Slartibartfast

I ventured down a bit before 9.30am and missed the start of training. They were doing the usual drills and some short kicking. As reported Hunter and Jefferson were doing repeat run throughs which seemed to go on for a good hour. KFW was doing his own running but the good news was Petty did most drills other than the match sims. Fritta was in full training. McAdam was held out of match sims and there was no sign of Benny Brown. Smith, Clarrie and Melk were no shows. I'm also not sure if I saw Tommy Sparrow, I thought I did early but didn't notice him during the session so I'm hoping another trackwatcher can clarify. The match sims are of major interest to me and as you know it was just dreadful conditions. It rained heavily for most of the session but did ease off towards the end. I didn't notice any major changes in game plan from last year other than there is no long kicking to the forward line but this is as much to improve entry inside 50 than a permanent gp chance. It was the same last year. There were a few players that I really noticed. Judd McVee handled the ball beautifully in the conditions and found time to hit up teammates regularly. He won contested ball, stood up in tackles are was one of the highlights for me. I think he'll take another step forward this year. Didn't play midfield at all so I think we'll see him off halfback. I was impressed with Verrell in the pre christmas training and he did nothing to change that view today. He's very good below his knees and his contest work was good. He marked well in awful conditions and his kicking is fine. He could end up a good KP player the way his is going and not just limited to ruck where he is perhaps a bit small. I'm not sure where he fits in but there's a fair bit there to look forward to and I wouldn't be surprised if he gets a go at some stage during the season. JvR was another standout. He looks to me to have put on some real size and really imposes himself around the ball. He marked well and was his usual competitive self when the ball hit the ground and on my viewing so far he has developed well from last year. He has a real presence about himself now and is imposing in a way he wasn't so much last year. I was also impressed with Fullerton. He played mainly down the other end to where I was but seemed to be involved in a lot of play. He might surprise this year. But best on ground would have to go to Trac who is just so strong and clean. Found the ball with ease, did some freaky things and frankly just looked a class above, which he probably is. Kynan Brown was involved a bit but got caught on a number of occasions trying to do too much. Rick Lever was in everything and Steve May didn't let his opponent get a touch. The small forwards are going to be an interesting watch. Spargs, Kossie and Chin were all involved today, Nibber did his thing, Billings and McAdam are contenders and the Kolt just looks like a footballer. The other to impress today was Howes. He's tall, well over 190cm I'd think and he's got a lot of good attributes and looks the most likely to do a "Juddy" this year although where these kids play and who's spot they take I don't know. All in all it was a good hitout today but it wasn't done at AFL pace except for patches of the match sims. I'm looking forward to next week and seeing them in better conditions.

I doubt you'll change your view but the decision to select Tom was made based on his previous game not on his performance in the Carlton game. Yes he did zip against Carlton but against Collingwood his performance was on a par with Fritta and JvR and only behind JSmith of the tall forward options. When it came to selecting the team to play Carlton JvR was suspended and Fritta was injured. It wouldn't have made any sense to drop Tom nor to put an uncompetitive player like Schache on who has a history of being invisible in contested hard games. And it's a cheap shot to say an injured Weitering wasn't covered by Tom. Why not talk about Judd McVee not taking the body and spoiling the ball out of bounds in the last play for a goal. How did that player get free? And was Tom on the ground in that play? I don't know and I'm not looking at the replay to find out but there is a good chance he wasn't, he only spent 64% of the game on the ground. Perhaps if he'd spent more time on the ground we would have won. Nobody knows.

I want to just balance the views here and point out that those suggesting Schache or Grundy play instead of Tom are in a no lose situation playing Monday morning quarterback. You'll never be proven wrong, but you aren't correct either. Grundy was tried forward and couldn't do it, he couldn't do it even partially. He doesn't know how to play the position, he can't judge the ball well in the air and therefore doesn't reliably bring it to ground when it's in his area. Just look at how Phillips completely outpointed him in the Gather Round last year. Grundy is a ruck only, we know that now, so to pick him in the team or as sub would have been silly as he's only a back up for Gawn. If Gawn plays Grundy doesn't. Schache has been the most unreliable and uncompetitive tall you could imagine at all three AFL clubs he's played for. There is a reason he's at his third. He isn't strong in the air, he isn't strong in the contest and he doesn't play well in high pressure situations such as finals. Why was he picked as a sub? Because he can at least play in multiple positions as a KPB, KBF and ruck, but he does all of these at mediocre VFL level. In a low scoring game against Collingwood, who have a fantastic defense, Tommy kicked one and should have had two. He knows how to compete in the air, the opposition have to cover him and he can play as a defensive tall. These are all things he is better at than Schache or Grundy. He wasn't a poor option, he was just the last option after JvR, Brown and Petty were all injured. And Tommy was only half fit. I reckon that if Grundy or Schache had played that last game the same comments would still be made except it would be Tommy that would be called for at the expense of whoever played. Tommy's positive was that at least he's got the footy IQ to play the position and do a job, Schache and Grundy don't.

Hunter (and Langdon) both failed to finish in the top 10 of the B&F despite playing every game bar the one missed by Hunter. In an award that favours those that play games and for blokes that are in crucial positions it's an interesting commentary by the coaches. Whatever Lachie was not doing he'd better improve because there is a lot of competition for spots from those that might not necessarily be seen a wingers - Billings, Chandler, Howes, Woewodin, Laurie, Spargo and perhaps even the Kolt and Duke. Langdon is under pressure too. It's an interesting watch.

I clicked on the link above and my computer froze and my display is now cactus. Anyone have the same issue?

