Training 2021/22 Preseason Thread Lessssf*ngo

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rooboy335 said:
Wow, what a beautiful day for the first session in the New Year. Delightful breeze, full sun, and not a cloud in the sky! Was great to be back again!

Straight into the report but there were a few absentees to note as per below:

Anderson, Cunnington, Stephenson, JHF, Ziebell, LDU, LMac, Polec, Turner, Comben, Coleman-Jones, Archer, Perez and Hall. May have missed them, or may not have spotted them when I was there, but hopefully all of those boys are well and everything is just precautionary.

Mahoney - Doesn't really do anything special, or anything eye-catching, but does everything consistently enough and at a decent enough level that he should be a solid contributor. Should get a decent amount of games in again this year even with the addition of JHF/Paul Curtis, and the improvement of Scott/Taylor. Looks fit, is a nuggety little player, and reminds me a bit of Patch where he sort of roamed that HF/Wing area and did his job most weeks.

Corr - As mentioned by Ligma and a few others earlier, was with the rehab group at times and then running laps on his own. Hope he gets well soon and can play most if not all of this season as we're going to need him.

Taylor - Looks good and appears set to step it up another level yet again this season. Runs hard to create an option and delivers more often than not going forward. Promising signs, it'll be interesting to see if he can cement his position in the best 22 this year.

Scott - Similar to Mahoney and Taylor, Scott's trajectory appears as though it is going to continue to improve gradually this year. Knows how to find space, generally makes the right decision and it's just execution by foot which at times can be hit or miss, though I don't recall him making too many errors at all today. Another that I can see being a solid contributor. Was quite vocal and supportive at times during the session which was good to see.

Simpkin - Looked in fine nick and set to continue from where he left off after winning the Syd last season. Get a sense that he is all but ready mentally to put this team on his back and take the boys hopefully to the summit. So vocal, instructed players on what to do/where to position at times, provided encouragement and support to a player who shanked a kick in one of the drills, and just looks ready to take over this team. If not this year, absolutely has to be next year. On top of this, is probably the hardest worker at training, skills to match, gets his own ball, runs hard to create options for his teammates and is currently our best midfielder. He's a star now, but gee it's bloody exciting to think we have a few waiting in the wings that could potentially surpass him.

Bosenavulagi - Honestly been so impressive each time I've seen him this preseason (third time now). Solid body as we know, but some players even though they test fast don't really show it on the field. Atu does, but also shows agility, hardness and decent kicking to go along with it. Also at times felt like he was everywhere in the drills, going by the amount of times I heard players yelling "Atu, Atu!" calling for the ball. I think he's gunning for Turner's spot unless there's a way they can make space for him on the bench.

Bonar - Still with the rehab group, doing some light drills with Spicer, P. Walker and Corr, and then running laps with Spicer and P. Walker. As I was watching that group alone I thought to myself gee, we have such an athletic group at the moment, I think the most athletic list we've had for the longest time I can remember. Not sure if that's just me that feels that way about our group, but watching Bonar for example, he shouldn't be able to move like that for his size. Fingers crossed we can get some luck on the injury front as there is so much potential with him and with this list.

Young - I'll put it out there if I haven't already, for some reason he just isn't one of my favourites but I couldn't fault him too much today. Had one nice play where he got onto the end of a passage streaming forward, and instead of delivering into the fwd 50 to a player probably 10-15 metres away, took it upon himself to take a few more paces, steady himself and launch from 50. On a day where I'll be honest, the skills were average at best, it was good to see this go through and it drew applause from the coaches and some teammates as well.

Greenwood - Along with Atu, probably in the top 3 for who've impressed me most so far this preseason. I know it's early days, but Hugh will just bring so much to our group on so many different levels. 1) Does great during the drills. We know he excels with the in-close stuff, but on a few occasions today, in drills that provided players with a bit of space, he executed well, hitting up leading teammates with well weighted passes and handing off a few nice handballs to players running past. He hasn't got the most fluid kicking motion but seems to be effective. 2) The cover, leadership, maturity, and defensive mindedness that he'll give to our midfield whilst Cunners is recovering will be immeasurable. 3) At the end of the session, was one of the few left out on the park having a kick-to-kick with Lazzaro. Love seeing this, especially from someone new to the playing group. Along with Lizard, stopped to have a quick chat with a supporter as they walked off. Appears to be a person of great character which can only mean good things for this young group.

