can forget "Petty is the future". That's right but we are playing in the present and atm Tmac is a standout at training. I'll finish the players later and if there's interest. All this is really doing is summarising all the training reports of mine and others. I'd be interested in other track watchers view where they differ from mine because as I say, you don't see everything.

GW are you talking about big ballsy changes on friend or off field? I’ve seen a lot of training over the last few years and every year I’m told of “a new game plan” or at least of significant tweaks but I don’t see them. Training has always been about quick ball movement and using the centre corridor but training is usually something like 14 v 14 with little pressure on the ball carrier allowing this methodology to be practiced. In games of course it’s quite different because the opposition is trying to stop you do what you want. I think we will basically see the same game plan this year but with different players executing from the back half. Windsor back is a clear indication of an intent to quicken us from there and Bowser will be a good addition. The addition of Sharp makes the Windsor move possible. A fit Clarrie and Trac back will make the biggest difference to last year. If you’re talking about off field then we have made some significant changes which have been initiated by the club. It will be interesting to see if the members have the same resolve to improve us. We will find out on Tuesday night.

I'm really surprised by the doubts about our ability to contend, and seriously, in 2025. Last year we were two wins and percentage out of the 8 and this was without Clarrie having any sort of year and Trac being unavailable for the last half. Further we lost three games by a total of 9 points against top 8 teams in this period. All in all we won 11 games and lost 13, hardly an uncompetitive season. In my opinion Clarrie and Trac are the kernel of next season, if they can have 2021 type seasons or close to it we are a genuine chance of a flag. If they have poor seasons we are a chance for the bottom of the 8 but no more. And of course we need some luck with injury, but that stands for all teams. It's hard to imagine we won't be significantly better than last year given how young our team is and the prospect of getting some handy players back. Bowser has been training really well and he was a bigger loss last year than some realise. Spargo will add depth, Langford and XL class and Windsor and Kolt have come back in great shape and are training really well. Sharp is a nice addition and looks good on the track. It's a competition of inches and small gains can take you place just as small losses can. We've got the prospect of some pretty significant gains. Anyway that's my take. Clarrie and Trac hold the key and at the moment both look very good.

Interesting observations Kev, on Howes particularly I’ve not seen it that way. I’ve seen all players make disposal mistakes and Howes hasn’t stood out to me but I’ll keep an eye on it on Friday. Adam’s is a slow burn I reckon and is just starting to believe. IMO he’s much improved ( more involved) than last year, whether he can improve enough is yet to be seen but he’s taking steps in the right direction.

I was at training today and the reports seem very accurate to me regarding how individual players went. Perhaps one that hasn't been mentioned enough is Clarrie. There have been lots of comments over the preseason saying he's out of condition and carrying too much weight. Well from what I've seen that's not strictly the case. He's not ripped like he was in 2021 but he's still in very good condition and he is working extremely hard and pushing himself to the limit. I reckon that as long as he maintains focus over the Christmas break by the start of the season he'll be really fit. He looks to have got that initial speed back and the ability to find a bit of space in congestion. His disposal today was very good on a day where a lot struggled to hit a target. On that, I reckon today was the first time I've seen them in a true contested situation and hence the disposal skills were down as there was a lot more pressure on the ball carrier. It was good today but it's early in the PS. Secondly, I've been to a lot of PS training sessions over the last few years and every year I read that we are going "more direct" and using the corridor more. I've not noticed any difference in the way we've used the ball in the full field drills so it will be interesting to see. On other players: Langford got caught a couple of times, a good thing I say, better to learn the pace of the game in PS than during the game. He works really hard around the ground. Concerns expressed about his pace don't seem evident and he's building nicely. Sparrow looks a lot more involved than he was last year, he's moving very well and kicking it well. Tmac was, again, very good today. Those thinking he'll play at Casey need to reconsider. I was also impressed with Fullarton today, he was strong and involved and kicked very well. Fritta looked a class above on occasions, strong in the contest an elite with his goal kicking. May had an opportunity to send Tmac into next year at one stage and thankfully made a decision to avoid contact. I reckon Tmac will buy him a bunch of flowers as a thank you! AJ has impressed but he learned a lesson today. In the handball drill he decided that the best option was just to run through Clarrie but he learned that's not all that easy. Lots of smiles and laughs when Clarrie helped him up. I like AJ, looks a ripper bloke and has lots of good attributes. It's a crowded forward line for talls but he's in the conversation. Looking forward to Friday, hope JvR is there, missed today but hopefully nothing in it.