I know I'm a bit late to the party but I've been down to a couple of training sessions including Monday's, I enjoy watching the boys do their time trials but really it's not as indicative as some might think. Trac struggles in the time trials because of his physique but that doesn't mean anything. The younger boys, particularly the talls struggled. Adams and Verrell were examples of this. Sestan is not a natural athlete but is working hard on his fitness by the look of things as is Jefferson. For a bloke of Tomlinson's size his running is outstanding. He ran with Nibbler until there was about a lap and a half to go and then just went. I thought he was on his last half lap when he broke away but no. He was so strong and was really impressive. But that doesn't mean he's a different footballer to last year, he's just an outstanding athlete. When I go to these sessions I'm really only interested in the young blokes because in the main that's where the improvement will come from but it's such early days it's not really realistic to take much away. But in the wet last week I was impressed with how good the ball handling was from all players. Verrell did some impressive stuff below his knees and it just shows he's got some skills which are rare in big men. He may be a key position player prospect as well as a ruck. His issue is his stamina, he couldn't play ruck at AFL level purely based on not being able to get to enough contests. McAdam is another to impress. He's just got that magical indigenous ability to make the difficult look easy and I'm really looking forward to seeing what he can do. But he was another struggling with his running so that will be a watch. As others have said The Kolt has swagger but it doesn't look like arrogance to me. And he can kick it, both distance and accuracy. He did a really good time trial so looks to have the fitness to play early. Windsor hasn't stood out but what he's done he's done well. Kicking is good and ball handling is clean. I've liked what I've seen Kynan Brown do but he's as skinny as so it will be a while before he's ready even if he's got the skills, and Marty Hore just looks at home. I've been a track watcher for a good long time now and I well remember watching James Strauss train and thinking he could be anything. Training form at this time of year is very problematic in terms of predicting players development but we look pretty good. As I've read the other posters comments the common comment is "I'm looking forward to seeing *insert player* get a go this year. The issue of course is there will be very few spots up for grabs if we have a reasonably fit list. Billings and McAdam can both play and would be in front of the young guys. Howes and Laurie (yes, I'm still a believer) have multiple preseasons under their belt and Woey looked promising last year for a second year player. The question is "who for". I mean how does Kolt get a go? Who does McAdam get in for and Billings as well. Spargo has been impressive. This brings me to my final point. At this time of year we have unbelievable depth with far too few spots for the players. But when we've lost a few games it's more like "we are just swapping the deck chairs on the Titanic". It's groundhog day.

I reckon there’s a good chance the Club has noticed😎

Gus!

Agree DS but I don’t think he’s rough around the edges at all. Seems like a level headed respectful young man to me. Like everyone I’ve really warmed to him and am hoping for a long and successful career.

Thank you.

Can anyone tell me what Adelaide gave GWS for pick 8? Is it right that we were offered WCE future 1st for pick 7? Thanks for any help.

Are you sure that wasn't Jed Adams? If it wasn't, was Adams there?

I thought I saw Petty but then realised it was Jed Adams. Reckon social media had it wrong.

I think we did and used the rookie list as it’s outside the soft cap.

Not in the top 20 picks.

@poita here are our picks for the last 8 year, those are the years you say we haven't picked a genuine mid in the top 20, and I agree, we haven't. I've also gone through and looked at which mids were available at our picks who you could suggest would have been better pics than who we took. I may have missed some but apart from last year, and it's far too early to tell if we missed someone good, I can't see anything to criticize unless you want to argue Serong over Jackson. Did you do your research before you made your comment? If so, who would you rather us take? 2016 Hannan, Johnson D (no top 20 picks) 2017 Spargo, Fritsch, Petty (no top 20 picks) 2018 Sparrow, Jordon (no top 20 picks) 2019 Jackson, Picket, Rivers (2 top 20 picks) 2020 Bowey, Laurie, Rosman (no top 20 picks) 2021 JvR, Howes, Woey (1 top 20 picks) 2022 Jefferson, Adams (one top 20 pick) 2023 Windsor, Tholstrup (2 top 20 picks) MIdfield options. 2019 Serong ahead of Jackson? 2020: None 2021: Soligo ahead of JvR? 2022: Ed Allan, Breydon George, Olli Hotton ahead of Jefferson? 2023: of those available who you you have taken ahead of the two we took @poita

How does WAFL and VFL compare in standard?

So we can, but we won't. I like the other explanation better but I'm unsure about list spots. It seems a bit strange to me that there isn't more love for him.

Why can't we match it?

One is Gillespie I think. Don’t know the second.

Thanks Dazzle, hadn't thought of that. No media comment on anything until we win our next flag and prove "actions speak louder than words". Brilliant strategy. We could save on our media department as well.

How did you want him to respond Dazzle? What would have satisfied you?

Good to see there's no paranoia there WCW! The tribunal has a long history of not suspending players in final series particularly if they a stars and if they are part of big teams. The most notable example was Barry Hall punching and decking a player in the PF 50 yards off the play and being cleared. Swans won the flag that year by a kick and Barry kicked a vital goal in the last as I recall. That tribunal decision won the Swans the flag which was fantastic for AFL footy in Sydney. AFL involvement? I say no but many will disagree. That GF was balanced by the one they lost in 2016 when the umps carried the Dogs to a GF and you just have to watch the umpiring in the PF they played against GWS to understand why #freekickdogs became a hashtag. The umpiring in the GF was the only time I've ever thought the umps had an agenda but if you believe that then there is little reason to follow footy I think so I reject it. But that game made that difficult. But in the end the Dogs win was probably good for footy too. And WCW the tribunal decision to clear Maynard (and I share your feelings on that topic) didn't impact us at all unless you argue that him being cleared affected us in the next game, but I don't think that is the case. Anyone who questions our effort in the Carlton loss just didn't see the game.

So can Maxi, wow, just wow!

Yes we can, and I don’t think it was staggering. Nor did the FD.