J. Walker - Did well today and looks to be in good condition leading into the season. Will be a handy player to have should we experience any injuries at either end. Not one of my favourites but again, couldn't fault him for much today save for a couple of kicks that went higher than they intended to.

Larkey - Looked a bit rusty early on in the session but warmed his way into it. Appears to present some leadership qualities as similar to Jy, he was quite vocal in supporting his teammates when a nice pass was made, or when a player ran hard into space to create an option. Competes well in drills, and hopefully with more support up forward, he can experience a few more one-on-ones than two/three-on-ones this season.

Goldy - Just does not stop running. After all these years, he still appears to be moving well across the ground and even though he's basically in decline now and at the twilight of his career, he'll still play and compete at a high level for us this season. Wonder how long he has left in his legs? I think with CCJ, we have a decent Ruck/Fwd duo heading into the season that could cause some problems for the lesser teams. Hopefully Goldy can have a career year goal scoring wise (with his best being 20 in 2016 when he was freaking amazing).

McKay - Beast. Not much else to report other than that haha. Didn't really get to see much from today's drills with regards to him competing in one-on-one's but have a nice little side note at the end of this report regarding Benny.

Powell - Nothing too spectacular today but I do hold him to a higher standard than some others. I shouldn't, as he's only in his second season, but he's just been so darned impressive during his short time at our great club that it's hard not to. Made a few little errors with his kicking today, some falling short of his target as he may have been trying to bite off a bit more, but for the most part was solid.

Curtis - He's one that intrigues me, as a few on here are very high on him. To me, he appears to have most of the tools but his left foot seems so hit and miss? In one of the first drills that I saw this morning, a basically open, uncontested drill going from the backline to inside 50 spotting up teammates with kicks, PC gets the ball outside 50, kicks toward a leading Zurhaar into the pocket, and misses him by about 15 metres (almost OOTF).

Another drill where the wings were blocked off and the defending team were trying to exit defensive 50 (a difficult drill where there weren't many times the defending team managed to get out), the ball got turned over, a player hit up PC in forward 50, and with no pressure on a slight angle about 20 metres out if I'm being generous, he kicks a floater that misses to the right and dribbled through for a behind.

In saying this, he also showed great intensity and tackling pressure in this drill, at one point making a defending player handball in hope which resulted in a turnover, PC getting the ball back and slotting through the goal. Shortly after this play he found space as the ball was turned over yet again, and slotted through a second. Additionally in one of the final main group drills for the day where two teams would try to run it from one end to the other through handballing only, Paul ran down a player (possibly Scott) and basically stopped the play in its tracks which drew applause from the playing group and Rocca who was coordinating the drill.

Very early days with Curtis but I'll be interested to see him in game and whether that higher intensity means he'll be more careful with his disposal, as of right now, his kicking is at about the same level as Hayden's to me which is not great. I hope this doesn't come across as me attacking PC, as I know he is literally an infant in footballing terms, and has a lot of fantastic qualities. He appears to be a high-ceiling and high-impact player who I'll be keen to see in the intraclub and preseason games.

Thomas - Was moving as smoothly as always, and skills were clean for the most part. Looked as fit as ever, and if we're talking purely the younger group, he strikes me as sort of the deputy of this team where Jy is the Sherriff. Unfortunately not much else to report regarding Taz, but here's hoping to another successful season for him. If he can maintain that second half of the year form from last year throughout the entirety of this season, we'll have an A-grade star on our hands. If he can improve and find a level above that?....

Phillips - Only saw Will running laps early on, not sure if anyone else can provide any further info but hope he's okay and just getting his fitness up to speed.

