Training 2015/2016 Preseason Training Reports Only

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2015/2016 Training Reports



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23rd November 2015 - First Day Back (Page 1 to Page 7)
  • Silvagnii x 2
  • Harry Reems x 1
  • gaskin x 4
  • salim malik x 5
  • DannyTheDoorman x 2
  • Fred Ziffel x 4
25th of November 2015 - The day after the national draft (Page 7 to Page 9)
  • jedi mind tricks x 4
  • salim malik x 1
27th of November 2015 - The Draftees make an appearance (Page 10 to Page 11)
  • george2 x 1
  • salim malik x 1
  • E Shed x 2
  • gaskin x 2
  • couldhavebeen x 2
  • DannyTheDoorman x 2
  • SHill Shall x 1
28th of November 2015 - Team Building Camp (Page 11 to Page 12)
  • DannyTheDoorman x 3
  • couldhavebeen x 1
  • yakka man x 1
30th of November 2015 - A small group (Page 12 to Page 13)
  • Fred Ziffel x 2
  • DannyTheDoorman x 2
1st of December 2015 - First day back for some familiar faces (Page 14 to Page 18)
  • Silvagnii x 2
  • george2 x 1
  • jedi mind tricks x 2
  • salim malik x 2
  • DannyTheDoorman x 2
  • Unique Name x 1
  • Nickos66 x 1
  • Fred Ziffel x 2
2nd of December 2015 - 3km Time Trial (Page 18 to 27)
  • Allikat x 1
  • PurpleWizard x 1
  • Silvagnii x 1
  • se17enteen x 1
  • Fred Ziffel x 2
  • rgauci x 1
  • Kenny_01 x 1
  • salim malik x 2
  • Paracleet x 1
4th of December 2015 - Lots of defender talk (Page 28 to Page 29)
  • wayToGo_ x 1
  • salim malik x 1
  • jedi mind tricks x 3
  • meima x 1
  • Lach72 x 1
  • Harry Reems x 1
5th of December 2015 - (Page 29 to Page 31)
  • sherrif x 2
  • DannyTheDoorman x 2
  • couldhavebeen x 3
7th of December 2015 - Shrine to Morabito/AIS players (Page 31 to Page 33)
  • jedi mind tricks x 6
  • Eski3 x 1
  • DannyTheDoorman x 4
  • salim malik x 4
  • Fred Ziffel x 1
  • Clems Knee x 2
8th of December 2015 - Fyfe lapping (Page 33 to Page 36)
  • cp3_jr x 2
9th of December 2015 - dockerfemme debuts (Page 36 to Page 37)
  • dockerfemme x 1
  • theGav56 x 1
  • salim malik x 1
  • jedi mind tricks x 3
  • cp3_jr x 1
  • DannyTheDoorman x 2
10th of December 2015 - Rehab group (Page 37)
  • purplerunsdeep x 1
  • DannyTheDoorman x 1
11th of December 2015 - (Page 37 to Page 38)
  • jedi mind tricks x 2
  • Fred Ziffel x 1
12th of December 2015 -Fyfe hair cut? (Page 38 to Page 40)
  • sherrif x 1
  • salim malik x 1
  • Fred Ziffel x 2
14th of December 2015 - (Page 40 to Page 42)
  • simpsonwillo x 1
  • Demons09 x 1
15th of December 2015 - Allikat's debut (Page 43 to Page 44)
  • jedi mind tricks x 2
  • Allikat x 3
  • Marty Whitelaw x 1
16th of December 2015 - Worries about Pav.. (Page 44 to Page 45)
  • cp3_jr x 1
  • DannyTheDoorman x 2
  • Lach72 x 2
17th of December 2015 - Coulda and the Rehab Guys (Page 45-46)
  • couldhavebeen x2
18th December 2015 - Return of the Pav (page 46-47)
  • dockerfemme x1
  • Harry Reems x1
  • Allikat x1
  • Simpsonwillow x1
  • DannyTheDoorman x1
19th December 2015 - Lots of shoulder talk (page 47)
  • couldhavebeen x2
  • Freo x1
20th December 2015 - Coloured Weights & Sheridan's Chest (page 48)
  • Fred Ziffel x2
  • Freo x1
  • couldhavebeen x1
 
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23rd November 2015 - First Day Back (Page 1 to Page 7)

The moment we've been waiting for.

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I heard Michael Thompson on 882 this morning and he said that Mora was in full training, as was Lachie Neale and Hayden Crozier who came back early voluntarily. He said that Harley Bennell looked great, but didn't take part in all of the drills.

All the boys looked in great shape. Harley looked great and in good nick. They didn't do a helluva lot of running being the 1st session back but he didn't look out of place. The fittest on the track looked like Lachie and Croz who ended up running together instead of the groups that the others were in. It was commented that Lachie seemed to be growing into a real leader being very vocal encouraging the rest of the boys. Mora trained fully with no bandaging at all. They put him through his paces with some agility stuff and he got through it fine. Blakely has slimmed down and when asked if he has lost weight by one of the watchers he said "yeah a little bit". Weller looked to me like he had bulked up a little bit. Out of all the 2nd year players, Hughes looks the best body wise as salim will probably agree with. Clancee was there doing some running even though he didn't have to be.

I leave anything else for Salim since he was there longer than me.

More lookers than players this morning.Nice to see Gaskin and Fred and great to meet Dannythedoorman.
Not much to add from Gaskins report but the positive was that there where no stragglers on the runs. Hannath surprised by keeping up with Taberner.
Footballs came out very early in the session and skills were OK considering the lay of. Mora looked great and completed a full session without any strapping on his knees.We were told that he is pain free for the first time in a long time but were also reminded its only the first day. Hughes has bulked up and looks great,the Irishman also trained well. Clancee,DeLuca and Sutcliffe ran laps with Clancee looking trim and with a new hair cut. Neale and Crozier led the runs by a good margin. Bennell looked fit and finished a full session.. The training the house down award must go to Mora just because we love him.:):rainbow::rainbow:

Yep , in front by a fair margin in the runs and was told to take it down a gear. Crozier also looked really fit and ran with Lachie .

Hannah ran in Tabs group and unlike last pre season he kept up. Must be a good sign.:thumbsu:

Apeness was watching training.
gaskin on Apeness:
As far as I'm aware there was no info given on that but he did still look a bit proppy. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't come out on the track until just before or after the Christmas break.

Did you see Apeness come out of the Gym and go down to the water tent area for about 5 minutes and he didn't have any tape on his knee so that's a relief.

Gekko71 Apeness came down to the water tent from the Changeroom/Gym area with about 30 mins to go in the session and he had no tape on his knee and walked up and down the stairs without a limp so that's a good sign.

Lachie Neale was the standout although Mora was on song and performed all of the skills, drills and run throughs.

http://www.fremantlefc.com.au/video/2015-11-23/preseason-begins

Nice video posted on the site. Hughes looking mint, nice seeing Bennell in purple more too :thumbsu::fire:

Sutcliffe was also there lapping it.
I wouldn't have thought he would be required back yet.
Harley and Mora were looking comfortable with the running. I was impressed with the speed shown by Alex Pearce In the goal to goal runs too.

Yeah Mora running smoothly and looking to be without discomfort.
Also, Harley was great and kicking off both feet impressively. So those two, which was what I was hoping to see.

Yes, Brady was there and no arm sling.

You would be correct

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It is what it is.
Today was first of the pre-season and they completed the full session.
There wasn't exactly a re-hab group. Clancee, sutty, and Brady were doing a series of runs under tutelage on the scoreboard wing for about 25 minutes while a group of thirteen were working up the middle.
They then all joined as one group.
Today, as you would expect was a moderate intensity session and they were all in it.

I was intrigued watching Hale showing some shimmys to Anthony Rock.
I counted eight assistant coaches and other assistants out there. ( Kinda funny with sixteen players )

We were told that Sherro was out earlier before the others.
 
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25th of November 2015 - The day after the national draft (Page 7 to Page 9)

Just relaxing with my little girl on the outer wing by ourselves watching the squad train.

Morra without strapping and looks a bit leaner and in great condition. Running well.

Grey is doing laps and looking a little trimmed down. Clancee is striding them out and looks very fit.

I'll try write up a report later on today.

Training report

Both Walters and Bennell look in ripping condition. Both looked determined and super motivated but I wouldn't expect anything less from two guys who I love watching play and train. Although this is the first time I've seen Bennell train.

I have already mentioned Morra but at the very end of training he was doing a specific running routine that required very quick movement of side stepping in both directions and looked totally unimpeded. He has no strapping and is very fleet footed. Dare I say it but if he continues this form with match sims under his belt then he would be every chance of game time this season if not round 1. Rookie upgrade is not out if the question.

Both Tabs and Hannath look fit and ready for preseason. I've been a bit of a critic of Hannath regarding his pace or lack of.

Neale and Crozier look fit and also in great condition. This time last season Neale was impeded as he was recovering from an injury. He may be the fittest guy on the track with only light scraping to his left knee.

I bumped into to old blokes Salim and Danny The Doorman. We had a bit of a chat and I'm sure they will add a bit.

I have probably missed a few things while my girl was hitting me with sticks or I had to go change her nappy. I have to say the club was very nice and accommodating when I asked for change rooms. I wouldn't expect anything less from Freo FC they have always been very approachable and friendly to me.

Mate no body is out of shape but it's really only the young guys out there so limited squad numbers at the moment.

The training was basic with light ball work and moderate running. All players kept up.

I can easily give you a more holistic view in a few more weeks time as I know people don't just like the good news as that's not the full story.

Walters back early and up and going beautifully. Shows the commitment he has. Very low key but the long session of circle work and then goal shots was interesting. A lot more skill work and less running than last pre season.

I'll keep you posted but training has been basic skills and running. There was no separate positioning.

Once the full squad comes back I'm sure it will happen shortly after.
 

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27th of November 2015 - The Draftees make an appearance (Page 10 to Page 11)
Yep just saw on twitter they have all done their introduction interviews with Lloyd and the media.

Long session this morning consisting of skill work with the footballs and kicking for goal. Walters continues with his strong work ethic,brilliant skills and outstanding foot skills. If Harley or Shane need a mentor Sonny is their man. Lachie also working hard and leading in the runs albeit there was little running and the emphasis was on skill and ball work. Irish coming along nicely and running well. Tabs and Hannath worked with a trainer away from the group after the normal session and again worked really hard. Weller has grown ,put on weight and Hughes is turning into a beast, very close to KP size.
Mora completed a full session then worked with a trainer on aerobic drills and left the track exhausted. Bennell also training well. As E Shed stated he is the second best player on our list now. Sonny was very vocal pushing the boys to work harder ,he is definitely leadership material. Clancee ,Sutcliffe ,Brady ran laps. Apeness walked laps and after every one had left the track he came out and was dragging heavy weight around the ground .That must be a good sign. All the newbies where there and did a long camera shoot after training. All the news outlets were there so should be on all the channels tonight. Great to catch up with E Shed.Coulda,Gaskin and Danny the Doorman.

