Pre-Season 2015/16

[#gosaintas]

The chicken Little brigade is out in force today

 

[Loyal Sainter]

it comes from this..

Freeman suffers hamstring strain
St Kilda recruit Nathan Freeman has suffered a strain in his right hamstring.

9:12pm Dec 16, 2015

Saints confident Freeman can beat hamstring issues
St Kilda’s high performance team believe that with some technique alterations, talented midfield recruit Nathan Freeman can get on top of his hamstring problems once and for all and prosper at the elite leve

11:09am Dec 21, 2015

Saints get back to work
Off-season recruit Nathan Freeman trained away from the main group as he continues his rehabilitation program following a minor setback with his troublesome hamstring prior to the break.

Injury Update: Billings on track
Off-season recruit Nathan Freeman still remains a work in progress, with the highly-rated midfield prospect continuing the rehabilitation program for his troublesome hamstrings.

5:19pm Jan 27, 2016

Plus the Article from today saying that he is 2 weeks away from the main group. If yea read the article on the 16th of December it says that he will be back to full training after Christmas/New Year. Fast forward to almost middle of Feb and it looks as though he still wont be joining the main group up until the start of march.

Can you understand the negativity with the club always saying a week or 2 and its ballooned out to over 2 months already. Cant they just say he is indefinite and on a modified program instead always a week or 2 away. Not that hard really. Just gives us false hope.

I get the frustration. But I don't get the negativity towards the club for it. I'd understand the negativity if we rushed him like the Pies did and completely stuffed him up. But negativity towards the club for going week by week and doing what's in Freeman's best interest in the long run? No. I don't understand that at all.

 

[DarkSaint]

If you read the article today on afl.com.au richo clearly says he could play preseason games. It's the choice of coaches and medicos to not allow him too. That to me says the guy is fit. Billings in his interview says Freo is fit,the medicos are holding him back trying to make his hammy bullet proof

I did read the article just like i have read all the other ones. And to me if he COULD play in the pre season games then he would be joining the main group or already be in the main group not 2 weeks away as the article states.

 

[CursingFijian]

The club is doing the right thing. Undoubtedly. Carlisle and Freeman were this years big trades and we understand how the membership is keen to see them play soon. If Carlisle was still trotting about I think we would be a lot more patient with Freeman. But since Carlisle is out there is a real focus on Freeman and his hamstrings. The club would be feeling some pressure to get the balance between holding him back and parading him out. But we need to take the long term view, and get him ship shape before we subject his hamstrings to game loads...regardless of what the masses want.

 

[DarkSaint]

I get the frustration. But I don't get the negativity towards the club for it. I'd understand the negativity if we rushed him like the Pies did and completely stuffed him up. But negativity towards the club for going week by week and doing what's in Freeman's best interest in the long run? No. I don't understand that at all.

I dont want to rush the kid back, and to be honest if he spent the whole year training and not playing any games that would bother me at all. What does grind my gears about the club is how they report injuries in particular. Also a week or 2 away when for example last season Billings missed a month then had stress fractures. But they were reporting it for a month thats its soreness and he would be alright next week. I just wish they would say that we dont have a definite time frame of Freeman and leave it at that instead of 1 week here 2 weeks there.

 

[Barrels]

 

[stavro#4]

I dont want to rush the kid back, and to be honest if he spent the whole year training and not playing any games that would bother me at all. What does grind my gears about the club is how they report injuries in particular. Also a week or 2 away when for example last season Billings missed a month then had stress fractures. But they were reporting it for a month thats its soreness and he would be alright next week. I just wish they would say that we dont have a definite time frame of Freeman and leave it at that instead of 1 week here 2 weeks there.

Well you just got a timeline, no preseason games means he has 6 weeks for round 1 of the vfl

 

[DarkSaint]

Well you just got a timeline, no preseason games means he has 6 weeks for round 1 of the vfl

Well you'd hope so considering has has had 4 month of getting over a strain and being included in the main group.

 

[stavro#4]

Well you'd hope so considering has has had 4 month of getting over a strain and being included in the main group.

Look big fella,I'm not going to argue with you. It's to exhausting

 

[DarkSaint]

Look big fella,I'm not going to argue with you. It's to exhausting

Obv you have your opinion and i have mine on how the clubs reports on certain things, so we will leave it at that.

 

[Kildonan]

I don't think the club is trying to trick anybody with Freeman. If the medicos say that he should be ready to rejoin main group in a week and then he's not quite there in that timeframe then it gets pushed back.
Like Stavro said the medicos/physiologists/trainers/biomechanists etc etc have taken on Nathan as a unique project. What we need to do is train and conditions Nathan's body to a whole new way of moving and distributing energy. What the issue is/was is that his hamstrings were doing more heavy lifting than what they should because of various different factors.
To do this his body goes through a total re-program, other muscles are now doing the work they should have been doing originally. He needs time to get adjusted but I have no doubt he plays some senior footy this year and gets us all really excited for what he can achieve from 2017 on.
As much bad press as Nathan's "chronic" hamstring issues have had, keep in mind he's only done one serious tear in his debut season. Last year he had some serious scar tissue issues around the tendon from his original surgery which prevented him from extending fully or having and confidence in it. This year he had a sore spot, I wouldn't even say it was a strain. But because of his history we took the cautious approach.

This describes the issue nicely - Nathan is being carefully managed in order to ensure his career with us is as fruitful as possible.
No amount of pessimism will speed up his recovery, nor would optimism. Just try and be patient so that you don't stress the rest of us, please.

 

[Loyal Sainter]

On a positive note.. it's photo day! Loving the look of the Pepper Money logo on both the home and the away guernsey. Looks sharp.

 

[sammm]

Haven't heard of many 'minor strains' that keep people in the rehab group for 6 weeks. No doubt we're being cautious but if he's still '2 weeks away' that's 2 months for a strain, which I don't believe for a second.

the guy has been constantly injured for nearly 2 years.

the fact that that he is not fully training as yet, is only to be expected as he had another hanstring problem.

the saints have said from the get go, they will be conservative. lets just wait and see.

 

[FlyingSledghamer]

I actually wouldnt be upset if freeman started in the sandy 2s ... and then went on to win consecutive brownlows in 18 and 19.

 

[Smoke_Me_AKipper]

This describes the issue nicely - Nathan is being carefully managed in order to ensure his career with us is as fruitful as possible.
No amount of pessimism will speed up his recovery, nor would optimism. Just try and be patient so that you don't stress the rest of us, please.

Amen - we all know Freeman was a longer term project and that the club is being cautious in how they approach his training. I'm happy.

I still think about Luke Ball and to a lesser extent Kosi and what they both could have been if they were managed better through injuries....

 

[Armoooo]

Amen - we all know Freeman was a longer term project and that the club is being cautious in how they approach his training. I'm happy.

I still think about Luke Ball and to a lesser extent Kosi and what they both could have been if they were managed better through injuries....

Xavier Clarke also, could have been absolutely anything.

 

[Smoke_Me_AKipper]

Xavier Clarke also, could have been absolutely anything.

An even better example

what a great player he could have been

but back on topic - this shows that it is a good thing our medicos are being cautious....I'm very happy to wait for Freeman to play when the medicos feel he is ready. I hope he gets eased in too - start with a half of football and work his way up from there.

It's like the Carlisle situation - we don't need Carlisle until 2017/18/19 when we start to challenge. It's the same with Freeman...

 

[Moorabbin Ghost]

Why did Freeman leave Collingwood? A huge part of his decision was that he was forced back too soon from an injury which resulted in him subsequently missing nearly another whole season. We are doing the exact opposite which is the right thing to do by both the player and our club.
We rate Nathan as a blue chip investment and we will do whatever it takes to make sure that he's given the best opportunity to produce when we need him the most.
The supporters in here complaining that he's not back to full training would also be the first to question the club if he reinjured himself because he was rushed back.
We are playing the long game, let's give the club and the kid time to get to the required physical conditioning. And as of right now Nathan's hamstrings are in healthy condition, let's let the club do their best to keep it that way.

 

[George]

Amen

 

[Adam H]

Why did Freeman leave Collingwood? A huge part of his decision was that he was forced back too soon from an injury which resulted in him subsequently missing nearly another whole season. We are doing the exact opposite which is the right thing to do by both the player and our club.
We rate Nathan as a blue chip investment and we will do whatever it takes to make sure that he's given the best opportunity to produce when we need him the most.
The supporters in here complaining that he's not back to full training would also be the first to question the club if he reinjured himself because he was rushed back.
We are playing the long game, let's give the club and the kid time to get to the required physical conditioning. And as of right now Nathan's hamstrings are in healthy condition, let's let the club do their best to keep it that way.

Loving your work

 

[dct66]

There are a number of reasons why the club might be saying he is two weeks away. One is that it could be motivation for Freeman himself. They tell him that he has to stick to this particular program for the next fortnight then it will be reviewed to determine if he is ready to join the main group. That gets translated into two weeks when it goes out on social media and in the press. When he gets reviewed he still isn't ready or they just want to give it more time, so both player and club give it another two weeks for another review and so on. Now they have decided that rather than push him to play in the pre-season that pressure has been taken off him so he can continue the slowly-slowly program to get his hammy right.

Playing him too early hasn't worked in the past. The club is doing the right thing giving him the best chance to get in shape to play great footy.

 

[Winmar2Lockett]

it comes from this..

Freeman suffers hamstring strain
St Kilda recruit Nathan Freeman has suffered a strain in his right hamstring.

9:12pm Dec 16, 2015

Saints confident Freeman can beat hamstring issues
St Kilda’s high performance team believe that with some technique alterations, talented midfield recruit Nathan Freeman can get on top of his hamstring problems once and for all and prosper at the elite leve

11:09am Dec 21, 2015

Saints get back to work
Off-season recruit Nathan Freeman trained away from the main group as he continues his rehabilitation program following a minor setback with his troublesome hamstring prior to the break.

