Tolstoys Nudge

Not in a million years. If fit

Scottish born

Langford.. plain and simple!

Heard similar encouragement per my report that he’s sprints were what he’s had since joining club — he is def having a crack and looks leaner for sure

Howes competing with Taylor for the hybrid spot — but his inability to take game On by foot or by speed will hurt him but who knows

Couldn’t disagree more on these from what we’ve seen so far..but that’s why PS is fun! I’d guess it’s JVR, Checkers & Jeffo or Luker Down back it is Disco, Harry & Lever with Adam’s next in line but May is def putting in the yards to try to sway opinion

Leo hahahaha nice! Who knows.. I think it’s possible & my daughter (currently best junior in the country btw 😉) and I have always felt our biggest weakness was a mid girl that could hit targets so let’s see.. either way finishing 8-13 with some exciting moments will be an achievement and that’s ENTIRELY possible imho —- Midfield of Max, Kos, Riv, Steele, Viney, Langford, Culley is no “meh” group

Clips won’t load they’re tooo big for DL but man there was some class form Trelly/Leb to see! Looked great as a small def, has a low to ground body mass and uses it to burn out of contest — looks like a R1 starter for mine, has genuine X factor & is a sponge out there!

Ok all — pls see my full training report below largely based on a round-up of individuals I could easily see and felt like watching more than others, but largely I got a good idea of most. Beautiful day for it at Gosch’s, esp when rain held off. First thing that’s CLEAR = Atmosphere/Vibe has changed dramatically from this time last year and 2yrs previous, the vibe is so much more upbeat, focused & just feels like a lot more is being “coached” rather than just trained, if that makes sense. King’s presence wasn’t felt as much but that’s because he was constantly within earshot of a player, I mean the entire session! Chaplin was def the loudest voice & hearing him give direction and feedback to several players was terrific. Jones ran the rehab group a while & was boisterous, whilst Scarlett’s presence was immense in terms of what he appeared to be passing onto the players, def didn’t feel half baked, it was considered, player specific and just in general he gave a number of tips to our key talks, more so fwds ie leading patterns , how to hold-out in a marking contest, time your wrestling for position in majoring 1/1 etc etc Ball movement is similar but also very different, much less thinking involved & more fwd momentum, angles etc. Feels like a tweak and honestly the cattle (better kicks) help, as no butchers were out there Trac, Claz and no Viney so it looked super crisp at all times. Others covered the drills so now here is my player summary; — Notably missing was Harry & Riv. — Standouts overall: This one was easy, as there was a definite few that stole the eyes the entire session & they were: Steele (kicking ELITE in all drills think he missed one kick of the 15+ I saw). From what I saw today he looked like a hybrid of Clarry (inside) and Gus (kicking and IQ). Massively impressed!!! Leb: (kicking was just phenomenal in the i50 entry drills then again in the middle Of ground sim. Pressure was what also stood out, was huge in every contest and chased hard tackled hard & looks a player who’s grown into his skin and now KNOWS he belongs. He’s Moo Kowal mixed with a bit of Tingay. Best I’ve seen him, might just be an elite mid ala Holmes this year. Langford (oozes class, looking like the alpha, just knows what to do and when to do it and while kicking was a little off today, his presence is just nothing short of magnetic). Has to play on-ball 70-80% then up fwd as a pinch hitter. With Viney, Steele, Kos, Riv, Len alongside him boy.. it’s drooling time!!! Mentha (surprise indeed, but he’s got a real presence now, sized up a bit & continually found more of footy than I’ve seen previously commanded the pill and evaded while keeping composure several times). If we weren’t so strong in similar spots I’d lock him in for R1 that’s how much he stood out for us. Everything was one-touch! Looks like a wingman to me.. time will tell! Culley (sure hands, great 1st step, leap, tackling pressure & seems to already be a player the coaches want others to find, was just class personified & finished everything) Trelly (just looks wise beyond years and it’s obvious hang big Cus Kos there is having immense impact). Was only player I saw as bit kicker and receiver in the fwd pocket leading drill that went for a long while and he excelled in BOTH roles, they couldn’t catch him as the leader as as kicker he was creative using angles and going long or short, he was just a nightmare cover). Destined for R1, for sure. JVR (looks to have mature, grown into body even more and is leading at ball carrier well, took a LOT Of one grab marks, had a real presence about him). Jeffo/Luker (both battled hard all session and yet both look completely different. Luker is a real specimen with beautiful soft vie like hands, but Jeffo was smart, ran hard & got great separation more so than I’ve ever seen before. Really looks to be up-skilling his game w/repeat efforts & got loads of coaching attention as did AJ who was learning got to take ball at highest point in marking drill (solo) then with May giving some 1:1 pressure and wrestling practice — One thing Scarlett told AJ was that he was doing his work WAY too early and that he needs to hold off longer before engaging and use his frame and strength to protect ball drop zone. Luker is HUGE in physique it’s actually intimidating. Chin/Fritta: (such great leads in small spaces, finish so strong & Fritta got out back a lot whilst Chin lead strong at ball a lot and was rewarded. Other Notes: CJ: Quiet today, did a fair bit of running, but looks really engaged and happy — butchered a few by foot but it was a tough session. XL: Used as a HB to fill Bowser role, think he will do well Just needs to keep learning and adapting but he has a crack has smarts & will grow exponentially, then next year or year following midfield beckons. Kalani: REAL surprise packet. He’s obv got a boys body but his positioning for marks and hands were terrific as was his composure in the small circle handball/tackle drills — Dare I say a few grabs looked Darcy-lite in the way he takes it and gets free on the sneak! Salem: looks fit, ready to go & is in a good space. Couple of foot errors but also some good pressure like we saw in 21’ his tackling had bite to it. Max: was just Max, immense leadership and commitment as well as ability, looks really happy & if I’m guessing I’d say he’s SUPER excited atm as he’s sure what team is capable of but has a cheeky feeling it might be more than many suspect — just my read. Bill: Struggled a bit today, missed targets but seemed hampered but the hand so who knows but think as a small fwd he will be back in queue if that’s how King sees him.. AMW: Great to see him back and training well? Def rusty but his running power is immense & he’s going to be a great depth player especially with Bowser out and McVee gone. He looked extremely excited to be out there’s Checkers: Asked him himself when he was due to be back in contact & he was so exhausted from his bike session he could barely breathe let alone talk — but seemed like it was still a bit “wait and see” atm unfortunately! Kolt: best I’ve seen him by a MILE. Looks much lighter on his feet, making faster decisions & looked quick as result. Hit targets, was loud & didn’t appear in two minds at all which is big. Small things but watching him today he had impact & was a top 10 for me. Matthews: LOVE this kid, obv rusty and nervous but he got better and better showing his skills and one-touch base which was awesome, feels like a Greene/Weightman hybrid atm but need to see a lot more obv. Onley: he is so huge, gets ball, good footwork just needs to work on kicking and making faster decisions but oozes belief and class in his movement, I suggest he will look elite in VFL and push for selection late and blossom WOW. Genuine inside/outside combo which is RARE. May/McAdam: looked as good as two blokes whom ran ALL SESSION could look. May was given loads of “Atta boy” from Reece Conca for his repeat running efforts, McAdam was smiling and looked like he’s not far at all. My biggest takeaway was how much better the overall vibe was, no fake BS, just real improvement based comms, smooth gameplay & never any silly drills or plasters unsure what is happening. They’re going something constantly, working on things constantly & we just look so much less stagnant due to more freedom but mostly the cattle and it hating 2 biggest egos slowing us down or hogging limelight. VERY different team, but boy it could be one that offers some real good wins/games and imho will be one that gets better all the time. With so many out it’s exciting to see who makes the cut, so many look good but so few open spots! All 3 parts of ground have 9-12 players vying for 5-6 spots and that felt new. Def more clean onetouch play today, better finishing and Melk/Checkers/Mcadam are on sidelines.

Kalani was a real surprise — found space in the fwd drills (where kicker has to find 1/2 fwds that are outnumbered by / def — Kalani kept find space out back, took ball at highest point etc — so raw and think that he’s clearly a while away but the talent is Def there and he didn’t look out of place at all!

Both showed some TRULY great signs today. KOLT looks a new man physically and seems to have matured— pressure solid and kicking/decisions best I’ve seen it inc penetration. JEFFO stood out ESP in the pocket leading drills especially in getting separation and his patterns great, held most grabs except a double where there was no pressure, follow-up effort notably looks better, def seems to be in frame for King but needs to keep going as Kentfield is a UNIT, and closing fast — his hands were the best of all today outside Culley.

Great session — best I’ve seen in years. Will post a report this arvo.

Spoke to Richo who said next week or so he will be in some contact drills. Side note: Matthews is looking better literally by the touch — agreed slow as you’d expect but is already showing flashes of being bake to do the one-touch things so many players just can’t do!

Seems fine now has rejoined

McAdam is in attendance.. Recovery atm: Viney, Hendo, Checkers, McAdam & Melky doing handballs with Jonesy