I can confirm the new kids were there today, as was a very decent contingent of us old fossils and a few younger BF regulars.
The kids didn't do much just hung around on the step although no doubt they were doing things inside.
It was a very interesting session, almost entirely ball movement and skills and it was very impressive.

I really got sense of the next generation coming through today, the club has assembled an extremely talented young group.
There was a palpable air of drive and determination coming from the young leaders like Neale, Crozier and particularly Walters.
At one point when they were getting a drink Croz yelled "c'mon every session counts" and Walters replied "set the standard for when the boys come back next week".

The players that stood out the most to me were Bennell, Walters, Morabito, Alex Pearce, Blakely, Weller, Langdon and Ethan Hughes. Hughes particularly looks much bigger and was moving beautifully. Weller seems also to have filled out noticeably, if his brother is anything to go by he might end up with a really decent build. Blakely was so clean and his kicking which has been the focus of some discussion was powerful and accurate.

Morabito as has been reported earlier in the week is completely free of strapping or support and was running and kicking powerfully. He did all the drills and really stood out at times with his power and skill.

Walters looks better every year, he looks ripped and fit and his kicking was a wonder to behold. They did one drill where players stood in the middle of a line of 3 and player 1 kicked (over about 20M to player 2 who wheeled as quickly as possibly in the opposite direction and kicked to player 3 (also about 20M away). Sonny's kicking in this was like tracer bullets with an almost completely flat trajectory and pinpoint accuracy.

Its going to get mighty interesting around selection time, I hope the coaches have the vision and guts to start injecting some of the young talent waiting in the wings. Great to catch up with some mates from here today.

Not much to add to what has been said.

I will add that Hurley deserves some love. He fit, a great size and his skills have improved out of sight from when he first rocked up. If he can put together a good, consistent year of WAFL then I can see him making the transition to the main list.

Well I got down to training and caught up with the usual posters and had my first look at the players .
Walters , Clancee ,Sutcliffe and Neale look in great shape . Hannath ,Grey and Sheridan have trimmed down .
Morra as others have mentioned doing agility work and when the boys were kicking the ball . Bennell , Walters and Morra were the standouts .
Sean Hurley has improved his kicking as well. Sean struggled with the heat and had to have a break to get his body temp down before he could complete the training session.
Clancee and Sutcliffe ran laps which at the end of each lap were doing press ups .
Mike Apness was walking about but is still in recovery , We had a few words and then he was in the gym doing a weights session .
RTB was on the field when the boys were doing football skills and one of the routines was all about hitting players with kicks of 30 meters off a couple of steps and the other one with the player going well back from the mark then moving side ways and kicking to a player on the move further up the ground .
Bennell and Son Son were once again the standouts
The boys were in good spirits and quite vocal . There was a good attitude out there and genuine friendship happening between the players and coaches .
RBT had a few words with the new coaches and the players were engaging with them during the session ,Ross was quite relaxed but keeping a close eye on proceedings . He called the players in to have a quiet word and the whistle only got a blast a couple of times .Not pats on the back just a few words of encouragement .
Alex Pearce fans will be happy to hear that he looks good but still needs some more work on developing his body in the GYM .We won't know where he will be playing for a while yet because match up won't be explored till the older players are on the track .

On the new draftees:
They were at training today looking on and in their Dockers gear. They may have done a presser today as 6PR had some grabs.

Just an addendum, something Salim said in the media thread you can see that the new coaches are having an impact already. Almost everything they did today was focus around skills, either drilling a particular skill or using it in transition and there was a lot of short to medium accurate kicking.
Some of the transition was really exciting seeing Bennell receive and turn quickly and off either foot deliver with precision to Walters who then hits Morabito lace out at full speed. That kind of thing got my blood pumping!

salim malik; E Shed; couldhavebeen I caught up with a Dockers fitness guy as I was leaving and he said they are training tomorrow (Saturday) starting at 8-8.30. He also said they will training Monday as usual and time trial is on Wednesday at another venue. I wonder if the newbies will do some light running tomorrow. By the way a very comprehensive reports from both you E Shed and Coulda so well done guys and I sure it will be appreciated. Great to catch up again see you next time.

Went along today for a rare peek.

The Walters field kicking is truly gold standard - he kicks 40 metres with ball never getting above head height on its lengthy journey. Absolute bullets and a real sight to behold. Never missed a target. At the end of his session he punched out 3 laps at less than 1min 45sec each - only a small break between.

Bennell is the smoothest of movers. He's totally into the training and culture already - seemed already bonded to me. Goodbye one of de Boer, Suban, Clancee etc. Massive upgrade.

Morabito spent the last 15 mins being worked through high speed direction changes with burpees thrown in for good measure. These replicated the exact movements that have led to ACL breakdown several times previously (i.e. without external forces). He must be starting to build mental confidence and also muscle memory/strength in all the vital areas. I'm actually thinking he's now a good chance to make it back. The longer this goes on the more secure we can feel.

Grey is huge of thigh. Also laughed at the contrast in calves as Lachie Neale walked along with Tommy.

Liked seeing the "whole of squad" goal kicking sessions on about 3 occasions after a block of skills work or running. The dummies come out and everyone has 5 or 6 shots. Tanner nailed a couple from oblique angles despite his awkward ball drop.

Overall no-one looked unduly unfit or out of condition amongst the youngsters. They're a credit to themselves and the club. Standards are high.

To be honest, Apeness has been rarely sighted that I haven't really noticed any change.

Just a short note Weller has been doing some serious weight over the off season I think he has added at least 5 kgs to his build
Langdon and Hughes just look so good with the ball in hand and Blakley would be almost a dead set in starting 22 . He has also done extra work and is as hungry as he can get . We will see how well the rookies have prepared themselves on Saturday . Hannath is another one of the players who has trimmed down .
 
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28th of November 2015 - Team Building Camp (Page 11 to Page 12)

The 1-4 yr group trained earlier today with most of them in the Gym.The balance 6-8 players worked on core strength work using strapping including some restrictive work with staff holding the straps.

The Draftees were observers during the session waiting on the Rookies arriving this afternoon before they all head off to Margaret River for a camp for the weekend at least.

The bigger guys like Tabs, Tanner Smith, Sean Hurley and Jack Hannath participated in strength and conditioning work on the field in the last session dragging weight plates on a skid plate connected to strapping to work on legs,hips and shoulders. Hurley was the only one of the group that had 2 weight plates (same weight in each plates as they other guys) on the skid plate and he was obviously the strongest and best performer in that session.

couldhavebeen and salim malik were there and young simpsonwillo dropped in for a short visit.

Training for the 1-4's is on Monday and the Senior guys get back on Tuesday and Cameron Sutcliffe indicated that those guys are really fit and we know that the 1-4's are in good nick. The 3 km Time trial is on Wednesday at another venue which I understand is an early morning session.

Righteo Yeah it's a little square plate with an upturned lip and it has a rod in the middle where to sit the weight plate on and the rope/strapping is tied to one of the edges. Hadn't heard about NVB's accident but today is the first time I have seen the sled/skid plate.

It was good catching up with Danny the doorman ,simpsonwillo and salim again this morning . I had a good couple of talks with Hale ,Sutty ,Josh Deluca and our new recruit Harley Balic .
Hale's family isn't here yet but he is loving the weather Danny and I told him to enjoy the current weather because its only going to get hotter .
Sutcliffe had a nice trip to the States and he recruited a couple of Basket ballers to become members :).
Josh Del is in rehab but has added some nice build to his frame with the weights program but the sports science guys are being careful that players aren't adding excess weight .
We asked Harley about the $70,000 and he said it was a joke that went viral . He wanted to respond but the Club warned him that it would only get worse
if he did .

jedi mind tricks Yeah couldhavebeen and I spoke to Harley Balic on Saturday morning at Training and we found him to be a delightful and personable young man. Where did you meet them by chance as we heard they were only going to Margaret River? Enjoy the rest of the waves at Margs and Bugi and see you at training next time you are Freo Oval.

freodockers1st & 2nd year players are down south for some team building... With a paddle thankfully!

 
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30th of November 2015 - A small group (Page 12 to Page 13)

Full contingent tomorrow..
Today was virtually all ball work with nine players out there. Bennell looking the sharpest along with Sherro and Crozier. Morabito continues to look comfortable with the load.
Jack Hannath and Taberner spent the majority of the session together in stamina tests and physical jostling. They spent a good twenty minutes running and push ups followed by wrestling to break away.
There was a lot of short kicking to a moving target and seems to continue a theme of improving disposals , noted at training last week.
Today I noticed, A Pearce, Tanner, Big Jack, Taberner, MdBoer who is early back, Mora, Harley, Tommy and Croz.
Lachie Neale made a brief appearance with one of the physios for a short jog; not sure what is up there but he didn't seem to have any problems.
They finished off with more goal kicking
All hands on deck tomorrow, I understand.

Yes indeed. Bloody great watching Harley Bennell out there; fantastic skills and terrific bursts of speed.
If Mora continues to train like this without any issues, it makes it even more exciting.

salim malik,TheInjuryFactory, Training started earlier this morning than last week with less people in attendance as the Draftees and Rookies and our 1 st year players and some of the new coaches were down at a special camp for those players at Margaret River.

Clancee and Son Son didnt show at least in the last hour and a half that I was there. De Boer was a notable attendee and he was looking very fit and obviously will look to win the 3km time trial on Wednesday.

Michael Apeness and several others were in the gym and he came out later and indicated he would be running tomorrow although he told us on Friday he had been cleared to Run. Lachie Neale whose has been the star on the track so far in this pre-season year appeared to have a problem with his upper chest and he was in and out of the rooms with one of the Physios. Hope it's not anything of any consequence.

They had a number of skill sessions including a focus on ball movement in which Bennell and Morra stood out. We also had the usual group running and we had goal kicking sessions in between with the Blue statues out at about 30 metres. Some of our players in that group without naming names need to work a lot harder and practice their kicking skills especially their ball drop as there were helicopter punts and seral balls were kicked out on the full.I dare say RTB wouldn't have been happy to see that but whilst he came to the front in the early part of the session the other coaches were delegated the running of today's session.

Webby (one of the Development coaches) had Taberner and a very fit looking Jack Hannath work one on one (just out of goal area and to the right at the Hospital end) to get into position to mark high kicked balls. Tabs competed well and Hannath really looked good and strong so maybe that is an indicator of where Jack could be a chance to play in 2016 even as a back up.

The senior guys are in tomorrow so we can all look forward to seeing The Pav, Fyfey,Sandi, Ballas,Mayney and the training watcher's favourite Dawson hit the track for the first time this pre-season.

