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Training Preseason Training Thread - 2026

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The below is the OG faux training report from nearly 9 years ago - often imitated but never surpassed

Carbine Chaos said:
In the absence of Keys I went down for a trundle this morning to check them out on return. Just a few random notes I took down...

  • A lot of running work again, clearly a focus even in the heat.
  • Duggan looked on and was hitting targets left and right. Set for a huge 2017.
  • Giles went up against Vardy in the ruck contests and I'd say that Giles has the inside running at the moment.
  • Mitchell looked a class above the other midfielders bar Priddis. Just knew how to find the footy and wouldn't miss a target all session. Shuey was very quiet and seemed to be taking direction from Mitchell. Doesn't bode well for his captaincy credentials, maybe he doesn't want the gig?
  • Won't say too much about it in case I was just reading too much into it, but Rioli looked as though he'd enjoyed the Christmas break a bit too much. A few of the coaches pulled him aside and they were having quite an animated conversation before Rioli was sent to do laps for the rest of the session. Good news for Le Cras, I suppose.
  • Sheed kicked on his right foot for 80% of the session, I reckon. Nice to see players working on their non-preferred so readily.
  • Petrie looked like he was doing a great job 'coaching' the younger forwards in between the drills. Darling in particular seemed to be following him around.
  • Gee Venables has some skills. He mainly jogged laps before spending the last half hour or so on set shots - curled a few beauties from behind the boundary line at the end for a bit of fun. Hardly saw him miss a kick.
  • What interested me the most was that McGovern split his time between the defenders and the forwards, could be seeing a swingman role in 2017. He was his usual dominant self down back in some match simulation drills before going head-to-head with Mackenzie in a forward role.
  • Bayok is very fast - Cripps was in most of the drills with him and couldn't keep up.
  • Nelson is pale as buggery and still doesn't really have the body shape you'd expect of an AFL player.
  • There was a big bloke who pulled up next to me and I could have sworn it was Suma, but I'm sure I was wrong...
  • Masto was the player picked to kick the goal at the end today and nailed it. Celebrations were huge.
  • No sign of Cole, Parto or Hill. Couldn't tell you why.

Will upload pics later if I have time. Let me know if you have any questions!
Click to expand...

You might wonder why I’ve put this up and stickied it

Because this is the standard all copies should be measured against and it’s a reminder of how high the bar was set

And to hopefully discourage sequels.

If you want to have a crack in my absence, go ahead but if it doesn’t equal the standard set (as judged by me), then expect

• A one week threadban for a first offence
• A two week threadban for a second offence
• A one year threadban for a third offence

Actual training reports, minus discussion, can become found here:

Training - Preseason Training Reports -2025/26

This thread has been setup for training reports only and won’t be open for replies Informative reports from the preseason thread will be copied into this thread so posters have access to the quality work from the likes of LittleFires without wading through pages of general posts
www.bigfooty.com www.bigfooty.com
 
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KERRPOW said:
first session and all but, Gee.
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Gotta question if he’s been doing his S&C program during the offseason.

I got pilloried on here by some posters for having a crack at him not showing up voluntarily whilst others such as Waterman, Duggan, Yeo and other seniors made an appearance with the 1-4 year players.

First mandatory session for him and he’s reportedly the last to turn up (per Instagram/TikTok puff pieces) and then the first to quit the MAS test.

As I said before, on the back of a bad 2025, and the faith shown by the club with the 2 year deal, he should really be pulling out all the stops to impress and show up in the best nick possible.
 
GoEaglesGoSGIO said:
Kelly should be sent to train by himself in reality if he is in the worst condition of the lot. Not sure why we need to baby him so much
Click to expand...
He tapped out at 17km/h and some others tapped out at 18. It’s not like Gov that one year when he rocked up looking like Homer in the muumuu episode and then got banished to fat camp for a couple of months.
 