He tried to run through Clarrie in a handball drill today. He learned a lesson. He looked good, Clarrie looked great.

I've been to all but one of the training sessions this year and I think there is a spot in the best 22 for Harry. He's been very impressive. He attacks the ball hard, he's got good clean hands and makes good decisions. He can run all day gets to the right spots and has been heavily involved in all the full field match sims. His disposal has been iffy at times but the same can be said for most. My view is that Chandler will take the ANB spot, Sharp will take the wing with Windsor playing off half back. That's the initial plan as far as I can see. Jed Adams was impressive today and certainly had a few cameos but he's still 5th banana for a spot down back and even perhaps 6th because Howes is tall, similar in height to Tmac and has been playing the Lever role pretty well. Howes reads the play well and is clean and disposes well. He's also been good in the contested possession drills I've seen and will fight hard to consolidate his spot in the team this year. He strikes me as someone who will mature late but mature well. He's a lot taller than when drafted and it's probably taking a while to adapt to the different role he'll play given his growth. The Kolt just reeks leadership and enthusiasm on field. He goes hard the whole time and he's a 1st round talent. There is a fair bit of competition for spots but he'll be a valuable player this year. He didn't participate in full field drills today and was running the boundary but didn't look impeded in any way. I'm different to many on AJ. He's got to show he's AFL standard before he gets in the team and he won't get in just to be Max's chop out. He hasn't shown me that he's up to that and he's only had half a season of VFL exposed form really. Turner and JvR will be two talls, whether we play a third or whether we look for a different structure I don't know but if Petty is going to play back AJ or Jeffo have to step up. Whilst there have been signs neither has grabbed the opportunity to date. Having said that the match sims don't really seem to give the talls much of a chance to show their stuff so there is a bit of water to go under the bridge. Missing today were Verrall and Bowser although I notice someone said they saw him. I didn't and if he'd been there I think I would have noticed as he's been a bit of a standout to date. As reported Kossie, Clarrie and Windsor were very good and I thought Knuckles played well. Chandler was very vocal today and played his role. I expect him to be part of the leadership group when it's decided. It was also good to see Fritta in all the drills as was Campbell. Lever and Spargo look to be the ones with issues with Lever behind Spargs. Makes me wonder if that explains the "Petty back" decision but that is total speculation.

I'm a bit late to the party but I made it down to training today and the boys were really put through their paces. The time trials were interesting. Harvey went out hard and held on well only to be overtaken by a few of the mature boys but he's fit enough to play AFL. Clarrie was at the back of his group but only by a small margin but he was totally spent at the end of it and I thought he was going to be sick. But then to my surprise he was up and at it in all the later drills. Interestingly they all did the time trials with shirts off and reports of Clarrie being overweight are grossly exaggerated, he might not be at his thinnest but he is far from fat. He looked in very good shape to me and as others have reported he's in good spirits. He was in the same group as Kolt who beat him but interestingly when all that group finished they fell to the ground in exhaustion but the Kolt didn't. He stayed on his feet and encouraged the others to get up. Leadership written all over this kid. Sesso also seems to have slimmed down well and is running much better than previous years. I don't think he's there yet but he's made big steps towards AFL fitness and if he continues as he is he might be a smokey for R1 when Koss is out. Verrall is really struggling in the running. He was a long way back in the time trial and in the end one of the trainers ran with him to keep him company. He really needs to get that right because he's way below AFL fitness at the moment and he's now entering his third preseason. I'm not suggesting he's not putting in the effort, just that he really struggles with this sort of running. Interesting in later running drills he was keeping up much better which was a positive. I was also interested in Aidan Johnson's performance. He looked pretty comfortable out there and kept up well in the time trials and other running. Beyond that I didn't really notice him much in the drills. To my surprise Petts is training with the backs as is Windsor. McVee is there too so it would seem that Duke and Knuckles won't be in the midfield this year which is against expectations. I don't see how Petts, May (who does look like he's been in a good paddock) Lever and Tmac fit in the one backline and it's hard to see Tmac missing out because he is in the best knick I've ever seen him. He's moving really well, he's really lean, his ball handling and kicking is good and his lateral movement is better than for a while and I'd suggest that's as a result of his feet being injury free. I've been to all but one session and he's the standout so far for me but I'm a big fan so perhaps I'm bias. Beyond that it was a great day for the track watcher I didn't think. Lots of little drills which didn't really show much and the boys were spread out all over the field making it hard to get an overall picture. I liked what I saw from Langford who to my eye didn't appear much taller than Clarrie when I saw them standing together but it's hard to tell given Clarrie's hair. Fritter was doing heaps of running at a very good clip and he did it for a long time. He looks really fit so I've no idea what his issue is. McAdam also did a fair bit of running and looked comfortable and he looks in good condition. I wonder if they just want to get him really fit before throwing him into full training and exposing his body to the level of stress. I can confirm previous report on Sparrow. He looks really lean and he was running really well. I think he may have got a rocket at the end of last season, he looks a new player. Billings also looked really fit. I'm going again on Wednesday and hopefully they'll do a bit of full field ball movement which is where I think you can judge players more critically. Boy was it humid at training today, skills were pretty good given the level of fatigue and the conditions.