Injury Update: Billings on track
Off-season recruit Nathan Freeman still remains a work in progress, with the highly-rated midfield prospect continuing the rehabilitation program for his troublesome hamstrings.

5:19pm Jan 27, 2016

Plus the Article from today saying that he is 2 weeks away from the main group. If yea read the article on the 16th of December it says that he will be back to full training after Christmas/New Year. Fast forward to almost middle of Feb and it looks as though he still wont be joining the main group up until the start of march.

Can you understand the negativity with the club always saying a week or 2 and its ballooned out to over 2 months already. Cant they just say he is indefinite and on a modified program instead always a week or 2 away. Not that hard really. Just gives us false hope.

Can you point out where the club has stated 'he's 2 weeks away' outside of today? All that you have posted there suggests that the club has kept him on his program since December 16 & today has said that he'll join the main group for all training in a fortnight.

They haven't said '2 weeks' continually & it sounds like he's in full training with the exception of any match simulation stuff. Thus a somewhat conservative approach would you say?

They haven't said indefinite because he hasn't been assessed as indefinite!

 

[DarkSaint]

Can you point out where the club has stated 'he's 2 weeks away' outside of today? All that you have posted there suggests that the club has kept him on his program since December 16 & today has said that he'll join the main group for all training in a fortnight.

They haven't said '2 weeks' continually & it sounds like he's in full training with the exception of any match simulation stuff. Thus a somewhat conservative approach would you say?

They haven't said indefinite because he hasn't been assessed as indefinite!

If you look at all the articles that have been written and the video's out there, there have been numerous times that was stated that he is 1 or 2 weeks away from full training. Look it up yourself..

 

[DarkSaint]

Can you point out where the club has stated 'he's 2 weeks away' outside of today? All that you have posted there suggests that the club has kept him on his program since December 16 & today has said that he'll join the main group for all training in a fortnight.

They haven't said '2 weeks' continually & it sounds like he's in full training with the exception of any match simulation stuff. Thus a somewhat conservative approach would you say?

They haven't said indefinite because he hasn't been assessed as indefinite!

But fwi http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-ne...ite-new-hamstring-injury-20151219-glrixz.html

Can you point out where the club has stated 'he's 2 weeks away' outside of today? All that you have posted there suggests that the club has kept him on his program since December 16 & today has said that he'll join the main group for all training in a fortnight.

They haven't said '2 weeks' continually & it sounds like he's in full training with the exception of any match simulation stuff. Thus a somewhat conservative approach would you say?

They haven't said indefinite because he hasn't been assessed as indefinite!

This is one for you... December 21st

Saints confident Freeman can beat hamstring issues

St Kilda’s high performance team believe that with some technique alterations, talented midfield recruit Nathan Freeman can get on top of his hamstring problems once and for all and prosper at the elite level.

“We’ll back our very senior and experienced medical guys through this process, who have given us terrific feedback all the way through,” GM of Football Performance, Jamie Cox, said at Christmas at Moorabbin on the weekend.

“They believe this is something, that with a few adjustments, that Nathan can beat and still have a long career.

“So, nothing’s changed in that regard, the guys are still very confident, despite a small hiccup, that he can still be a terrific AFL footballer for a long time for us.”

After an encouraging and diligent start to his time at Linen House Centre, Freeman suffered a minor hamstring setback last week.

The club remains confident the 20-year-old can beat the persistent hamstring issues that have dogged the early stages of his career, and forge a long career at the highest level.

The former No. 10 draft pick endured an injury plagued two seasons at Collingwood, where he didn’t manage to play a senior game, before requesting a trade to the Saints during October’s trade period. He will return to the Saints’ main group early in the New Year.

“It wasn’t a major mishap, (but) it was obviously disappointing for Nathan because he’d been training really strongly was starting to run at full clip again,” Cox said.

“Look it was a little setback, but Nathan starts running again Monday (today), and will do his rehab over Christmas with a view to hopefully getting into full training not too long into the New Year.”

Despite Freeman’s wretched run of luck continuing, Cox revealed that the midfielder was still in a positive frame of mind and had taken confidence from the block of training he has completed at the Saints.

“I deliberately went out of my way to make sure he was going fine. He’s in great spirits,” he said.

“He knows that he’s got a lot of good conditioning under his belt in the couple of months he’s been at the club.

“Everyone’s disappointed that he’s had a little setback, but he’s in terrific spirits. He knows that he’s taken some good strides forward, despite this. So he’s going well.”

Anyways im done with this topic. He is still 2 weeks away so nothing to add further

 

[stavro#4]

I just think this quote provides fantastic context to the situation

"We won't see him in the NAB Challenge," coach Alan Richardson told SEN on Tuesday.

"We're going to be really conservative. He's a young man who hasn't played footy for a couple of years.

"He possibly could play but we just need to make sure we get really significant miles into his legs so when the load really steps up he's right to go and he's not at risk."