Pre-season training. Bring it on!

[Cap]

Someone better be reporting! Now I'm off to the beach. No real relivence in this post, I just wanted to brag as I'm finished work for the year.....sorry*


*not sorry

surely this deserves a red card for deliberate derailment of the thread ....

 

[Allefgib]

Hanging out for the chance to get the girls down the beach - roll on Friday afternoon already!

 

[Glenno23]

You see, this is the problem with you morning people, you're perspective is all skewed. I don't want to read about how good mornings are, and how good we think they will be, I need something objective.

The board was much better a couple of years ago before all you lot came on here, we just had mornings, we didn't know if they were good or not until the afternoon.

Frankly, it's too early to judge.

Post deserves a quote

 

[WALL-e]

Hanging out for the chance to get the girls down the beach - roll on Friday afternoon already!

hehe, me too, but for different reasons.

Roll on having a puppy

 

[betterthanu]

Saw Tom Harley down there watching over training. Was there to catch up with Sando and Milburn i heard him mention. I was pretty surprised to see how big Lewis Johnstone is as well. Massive unit.

 

[AdelaideFan14]

Is the cafe open?

 

[Mad Fan of AFL]

Saw Tom Harley down there watching over training. Was there to catch up with Sando and Milburn i heard him mention. I was pretty surprised to see how big Lewis Johnstone is as well. Massive unit.

It's a pitty they see Lewis as a 3rd tall in defence for us. Him and Walker would have to be the most natural forwards at our club. I am sure i will see them in the same forward line together at some stage.

 

[TheTonic]

Was there for the first hour and a bit and got there just as they were finishing the 5 minute run... VB was leading the way with the new rookie McIntye being urged on to try and catch him... looked spent.

General observations are that the players are growing into their bodies with special mentions going to Richard Douglas, James Craig and Josh Jenkins who is a unit.

Saw a bit of who I think was Ben Dowdell... who looked like he was struggling physically with the running (lots of walking) ... and contributing in the drills generally. His kicking action is not too bad though... but he still looks like he's learning the game.

Player doing their own thing were:

Chris Knights, Ricky Henderson, James Craig (huge unit), Josh Jenkins (huge unit), Daniel Talia (lots of laps and sizeable), Young and that's about it... didn't notice Bernie Vince, The ranger from St Kilda or Otten out there.

I did notice Brad Crouch joining in the drills. Looks like his still getting to know his team mates... is very unassuming, lacks a bit of voice but is still a bit off the pace in terms of doing the drills at 100% intensity but he does all the things we love footy players to be able to do really well... picking up the loose ball, kicking, handball... got a very nice shimmy and has good balance kicking off one step under pressure.

Dangerfield was having a rough session when I was there... couldn't do anything right was ineffective in the forwards drill where Darren Milburn would create a loose ball contest about 50m out from goal and bibs vs non bibs had to generate a scoring opportunity.

Also saw a fair bit of Dean Bailey who was running the session really well... had a big loud voice... and was talking to the players non stop issuing instructions before during and after drills.

Anyways that's my brain dump from the session for what it's worth.

 

[Crow-eater]

 

[Crow-eater]

Porplyzia

 

[Chief Crow]

My quick report

Not alot to post about that hasn't been mentioned before so I will give my personal view on some players.

Players I didn't notice were Sam Kerridge, Luke Brown, Ben Rutten, Aiden Riley and Sam Martyn.
Players on restricted duties that I saw were Ricky Henderson, Josh Jenkins, Chris Knights, Daniel Talia, James Craig, Will Young.

Brad Crouch - For a 17 year old he does not hold back. I saw him dive into contests without any hesitation and he seems to have alot of time in congestion. He creates this time by side stepping or twisting away from opponents. His kicking is beautiful but can rush himself once he is free and sometimes turn the ball over.