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Ilkka Sinisalo said:
He tapped out at 17km/h and some others tapped out at 18. It’s not like Gov that one year when he rocked up looking like Homer in the muumuu episode and then got banished to fat camp for a couple of months.
Click to expand...
Gov was 19. Tk is 31 and after 2 very underwhelming years you’d think he’d be trying pretty hard to turning footy around help this young side. He was gifted an extra year in his last contract extended and is playing like a man here just collecting his pay cheque.

Speaking of Gov he came back in ripping condition in the 2024 preseason. Was was one of the best trainers over preseason and after many injury interrupted years he added another AA.
 
THE A5 said:
Gov was 19. Tk is 31 and after 2 very underwhelming years you’d think he’d be trying pretty hard to turning footy around help this young side. He was gifted an extra year in his last contract extended and is playing like a man here just collecting his pay cheque.

Speaking of Gov he came back in ripping condition in the 2024 preseason. Was was one of the best trainers over preseason and after many injury interrupted years he added another AA.
Click to expand...
matches don’t start for like four months. If he’s unfit in Feb then I’ll be right there with you and hoping he gets turfed out to the WAFL but I really cannot bring myself to care about someone who doesn’t turn up in peak condition in November.
 
Farmer Lister said:
After last year's performance, rocking up dead last and then coming dead last in the MAS is not a great look. Is 17km/hr a decent time? Not getting much joy from Google
Click to expand...
It’s comparable to the times Harley, Gross and Champion got in the 1st-4th year players MAS test.
Although after his big week of running Gross managed to improve on his time in the follow-up test he did and made it past 18 km/h
 
LittleFires said:
Great to see all the new faces at training this morning and the senior players back out there as well for a two-hour session to start the week. There were nearly 50 players on track today, though many of them were on separate programs and were in and out of the main session which made it a little hard to keep track of everything.

I arrived just after 9:00 and to my delight they were setting up to train on Jamieson Oval, making these "closed" sessions much easier to watch. The main oval which they've trained on for the past two weeks is having some work done to it.

The senior players came out at 9:20 for their MAS running test - it struck me how small this cohort is now, with only 15-odd players warming up, 12 of which did the running test. The rest of the playing group, including the draftees, came out 10 minutes later to do their warmup while the running test was ongoing.

The first 30 minutes of the session consisted of some kicking and handball work, before moving onto a drill where they moved the ball out of congestion using forward handballs and eventually kicking to a leading target. They then completed some handball work in tight, before splitting into rough line groups for some more skill work.

After this came a full-ground ball movement drill where they practised rebounding with speed off a turnover, and another drill where they looked to be working on team defence. They did some run throughs after this, including a strange exercise where they ran in groups of three around the field in seemingly random running patterns, following the leader up the front. To finish, the players split into smaller groups to work on more specific craft and the main group went inside around 11:30.

