Training 8.01.09

[-CG-]

On lighter duties today were Burton, Vince, Maric, Knights and Young. Dangerfield was around but seemed to be just walking about the place.

After the warm up the main group broke into groups of 6 with pairs working together. It was a basic kick-to-kick two-on-two type of thing.

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The following drill was one that I have been keen to see since the start of the pre season, and it was the mini intra-club trial match! Spanning for an enthralling 17 minutes, the main group was split into two teams, Blue and Orange.

Initial match ups were:
B defence: Bock, Gallman, Johncock
O forward: Sellar, McKernan, Gill

O defence: Kite, Moss, ?
B forward: Hentschel, Walker, Stevens

B ruck: Moran
O ruck: Griffin

Donnelly, Henderson, Lee and Schmidt all started on the 'bench' and were rotated on to replace the less experienced players at each end of the ground. Players also wouldn't generally stay directly matched up on their initial opponent and were switched around a bit.

Some highlights include:

- A strong hip and shoulder from van Berlo (O) to Symes (B) who was attempting to collect the ball off the turf.

- Walker (B) kicking the first goal against Schmidt, 20 metres out, off a couple of steps on the run.

- Mackay (O) streaming into the forward fifty reminiscent of his run in the elimination final. However, he got into a spot of bother deep in the fifty but was able to turn quickly on the spot and pass to Thompson (O) in the centre of the fifty. The whole passage of play oozed class as he easily found himself out of trouble. Thompson scored a goal.

- Moran (B), who was out-shined by Griffin (O) in the ruck, took a central set shot at goal and was successful.

- van Berlo (O) attempted to score from a set shot on a tight angle from the boundary line and narrowly missed for a point.

- Walker's projecting voice, so much so that even the 'older' crowd would have been able to hear him loud and clear. I can just sense opposition players disliking him.

- Jacky (B) playing in the attacking half for blue and marked on the final whistle to take a set shot from 40 or so metres out in front. He missed.

- Doughty (B) putting his hand up for a Round 1 Rising Star Nomination.

Final Score:
Orange 1.1 7
Blue 2.2* 14

*An unknown player, possibly Shirley, scored a behind for blue on the far side of the ground.

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The next drill started off fairly simply with just the main group working over the centre of the oval, but the drill eventually progressed to cover half the ground. Three players would share the ball by hand up the field, where one would eventually pass to an attacking group who had to evade three defenders to pass the ball into the forward line. Sellar was defended by Hentschel, McKernan by Walker and Lee by Tippett. Eventually more defenders were introduced to try to stop the movement of the ball into the attacking arc.

During this, Otten continued to make an impression by weaving his way out of one tight situation successfully. His leadership skills are an asset to his game and continue to stand out amongst the group. Armstrong also uses his voice a lot to encourage and direct teammates.

Donnelly, affectionately known as 'Irish', attempted to bump someone where he should have tackled instead. A positive would be that he seems to have added some weight to his slight frame.

The restricted group were still hard at work with Maric, Vince, Knights and Porplyzia kicking the ball to each other for a while. It would've been longer but Maric got something in his eye, which Vince couldn't get out so then a number of training staff popped over for a look, before one had to reach into his bag to get his medical gloves out. Knights also ventured over to see what all the fuss was about, before Maric's eye was eventually given the all clear.

On a more serious note, Vince is looking still kind of slight in his arms and hasn't quiet formed into the body of some of other midfielders like Reilly, Goodwin, Thompson ad even Douglas looks thicker in the arms then him. But his skills are impressive and were easily the best out of the group kicking the ball.

Porplyzia spent the majority of the session on a bike, as did McLeod. Burton and Young were running laps and also had a light kick of the footy.

Some other final notes I took were:

I noticed that Cook couldn’t straighten his right knee when he walks, yet he doesn't seem to be too hampered by it. So hopefully that will improve in the future.

For the first time, I reckon Griffin has added some muscle to his upper body. He was also using his voice very well to communicate to his teammates during tasks.

Walker was doing some defending work against Sellar nearing the end of the session as part of a drill. Hentschel was working alone at half forward but drifting towards the other pair as the ball was sent their way.

Jacky has quite the leap on him for a small guy. One mark he took was spectacular, it was almost as if he jumped off the ground and then jumped again once he was in the air.

Sellar was one of the last to leave as usual and Johncock moved very well throughout the session, particularly in defence during the game drill.

[WALL-e]

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Glad Sellar is staying back to practise, and extatic Griffin had added weight.