Goater - I could finally spot the Goat today compared to the previous two times I've been to training of late. May have been due to the smaller numbers, or the red boots! He looked good, is a good size in that he's tall but bigger than say a Bergman. I'd imagine once he fills out he will be very hard to bring down given his speed, agility and size mix. Has decent skills as well and hit up a few short targets in defensive 50 during that difficult drill. All things going well, hope we see him brought in for a handful of games this year to see what he can produce.

Edwards - You know how some taller players can look a bit uncoordinated/clumsy? Not Edwards. He moves well for his height and has a great kicking action and some skill to boot. Sad that we have to wait a few years until he hits his peak as we could use a player like him right now, but the exciting thing is his peak should coincide with our window. (Please, please, please let everything work out the way I see the next few years unfolding in my head).

P. Walker - I mentioned earlier how strong athletically I think this group of players are as a whole, and P. Walker is case in point. Not one that springs to mind when thinking about the most athletically gifted of our squad, but he is tall, is a decent size now, and just glides across the turf. Is probably at his optimum playing weight? We all know he's a decent kick, if he can come good that would be a big bonus for us. Could potentially slot right in at half-back with Perez once it's time to replace Ziebell and Hall. Was running laps with Spicer and I think I overheard Phoenix mention that Walker was about a week away from joining the main group again (but don't quote me on that).

Bergman - Sort of in that group with Edwards where he will probably have to bide his time a bit given his slight frame, but another who moves well and possess some nice kicking skills. Not much more to say about Miller other than that at times he strikes me as becoming a bigger Sammy Wright from Katamatite.

Ford - So much x-factor in that he has a big leap, takes clean grabs overhead, but the surprising thing for me is that boy can he also motor. There were times where in some of the drills I thought to myself, who was that lion hunting down that gazelle? And it turned out to be Ford on a few occasions. And I think hunting is apt when talking about Eddie's intentions and mindset when tackling. Similar to say a Zurhaar or JHF or Turner, they appear to have that ability to track players and stick tackles better than some others. Only issue I can see for Ford is his ability to find the ball. If he has that natural ability, great! If not (think Kieran Harper, sorry guys), he'll probably find himself in and out of the team a bit.

Lazzaro - Again, another consistent display from Lizard. Not much more I can say about him or that he showed today that he hasn't shown already. Runs hard to create an option, clean kicking, and displays great drive and determination to get the most out of himself.

Spicer - Running with the rehab group, as noted before, he has put on some size but still has that zip across the ground. Is so agile and quick, dare I say Wells like, or maybe Matt Campbell is a better comparison given the height. I think he's getting better with his disposal also. At the end of the session, the players peeled off in their little groups for some final warm-down drills I guess, and Atu and Phoenix were doing kick-to-kicks about 15 metres apart. Short stab kicks off a few steps, and I know you would normally expect afl players to be able to nail these, and good news is Phoenix and Atu didn't miss any. Good signs, and hopefully he is on his way to displaying this more in-game.

Hayden - Frustrating, in that he has all the tools to be a pretty handy player, but his disposal lets him down too often. Is a physical specimen, as hard as anyone in our squad, but some players when they have the ball, you sort of almost expect a turnover or a neutral ball, and are relieved when they actually hit a target. Kyron is one of those players for me. And after 4-5 years on the list now, I don't think his disposal is going to change or get better. I sit there watching him thinking, why is he still on the list? Injuries (injury prone maybe?), inconsistent disposal, has yet to nail down a position, why have the coaches/list management team kept him? And then there are those moments in some of the drills today where he has no right to win the ball, outnumbered yet still outmuscling bodies and bumping them out of the way, controlling the pill and getting the handball out to a teammate and then I think, oh yeah, that's why.

For me personally, I don't see him making it at half-back. Not when so many teams use that position to generate drive from defence and to set-up attacking plays. Kyron wins the ball at half-back and is more likely to run into trouble or turn the ball over under pressure. I think if he is to make it, it would be in the middle, possibly as a tagger. He has the body, speed, agility and tackling ability to compete well in there, and if he wins the ball, he can either handball or get a quick chaos kick forward. Don't get me wrong, I've seen him hit up short passes to leading teammates so I'm not saying he can't hit a target, but I think deploying him further up the ground will limit the damage he could inflict on the team if he were played at half-back. Just my two cents.