Details on who did/didn't train:
  • Bailey Williams was the only listed player I definitely didn't see
  • All six of our draftees - Duursma, Duff-Tytler, Lindsay, Allen, Tylah Williams and Rodriguez - were out there for the first time today.
    • Allen was naturally on light duties as he continues his ACL recovery, spending about 30 minutes doing run throughs and some kicking before spending the rest of the session spectating
    • The rest of them probably completed around 70% of the session, sitting out occasionally to either watch or do some work off to the side - at one point they were doing some contested marking and at another stage Nic Nat was taking them through some light stoppage work
  • Robertson, Macrae and Schoenberg also made their first appearances. Robertson had his right shoulder strapped and was in and out of the main session, while Macrae and Schoenberg did most but not all of the full session
  • Watt and Johnson were out there, making it a total of 48 players on track today
  • I wasn't sure if it was Gross I saw on the exercise bike, but it seems it was indeed him off the photo from The West. Either way, he didn't do much, if any on-ground training from what I saw
  • Starcevich I only spotted about an hour into the session and spent about 15-20 minutes running laps. I don't think he did any of the main session
  • Barnett did his usual 30-40 minutes of run throughs as well as some kicking away from the main group, before finishing up with some tap work with Nic Nat. Still sporting a significant left leg brace
  • Young continues to ease into life as an Eagle, spending most of his time away from the main group doing some run throughs and kicking with Allen, and finishing with some laps alongside Harry Taylor (who incidentally actually looks quite similar to Young up close)
  • Kelly and Owies spent almost the entire session running laps together after their MAS test. Did some kicking work too occasionally but a heavy running session for these two
  • Dewar and Jack Williams began the session with a good 45 minutes of run throughs and kicking away from the main group before briefly joining in with the group for the line group drills. They finished with some laps together and I didn't see them again after about 10:45
  • Yeo and Brockman didn't participate in the MAS test, instead completing run throughs by themselves, some of which they got to quite high speed in. Yeo joined in with the main group when they split into line groups and finished with some light agility work with a trainer.
  • Duggan and Cripps also skipped the MAS test but did their fair share of running along the boundary together, also doing some sprints and agility work. They joined in for a couple of drills but more often than not they were training away from the main group
  • Waterman started the session in full training but as I said unfortunately appears to have injured his hamstring. He was chasing a loose ball at pretty decent pace in one of the drills later in the session and suddenly pulled up quite proppy, swearing loudly and taking no further part in the drill. As he was walking over to the sidelines he was feeling at his right hammy, and spent about 5 minutes on the massage table with a trainer trying to stretch it out. He took no further part in the session though and after chatting to some players, went inside at 11:00. Gut feel is it's not a bad one - he was able to walk around without any visible limp and didn't look too downbeat when having a chat to some of the players afterwards. We'll see though
  • Champion had his right elbow strapped but trained fully today

Some other notes/things that caught my eye:
  • Some of the draftees, particularly Rodriquez, Allen and Lindsay, look quite well-built already, and Duff-Tytler doesn't look as skinny as I'd expected. Duursma is still quite wiry but has a solid frame to fill out.
  • I didn't get a super long look at him but Starcevich is an absolute specimen. Can tell he'll help set the standards on the track once he's fully up and going
  • When they split into line groups, Baker, Dewar and Lindsay spent time with the backs.
  • Interestingly Johnston trained with the forwards. He spent quite a bit of time during one of last week's sessions on his goalkicking so perhaps he's looking to play up forward this season
  • Dewar whilst still a bit skinny looks like he's added some more size, a huge difference from when he first arrived at the club
  • Didn't see Lindsay miss a kick today, going to be a fun watch next year I reckon.
  • Flynn spent about 20 minutes at the end of the session having a long conversation with Nic Nat.
  • Ginbey, Hutchinson, Newton and Hough were the last to leave the track, staying for an extra 5-10 minutes to get some more kicking work in.

Like I have previously, I tried to keep track of who finished in what order for the MAS running test. With only 12 doing the test it was easier to keep track, so the following order can be taken as fairly accurate:
  • Kelly was the first to finish, on 17 km/h (as a reminder, the speed increases every minute or two and is announced over the loudspeakers)
  • Edwards was the next, followed by Owies, Hough, Schoenberg, Flynn and Macrae (in that order) on 18 km/h.
  • Baker was the 4th-last to finish on 19km/h
  • Waterman and Cole finished at roughly the same time on 19 km/h
  • Graham finished a good 30-45 seconds after the others on 19km/h, and was a few seconds short of reaching the 20 km/h speed
  • Robertson finished somewhere on 18km/h but I didn't note what position he was in
Click to expand...
Sorry if it’s in there and I missed it but when they split into their like groups where did McCahy go? With the Mids or the backs? His position will change so many line ups.
 
Ilkka Sinisalo said:
He tapped out at 17km/h and some others tapped out at 18. It’s not like Gov that one year when he rocked up looking like Homer in the muumuu episode and then got banished to fat camp for a couple of months.
Click to expand...
Its clear he is the unfittest of the lot when he needs to be the fittest. Give him 3 weeks straight of running them bring him back into the fold.

