OldSchool
15 Feb 2006, 17:32
Not long back from this afternoons training session
Todays session was listed as a skills session and started a little later than it's advertised time of 2pm.
I arrived a bit early and noticed a number of players having a kick to kick before they were summoned in.
Only two players in the rehab group, Monty and Williams and they really didn't stay out there that long. Monty doing a number of different boxing excercises and Williams again spending his time mainly on the arm winch machine.
It was good to see the normal rehab regulars like Morgan, Baird, Tiller and Ray training at full tilt. There was two other players missing from the sesssion, Chris Grant and Peter Street. I didn't ask at the time why they were not out there.
This was a very good session from the ones I have seen recently with a lot of talk and a fair bit of intensity. With the NAB cup not far off I can imagine that competition for spots is pretty hot at the moment
There was a lot of circuit work and a couple of hard tackling drills that was pleasing to see. Wells, supporting a new hair cut, seemed to throw an elbow when McCormack tackled him and D-Mac simply dumped him to the ground and got on with business. There was also a one-on-one session between Morris and Micheal West with both players trying to test each other.
Eade and a couple of the assistant coaches spent a fair bit of time on a kick-in drill that had players moving forward at every chance. McMahon who was probably the pick of the players I saw at training today seemed to be the designated player for the kick-in duties.
This part of the session was to enforce the need to players to move the ball forward quickly at every chance. Players that kicked sideways when better options were available up the ground were quickly reminded by the coaches. The theme was positive and the players responded well. Hargrave was also very good during this part of the session.
One of the final parts of the session was the one-on-one contests where the players are paired up and go through a series of offensive and defensive contests against each other.
Some of the pairings were:
Birss vs Guido - Guido pretty much beat Birss in each of the contests. Eade however, was particularly pleased with this pairing and encouraged them both.
Robbins vs Eagleton - Was fairly evenly matched although I would have to give the nod to Eagle.
Addison vs Ray - I thought Ray would win this contest easily however while he did win, Addison performed very well. Addison seems to be improving every session that I see him.
Faulkner vs McMahon - As good as Faulkner tried McMahon simply was running rings around him and beat him easily in the aerial contests.
Very impressive training session by McMahon.
Gilbee vs Smith - This was a very spirited pairing that had all the other players very interested. Everyone was shouting for Smithy to go harder and all cheered when he tried to take a big mark over Gilbee.
Honours went to Smithy but it was a close call.
BMurphy vs SWest - BMurphy went well when the ball was in the air but I was very impressed with West's defensive efforts.
Cross vs Johnson - This was a great battle and Cross seems to have taken his game to another level which is very pleasing. Both guys gave their all and it was a ferocious contest.
Boyd vs Hahn - Was a bit of a non contest. Perhaps due to the way the ball was delivered the contest was lacking.
Hargrave vs RMurphy - Clearly this the most evenly matched pairing and it was an exciting contest. For players that are often regarded as laconic the spirit displayed by these two was very encouraging. Hargrave was probaly marginally ahead at the end of it but it was a quality contest.
McCormack vs Tiller - Great to see Tiller in action and while he performed well D-Mac got the better of it. Tiller seems taller and is a lot more mobile than I recall from last year. D-Mac was very competitive throughout the session and his skill level was excellent.
Griffen vs Higgins - This was an intriguing contest that had our number one selections from the last two years pitted against each other. As you would expect Griffen would have won both contests however, Higgins is very competitive and certainly made Griffen work hard. Higgins will play some senior football for us in 2006.
Morris vs Cooney - Cooney certainly got the better of it in the two contests but Morris is an improved player from last year and it's very unlikely that he will suffer and 2nd year blues.
I will add a few more comments a bit later.
If anyone has some questions I will try and answer them for you.
Todays session was listed as a skills session and started a little later than it's advertised time of 2pm.
I arrived a bit early and noticed a number of players having a kick to kick before they were summoned in.
Only two players in the rehab group, Monty and Williams and they really didn't stay out there that long. Monty doing a number of different boxing excercises and Williams again spending his time mainly on the arm winch machine.
It was good to see the normal rehab regulars like Morgan, Baird, Tiller and Ray training at full tilt. There was two other players missing from the sesssion, Chris Grant and Peter Street. I didn't ask at the time why they were not out there.
This was a very good session from the ones I have seen recently with a lot of talk and a fair bit of intensity. With the NAB cup not far off I can imagine that competition for spots is pretty hot at the moment
There was a lot of circuit work and a couple of hard tackling drills that was pleasing to see. Wells, supporting a new hair cut, seemed to throw an elbow when McCormack tackled him and D-Mac simply dumped him to the ground and got on with business. There was also a one-on-one session between Morris and Micheal West with both players trying to test each other.
Eade and a couple of the assistant coaches spent a fair bit of time on a kick-in drill that had players moving forward at every chance. McMahon who was probably the pick of the players I saw at training today seemed to be the designated player for the kick-in duties.
This part of the session was to enforce the need to players to move the ball forward quickly at every chance. Players that kicked sideways when better options were available up the ground were quickly reminded by the coaches. The theme was positive and the players responded well. Hargrave was also very good during this part of the session.
One of the final parts of the session was the one-on-one contests where the players are paired up and go through a series of offensive and defensive contests against each other.
Some of the pairings were:
Birss vs Guido - Guido pretty much beat Birss in each of the contests. Eade however, was particularly pleased with this pairing and encouraged them both.
Robbins vs Eagleton - Was fairly evenly matched although I would have to give the nod to Eagle.
Addison vs Ray - I thought Ray would win this contest easily however while he did win, Addison performed very well. Addison seems to be improving every session that I see him.
Faulkner vs McMahon - As good as Faulkner tried McMahon simply was running rings around him and beat him easily in the aerial contests.
Very impressive training session by McMahon.
Gilbee vs Smith - This was a very spirited pairing that had all the other players very interested. Everyone was shouting for Smithy to go harder and all cheered when he tried to take a big mark over Gilbee.
Honours went to Smithy but it was a close call.
BMurphy vs SWest - BMurphy went well when the ball was in the air but I was very impressed with West's defensive efforts.
Cross vs Johnson - This was a great battle and Cross seems to have taken his game to another level which is very pleasing. Both guys gave their all and it was a ferocious contest.
Boyd vs Hahn - Was a bit of a non contest. Perhaps due to the way the ball was delivered the contest was lacking.
Hargrave vs RMurphy - Clearly this the most evenly matched pairing and it was an exciting contest. For players that are often regarded as laconic the spirit displayed by these two was very encouraging. Hargrave was probaly marginally ahead at the end of it but it was a quality contest.
McCormack vs Tiller - Great to see Tiller in action and while he performed well D-Mac got the better of it. Tiller seems taller and is a lot more mobile than I recall from last year. D-Mac was very competitive throughout the session and his skill level was excellent.
Griffen vs Higgins - This was an intriguing contest that had our number one selections from the last two years pitted against each other. As you would expect Griffen would have won both contests however, Higgins is very competitive and certainly made Griffen work hard. Higgins will play some senior football for us in 2006.
Morris vs Cooney - Cooney certainly got the better of it in the two contests but Morris is an improved player from last year and it's very unlikely that he will suffer and 2nd year blues.
I will add a few more comments a bit later.
If anyone has some questions I will try and answer them for you.