Xerri - Looked good again, took some good marks and I keep saying it in this report, but he also moves well for his size. Don't know if there is space for him in the 22, but if not, I think he'll be a handy player to have waiting in the 2's. Not sure if that's what he'll want to hear though.

McGuinness - Again, still not sure on McGuinness. There are times where he looks good kicking out of defensive 50, and then there are other times where his disposal lets him down, and for someone whose kicking is said to be quite good, I think this happens too often from what I've seen at training. Although this may again be because he's biting off more because he knows he can hit that pass. Preseason games should tell us a lot for what's in store for Matty's year this season.

Zurhaar - In maybe that top 5 or 10 that have impressed during the preseason for me. Just looks fit and ready to go, confident, and I think that flows through on the field. The usual fend-offs were on display, breaking tackles with his power, but also quite vocal out there. If he can maintain this current mindset that he's in, he should be set for a good year.

Cooper Harvey - Took part in main training and did not look out of place at all. At times I thought "oh, he's not as fast as his dad, ah well". Then, in one of the drills, Bailey was running the ball out of defence and had maybe 5-10 metres on Cooper. Coop turned on the jets and moved the fastest I've seen him move so far to catch Bailey. I can't recall if Bailey got the handpass away, but it was still impressive nonetheless and good to know Cooper has at least some sort of pace up his sleeve. Still not as fast as his dad though, and I'm not sure if lopey is the right word (or if it's even a word), but his gait/stride is longer than his dads, which is not hard to fathom.

I tend to stick around until the end of the session to see who, if any player/s stay out to do some extra work:

  • Cooper Harvey, Bergman, Goater, Curtis and one other (can't remember who) stayed out and did a handball drill all together which was run by Boomer
  • Goldstein was marking really short sharp kicks about 10 metres away which were being kicked by Rocca. He was later joined by Edwards
  • As mentioned earlier, Atu and Phoenix were kick-to-kicking, as were Powell and Hayden, but they were assisted by two coaches. One coach would stand about 15 metres away to receive the kick, and the other would act as the man on the mark. The coach on the mark fed Powell/Hayden the ball, told them to take a couple of steps back from the mark and then kick to the other coach. I'm sure some advice was given as to body positioning and weight distribution to kick effectively, and I'm glad Kyron stayed a bit to partake in this. Kyron then went into the rooms and Powell was second last left out on the field kicking off no step to one of the coaches for another 5 minutes or so.
  • Also mentioned earlier, Greenwood and Lazzaro separated to do some kicking together
  • Simpkin and Thomas were also out there getting some final work in where one would sort of act as a Ruckman, throwing the ball into the air and tapping the ball into play, and the other would try and work on their body positioning and body work with a coach to try and win the ball
  • Last thing that almost impressed me the most was Benny McKay staying back with Tom Lynch to listen to advice on body positioning and how to use his hip/rump to position himself at the drop of the ball and get his opponent away from the drop and/or off balance. What impressed me was not only was Ben the last one to leave the field with Lynch (and shows great work ethic from McKay), but it was also great to see (for a second time now) Tom Lynch staying really late back (they were working on this for a good 10-15 minutes after almost everyone had gone in) to help out and share his knowledge and what he's learned over the years with one of our most important players. Appears to be a really good signing, a great endorsement from Nobes appears to be ringing true, and who knows, this extra work out on the track could prove to be invaluable over the coming years.
Anyways I've waffled on for long enough and apologies if I've repeated what some have already mentioned. Any questions, let me know and Happy New Year everyone! :)
Click to expand...
Brilliant write up RB. Really well written too.
why can’t the AFL “journalists” give us anywhere near this kind of content in articles? They just spew forth cliche after cliche.
 

