News 2015 preseason training news and updates

[manboob]

We should take a moment to recognize and celebrate that Tom Hawkins is looking fit, trim and healthy.

You don't have to tell me twice!

 

[manboob]

Clark started his off pre-season training first for the team, been apparently hitting it hard since he joined us. You get the feeling he's going to pay us back big time if he can stay out there.

******* oath. I haven't been this excited for a long time. If nothing else he truly takes the second defender. But he'll be more than that. Put him down for 50 goals.

 

[The rabbi]

I shouldn't get so excited about seeing pics containing buff young men, but I seem to do so every year in late Jan/early Feb! I swear that I'm otherwise heterosexual....

Clearly your inner gay man is starting to manifest himself.

 

[ChookNorris]

In your defense it would have been hard to see him if he was in the rooms

Slightly lazy to be honest, i assumed he was still on the gold coast so didnt even look for him.

 

[you pick one]

Slightly lazy to be honest, i assumed he was still on the gold coast so didnt even look for him.

Pitty, could have asked him if he bought anything at the yearling sales on the Gold Coast.

 

[GFrost]

Stevie J: (more in video interview)...

“From a player’s perspective we don’t really talk about the rebuilding.” Johnson said.
“If we have mentioned it in the past, it is in the past, this year we see ourselves as a genuine chance to contend again.”
“Last year during the home and away season we won as many games as any other team,” he said. ”I think there was some inconsistent games throughout the season which we were lucky to win but that’s due to a lack of experience a little bit.“

Johnson also said his recovery is positive after being sent to the Gold Coast by the club after experiencing foot soreness.
“It’s coming along alright, I just had a little bit of soreness a week and a half ago in my foot.” Johnson told Mooney.
“It’s more precautionary that I take a bit of time off and then build up again.”

http://www.geelongcats.com.au/news/2015-01-23/were-here-to-contend

 

[meto]

me too , its the spot I think of his best chance. Ive seen him break away from a pack situation in the VFL , and it looked good. He need to think of the ball as a hot spud.

Smedts coming good and going through the midfield would mean plenty when it comes to midfield depth, as long as he doesn't just slap the ball onto his foot willy-nilly and butcher the ball.
I remember the day he took two consecutive marks within a minute over big boy McAvoy at full stretch, not a bad feat for a guy 189cm, just hope he can reinvent his role and confidence.

 

[Turbocat]

Smedts coming good and going through the midfield would mean plenty when it comes to midfield depth, as long as he doesn't just slap the ball onto his foot willy-nilly and butcher the ball.
I remember the day he took two consecutive marks within a minute over big boy McAvoy at full stretch, not a bad feat for a guy 189cm, just hope he can reinvent his role and confidence.

Have a look at the highlights of Gore in the u18's , its a good example of not trying to be too precise and just keeping it moving. With Smedts , Id want much the same . Inside the pack just scrub it out if need be but look for the outside player for the hand pass as option1. If he can break away from the pack , do so and hand pass or kick to the first option but dont overly concern oneself with neatness at the start , just move it on. Time is critical. If he has the ball and runs free..here is Smedts in the dangerzone , time to think ..but id prefer him to go long to the first tall he sees or the best option as long as its done quickly. After all , if we have Hawkins, Clark, Stanley , Kersten and whoever else ..they have the talent to win more often than most 1o1 , just get the ball to them.

Then once he has set his game style gradually add finesse. He is a good size , strong , has pace and high end agility . He should be able get the ball out enough to hold his spot. Then if he has a tank , run and pick up the easier possessions but when he does again do not mess with it. If in doubt , or he feels under the pump..long to the boundary and reset. Let the confidence build and soon he will give more , im sure of it.

 

[sauron256]

Stevie J: (more in video interview)...




http://www.geelongcats.com.au/news/2015-01-23/were-here-to-contend

I love how they pretty much go through the talking points on this board right now! Injuries, which young guys will step up, Clark, Cockatoo, and the Dangerfield rumours among them.

 

[meto]

Have a look at the highlights of Gore in the u18's , its a good example of not trying to be too precise and just keeping it moving. With Smedts , Id want much the same . Inside the pack just scrub it out if need be but look for the outside player for the hand pass as option1. If he can break away from the pack , do so and hand pass or kick to the first option but dont overly concern oneself with neatness at the start , just move it on. Time is critical. If he has the ball and runs free..here is Smedts in the dangerzone , time to think ..but id prefer him to go long to the first tall he sees or the best option as long as its done quickly. After all , if we have Hawkins, Clark, Stanley , Kersten and whoever else ..they have the talent to win more often than most 1o1 , just get the ball to them.