Ben Dowdell - Really impressed with his development in such a short time. When he does something well the whole team really encourage him. At the start of training (after warm up) the players ran 2X 5min runs. The 1st he was lagging at the back of the pack but the 2nd run he pushed himself and came mid pack. Kicking action seems good and was hitting targets with ease.

Tim McIntyre - Standout for me today. In the 5min runs he was up the front and finshed 3rd behind Danger (1st) and VB (2nd). Nearly beat VB in the 2nd run. He also looked good in the simulation drills and is a very good tackler.

Mitch Grigg - I think he could play round 1 off a HBF. His kicking is sublime and I don't recall seeing him miss a target by foot.

Lewis Johnston - Seems to be a good 1 on 1 player and was out marking opponents with good body work and footy smarts. I can see why they want him as a 3rd tall defender as his kicking is a weapon coming out defence. He was doing kick outs from points too.

Tom Lynch - Similar to LJ that he looks to be good 1 on 1 and has a great kick.

Some noticable positional lineups
Taylor Walker - Midfield, Forward
Richard Tambling - Midfield, Back
Patrick Dangerfield - Forward, Midfield, Half Back
Cam Ellis-Yolman - Back
David McKay - Midfield, Half Back
Brad Crouch - Midfield, forward

 

[Crowfoot]

Thanks for the reports. I was planning on taking the kids down today but one of them woke up sick.

Aidan is cruisin' atm:

Aidan Riley
Heading off to NZ this morning to jump on a cruise ship to meet up with all the family. Can't wait to get on board!!

 

[Lawrst]

Thanks for the reports guys, how does smith look out there? and Callinan?

 

[Freddy Bassett]

Great report guys, much appreciated!

Chief Crow, you mentioned Grigg could play round 1? How did his pace look? Is he miles off the pace?

 

[Jetwa5h]

I was also there today all be it a bit late. (Was the poor bugger with three of my own kids and one ring in). My first impression was that Rory seems to have bulked up huge amounts across the shoulders and is still very vocal and in everything. During the competitive work I got a little excited about Porps being involved with everything and even layed a few tackles plus seems to have not lost any of his smoothness. Watched crouch a bit today he is going to be good very clean inside and as previously mentioned seems to have a bucket of time. Grigg also impressed me today again seems to be able to make time for himself and hit targets witch makes up for his lack of speed. Interestingly though my observations of johnstone were a little different I thought he was a natural forward but didnt like playing accountable defence would be better playing a Nick Maxwell type of role. At the start of training the defenders must draw straws or have a roster on who is going to man up Kurt because he gets very physical with whoever mans him up and he is a monster of a man Lewis copped him a bit today. Interestingly Kurt looked to operating through the CHF midfield a lot today. My only downers today was Bling looked slow at one point he was manned up on Porps and couldnt stay with him. The other was Smack he always looks like he is going in slow motion, has moments of brilliance that we know is there then fades, the interesting thing with smack was when i inquired about wether he struggled to bulk up like the rest was told smack does mainly aerobic type training. Anyway they were my limited obs whilst trying to control 4 kids and also aplogise for the layout im.doing this on my mobile.

Edit. O Wall e i finished last friday and have 2 years of work on full pay to go to tafe

 

[Coopers]

Where are the rest of my reports?

What am I paying you lot for?

 

[Chief Crow]

Great report guys, much appreciated!

Chief Crow, you mentioned Grigg could play round 1? How did his pace look? Is he miles off the pace?

To be honest I didn't even take much notice of his pace. I say this because he must have a good footy brain and linked up with the play in space where his kicking done all the talking for him. Even when under close attention in drills he would give a little lob kick to the right option.

 

[Ticktak]

Thanks guys for all the reports so far. Very much appreciated!

Like that Danger was playing a bit off half back. Really hope that Sando plays him there at times throughout the year. Can't believe that the old coach never ever tried him there - actually there is a heap of things that I can't believe he did or never did.