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the big lebowski said:
13 had it as of Monday apparently
Click to expand...
13 players were missing but out of the 13 there was jed who was out of state, zeib who was probably on his honeymoon and others too.
There would have 100% been some confirmed cases in that group of players though
 
the big lebowski said:
13 had it as of Monday apparently
Click to expand...
Some of them might be isolating as close contacts, tho with this thing that probably just means "will have it if they haven't got it yet".
 
Had a look at who was missing from training yesterday and got me thinking what it would look like if clubs had huge injury lists due to covid during the season, hopefully this doesn’t happen but this wouldn’t look good for any team this year. Here’s a best 22 of players available as of today: (inc cunners and bonar)

b: atu McKay hayden
Hb: walker corr young
M: Powell Phillips scott
Hf: Thomas xerri taylor
F: zurhaar larkey mahoney
R: Goldstein simpkin greenwood
Int: lazzaro ford spicer goater
Sub: curtis

😳
 
harper2bastinac said:
Had a look at who was missing from training yesterday and got me thinking what it would look like if clubs had huge injury lists due to covid during the season, hopefully this doesn’t happen but this wouldn’t look good for any team this year. Here’s a best 22 of players available as of today: (inc cunners and bonar)

b: atu McKay hayden
Hb: walker corr young
M: Powell Phillips scott
Hf: Thomas xerri taylor
F: zurhaar larkey mahoney
R: Goldstein simpkin greenwood
Int: lazzaro ford spicer goater
Sub: curtis

😳
Click to expand...
Outside of what Ldu and a couple of others it looks close to what our team will be moving forward after Zeib and Hall retire anyway.
 

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One thing I've noticed this year is the fitness and readiness of the players to play senior football. Outside of the 1st year players there really isn't anyone who I wouldn't be conformatable playing in the seniors. Obviously not best on ground in their position but we're not stuck if 8-9 go out in a week due to covid. I reckon we have to get another tall defender just in case or a utility who can play both ends.
 
harper2bastinac said:
Had a look at who was missing from training yesterday and got me thinking what it would look like if clubs had huge injury lists due to covid during the season, hopefully this doesn’t happen but this wouldn’t look good for any team this year. Here’s a best 22 of players available as of today: (inc cunners and bonar)

b: atu McKay hayden
Hb: walker corr young
M: Powell Phillips scott
Hf: Thomas xerri taylor
F: zurhaar larkey mahoney
R: Goldstein simpkin greenwood
Int: lazzaro ford spicer goater
Sub: curtis

😳
Click to expand...

Advantage of those now with Covid is they are exempt as close contacts for 3 months, which should see them to the start of the season.

From a list perspective, you almost want most of them to get it now.
 
harper2bastinac said:
Had a look at who was missing from training yesterday and got me thinking what it would look like if clubs had huge injury lists due to covid during the season, hopefully this doesn’t happen but this wouldn’t look good for any team this year. Here’s a best 22 of players available as of today: (inc cunners and bonar)

b: atu McKay hayden
Hb: walker corr young
M: Powell Phillips scott
Hf: Thomas xerri taylor
F: zurhaar larkey mahoney
R: Goldstein simpkin greenwood
Int: lazzaro ford spicer goater
Sub: curtis

Click to expand...
It'd be worth it to see Walker impersonate Hall off a back flank.

Sent from my SM-A908B using Tapatalk
 
IMO I would like to see way more content from the media team, it sucks to see other teams Insta stories and we only get a few photos 🥲
 
the flying ham said:
To be fair Ligma half of victoria is working from home at the minute. They are generally pretty good
Click to expand...
I get that

on Monday the media guy was out there taking pics and flew a drone. It’s just something that gets supporters excited and to actually see how players are loving instead of just going of words that someone wrote. like the pre game Insta stories
 
Ligma said:
on Monday the media guy was out there taking pics and flew a drone. It’s just something that gets supporters excited and to actually see how players are loving...
Click to expand...

I understand your enthusiasm but I'm not sure the media guys will be sharing those kinds of photos.

1641949148887.png
 
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