Then once he has set his game style gradually add finesse. He is a good size , strong , has pace and high end agility . He should be able get the ball out enough to hold his spot. Then if he has a tank , run and pick up the easier possessions but when he does again do not mess with it. If in doubt , or he feels under the pump..long to the boundary and reset. Let the confidence build and soon he will give more , im sure of it.

I see him more inside than outside but he does possess a high level of agility, so he can be clever in traffic no doubt. I don't think he's of the mindset to make a quality defender and he sort of over possesses as a forward, brings himself undone sometimes.

I reckon you're right Billie could be back and is enjoying a superb pre-season. I'm a big fan of Gore, if you remember I was pumping up his tyres before the draft so I'm keen to see him make quick progress and justify his selection.

 

[Bobby_]

I love how they pretty much go through the talking points on this board right now! Injuries, which young guys will step up, Clark, Cockatoo, and the Dangerfield rumours among them.

and interesting to hear Johnson speak of the injuries as some on here believe it's an excuse to do so.

 

[ATSAM]

I seem to remember Smedts snatching the ball in our goal square, from some Hawthorn player trying to run it out, in the game in which Hawkins wins with the goal after the siren. If my memory is right Smedts was pivotal in that win as he passed it to Hawkins who kicked a goal and we were right back in it.

 

[you pick one]

Have a look at the highlights of Gore in the u18's , its a good example of not trying to be too precise and just keeping it moving. With Smedts , Id want much the same . Inside the pack just scrub it out if need be but look for the outside player for the hand pass as option1. If he can break away from the pack , do so and hand pass or kick to the first option but dont overly concern oneself with neatness at the start , just move it on. Time is critical. If he has the ball and runs free..here is Smedts in the dangerzone , time to think ..but id prefer him to go long to the first tall he sees or the best option as long as its done quickly. After all , if we have Hawkins, Clark, Stanley , Kersten and whoever else ..they have the talent to win more often than most 1o1 , just get the ball to them.

Then once he has set his game style gradually add finesse. He is a good size , strong , has pace and high end agility . He should be able get the ball out enough to hold his spot. Then if he has a tank , run and pick up the easier possessions but when he does again do not mess with it. If in doubt , or he feels under the pump..long to the boundary and reset. Let the confidence build and soon he will give more , im sure of it.

I don't think conservative is Billies game,he was a first rd draft pick because he took the game and opponents on and we could use another one like that at present, and a slightly older and fitter Smedts I hope can brake through this year, but he will only do it playing his natural game, if he has to think about it he's F---ed.

 

[WaxiesDargle]

Smedts coming good and going through the midfield would mean plenty when it comes to midfield depth, as long as he doesn't just slap the ball onto his foot willy-nilly and butcher the ball.
I remember the day he took two consecutive marks within a minute over big boy McAvoy at full stretch, not a bad feat for a guy 189cm, just hope he can reinvent his role and confidence.

Yeah I think this sums up Smedts in a nut shell. Has shown glimpses of what he's capable of but then a minute later will Butcher the ball or put himself under pressure and cough it up. He teases us with some brilliant bits of play, then frustrates the hell out of us with some really basic errors. Sounds as though he is training really well and hopefully the penny will drop. He hasn't had a really consistent run at it with injuries and also hasn't been given a chance to settle into one position. He had opportunities last year at half back but it seemed as though he was a bit overwhelmed and needed more time to adapt. He played some good footy in the VFL in that position late last year so I believe he's capable but probably needs a good chunk of injury free footy to learn his particular role and settle into it (whether thats down back, through the middle or up forward). If he can do the basic things right and build up a bit of confidence I still believe he has an AFL career ahead of him.
I think he's biggest problem is that when he moves in the senior side he looks a little overwhelmed and panics. It's something that can be expected from younger players so hopefully with a bit more experience it will click for him and he will feel comfortable at AFL level an can grow from there.

 

[Turbocat]

I don't think conservative is Billies game,he was a first rd draft pick because he took the game and opponents on and we could use another one like that at present, and a slightly older and fitter Smedts I hope can brake through this year, but he will only do it playing his natural game, if he has to think about it he's F---ed.

Once picked its almost unimportant what R they were picked , its only a ref to how good they were playing u18's. Almost.. cause there will always be more expectation from an earlier pick. But so far his "natural" game has him trying to run around players and get caught , so hopefully he can still be aggressive and offensive but balance that with a bit in game learning

 

[meto]

Yeah I think this sums up Smedts in a nut shell. Has shown glimpses of what he's capable of but then a minute later will Butcher the ball or put himself under pressure and cough it up. He teases us with some brilliant bits of play, then frustrates the hell out of us with some really basic errors. Sounds as though he is training really well and hopefully the penny will drop. He hasn't had a really consistent run at it with injuries and also hasn't been given a chance to settle into one position. He had opportunities last year at half back but it seemed as though he was a bit overwhelmed and needed more time to adapt. He played some good footy in the VFL in that position late last year so I believe he's capable but probably needs a good chunk of injury free footy to learn his particular role and settle into it (whether thats down back, through the middle or up forward). If he can do the basic things right and build up a bit of confidence I still believe he has an AFL career ahead of him.
I think he's biggest problem is that when he moves in the senior side he looks a little overwhelmed and panics. It's something that can be expected from younger players so hopefully with a bit more experience it will click for him and he will feel comfortable at AFL level an can grow from there.