Thanks again and thanks to the other 10 reports in advance

 

[Chief Crow]

Thanks for the reports guys, how does smith look out there? and Callinan?

Smith is one of those blokes who gets the job done without alot notice on the track. He has bulked up but I didn't follow him to closely today sorry.

Wingnut should play most games next year as a small forward (unless injured). He is the type of player Sando will love as he is a terrier. He done a beautiful run down from behind in one drill. His goal kicking is sensational. I do think he has a challenger in Tim McIntyre for that same position though.

 

[Mad Fan of AFL]

Porplyzia, Calinan and McIntyre are all 'tall' marking small forwards. Mabey Calinan and Wright slightly different in my opinion. Our genuine options as small forwards

 

[alex_is_on_fire]

Was there for the first hour and a bit and got there just as they were finishing the 5 minute run... VB was leading the way with the new rookie McIntye being urged on to try and catch him... looked spent.

General observations are that the players are growing into their bodies with special mentions going to Richard Douglas, James Craig and Josh Jenkins who is a unit.

Saw a bit of who I think was Ben Dowdell... who looked like he was struggling physically with the running (lots of walking) ... and contributing in the drills generally. His kicking action is not too bad though... but he still looks like he's learning the game.

Player doing their own thing were:

Chris Knights, Ricky Henderson, James Craig (huge unit), Josh Jenkins (huge unit), Daniel Talia (lots of laps and sizeable), Young and that's about it... didn't notice Bernie Vince, The ranger from St Kilda or Otten out there.

I did notice Brad Crouch joining in the drills. Looks like his still getting to know his team mates... is very unassuming, lacks a bit of voice but is still a bit off the pace in terms of doing the drills at 100% intensity but he does all the things we love footy players to be able to do really well... picking up the loose ball, kicking, handball... got a very nice shimmy and has good balance kicking off one step under pressure.

Dangerfield was having a rough session when I was there... couldn't do anything right was ineffective in the forwards drill where Darren Milburn would create a loose ball contest about 50m out from goal and bibs vs non bibs had to generate a scoring opportunity.

Also saw a fair bit of Dean Bailey who was running the session really well... had a big loud voice... and was talking to the players non stop issuing instructions before during and after drills.

Anyways that's my brain dump from the session for what it's worth.

My quick report

Not alot to post about that hasn't been mentioned before so I will give my personal view on some players.

Players I didn't notice were Sam Kerridge, Luke Brown, Ben Rutten, Aiden Riley and Sam Martyn.
Players on restricted duties that I saw were Ricky Henderson, Josh Jenkins, Chris Knights, Daniel Talia, James Craig, Will Young.

Brad Crouch - For a 17 year old he does not hold back. I saw him dive into contests without any hesitation and he seems to have alot of time in congestion. He creates this time by side stepping or twisting away from opponents. His kicking is beautiful but can rush himself once he is free and sometimes turn the ball over.

Ben Dowdell - Really impressed with his development in such a short time. When he does something well the whole team really encourage him. At the start of training (after warm up) the players ran 2X 5min runs. The 1st he was lagging at the back of the pack but the 2nd run he pushed himself and came mid pack. Kicking action seems good and was hitting targets with ease.

Tim McIntyre - Standout for me today. In the 5min runs he was up the front and finshed 3rd behind Danger (1st) and VB (2nd). Nearly beat VB in the 2nd run. He also looked good in the simulation drills and is a very good tackler.

Mitch Grigg - I think he could play round 1 off a HBF. His kicking is sublime and I don't recall seeing him miss a target by foot.

Lewis Johnston - Seems to be a good 1 on 1 player and was out marking opponents with good body work and footy smarts. I can see why they want him as a 3rd tall defender as his kicking is a weapon coming out defence. He was doing kick outs from points too.

Tom Lynch - Similar to LJ that he looks to be good 1 on 1 and has a great kick.