He and many others need to learn that close enough is not good enough. Being 1cm off should put you in the naughty corner even if its only for a couple of weeks.
 
LittleFires said:
It’s comparable to the times Harley, Gross and Champion got in the 1st-4th year players MAS test.
Although after his big week of running Gross managed to improve on his time in the follow-up test he did and made it past 18 km/h
Click to expand...
If memory serves Harley pulled out early with a calf niggle. So Kelly is comparable with a couple of second year players that are still working on their tanks and are not known as big runners (like Davis for example)

I wonder how it compares with previous years. It would be interesting to track players MAS scores over the years and see how they fluctuate.
 
shooshka said:
Was a Nth supporter, so not sure that checks out 😉

In all seriousness though, happy to hear of a Falcons draftee supporting anyone other than Geelong, flight risk diminishes significantly!
Click to expand...
You also assume if they were from around the area and didn’t support Geelong then they probably would hate them (like people who lived in WA in the early 90s but didn't support WC)
 

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Yeah, probably not the greatest look.

Imagine being a draftee starstruck with the 2019 runner up Brownlow medalist and AA Tim Kelly. Thinking he must be elite and then watching him tap out at the first running test ahead of key defender nobody's.

bt-brain-taylor.gif
 
Harley idolised tim kelly . We know what happened last year
 
Ilkka Sinisalo said:
matches don’t start for like four months. If he’s unfit in Feb then I’ll be right there with you and hoping he gets turfed out to the WAFL but I really cannot bring myself to care about someone who doesn’t turn up in peak condition in November.
Click to expand...

Sort of agree.

But thinking of the 2024 pre-season Harley that looks like he ate the 2025 version............happy days now that happy meal times are over at WC!!!!

1764027164824.png
 
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garlic munchers said:
Sort of agree.

But thinking the 2024 pre-season Harley looks like he ate the 2025 version............happy days now over happy meals for WC!!!!

View attachment 2485231
Click to expand...

This is why I'm glad Duursma wants to get around Baker cos he'll show him how to work and prepare. Whoever was 'mentoring' Harley in his first two years should be ashamed. Harley himself said in that random Revo fitness presser that he didn't fully understand how hard you needed to work/train and be fit at the level, which is why he showed up the shape he did to last seasons pre-season. That's diabolical.
 
Elite Pete said:
Sorry if it’s in there and I missed it but when they split into their like groups where did McCahy go? With the Mids or the backs? His position will change so many line ups.
Click to expand...
Didn’t note that down specifically but I’m fairly sure he’s been with the backs in the last couple weeks. I’ll keep an eye on him this week
 

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Byron_Clanger said:
This is why I'm glad Duursma wants to get around Baker cos he'll show him how to work and prepare. Whoever was 'mentoring' Harley in his first two years should be ashamed. Harley himself said in that random Revo fitness presser that he didn't fully understand how hard you needed to work/train and be fit at the level, which is why he showed up the shape he did to last seasons pre-season. That's diabolical.
Click to expand...
To be fair to Harley he’s not the first kid to experience that. Also doesn’t help when you’re such a big name and the parties are flowing and you’re travelling back and forth. All in your first offseason. Not an excuse, but a wake up call.
 
Can always rely on opinion/overraction of BigFooty posters on players performances in MAS Tests or 2km time trials on day one of their return as to how they'll perform came the season.
Good thing Dane Swan, Luke Hodge, De Goey careers were not judged based on their MAS and Time Trials........
And yes I understand the rebuttal of how his performed in last 2 years, and how he should perform on the training track, but his hardly been known as the endurance king or training the house down player in the past, why would he be now.
I'm also confident McQualter won't pick him if he doesn't perform to the standards his set for his players,
 

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Training Preseason Training Thread - 2026

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