I thought midfield would be good because he'd find some space to work through, just don't like him trying to play a responsibility role down back, he's a flair player who needs room.

 

[Strangled Cat]

Clearly your inner gay man is starting to manifest himself.

There's a reason why I chose to learn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu over any other martial arts all those years ago!

 

[The rabbi]

There's a reason why I chose to learn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu over any other martial arts all those years ago!

Now I know why you always tried to get my back so early in a grapple.

 

[Stan The Caddy]

Now I know why you always tried to get my back so early in a grapple.

The candles by his bedside didn't give it away?

 

[Jon Douglas]

I see him more inside than outside but he does possess a high level of agility, so he can be clever in traffic no doubt. I don't think he's of the mindset to make a quality defender and he sort of over possesses as a forward, brings himself undone sometimes.

I reckon you're right Billie could be back and is enjoying a superb pre-season. I'm a big fan of Gore, if you remember I was pumping up his tyres before the draft so I'm keen to see him make quick progress and justify his selection.

Well that is good to read. There is now 69 pages of posts (I think a few are a bit bored waiting for the NAB Cup to start) here - so I could easily have missed a lot of the pre-season news.

As I have written earlier for me if Billy turns it on wow that would be a bonus (in that I thought he had been caught by maybe 4 youngsters vying for a possie in the 22).

GFC if it can generate a bonus or two - like Clark or Stanley or Blease doing something and we get back one of the LTI players - like Menzel, Cowan, Simpson or Vardy - they could be ok this season. That was what I was thinking but if Billie starts to really show his footy skills consistently - than that would do as well.

We just need a bit more run, structure (CHF), a few more clearances (mids) and class to be a real threat IMO. Not expecting that this year more 2016. But if we get players like these start playing good footy - we start to make headway with the teams above us.

 

[Turbocat]

Well that is good to read. There is now 69 pages of posts (I think a few are a bit bored waiting for the NAB Cup to start) here - so I could easily have missed a lot of the pre-season news.

As I have written earlier for me if Billy turns it on wow that would be a bonus (in that I thought he had been caught by maybe 4 youngsters vying for a possie in the 22).

GFC if it can generate a bonus or two - like Clark or Stanley or Blease doing something and we get back one of the LTI players - like Menzel, Cowan, Simpson or Vardy - they could be ok this season. That was what I was thinking but if Billie starts to really show his footy skills consistently - than that would do as well.

We just need a bit more run, structure (CHF), a few more clearances (mids) and class to be a real threat IMO. Not expecting that this year more 2016. But if we get players like these start playing good footy - we start to make headway with the teams above us.

We just need.... a goal differential two goals to the better. If we can add that we a lot better , add 280 points to our "for" column and it make a huge differnce

 

[The rabbi]

The candles by his bedside didn't give it away?

No, but I was somewhat perturbed by seeing the photos of me on his bedside tables.

 

[The rabbi]

Well that is good to read. There is now 69 pages of posts (I think a few are a bit bored waiting for the NAB Cup to start) here - so I could easily have missed a lot of the pre-season news.

As I have written earlier for me if Billy turns it on wow that would be a bonus (in that I thought he had been caught by maybe 4 youngsters vying for a possie in the 22).

GFC if it can generate a bonus or two - like Clark or Stanley or Blease doing something and we get back one of the LTI players - like Menzel, Cowan, Simpson or Vardy - they could be ok this season. That was what I was thinking but if Billie starts to really show his footy skills consistently - than that would do as well.

We just need a bit more run, structure (CHF), a few more clearances (mids) and class to be a real threat IMO. Not expecting that this year more 2016. But if we get players like these start playing good footy - we start to make headway with the teams above us.

I cannot help but think that we really need kids like JJ. Hartman, Lang and JK to push through this year. Too many recruits have failed to establish themselves as AFL players in the last 1/2 dozen years or so.

 

[Stan The Caddy]

No, but I was somewhat perturbed by seeing the photos of me on his bedside tables.

Imagine how his wife must have felt when she saw them!

 

[Teriyakicat]

Awww- you guys make me laugh!!