Some noticable positional lineups
Taylor Walker - Midfield, Forward
Richard Tambling - Midfield, Back
Patrick Dangerfield - Forward, Midfield, Half Back
Cam Ellis-Yolman - Back
David McKay - Midfield, Half Back
Brad Crouch - Midfield, forward

I was also there today all be it a bit late. (Was the poor bugger with three of my own kids and one ring in). My first impression was that Rory seems to have bulked up huge amounts across the shoulders and is still very vocal and in everything. During the competitive work I got a little excited about Porps being involved with everything and even layed a few tackles plus seems to have not lost any of his smoothness. Watched crouch a bit today he is going to be good very clean inside and as previously mentioned seems to have a bucket of time. Grigg also impressed me today again seems to be able to make time for himself and hit targets witch makes up for his lack of speed. Interestingly though my observations of johnstone were a little different I thought he was a natural forward but didnt like playing accountable defence would be better playing a Nick Maxwell type of role. At the start of training the defenders must draw straws or have a roster on who is going to man up Kurt because he gets very physical with whoever mans him up and he is a monster of a man Lewis copped him a bit today. Interestingly Kurt looked to operating through the CHF midfield a lot today. My only downers today was Bling looked slow at one point he was manned up on Porps and couldnt stay with him. The other was Smack he always looks like he is going in slow motion, has moments of brilliance that we know is there then fades, the interesting thing with smack was when i inquired about wether he struggled to bulk up like the rest was told smack does mainly aerobic type training. Anyway they were my limited obs whilst trying to control 4 kids and also aplogise for the layout im.doing this on my mobile.

Edit. O Wall e i finished last friday and have 2 years of work on full pay to go to tafe

Nice reports by all 3

These are how reports should be written. They gave us factual information regarding events that happened at training, they gave us information about what the players did during training, how they looked and most importantly, who was and wasn't there.

What they did not do was give us a prediction on how they are likely to go or who will be the big improver as we still don't know that information. You cannot make a statement regarding someone or something getting better when you have no date to correlate it against.

The AFL is a competitive based environment where you compete against an opponent, until you have the information where you can compere and contrast it against a direct opponent it becomes irrelevant.

Anyway - nice report guys.

 

[alex_is_on_fire]

I wonder where Alex is going on holiday? I hope he didnt take a travel agents advice. Their opinions tend to be biased and over hyped. If he wants an unbiased opinion, I can tell him of some really shit holiday spots, so he's not dissappointed.

Just kidding Alex. Hope you come back from holiday a little more chilled-out. Have fun...

You have it around the wrong way mate.

If I was to go to some Joe Smow on the street and ask for travel advice - I would be having and accepting someone uneducated and bias point of view. However, if I was to go to a travel agent, wouldn't I be accepting someone profession and expert opinion on the subject?

Last time I looked, these reports are (as much as we would love it to be) not written by any expert. When Sando, Bickley or co make a predication regarding how a player will perform, I may take that opinion on board as they are an expert.

 

[Wallace]

You have it around the wrong way mate.

If I was to go to some Joe Smow on the street and ask for travel advice - I would be having and accepting someone uneducated and bias point of view. However, if I was to go to a travel agent, wouldn't I be accepting someone profession and expert opinion on the subject?

Last time I looked, these reports are (as much as we would love it to be) not written by any expert. When Sando, Bickley or co make a predication regarding how a player will perform, I may take that opinion on board as they are an expert.

May I suggest a holiday destination that has no Internet access.

It will be like a holiday for us as well. Will be nice to read these excellent training reviews without wading through multiple wannabe mod posts from your good self.

 

[DirrtyBee]

Went along on my day off. Scored myself a tan and these babies!!!

 

[alex_is_on_fire]

May I suggest a holiday destination that has no Internet access.

It will be like a holiday for us as well. Will be nice to read these excellent training reviews without wading through multiple wannabe mod posts from your good self.

How about.....no.