You'll be surprised as to how good Hannath looks and is moving really well. Tabs is also going well and working hard at this stage. Morra has been real good at training so we shouldnt rule him out from getting into the top 22 at some stage next year.
 
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1st of December 2015 - First day back for some familiar faces (Page 14 to Page 18)


Tucker looks very scared

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From the club snapchat it shows Fyfe doing running with Balic one on one. It may be a way of easing Balic in to training after his wrist operation and at the same time learning the rope from the best in the business. it would be great if Balic can hang around Fyfe as much as possible as there are similarities in the two of them from when Fyfe was first drafted.

Training Report Type Thingy

Today the players were grouped and went off to do yoga and swap around with gym work and some light ball skills.

Ball work comprised of hand balling and was very jovial. They are doing their 3km run tomorrow so this session was never going to be a heavy one on the track.

I can't go into much detail because it was only light duties on the track although C. Pearce was still pumping out the miles and looks really fit.

Salim and Co can put some more detail in if wanted. I don't want to repeat what's already been said in other training reports from what was a quiet day.

Not much happened ,very easy quiet session. Fyfe and Ballic ran goal to goal together. When you see Fyfe and a newbie together you realise how big Nathan is and how much work the youngsters need to do. Apeness and Yarran in the rehab section running, Yarran with his knee strapped. A lot of laughter and good humour on the track . It was light skill work with a competition to see who would be the last the last man standing in a don't drop the ball exercise. That little comp was won by Mayne much to his delight. . General consensus amongst those watching was that all the older players seemed to have lightened of. Barlow in particular seemed to have lost a lot of weight. Tomorrow is the 3klm run so that will be interesting to see how they stack up against last years run. Friday should be a lot more interesting than today.

Apeness did some running today but has a noticeable limp and was in the rehab group where the biomechanist filmed Yarran,Apeness and some others doing some straight line running.But as Salim and Jedi said it was a light session.

Were Ueber and Nyhuis there? Didn't see them in any of the club photo's.

They were in the video either on snapchat or the club website, Uebergang on the clubroom bikes and Nyhuis chatting to players or coaches.

Uber has a big frame on him. They were involved with training.

They were both there but they were in different groups with the Yoga group doing their thing in South Freo's lounge area within the Grif John Pavilion which is alongside Dockers HQ and the other groups were rehab, skills, and Gym.

Even though today was a light session, a theme of skills focus is evident.
Last week intense focus on kicking, today more on handballing.

I was thinking this is more to do with the input of the former Hawthorn people.
This is way more ball work than we have done so early in the pre-season under Ross.

I did mention shuttle runs and lap runs though .Have not seen any shuttle runs so far and running laps has been minimal. I agree with Fred its a much more skills orientated start to the training.
 
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2nd of December 2015 - 3km Time Trial (Page 18 to 27)
There's some nice snapchats of the group doing the 3km today, and then some handball & kicking drills after.

Gu won, followed by MDB. Not sure of the rest of the order.

Barlow third going by snapchat.

Primed for his new inside mid role this year.

Holy s**t the physique Hughes has worked into.

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From Freo's Snapchat. Had to download and create an account just to view the Freo stuff now my wife thinks I'm sexting some girl with this young people's Snapchat stuff. They could've just used Instagram instead.

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According to the club, Sheridan, Alex Pearce and Ethan Hughes all ran strongly .they possibly filled out the top six behind Gu, MdB and MickB.
Danyle and Ballas looked in good nick also, according to club source.

I read an article that said Mzungu did a PB.

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How is the perspective on this shot, who compares to who size wise?

Just saw the 3k time trial on Cheagle and Morabito did run it.

The 28 runners that participated were:

Ballantyne
Bennell
Walters
Mzungu
De Boer
Barlow
D Pearce
Griffin
Sheridan
Crozier
Mayne
Weller
Langdon
Blakely
A Pearce
Hannath
Johnson
Morabito
Hughes
Taberner
Ibbotson
Tucker
Hurley
Smith
Uebergang
Collins
Hill
Nyhuis (I think??)


Means missing were:

Fyfe
Pavlich
Dawson
Sutcliffe
Grey
Apeness
Yarran
Balic
C Pearce
Sandilands
Mundy
DeLuca
Suban
Neale
Clarke
Silvagni

I noticed that Irish finished in front of Tabs and some of the mids in the run. He is big,strong quick and now showing he has a reasonable tank. Maybe he is a smoky for that KPF spot later in the season. I am really interested to see how he goes in the scratchie's and hopefully he gets a run in the NAB.

This video shows Tabs and Hurley finishing pretty much step for step. Since Tabs is supposed to be a good runner you'd assume this is somehwere near the front. Although I have idea Hurely did well in 3k last year as well.
I'm more happy to see Blakely (particularly), Langdon and Hughes finishing in the same group. Nice to see young mids of promise with big tanks already.

The vision on the Freo site has Hurley just finishing in front of Tabs. Tabs is supposed to have a good tank so Irish finishing in front of Tabs must be a good sign.
 
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4th of December 2015 - Lots of defender talk (Page 28 to Page 29)
Pav still showing why he is the best: http://www.fremantlefc.com.au/news/2015-12-04/preseason-report-skills-tested

But loving this comment: "Jack Hannath was in good touch during the kicking drill while rookie Matthew Uebergang also looked sharp."

After lunch and a drink the only thing I remember about training was Nyhaus was very impressive. Good size,quick and a lovely low hard accurate kick. Oh and they where placed in positional groups and Mora trained with the defence group. He also continued to work with a trainer one on one after the session. Yay for Mora and his fitness,\.

I have noticed that T. Smith has really improved his kicking which is great news.

A few of us have noticed that Collins disposal is average at best. I'm not sold on him just yet but will get a better idea when the squad gets into full ground match day sims.

I really like the look of Balic,Tucker and Niase? they have great footskills and look to have great footy smarts.

Spurr, Silvagni, Neale and Crozier doing a lot of running away from the main squad. Neale looks an absolute beast. It would take a very strong tackle to put him down and he is super fit.

Need to ask this what about our x factor player ,uebergang?

To be honest I try and focus on a few new players each time as there is a lot going on. He actually looks a bit goofy but does look to have a pretty good kick on him. I can't report any more than that and really need to see full match sims to really give accurate feedback.

Darcy Tucker has a nice right boot.
Blakely seems to have grown a touch.
Was relatively low key.

The string bag was stretched on the concrete tiers yapping on the phone.
Got a Jack Thompson pose going at one stage.

I really think Balic and Tucker will play some very good footy for Peel and won't be far down the pecking order.

Both look like natural footballers.

A bit late, but here goes my first training report of the pre-season.

Firstly, Groundskeeper Pat has moved on and been replaced by a new Groundsman. So don't expect to see the magnificent lush surface that we all used to see when Pat was riding on the lawn mower down there. There were brown patches everywhere, so let's hope that this is fixed very soon.

Now onto training, well at this early stage of the pre-season the players are all in separate groups doing different things. For example one group is in the gym bulking up, whilst others such as Michael Apness, Shane Yarran and Nat Fyfe are off rehabbing. Then you have players like Lachie Neale and Lee Spurr that were just running laps, whilst the rest of the players were working in groups of about 6 players or so under the supervision of individual coaches on the field.

The forward line drills mainly involved Pav, Mayne, Ballas and Sonny and all were moving well and hitting their targets.

This makes watching and reporting on training difficult, as you only have one set of eyes. But what I saw looked great - albeit very casual and low key so early in the pre-season. Ross was basking in the sun on the northern terraces like a seal on a rock at Carnac Island. There was lots of ball work happening on the field so I was trying to focus on the new recruits at first before giving up and just watching what ever was happening out there that caught my eye, which I have to say was 90% focused on Anthony Morabito.

Mora was put through paces more than any other player out there yesterday and as others have noted, he has no strapping or pain. He looked absolutely amazing and was "Chris Mastening" the house down. When you watch him getting put through his paces by his trainer, you do so through the gaps in your fingers as you keep thinking to yourself, "are they pushing him too hard, or, when's he going to let out a scream before limping off the field again?" Then when he had finished - they had him pumping out the laps.

So I'm calling it now, Mora is back everyone!

Michael Barlow and Clancee Pearce have lost a lot of weight and look great. David Mundy and Matt De Boer were off at the Players Association meeting in Melbourne, whilst Nat Fyfe is close to resuming full training. He could be in full training now if he needed to be, but he is being eased back in very carefully.

I can't give an opinion on the new recruits as yet because I simply haven't seen enough of them, however Lachie Weller and Connor Blakely looked good with the ball, as did Tommy Sheridan, whilst I did see Tabs clunk a nice mark on the lead.

Lastly, it was great catching up with the boys at the Norfolk for a few beers after training before we all went down to the Capri for a feed that took me back to my childhood.
 
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5th of December 2015 - (Page 29 to Page 31)
I went down to my first training session of this pre-season. Being a Saturday session it involved running and strength exercises, but Ill do my best to provide some useful information.
Bennell came out from the gym briefly with a bandage on his calf. Im not sure what that means as he didnt have a limp and was working out in the gym.

Most players were in the gym for the majority of the session. A.Pearce, Blakely, Weller and Langdon came out at the end of the session to do strength exercises. All look significantly leaner and stronger than last season. Weller in particular looks like he has put on 5kgs of muscle.

Of those running laps the most notable difference between this year and last year was that Barlow is back in the elite distance running group along with Hill, Sheridan, de Boer and Gu. Micky B looks significantly lighter than last year and when the other four went into the gym he stayed and ran a ton more laps with a trainer.

Balic is already a running machine and was pumping out the laps Menegola style. Seriously, he ran more laps then any player training. Hard not to be impressed.

Fyfe was in the recovery group for the majority of the session running repeat 100's (with Yarran and Silvagni), but he stayed out longer than the other two and ran laps. He finiished the session with some goal kicking practice. Missing most of the shots from around 40metres out.

Mora was out for only a brief period running laps, but it was hard not to get excited taliking to other training watches about how agile and fit he looked at training last week.

We might have another two key defenders on our list with Hughes and Nyhuis literarily growing into the role. Hughes is now key position height. He was standing next to Silvagni and was clearly a couple of cm's taller. I think Hughes must now be between 192 -194 cm tall. I also spoke to Ryan Nyhuis briefly and asked him what was his current height. His response was at the moment he is 189cm, but he might be growing still.

My training the house down award goes to a first time recipient. While it has been mentioned Hannath looks significantly leaner and quicker IMO Jon Griffin is the player who looks to have improved the most in the running department compared to last year. The last time he looked this fit Griffin was one of the best ruckman in the league. Ive put him back in my best 22 team.

Anyway, I really appreciate the efforts of others in this thread, so I did my best to provide as much info as possible. Cheers

Balic is recovering from a wrist operation so he is in the rehab group so hasn't participated in any real skills work so running laps I guess is his only option at present. He said on Friday that he will be back to full training when they get back from the break subject to scans of his wrist.