[Dogga79]

Johncock didnt look fat to me either.

Although the photo Drum got of him didn't look the best, I would say after seeing him today that he is neither bigger or smaller. He looked normal.

[betterthanu]

Words cant describe your awesomeness CG.

[Southerntakeover]

You're a maniac CG!

How the hell did you drag yourself out for this?

[-CG-]

Originally Posted by Southerntakeover

You're a maniac CG!

How the hell did you drag yourself out for this?

Haha well I had a reasonable amount of sleep in the end all things considered

[WALL-e]

Oh yes, CG your opinion on Johncocks shape?

Was he moving alright Dogga?

[-CG-]

Originally Posted by wall_ryan

Oh yes, CG your opinion on Johncocks shape?

Was he moving alright Dogga?

To me, Johncock has always had a more 'slightly rounder' build. He looks no different to me, well, besides his hair. He was moving fine as a defender and had his usual flair about him. He never looked more puffed out than anyone else, in fact, no one really looked buggered.

Doughty was looking good! I would expect that his year should be as good, if not better than the previous. He was moving really well through the midfield. He looked very poised I would say

[Southerntakeover]

Originally Posted by -CG-

Haha well I had a reasonable amount of sleep in the end all things considered

Did they finally carry you away from the bar?

Seriously... theres something not right about backing it up with a 9am start, and actually paying attention to what you're there for.

[SAAndy]

Good job was Johncock still fat?

Editon't Worry

[SAAndy]

Good job was Johncock still fat?

Edit: Don't Worry

[The Crows Truth]

from afc.com.au

All-Stars game critical: Reilly
Katrina Gill
3:14 PM Thu 08 January, 2009

Mon, Dec 22, 08
ADELAIDE onballer Brent Reilly has identified next month's trial game against the Indigenous All-Stars in Darwin as an important step towards reclaiming his place in the best 22.

Reilly, 25, blitzed the Western Bulldogs in round one last year, picking up 21 possessions in a half of football, but his season went south from there.

The skilful midfielder suffered a broken arm in an off-the-ball incident in the second half of the narrow loss to the Dogs and was sidelined for six weeks.

He returned to the line up mid-season only to hyper-extend his knee and managed a total of just eight AFL appearances before being sent back to SANFL club Sturt for the last two matches of the year.

"It [the Darwin game] is very important for me. I need to get my spot back in the side and that's the driving force at the moment – to get back in the midfield and be a key player in there," Reilly said on Thursday.

"I'm feeling very good. I've had an uninterrupted pre-season so far and am feeling very fit, so I'm really looking forward to the season."

Reilly's resolve and rare injury-free start to summer have equated to some blistering performances on the track. The long kicking left-footer smashed his personal best time in the 3km trial on Monday and was one of only four players to finish the Adelaide Uni circuit in less than 10 minutes.

"I had a lot of motivation for this pre-season. I did a lot of work over the off season to build my body up to where it should be and I'm just starting to get the rewards now, obviously breaking 10 minutes in the 3km," he said.

"To break 10 minutes was a goal of mine before I started the pre-season and to do it just after Christmas was a bonus. Now, I can just work on my game over the next month leading into the games."

A handful of clubs enquired about the Victorian during trade week following his omission from the side in round 22, but Reilly said he was determined to stay at West Lakes and recapture his zest for the game.

"That [trade talk] always comes around at that time of year, but I made the decision very early on to stay at this footy club. I didn't want to go through all the stuff that goes through the papers and the media. I really love this club and I want to have a good year this year," he said.

"I struggled last year because I was in and out of the side and just couldn't get settled, but I'm just looking forward to going out there and enjoying my footy this year.

"Last year, I really didn't enjoy it because I was injured and in and out of the side.

"I want to set a good base in the pre-season and hopefully that carries over to the season-proper."

The game against the All-Stars on February 7 will also serve as Reilly's first outing in his new guernsey. He has switched from number 33 to 3 to follow in his father's footsteps.

A crowd of more than 100 people showed up to watch training at Max Basheer Reserve on Thursday as the first hit-out of the year edges closer.

Fans were disappointed to see gun recruit Patrick Dangerfield, who is recovering from a hamstring strain, restricted to walking laps.

But they did catch a glimpse of the newest Crows, including Phil Davis, Shaun McKernan and Rory Sloane, who were on show for the majority of the two-and-a-half-hour session.

[Symesy15]

Okay, that is an awesome report!
I'm going next Thursday, but don't expect that sort of report from me, because I can barely tell who is who when they've got hats on!