So much written by so many who know so little about one player. I’ll give you my in-depth analysis of Trac’s psychological condition after I’ve been to training on Monday. You can take it to the bank!

I wish you wouldn’t.

Oliver. 2 Brownlow votes in his first game and arguably BOG to half time.

I'm not criticising his record but he's had the living in Sydney allowance for some of it and first dibs on players like Heeney, Mills and Gulden for starters. Given the thrashings in their last two GF's I'm not surprised. As usual the Swans very professional.

Turner looks really good. Very good in the contested marking drill and prominant in the handball drill which were both in front of me. Jefferson was pitted against Petts in the contested marking drill and was beaten in the first three and looked despondent. He then took a ripper in the fourth. He's looking much more involved and comfortable at the level this year compared to last year. Didn't notice Laurie much, sorry.

Is Hotton worth the risk?

I don’t, looked like the Essendon strips distance.

No. Windsor kicking on his left foot but participating in all the drills.

It won’t offend me Dazz, good idea to keep it from other clubs though, good thinking. Happy wit what you’ve heard?

So what’s the intel this morning Dazzle? Can’t wait for Wednesday, the suspense is killing me! Givemethenews!

Draft night is like Christmas, once you open the presents all the mystery is gone. I love the speculation and this year is special. Don't ruin it @goodwindees, we can all wait and enjoy the suspense. And if you do have quality mail, keep it to yourself, it can't do any good by releasing it but there is a very small chance it could do some harm. We'will know soon anyway! Patience grasshopper.

Not having a crack at you but this concept of "best available" just doesn't make sense. How can you say "best available" when your comparing a ruck, a key position forward, a small crumbing forward and a mid? Apples, oranges, pineapples and kiwi fruit. What's best? It's not just based on talent, it's based on scarcity, risk, needs and projection. We will be picking based on best available taking into account all of these factors and what we take will be instructive. If we believe Clarrie and Trac will be ours at their best long term then our picks are more likely to take into account May and Tmac's age. If we believe they will both be gone next year then that will impact our choices albeit that we would hopefully have Richmond like suite of first round picks. If we believe Jefferson will succeed then that will influence what we take. Our picks aren't in a bubble and what is "best available" to one club will be very different to another. Just look at NM looking at taking Tauru well ahead of his "best available" statue. Our picks on Wednesday will tell us quite a lot.

That seems really odd to me.

I’m not reading much into “positions” yet as there aren’t enough for a proper sim where players can play their usual positions. It’s still a wait and see for me. Im usually not into “he’s noticeably bigger this year” as I’m not convinced you can notice that much development over 8 weeks but Verrell looks very fit and strong. Kentfield is a beast, what a bonus if he succeeds. Seston is another where his body looks more defined. I find it hard to see where he fits in but he’s got some real AFL traits. Very strong in the clinches and a great kick. His ball handling is solid. One to watch I reckon. He looks very focused this year and comfortable in the group.

Monday’s plus Riv and Sparrow. That’s all.

Sparrow and Rivers trained today. Seston and Windsor stood out. Kentfield is a really big unit. Adam’s doing lots of running and not looking in any discomfort.

Sorry about the autocorrect, not a good start by Slarti. The session went for around 90 minutes and as far as I could see all 1 to 4 year players were there with Woey in 12 and Jed Adams in 19. It was pretty much a non contact session with the normal handball drills, lots of running and a little bit of field ball movement stuff. Good to see none of these boys in any sort of rehab group. Of the oldies Tmac, Viney, Chin, Marty Hore, Petts and Bowser did the full session with the young blokes and Salo and Fritta did a lot of lap running and a bit of kicking away from the group. It's really not possible to take much out of the session but Duke, Kolt and Disco sort of stood out but others would have picked others. Kentfield was there and he is one big unit. I was a bit disappointed Trac and Clarrie weren't there as it would have made a bit of a statement but it probably means nothing.