After being super impressed by Balic today I thought Id have another look at his highlights to see what he offered with the knowledge his endurance is already terrific. I watched highlughts from his game in the national champs agianst SA and the commentator mentioned that he was not only a state basketball rep, but also a state underage high jump representative. Hard not to be impressed by his overall athletic ability.

Well I got down to training this morning and as Sherrif reported is was a light running session but quite a bit of weights work with players moving sideways while pulling weights .The 2 best performers today were Griffin and Hannath .Taberner was doing this exercise as well but just hasn't mastered it yet .
Fyfe was running freely and as others have stated , he could be in the main group now but Webber is easing him into his training .
Quite a few senior players are doing more weights and Gym work as opposed to doing a lot of running .
Balic was very serious with his training today .The way he runs is just so good to watch ,he doesn't pound his way around the oval . He is very much like Hill and Fyfe in that they seam to glide over the ground . He pumped out quite a few laps
Barlow has added some definition to his mid drift and looks to have improved his core .Grey has lost quite a bit of his leg muscle build that he had last year and looks much better for it .
A lot of players have trimmed down in the off season but as we know the longer preseason goes they will build up . Hale was with the boys today and crunched out a couple of laps with the boys .
Hale was working with Taberner during the weight exercise and we got a small insight as to what the exercise was for and as Tabs was trying to pull the sliding weights Hale was putting his hip into his side bumping him , then pointing out to him (Tabs) that he needed to be more prepared with his body position thereby preventing his opponent from being able to block his run at the ball and hold his position in a contest . Hale is working with the Ruckmen not doing any forward work .
Hannath carried 4 x 20 KG discs off the oval when they finished training we told him to stop showing off because there were only us OLD guys on the bench and no young chics there too impress.
Pav turned up just at the end of the field exercises and went straight into the Gym.
RTB came out of the gym briefly ,said hello and disappeared back into the Gym.
Josh Deluca and Sean Hurley came out from the Gym for a breather .I said to Sean that he should stop showing off when he was doing the weights exercise on the oval he had a giggle at that and then went back inside .
All the players are in good spirits and looking great .

Last time they did that sliding weight exercise as you remember Irish pulled 2 weight plates to everbody else's one. How did he go today did he do that exercise? Wich other Rucks did Hale work with today.

Sean had a big laugh when I told him to stop showing off with the 2 weights when doing the shoulder exercise the next time he went out on the oval . He was only doing Gym work on Saturday .
Hannath and Taberner were using the single weigh but Griffin was doing the exercise with 2 weights and very well with the side ways pull with the strap around his waist .They were the only players doing the exercise.Clarke and Sandi no where to be seen.

Hale is doing all the work with the rucks out on the oval but what is happening in the Gym could be another story.
Hale seams to be giving the talls tuition on body position and protecting the ball drop zone both for marking and rucking .
A number of times he was not happy with Taberners feet positioning in the exercise because he was too easily knocked off balance.
Tabs was doing a number of short bouncy steps before heaving the weight which meant that he was not planting his feet and using his shoulders and arm instead of his body to move the weight .
 
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7th of December 2015 - Shrine to Morabito/AIS players (Page 31 to Page 33)
Training watches mostly get together in a huddle and have a good chat. Don't think we'll be seeing any detailed reports today.

I did notice Weller, Blakely and Hughes training with the senior mids in their drills. Hughes looks to have built himself up perfectly and he was doing mid work not backline work unlike last season.

The club obviously have seen something they like in him and his physique is looking exceptional.

Interesting. He is listed at 187 cm so perfect "tall midfielder" height. I thought them upgrading his number to 15 was a sign that they saw a spot for him going forward. Maybe preparing to phase out Mzungu, like they did with Duffield last year?

Not sure about phasing out Muz but he was part of the mid group but not in the thick of it. He looked to be looking at the other guys running patterns and execution than getting his hands on it.

But he does look like he could be playing some very good footy for peel this season and I'm sure he'll push hard for a spot.

Simon Eastaugh worked with the Sandi and Grif and Clarke was in the Rehab Group and from memory Hannath worked with the forwards. There there was a lot of work done on ball movement today with Suma overseeing the whole session and David Hale worked with the Forwards on getting the ball from 50 metre arc to leading forwards.So @Coukldhavebeen I dont see David Hale as being the Ruck Coach as we have Easthaugh. They had a very intense session of goal shooting but couldhavebeen you cant have a g at Irish for missing a shot as many others were in the same boat.

I noticed the goal kicking wasn't the best. It's never been a strong point during training.

Jason Webber has been working with Mora after the training sessions and pushing him hard. One of the regulars mentioned its the same type of one on one work that Webber did with Fyfe. You cannot help but get excited at the way Mora is working. Nyhaus is the stand out amongst the youngsters at the minute. Quick neat disposal and accurate shot on goal. Langdon looks to have a nasty groin injury ,he was limping very badly. Silvagni made a brief appearance. First time this season I have seen him on the track. 2 and half hours of skill work followed by a half an hour of jogging. Kicking skills very much to the forefront.

Silvagni has been training a fair bit.

I agree on Nyhaus he looks terrific.

Mora would have to be the pick of the bunch at the minute. He is looking terrific.

Mora has not been able to put together a full sessions for years. To complete a session then see him work his guts out with Webber afterwards is mind blowing. Webber is putting him through a set of change direction drills at full tilt then chasing and running down Webber. He runs laps after all that.:eek: His work load seems to be a lot heavier than the rest of the squad. Maybe a make or break situation.

It's looking more like Jason Webber not being able to break Mora down with the intense work he is putting him through. As each session goes by Mora looks closer to getting elevated to a spare spot on the Primary List. Go Mora Go you good thing.

Just to clear up. Hale is not the ruck coach it's Simon Eastaugh.

Hale is line coach for the forwards and I don't know why coulda says he's the ruck coach.

Luke Morfese the Communication Manager (hope I got his position name correct) said on Friday that the roles of the Coaches are still to be ratified by the Board and then I would think the Dockers Website would be updated as to the authorised/official roles. My initial question to look was "When will the website be updated to show all the coaches and their roles? " salim malik

What the journo doesn't realise is you need to go to Freo training sessions to " sight " Harley.
You won't see Harley at a wc training session.
Harley spent a good deal of Friday and Saturday in the gym before stepping out onto the field.
Pre-season is two weeks in and Harley along with Morabito has been one of the better performers; hell, he was in the 3 km run last week.

He wasn't on the track today. Prior to that he hasn't missed track work. I guess that gives these journalists an opening to imply he is already off the rails. What an uninformed question by him.

Thanks for the replies Fred, Jedi and Danny.
I have another question. Did anyone sight the academy players at trading today? Particularly Sam Petreski-Seton.

I saw him as we couldn't initially work out who he was and salim malik indicated that in previous years AIS Academy players attended and joined in the sessions.This year on the Dockers website they have said that the 3 players will be with us for 3 weeks and will join in all sessions. Sam is quite short and from side on and the way he moves in my humble opinion he looks like a shorter version of past Dockers champion Dale Kickett. Saw him shooting for Goals but there were players everywhere when they were doing ball movement drills so cant comment any further as I didn't spot what group he was with. I didn't spot the other 2 and I don't think anyone else did.The announcement about the Academy players only went on the site today probably after training started.

Yeh ,that was my comment and Langdon was walking the boundary with a limp . The groin comment was a wild guess, it could have been anything , ankle, calf.
Jumping to conclusions was not the brightest thing to do. I should have mentioned he had a limp ,un known cause .

You've got a problem with anger management Danny. Probably should look for a different career. Doormen have a bad enough reputation in Perth as it is.
I will gladly come to training as soon as I finish work. I've met up with Jedi, sheriff, Salim, coulda and others when I can. But not this Wednesday. Still working.

And yes I am interested in him. But hopefully we won't get a good enough draft pick to get him. I questioned (someone who should know) his height and was told he had grown since the numbers in this article were taken:
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-11-26/the-next-batch-whos-the-pick-of-the-2016-draft-crop

This photo shows him as being tiny compared to David Mundy
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=UlVUWVI2LW0zMnFMY29CaTc3Qm1JaGdmUU9Wa2tB
But maybe it's just a matter of perspective.

In this photo, he doesn't seem much shorter than Barlow and de Boer:
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=UlVUWVI2LW0zMnFMY29CaTc3Qm1JaGdmUU9Wa2tB

I'm not sure if the links work. But if you copy and paste into your browser, that worked for me. Edit: works.
 
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8th of December 2015 - Fyfe lapping (Page 33 to Page 36)

Pretty low key session this morning.

Nat was pumping out the laps at good pace after doing his work with the rehab guys. Grey and Silvagni also were running hard and looked in good nick physically. Other members of the rehab group were Clancee, Apeness, Balic, Yarran and possibly another couple I may have missed. Harley Bennell was working one on one doing run through's with a trainer and obviously isn;t 100% at the moment but didn't seem too bad.

The main session included most of the squad working in 3 or 4 smaller groups and again was based around foot skills, quick hands and goal kicking along with some ball movement later on. Sam P-S looked really good as a young guy with sharp hands and neat foot skills. Also watched Morabito closely and agree he is moving freely and enjoying himself on the track which is good to see.

If anybody has any questions about any other players I will attempt to answer them but as stated it was a pretty quiet session today.

Don't think they were in positional groups today, just a mix across the board.

Of the big guys, Hurley is looking very fit and his skills were pretty good from what I saw. Also noticed Hannath and Griff moving around and they look much fitter and quicker.

The goal kicking was pretty solid and Tabs and Hannath were kicking well. Didn't see APearce and Johnson was his usual self.

Didn't see a lot of Ubergang and Collins but they are both pretty big boys and didn't look out of place. Their kicking looked good too but it was only a small sample and there wasn't much pressure on.
 
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9th of December 2015 - dockerfemme debuts (Page 36 to Page 37)
Attended training for the first time this season.

I met Danny the Doorman and spent a lovely hour or so sitting on the terraces under a Morton Bay fig with JMT, his cutie pie daughter and Gaskin.

It is hard to know what to report. The main thing that interested me was that when the players were split into groups the forwards structured with Pav, Griff and Tabs inside 50 and Sonny, Mayne and Ed Langdon playing as high half forwards delivering inside 50. Then for a while Pav moved to high half forward with Mayne inside 50. As this was all about movement and there was no defense it is hard to comment on how things went.

There were some exercises in short, sharp handball that I had not seen before, and some keeping off type games with shortish kicking. There was also some half ground ball movement, but no full ground ball movement.

A much appreciated training report.

Langdon had been reported as seriously limping last week I think so that is good news.

He had a severe limp,if he is not injured he must have one leg shorter than the other:)

Thank you it was nice talking to you and my girl had fun hanging out too. :)

You pretty much have covered most although I'd like to add how developed both Weller and Blakely look.

Both myself and dockerfemme noticed Niase training with the senior mids and looking really skilled. I honestly believe and I've said it before we have a great rookie pick there.

I've been a bit critical of Tanner in the past but he looks terrific this pre season.

The indigenous footy player from the AIS looks a real talent. I'm sure he'll go fairly early in the draft but that's a long way down the track.

Sam looks a gun. looks very agile and keen to learn. He was roving off the ruck taps set up by Hale.

Not much to add to the reports above but will give it a crack.

A real emphasis on moving the ball inside 50 with the forwards with the guys mentioned above (Sonny, Mayne, Langdon, Pav, Tabs and Griff) all working on their leading patterns, spacing and working as a unit. This seems to be the main reason Hale was bought over as he and Rock were running the drill and educating the players. Tabs still seems to have a bit to learn but is more vocal than I remember and working hard on his game. Can report Langdon came out a bit later and did some kick to kick with Spurr but then was involved in this drill and others after getting the all clear. Walters kicking was sublime as usual.

Of the others I will try my best to go through each of them and my recollections although I don;t know all of the young boys yet and may have missed some of them and not noticed others so don't take it as gospel. Ballas was pounding out the laps and looks super fit. Wasn't involved in the forward drills today as he was on his own program but looks as fit as I have seen him. Mora was involved in the full session and his kicking was precise and body looks good to go. Dawson was with the defenders and was his usual upbeat self joking with the players etc. Didn't see Harley Bennell out there today but may have missed him? Ibbo was pumping out the laps as well and he too looks really fit. "Darryl" Pearce was running well and kicks the ball beautifully in training.

Didn't see Nat out there today or Subes but again I may have missed them. DeBoer was working hard as usual and trained well. Didn't notice Tommy Sheridan? Tendai is super fit as we know and always seems to train well and find the footy in the competitive drills. Lachie Weller has definitely bulked up a bit and his skills were top notch as usual. Didn't notice Ethan Hughes out there today? Mundy seems to cruise around at training but rarely misses a target. Crozier was pumping out the laps with Ballas and wasn't quite as quick but is in good nick. Darcy Tucker is still light on but his skills were polished from what I saw and looks a prospect. Blakely missed a few kicks so that is something he needs to work on but his hands are elite in close. Barlow was his usual self and also did some laps between the group work and was covering the ground with ease.

Tanner Smith seems to have grown in confidence and added to his frame and competes hard during training. Didn't notice Harley Balic out there today but I presume he was. APearce looked in ripping condition and was strong above his head and used the ball well in the transition/short kicking drills. Lachie Neale is another was who works his backside off in training and is fitter than ever. I didn't notice Brady Grey or Zac Clarke out there today so I presume they were working inside or rehabbing? Sandi impressed me with his speed off the mark and is working on his body work in marking situations.

Stephen Hill glides across the turf and his skills are elite along with Walters who are the standout kicks clearly. Didn't notice Cam Sutcliffe today and Spurr was just running laps at a good rate. Apeness was not involved in the session and I don't remember seeing Alex Silvagni either. MJ was another running laps with Ibbo and his body seems good as he was notching up the Km's. Jack Hannath looks a bit quicker than previous years but still needs to improve in one on ones and improve his kicking around the ground. De Luca wasn't involved today either from what I saw.

Sam Collins was impressive today in the drills with the other defenders and short kicking drills (hope it was him and not Uber) so I think he will be pushing for a spot if any of our KPD's go down. Shane Yarran wasn't involved I don't think and was probably resting the knee or rehabbing inside. Matt Uebergang looks a lot like Collins so not sure if he was out there or not or if I got them confused? Ryan Nyhaus looks a neat player and uses the ball well - the Duffield comparisons seem pretty fair. Of the others Hurley was doing laps with Ballas and Croz and was running really well and even sticking with Ballantyne and in front of Croz most of the way. Clancee i didn't see on the track today but may have missed him with his new hair cut?

Of the academy players, Sam Seton is smooth and uses the ball well and doesn't look out of his depth training with the AFL boys. I didn't notice Noah Hura? and can't remember seeing much of Luke Strnadica either but he is a good size from what I saw the other day.

Hope that helps and apologies I missed some of the boys but it is tough with 40/50 out there and several newbies.

The TTHD award would have to go to Sonny Walters who was vocal and his left boot was unbelievable and close behind were Mora, Hill and Weller in my opinion.

Most if the guts you said you thought weren't out there was correct.

I'm glad you noticed Nyhais training well and Weller looking good because he seems to have taken a big step since thus time last year.
Tanner also.

Clems Knee Clarke is part of the 12 players in the Rehab Group which includes Harley Bennell that were in the Gym most of the morning today and came out near the end of the session to do some handball stuff. Clarke also did some palming of the ball to Sutty I think it was and to Fyfey. Brady Grey is one of the rehab group as he has had a shoulder operation post season and he told us that the rehab guys are working on a different schedule and that the guys who have had shoulder ops are working together within that group.

Great Report Mate and those that you missed seeing were in the rehab group wich in their last drill today had 12 participants and included Bennell, Fyfe, Clarke, Suban,Yarran, Silvagni etc)
 

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10th of December 2015 - Rehab group (Page 37)
At training now, only here for another 10 or so as I have a meeting in the area

Low key day, seems most will be inside at the gym or due to come out later

Maybe 5-10 out with some agility work, clancee thighs pumping out the laps, and a small group doing a few skills exercises

Wish I had an awesome write up but short n sweet!

I think you will find that it is probably the Rehab group as they trained last Thursday as well. They are on a different schedule as indicated by Brady Grey yesterday and he is in the rehab group coming off a shoulder op.
 
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11th of December 2015 - (Page 37 to Page 38)
Training report Fri, 11th Dec.

Today was a warm one. The squad was energetic and looked in good spirits.

Training was mostly based around in close handball and kicking skills broken up into forwards, mids and backs. This has been a typical training session with the different line coaches in charge.

I won't go on and tell you how impressed I am with Weller, Blakely and Langdon as I feel like a broken down record. Or how Tanner looks stronger and how his skills have improved significantly.

Some of the elder statesmen weren't training. The most dynamic trainer was Walters particularly towards the end during the kicking to space for the players to run into. Sometimes Freo hit targets on the outer flanks to centre it and other times directly through the middle as in end to end transition.

IMO Mayne and deBoer need to hit targets. I have seriously trained and played with better kicks at amateur level. Sure deBoer can run 3km time trails well and he puts pressure on the opposition ball carrier but his skills under minimal pressure is unacceptable. Ballas unlike one poster who said he looks really fit, for me looks underdone. He may have been unwell because I noticed him coughing during training last Friday.

They still haven't started full on match sims and Ross has given the line coaches a large amount of autonomy. I'd presume the full match sims that give a clear view of the difference in ability levels for the onlooker will start after the new year break. Ross may want to mix it up a bit so it's not the same thing each season.

I find it a bit hard to report more detailed player reports as its been basic skills training.

Ballantyne spent most of Wednesday's session pumping out laps.
I get the feeling this year is being a bit more individually tailored.

Yes it is very individually tailored. I still don't think but like I said I could be wrong look as got as what he has been in previous years.

Not that I'm overly concerned because he needs to kick goals not rotate through the mid field.
 
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12th of December 2015 -Fyfe hair cut? (Page 38 to Page 40)
I went down and watched training today. As per normal on Saturday predominately a running session with some skills work.

The good news is that Harley Bennell was out running with the rehab group and slowly jogging repeat 100's. Not extending himself, but definitely pushing towards returning to main training. No bandage on his calf, which is definitely a good sign. The only real rehab group is Silvagni, Apeness, Yarran, Fyfe, Clarke and Bennell. DeLuca, Suban, C.Pearce, Balic, Sutcliffe and Grey have not joined in full training yet, but all must be really close as they were pumping out the laps. There was no sign of all of the first year players apart from the two in the rehab group. (yarran and Balic) also missing were Pav and Sandy. Tucker might of come out at the end of the session from the gym to do some kicking skills work. (hard to tell the difference between him and De Leuca from distance).

Neale is seriously pumping out the laps and looking a ton fitter than this time a year ago. In some sprint work at the start of the session he looked exceptional and he was also running with the elite group when completing laps. Sutcliffe was also not training this time a year ago. He looks super fit and I have high hopes he will return to conisistenly being an aggressive distrubutor off half back like he was in 2014. Getting super fit in the preseason is massive in terms of player confidence levels entering a season IMO.

Hurley looked super impressive in some short kicking drills. I really think he will be a significant player for Peel this year and for the Freo team in a year or two. The improvement in his kicking technique is noteworthy.

Mayne, Balla, Barlow and Griffin all look to be really fit and firing in terms of running loads. As others have said Barlow has looked noticeable leaner than a year ago, but the same could be said of Mayne.

It is very difficult to comment on too much when it is mainly a running session, but I hope Ive provided some useful information. Cheers.

Sherrif forgot to mention Fyfe looks like he has had a haircut or is sporting a very tightly pulled back man bun.:)

It is both.
He has definitely cut most of it off and the remainder is tied back into a gorgeous little back knot.

Something else I saw late in the session this morning was Matt Taberner having a huge chuck outside the gym.

Stephen Hill was standing behind him laughing while Tabs was on his hands and knees spewing his guts up.

It brought much mirth to others on the oval.
Usually you see instances of this after players have just returned from the break and after a huge run. Not rushing out of the gym.
Must have been strenuous stuff going on in the gym.

Good to see Yarran, Bennell and Fyfe getting in a lot of running too.
 
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14th of December 2015 - (Page 40 to Page 42)
Spent a short time down at Freo Oval this morning and I was very impressed with what I saw. It was a beautiful day, not too hot with sun shining. I rode my bike along the coast and the ocean looked absolutely beautiful. These Vic boys must come over here and think it's paradise with our beaches.
Anyway, there was a large contingent down there today with a lot on the track. I couldn't see Pav or Fyfe, but what I did see was a lot of practicing of low , flat short kicks to each other, and there was some beautiful worm burners on display, namely from Sony, Barra,Morra even, and Croziers kicking was superb from what I saw. Ballas was running laps alongside Sandi and it looked quite comical I must say.
Anyway, I haven't got much time but I'm sure there will be more reports coming, as there was a lot down there today including the media. Still look really exciting for 2016 imo

Popped in for an hour or so Walters setting the standard, Taberner is a big unit up close he should be impacting more on games.

With Pav obviously coming to the end Tabs should be made the main focal point up forward, more responsibility on his shoulders could be the making of him.
 
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15th of December 2015 - Allikat's debut (Page 43 to Page 44)
Short training report

Almost the full squad is warming up divided into two main groups.

I.was expecting rehab group and maybe some individual program training but looks like a full training session.

Have an appointment later so hopefully can give you a decent write up today.

I've got to head off in a minute so it'll be brief

Fyfe and Yarren doing run through all training so far. Both running freely however Yarren with some knee strapping.

Balic and Langdon doing run through too and looking fit. They both gave excellent running game actions.

Silvagni and Barlow just started doing run throughs a and look ripped.


So far mostly short kicking get practice r and some midfield drills with a focus on getting your arms free in the tackle to handball plus blocking the opposition for a player to take the ruck tap during throw ins.

Nothing ground breaking but I have to leave early.

So I made it to my first training session for 2015! (yes, 2015). What jedi mind tricks has said for the start of the session is spot on. After that a big group split off for close handball drills. Sam Collins absolutely destroyed everyone in this. Some of the guys went & did yoga. Tabs was carrying around 2x 30kg kettlebells & showing off, getting the guns out. Clarke was pulling around one of those weight sleigh thingos while wearing an altitude mask. Couldn't tell you the size of the weights though, sorry.

Balic was doing a lot of training by himself. Started off running, then some agility drills, then kicking for goal ~40 out with someone standing the mark. Started off kicking a few points, but was slotting them nicely by the end.

I kept a bit of an eye on my buddy of course. Like JMT said, Fyfe was just running 1/2 laps for the first hour, then went on to the agility drills, running to points laid out in the shape of a cross. Then moved on to some kicking for goals set shots using both feet from ~30 out. And then some stab kick passing. And shirtless... All of the running & kicking was kept nice & light, probably working at about 80%. He only did the one agi drill anywhere close to full speed.

Here's a photo so you can see how he all went:
View attachment 201085

Oh and I see what everyone's going on about with Ethan Hughes. Those guns!!! He's filled out really really well.

Speaking of guns, Ueber has the arms of a computer gamer. He needs to hit the gym hard

Anyone seen much of Tommy Sheridan? Will be interested to see how he rebounds this season. The dropped mark in the prelim would have to dent the confidence a bit.

He was having a nice 1 on 1 chat with RTB during today's session. He didn't really stand out or anything during the drills so I can't give you any info there sorry. Looks like he's bulked up a bit too
 
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16th of December 2015 - Worries about Pav.. (Page 44 to Page 45)
Only got there for the second half of the session so can't shed a lot of light but will provide what i can.

There was a lot of goal kicking and as usual a lot of short sided games where the focus is on quick hands in tight and short sharp kicking.
There was also a focus on moving the ball from defense. In this drill the main defenders (split into two teams) were Spurr who excelled, Johnson, Collins (who looked good), Morabito, Hughes, Tanner among others who I can't remember.

Griffin was punished at one stage for a dropped mark and a miss-kick and his group was made to run a lap. Outside of that the skills in the drills were pretty good with the usual suspects in Sonny, Hill, Weller, Sam P-S the pick of the group.

The goal kicking was hit and miss with a lot of the boys and kicking under fatigue is clearly a point of emphasis. Mayne was kicking the ball well though and hardly missed from what I saw and Shane Yarran was also accurate (not sure if he participated in all of the session though?)

There seemed to be a small rehab group today including Fyfe, Grey, Bennell, Suban? and a couple of others.

Of the young guys, Ueber did a bit but was also working off to the side away from the main group for parts of the session and is quite slight, as has been posted previously. Watching him though, his hands were pretty good and although he is very raw at this stage the potential is there.
Didn't see much of the others although Collins was good (kicking was a bit shaky though) and Darcy Tucker was competing well in the short sided games and used the ball well.

Others of note who trained well IMO were Ballantyne, Neale, Tendai, Hurley (very fit and growing with confidence) and Blakely.

Top 5 for the TTHD award today were: Ballas, Neale, Weller, Mayne and Gu (others mentioned above were unlucky).

Training today was attended by Channels 7, 9 & 10 obviously responded to the announcement of the new coaching structure and roles that had been approved by the Dockers Board and to view the new coaches working with players.

Training started with the usual warm up drills with handball (to develop quick hands) and kicking.

There wasnt as much emphasis on lap running today but a lot of running was undertaken within game simulation where players moved the ball on by hand or foot and ran on to receive or ran to cover an opposition player. The first part of the session after warming up was broken into 3 groups (forwards, backs and mids) with new line coaches working within their respective speciality roles.

In this part of the session it is difficult from where you sit to notice all the players in each group. I sat at the clubhouse verandah so I saw more of the forwards with the backs at the other end of the ground and the mids on the far scoreboard side. (Jedi often sits on the scoreboard side so he has seen more of the mids which has been reflected in some of his reports).

I have noticed that they are putting a lot of work into Tabs and Tanner Smith about holding your ground and getting front position to mark the ball. In earlier sessions of the pre-season they have had Grif and Hannath working on positioning at CHF. It appears that Tabs (who didn't drop a mark when charging out on leads is being earmarked for that key Forward position at this early stage so obviously Pav will play deeper. In the early part of this phase David Hale defended against Tabs in marking contests in that way letting Tabs gain first hand feedback.

David Hale is very impressive in the way he goes about his coaching duties and he will provide a significant contribution to our club.

The next phase was the whole squad that was on the ground were having shots at goals and we still struggle to put the ball through the goals but the much maligned Chris Mayne was accurate today. Irish was accurate and of course Son Son and Ballas excelled as did Sandi in this phase. The goal kicking drill was done twice today and with some 35 players or thereabouts shooting for goals from all angles there are bodies everywhere and footies being kicked at all sorts of angles.

Ross came out onto the ground in the middle of the session where they were in the 3 groups and that is where they did some short low level passing but they were hardly the old stab kicks that us old guys remember from the good old days when the likes of Barry Cable played .The second half of the day is well covered cp3_jr see his earlier post. In the first half of training the usual pair Son Son and Lache Neale were IMO the best performers.

The rehab group were once again on light duties and no on field running but a number of them like Nathan Fyfe Micky Barlow (his Birthday is this Friday) Harley Bennell were involved adjacent to the Clubhouse end Goals doing handball and reflex work. Harley Balic, Shane Yarran (no tape on his knee today) Michael Apeness (limp isn't as pronounced today) and Nick Suban came out for a look at training as did Clancee Pearce and Cameron Sutcliffe with the remainder working out in the Gym. Pav was unsighted today and he didn't appear on the track on Monday either.

It was a good session albeit a little warmer and possibly more work was done in intensive game simulation (almost full field) in the last half of the days session as against doing laps.

Tayl0r pls post this to Training Reports in the under construction thread

Pan hasn't trained for a week then. Wasn't there last Friday either

I'm not sure that we saw Pav on last Wednesday either as I was there Monday Wednesday and Friday last week.

I was there last Friday and the Friday before. He trained the Friday before.
 
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17th of December 2015: Coulda and the Rehab Guys (Page 45-46)

I got down to training late today but was pleased to see Nat Fyfe running laps and doing a lot of goal kicking practice . He looks in great shape and gave a big hello good to see ya .
Clancee ,Sutcliffe, Suban and Grey where doing laps followed by stoppage blocking and grappling . They also did some goal kicking .
Clarke came out of the gym and said that his knees were a lot better and he would be ready for preseason games .
Yarran was doing goal kicking and had his knee strapped .
Harley Balic was doing laps . He just looks so good when he is running . Others like Clancee pound their way around the track where Harley like Hill and Fyfe just seam to effortlessly glide running on top of the grass hardly touching it . Harley's building some great muscle definition so he must be doing extra time with the weights .
He appears to be very serious about getting his fitness up to senior player levels as quickly as he can . I am getting excited about how soon he will be pushing for a best 22 position .
Silvagni was practicing his marking and kicking out from the goal square . He had a breeze behind him and the ball was regularly caring 10 and 15 meters past the 50 metre line .

There were quite a few in the Gym and Apeness came out briefly and had a bit of a kick before heading back in .On my way out of the ground Griffin walked passed and he was in good spirits .
So there wasn't that much going on out on the oval but those out there were working hard .

Re Deluca:
Hi Danny ,
Yea I failed to mention him .He came out from the gym and kicked the ball for about 5 minutes at the goals , gave a wave then disappeared back into the gym . He looks to have gained a couple of Kgs through the core and into the thighs.
Weber seams to be concentrating on the boys core and upper body development while the other coaches are looking at the way the boys get up and moving from contests .Today in one of the drills Clancee ,Sutcliffe Suban and Grey had to lay on their ground ,role their body then spring into a sprinting stance and push off from each other . They did that for about 10 minutes .Extremely taxing ,they were all blowing hard at the end of it .
 
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18th December 2015: Return of the Pav (page 46-47)

I attended training today. It was, yet again, lovely sitting on the terraces under the Morton Bay Fig trees with Allikat, Gaskin and Harry Reems.

All will be glad to hear Pav was out there, training in full and moving well. Mundy was in everything and looking a million dollars.

There was full ground ball movement exercises with the ball coming out of defence to a contest on the wing, and then someone on the slingshot from the centre circle to run forward and receive the ball inside 50. Generally the skills looked good and most kicks were well placed and weighted. Ed Langdon was very involved and looked good. Sonny (as ever) also looked all class. Sandi is moving like a spring chicken.

There was quite a bit of set shot goal kicking and I feel it looked better than this time last year.

Sonny and Lachie Neale are clear leaders amongst the younger set (although Sonny can hardly be classed as the younger set these days).

It is always hard to go past Sonny for TTHD, but today it has to go to Mundy.

I also must mention that de Boer had a good run with the ball which included a lovely shimmy. He is working hard to hold a place.

Great catching up with Allikat and meeting Dockerfemme for the first time today. l also had a brief chat with "blast from the past" Imadocker on the shady terraces over by the prison wall.

I hope Salim and JMT had good excuses for not being there today, as the markets were open and the coffee was flowing.

I forgot my binoculars today so I wasn't sure "who was who" out there, however Sonny's voice and amazing pace and skills with the ball could not be mistaken for anyone else.

The main focus of training today was moving the ball from the backline at the southern or hospital end of the ground, then up the prison side boundary line and into the forward line for a shot on goal at the markets end of the ground.

It was all about hitting targets and fast ball movement along the boundary line.

The process started with Ibbo, Mora, Danyle Pearce, Johnno, Muz or Lee Spurr taking turns in driving ball up onto the prison side wing where Tabs, Sandi, or Griff were waiting. They would then either go long to CHF where Pav, Mayne or Crozier were waiting, or they would give off a quick handpass to a running Sonny Walters or Hayden Ballantyne who would then run in for a shot on open goal, or look for a free player such as Lachie Neale standing 20 metres out from goal to give the ball to.

The skills were great and Tabs and Chris Mayne marked everything in sight.

Sandi was in fine form whilst Matt de Boer (Spider Pig), Ed Langdon and Conor Blakey also impressed today.

David Mundy was another whose skills shone in the centre of the ground today and Hayden Crozier and Tommy T-Train also had me impressed.

Lachie Weller just ran lap after lap casually whilst the rehab boys weren't seen at all today and will most likely train tomorrow.

I did see Nat Fye and Ross Lyon arriving as we were leaving though.

Big turn out of training watchers today. It was lovely to catch up with everyone that I haven't seen in so long.

Early part of the session they were warming up with some short running drills. Johnno was getting some one on one attention, but looks to be running so much better & free-er than the end of last year. ]

The rehab guys were either not there or hiding away in the gym (so no Fyfe today :( )

Uebergang was training up back in the full ground drills - and doing a pretty great job focusing on passing from the full-back position. Langdon was hogging the outside run and looking great.

Neale was a major stand out - he just looks a step up from a lot of the other guys out there. Don't be surprised if he has a bigger & better year than last year. What a draft bargain he's turned out to be!!

Other stand-outs: The old folks home in Sandi & Pav were showing the younger kids how it's done. They both look a million bucks - so basically worth the amount they're getting paid :p Sandi did some work with Ballas either tapping or handballing down to him with Ballas clearing to a man about 30m away.

All our young kids looked pretty great out there today. Early on in the session they split into best 22 & young kids, and Collins & Crozier were in the best 22 group so that's exciting.

And so it doesn't look like we're seeing training through rose coloured glasses: Nyhuis had some pretty average positioning & leads today, got a few yells of what to do. And there were a few dropped marks from anyone that could be considered a tall defender.

I'd give TTHD to Langdon, Pav, Neale today

Agree whole heartedly on this. I was watching him last Monday in the short, sharp kicking drills and snap shots for goal and he was nailing every one of them. He's an absolute beauty is Lachie who will be AA. Love him, he's top shelf IMO. Our midfield is looking scary good with the addition of Bennell:eek:

The rehab guys weren't there today they trained yesterday but they are on a different schedule to the main group so no Fyfe but Bennell was there in normal threads when he drove up in his Jeep with his Manager. Alex Pearce appeared to not be out on the track today we couldn't spot him from up on the verandah. It was a great session today and I feel Apeness, Clarke; Yarran and Balic would have got a lot out of it if they had been involved and we all know the more you practice the better you get. Apeness and Clarke both need to lift their performance to be competitive for a spot in the 22.
 
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19th December 2015 - Lots of shoulder talk (page 47)

For those that can't be at Freo today there is almost a full sqad training. The oval is wall to wall players including Pav, mundy ,fyfe ,Suban and all of this year's recruits.
I wish you were here to see the work that they are putting in.

Yes,yes and yes .
The whole squad at training
Sandi ,Hill Bennell, Mzungu,Obbo,Morro Sheridan,Spurr,Johnson,Sonny,D.Pearce, Taberner,Griffin,Hannath,Smith, Sutcliffe ,DeBoer,Yarran,Balic,,Barlow Grey,Ny,Clarke,Deluca,Hughes,Langdon just to name a few.
I had a talk with one of the trainers and the exercise of laying on the ground ,rolling and springing up into a sprint stance was designed for the rehab guys that have had shoulder surgery and need to get the strength back.
Balic was pumping out laps then trying to kick goals very unsuccessfully . He has a long way to go in that area but I can't fault his efforts to get into peak condition.
The oval work was all finished by 10.15 am .

A couple of points from training. The boys out on the park worked incredibly hard today. There was one drill involving a stack of disc weights attached to about 20 metres of thick rope that was pulled hand over hand from a squat position. A bunch of players with shoulder issues were walking with heavy hand weights apparently to strengthen them up. Saw Ibbo, Sutty, Sonny, and Ballas among others doing this
Yaran looks silk. His kicking for goal on the run is a thing of beauty. Hopefully we have found another forward.
Clancy nailed a banana from the fence straight through the big sticks, he can kick it.
 
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20th December 2015 - Coloured Weights & Sheridan's Chest (page 48)
couldhavebeen asked about the coloured weights the players were carting around today and was told they range from 28 to 32 kg each.
About eight boys were carrying these 15 metres one way then back , one in each hand.
We noticed the chest on Tom Sheridan when carrying these; massive.
Sam Collins went well with these things also as did Uebergang.

They are solid balls with a handle on top like an inverted "C".

Yeh, Fred I heard you two Chatting about Tommy's chest and how he has stacked on the muscle since he arrived at Freo. I was just down from you with the young fella. My question to you regarding Tommy, do you think he will hold his position in the 22 next year?

I'm sure he will due to not only his physical build .He has improved his skills as well.

He always asking questions of the coaches and senior players

Certainly; did you notice Ross made a Point of chatting one on one with him ?
Ross rates him highly and devotes a lot of time on Tom. He is improving each year and if he does so this year he could be a key member.
 
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21st of December 2015 - Last Hurrah Before Christmas (Page 49 to 59)

Dead right salim.Got down this morning and Mora is back to raging bull mode.So bloody good to watch.Only got back from overseas yesterday and was surprised at how many new faces there were who I couldn't identify but plenty of them also looked the goods in terms skills and decision making.I was impressed with the overall intensity and execution but it was a thing of heart warming beauty to watch The Emperor charging around with power and pace.
I'd forgotten how similar in size and athleticism he is to Pav.
We're on the cusp of a great story.

Got down to training today. There was a massive turnout for a training session. Terrific to put a face to some of the regular contributors here. Dannythedoormen and Allikatz.
Was a terrific and long session today. By my count every single player was out at some stage. Yarran and Bennell were running a heap more than the last session I saw nine days ago. Clarke came out briefly and Apeness was also out for a bit. Balic, C. Pearce, Sutty,, Fyfe, Spurr, Silvagni, Suban, Deluca, Barlow, B.Grey were running a lot and not part of the main drills. A.Pearce was in and out of the gym and is looking stronger, but wiry strong.

They completed more 3/4 of field to full length drills today. Mora looked outstanding taking the football and breaking lines, as did Weller. They also completed stoppage work and a handballing through congestion activities. Deadset loving how Sheridan, Neale and Hill are looking coming into the new year. Blakely is awesome in contested situations.

There seems to be noticeably more speed in the squad. Lots of players were taking on their opponents with the football in hand. The skills were in my opinion outstanding.

Griffin is looking brilliant IMO he is noticeable more mobile. The Irishmen is also super impressive and he ran all over the ground in the all ground drills. I think he will be a bloody good player in the long run. Tabs took a lot of marks today.

TTHD goes to Neale and Mora.

scon salim malik Salim salivates every time he sees Morra do anything on the track where I must admit I am a fan of his and he looks a million dollars.
As you would have seen today Mora is with the Backs group so can you imagine him taking off up the middle of the ground from half back with Plodass and Masten from West Coast chasing him as he puts on the afterburners and then cooly slots one through. You Beauty Morra

Pav was super impressive. He kicked a goal from the pocket that got a training equivalent of a standing ovation. He looked quick in leading drills, which is obviously important.
On the topic of veterans Sandy looked terrific running a ton of laps today too. Zac Dawson is also looking really fit. Hopefully Ill meet up with you when the squad comes back January 4.

Pav was brilliant today and you wouldn't believe he is 34 on 31 December.

He had a great session but one of the standout things he did was in the earlier of the forwards specialist sessions Pav turned after receiving the ball and in one action moving at speed he kicked a banana goal as good a goal that you would see. That received a "Good Onya Pav" in a collective cheer from the regular oldies sitting under the Clubhouse Verandah.

He came out at the end of training from within the changerooms with a smile on his face and was happy to sign jumpers and copies of his book for the supporters gathered their. He must have felt happy within himself about how well he went in what was quite a hot day for intensive training.

As I am usually at work and rely on others to give me my footy fix, I made the effort on my first day of leave to go to training, so I could give a report.

I have not looked at any other reports so please forgive any duplication of comment.

What struck me the most was the total professionalism of the training and all the players. It was almost difficult to pick the rookies from the regulars due to how well drilled they all are already. There was no slacking of, in fact according to some of the people I was with this was one of the longest and most intense sessions.

Skills were good and ball movement a feature. The standouts for mine were Connor Blakely and Son Son. What I loved about Connor was his great hands in the high intensity "keepy off" drills. Just didn't miss a target and has such a great feel for the best option all the time.

I have heard that Son Son had leadership potential and now I know why, he was the most impressive worker, the hardest worker and kept imploring his team mates to keep working, go harder. He will be in the leader ship group this year, could even imagine him as Captain one day - impressive.

Light duties was Fyfe, who looks great and was itching to get into proper training, Deluca, Silvagni, Yarren, Balic.
Balic is not using his wrist at all and even has a member of staff marking the ball for him!! But is a super impressive size and oozes something special.

Super light duties was Bennell, who did not looked hampered but was taking it very easy and Apeness. I got down to the boundary when Apeness was doing some run through and the support staff were in deep conversation about his progress and how he is still different in his take off and landing depending on his left or right side. Needs a lot of work still and confidence building.

Yarren is two thousand miles away from playing at the same intensity as Mayne and co and I strongly suggest that expectations need to be tempered.

For those who need the negatives, Taberner just appears to be a mark and kick footballer only with no real smarts and terrible in the close in handball drills, just picks the wrong option.

The old guys looked in good shape with Pav looking as good as ever along with Johnson who looks to be running freely. Great numbers on the field, not sure of anyone missing.

We are fit and available, very professional and I have no reason to believe that we would not be very competitive again this year.

Got into the car and suffered third degree burns to hands and bum

I had some fun in the sun. I won't do a report as others have given theirs. I totally agree on Morra. He's is impeccable condition.

Harley and Fyfe looks like they'll be right to go after the break.

Alex Pearce is huge and will be stronger this season. He's really focused on his set program.

Balic has a great running style and others have said he glides. I have seen him in drills when he wasn't doing his running program and he knows where to be and how to execute. A mate of mine from over in Vic can't believe we picked him when we did because if it wasn't for his hand injury which shouldn't matter he believes would have been top 20.

That was a huge session wasn't it? I was exhausted by the end of it or at least my butt was after 3 hours on the terraces. There was a WAFL game either last year or early this year where they threw a few beanbags on the concrete for the supporters, they need to do that again. How good would it be to sit on a beanbag under the fig trees?
A solid "well played" to the WAFL watchers this year, Nyhuis is everything that they have led is to believe. Hurley has lost the deliberate drop action he used to have, looks quite natural with his kicking now.
I was a little surprised to hear the mids using the points of the compass to direct the rucks in the tap drills, I thought they always used the hours on the clock with midday being the goals to which you were kicking. I heard Langdon call "south east" to Griff in one drill that would get confusing in the home and away wouldn't it? I thought griff was "the man" today but I guess that's not surprising with Sandi running laps and Zac in rehab. Balic has a mature physique for a young lad. Was AP out there today? It's a bit hard to tell with all those caps and sunscreen. It warms the cockles of my heart to see mora moving freely, at the risk of copping a shellacking from his dad, salim malik, he needs to work on his kicking though, it was a bit loopy compared to many of the others (ducking for cover now ;))
Hale is a revelation. He seemed to me to be the most vocal of the coaches and did a lot of one on one coaching, seems like a great pickup.
It sure is good to have some footy back, even if it is just PST. Looking forward to Jan 4.

Great observations, as always. Hurley really has improved his kicking. I was at his first session where his kicking was understandably horrible. He can know seriously roost a football. Im really hopeful by the end of this season he will surpass Tabs and Apeness and be viewed as our No 1 young key forward. He has all the tools.

it was a wonderful morning at Freo Oval. I got there before the lads came out so went over to the markets for breakfast and a coffee. Returning to the ground with a spectacular long machiatto to wash down a bratwurst and sauerkraut I initially took up position in the old farts stand near the clubhouse but it was too crowed and noisy so I ambled around to the fig trees where a small contingent of BF was ensconced.

On the way I spend a bit of time behind the goals at the north side watching the defenders work and was surprised to see Morabito playing as the fullback in drills. I guess its something they take turns at but in all the time I watched Mora was the man starting the transition chains out of the goal square. I find it a little odd really that they seem to be grooming him as a defender. Perhaps they want him running in one direction as much as possible but I would have thought he'd make a handy half forward. Still the idea of him barnstorming off half back and hoofing it 60M is not an unattractive idea. Other than Mora Tanner looked pretty lively (he's a big lad) and I thought Ibbo and MJ look in ripping nick. Ibbo has become such a class act.

I confess I spent most of my time talking today, there was a big group of us eventually and it seemed like a social sort of day but out on the track the boys were flogged solidly for at least 2 hours and were still at it when I left.
Some things I noticed in between the gabfest.

  • Balic has a lovely build and just glides over the ground. Comparison was made with both Hill and Pendlebury in terms of the way he moves.
  • I was pleasantly surprised by how well DeBoer kicked the ball toward forwards. He seems to have gotten his kicks flatter.
  • Fyfe is just huge and looks weird with small hair.
  • Hurley looking more and more like a footballer.
  • Walters is amazing but this is not news.
  • Good to see Blakely and Weller in the thick of the mid group drills. Blakely in particular looks incredibly sharp & focused. I'll be very surprised if we don't see a lot more of him next year.
  • Crozier looks significantly bigger and is right in the thick of things.
  • Tucker looks like a pro already. Very clean and tidy.
  • I actually liked what I saw from Taberner today. He's starting to get a bit more assertive in his movement, looking less like a deer in the headlights. He took some nice marks out in front of his body on the lead.
  • Clancee has an air of quiet determination, Mz was active. I'm sure these guys know they have a job in front of them to get selected this year.

Overall a very impressive session, very focused on skills and ball movement. I really think this is the best squad we've ever had in terms of depth. Its so hard to imagine how we are going to fit in all the players that deserve a chance. Great to see everyone today.

It was a wonderful morning on terraces beneath the swaying Morton Bay Fig Trees over by the prison wall. The viewing verandah was packed, even without the usual media contingent there blocking everyone's path and view of training.

E Shed turned up with a fresh punnet of local cherries for everyone, but when it was discovered that he didn't bring any vanilla slices or sausage rolls as well he was quickly spurned and chastised by the other training watchers.

This was a mammoth training session of 2 and a half hours in the heat. We had the entire squad out there at various stages of the day, however Zac Clarke and Alex Pearce spent most of the day in the gym, as did Cam Sutcliffe, Sandi, Shane Yarran and Harley Bennell who appeared occasionally to run a few laps here and there.

Nat Fyfe just ran laps as well with a very mall top knot, so I think he may of had a hair cut.

I even heard that Josh Deluca made a brief appearance earlier, as did Michael Apeness.

I am still trying to learn who the new players are, so thanks to JMT and Gaskin for helping me out there, but It appears to me that many players have been assigned fitness building programs rather than be allowed to train with the main squad.

Collins is all class, so I am going to call him the "Collins Class Submarine" from now on.

Today we had two groups out there, the red bibs and the no bibs. This meant full ground drills from end to end in what could only be described as full match simulation training, which is strange so early into the preseason.

Chris Mayne is literally training like Chris Masten on steroids, and Ballas and Sonny are both training like eager young 17 year old kids.

Danyle Pearce was hitting all targets by foot and Ed Langdon is really impressing me, as is Mora who must be close to being the one to fill the last spot on the senior list.

Connor Blakely and Lachie Weller are also training well, so is Lachie Neale.

If anyone thought that Pav would be taking it easy leading up to Christmas, think again. He did as much as anyone today and didn't show any signs of tiring in the heat.

The ball movement from the backline through the centre of the ground then into the forward line was poetry in motion. Then at end the end of training Ross had a long chat with Chris Mayne out in the middle of the field.

The boys all then left the ground at about 11.40am to a large crowd of waiting autograph hunters.

A lively discussion about Jon Griffin on the terraces became very heated at one stage and quickly developed into a near all - in brawl. Luckily though that when training was finished, the brawling training watchers soon realised that nothing was being accomplished and the sound of a glass bottle being smashed against the scoreboard was enough to send the brawlers out into the car park.

Hands were shaken through clenched teeth as the festive spirt began to shine though, albeit through clouds of angst and divided opinion.

But after the fists had stopped being shaken towards each other from across the car park we then hit the Norfolk for a few beers followed by lunch at Pizza Bella Roma.

Yes a Merry Christmas to us all.

Great report!

Can confirm that DeLuca did a lot of running and looks ready to move to the main group. Apeness still looks no where near the rest and is been followed by a team of rehab staff.

Agree that Mayne was mighty in his training and those that think Yarren (who is only training very moderately with a heavy knee bandage) will be replacing him are way off the mark.

The above has been said before. However, it is hard to be critical when players are running their guts out and then practicing kicking without full tackling pressure.

The only things (interms of negative) I can think of are what is mentioned in the regular season write ups. Things like:
Grey still needs to work on his kicking or Barlow's kicks are way too up and under compared to most players. Tanner Smith has improved his kicking significantly, but could still further improve. A.Pearce still needs to put on some more muscle, which he is in the process of doing. Neale struggles kicking with the non preferred. Ballas fumbles too much and Dawson is not a good kick. Also, like has been mentioned Tabs struggles in awareness and in close activities. It could also be said that Danyle Peatce's kicking is truly elitel in training sessions, so his inability to transfer his near perfect kicking technique to real games (at times) is a tad disappointing.

Im just not sure what is achieved by pointing out deficiencies that keen followers of our team would already be aware of. In the past few season there has been an obvious scapegoat (player training badly Eg, Moller, Simpson or Sylvia) to be identified. That is not the case this year.

Just for the record if you ever have a look at the Eagles board they eat their own like no other team. Their opinion on Jetta is a prime example.

One thing I noticed from training yesterday was that Sutcliffe drilled a few left foot passes during drills. I really would like to see him delivering the ball inside 50 more often and I think that he is sometimes wasted in defense. Mora did look very good, even though his kicking can be all over the place. Nyhuis certainly did look like he belonged, he just cruised through training. Uebergang didn't look out of place either and his kicking was neat throughout the session. Tanner Smith has improved in a lot of areas - particularly his kicking - although, it will never be a strength of his. Ed Langdon seemed to be the last receiver in a lot of the stoppage drills. He, Weller and Blakely all look like they will be thereabouts this season.

Yep I'm with you on that. He has so much flair when he plays, he stands out among the pack & just works all day.

A couple things that people haven't mentioned that I found interesting from yesterday's training:
More than once during the session Pav was playing defence on Tabs
We've got the better Weller, and the better Langdon
Mora is tthd. He's a super talent that I really hope we get to see more of
Bennell & Yarran are doing a fair bit of their training together. Towards the end of the session they were over the far side of the oval shooting at goal together 40-45 out & doing a beautiful job. On the way back to the clubrooms they both had a snap shot about 50 out from outside the boundary line & they both went through.

I know people want even training reports, including who's not doing well, but in all honestly, everyone's reports have been really accurate. Don't forget we had a fairly big clean out at the end of the year so all that bottom end talent is gone. And we have drafted pretty darn well over the past two years. Sure we could say that Ueber's & co's not best 22 yet - but no one expects him to be best 22 yet. Everyone's at least performing at the level they should be or higher.

There's a few major stand-outs in the group that seem to train a level higher, really really elite, but they're who you'd expect. The major stand out for me is Neale. Last year he was training well, but this year he just looks so natural & elite. Look out for a really special 2016 from him.

The only real negative for me is the size of our rehab group. There's quite a few more players in it than you'd want this time of year.
Fyfe is doing a lot of running - but little hard running. And they haven't let him kick much further than 30m so far - whether it be at goal or just a kick to kick.

There was one passage of play during the match sims on Monday when Morra was taking the kick in after the opposing side had kicked a behind at the southern end of the ground. He took the safe option and hit up the spare man (Danyle Pearce) 15 metres away deep in the back pocket on the prison side of the ground.

Danyle then kicked the ball perfectly to Michael Johnson standing at the top of the 50m arc who then gave off a handball to a running player who just blistered with pace through the centre of the ground driving the ball lace out to Pav in the forward 50m arc.

Can anyone guess who that running player was?

Yes stop guessing everyone, it was in fact Mora.

Great to read too that I wasn't dreaming and that this passage of play was actually witnessed by other over optimistic training watchers who were down there too.

Unfortunately though no houses were seen collapsing during this time and we all must now sit back and wait for Mora to once again do another knee or simply fade away into obscurity in the seconds at Peel.

A Miserable Christmas to everyone. I'm off to piss in the punchbowl at my work Christmas do.

I would like to echo what Sheriff mentioned before in the top trainers.

Both Griffen and Sandi look terrific. With Zarke still in rehab both Sandi and Griff will hopefully work well together.

I'm not sure if teams will go with one ruck now that the sub rule has finished. If so Griffen will most likely not play.
 
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4th of January 2016 - Back pain... hmm (Page 59 to 60)

Well purple freaks it's 8.45 & while Hill is belting out effortless laps Fyfe is running end to ends. No training today but seeing Fyfe moving effortlessly was worth the walk down.


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had a chat with the groundskeeper who said the players are doing a 3k off-site tomorrow and full training at Freo Oval resumes Friday.
Just to elaborate on my earlier post Fyfe was already running when I got there about just after 8.30. He did a bit of kick to kick with a trainer and then proceeded to punch out a series of timed zig zag runs starting at one end of the ground running to the wing, laterally to the other wing and then to the goals. He was looking at his watch and pumping them out. He was sweating buckets and not just ambling around out there.

Hill meanwhile ran about a million laps and looked like he could have done the crossword while covering the ground like a gazelle.
 
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