Bigman’s Training Reports

[Scorpus]

Scott Stevens kicked 6 goals in a final once...

I'm all for weighting finals performances higher but even a spud can have a one off big day out.

You'd rather have a Scott Stevens in the team that can kick 6 goals in a final, than a Josh Jenkins who is likely to go missing though

 

[kirky]

So you are in agreeance then he performed better than 20 other players in the finals for us then.

Well I’m not convinced he is going to be what he should be as a first round pick, people seem to forget he is a first round pick. Is he another Chayce Jones?

 

[bigman]

Today was every footballer’s favourite - Time Trial Day.

First up, who was missing? Draper was the only one to not show his face at all, but a bunch didn’t do the run - Dawson, Walker, Michalanney, Hinge, Rankine, Marsh, Fogarty and Ludowyke. Some of these were understandable, but I was surprised that Daws and Tex didn’t run as they both otherwise trained fully.

Unfortunately Rankine appears to be managing some sort of injury. He was on the bike and moved pretty stiffly afterwards walking around the oval with Shane Edwards

10

Shane Edwards

Age

37

Ht

182cm

Wt

78kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

17.2

4star

K

8.1

3star

HB

9.1

5star

M

2.6

3star

T

2.9

4star

CL

3.0

4star

D

16.4

4star

K

6.6

3star

HB

9.8

5star

M

0.6

1star

T

3.0

4star

CL

4.2

5star

D

8.6

3star

K

5.2

2star

HB

3.4

3star

M

3.4

4star

T

1.2

3star

- perhaps a hamstring issue? Or maybe just cooked from the bike? Either way it’s a real shame as he was awesome last week.

Fog, Hinge and Max continue their rehab with lots of running, though Hinge again joined the main group for some drills. Marsh was also in the rehab group but looks completely fine so not sure why he’s being held back so much. Especially given he’s doing a power of running and trained fully last Monday.

Ludo did a bit more today, including some light running and skills work. He’s an interesting looking athlete - broad shoulders and long legs. Nice fluent kicking action.

Draper’s continued absence is strange. If it wasn’t for my reports there would be no indication whatsoever that he hadn’t kicked a single footy yet this pre season! Hopefully we can get some clarity on why he’s solely in the gym and nothing else.

Worrell wore a fluro yellow hat but did everything. Pedlar had some strapping on his knee but thankfully moved just fine.

Today also saw the return of Nibbler as well as the arrival of Ah Chee, who slipped in like a glove. Even in training drills his composure and skill level was evident. It makes you realise that we still don’t have quite enough of that on our list compared to sides like Brisbane.

A new bloke wearing 46 also appeared for the first time today, a tall left footer. Almost certain this was Tom Bell

Tom Bell

Age

34

Ht

188cm

Wt

102kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

17.0

4star

K

10.4

4star

HB

6.6

4star

M

3.4

3star

T

3.5

5star

G

0.8

4star

No current season stats available

D

14.0

4star

K

9.0

4star

HB

5.0

4star

M

2.4

3star

T

4.2

5star

G

0.6

3star

from WA. Looked a reasonable athlete and a nice kick, but only did some of the early drills before joining the rehab guys.

Worth noting that today was seriously windy with gusts over 50km. Not only did this make kicking and marking decidedly tricky, it was also unfortunate for the time trial, as much of the energy spent running into a headwind negated any benefits of the tailwind. Overall though the boys appeared to run well in what looked to be a 2km trial, though I can’t say for sure. The first to finish were at about the 6:25-6:30 mark, which was wind affected as I mentioned.

The squad was split up into six groups, with players being matched with those of similar running abilities. All ran at the same time but with different starting positions around the ground.

The groups were (in order from strongest to weakest - don’t read into the player order):

1. Neal-Bullen, Bond, Dowling, Keays, Cumming, Thilthorpe
2. Sholl, Curtin, Jones, Berry, O’Brien, McGuane, Foot
3. (Could be group 4) Milera, Ryan, Nankervis, Pedlar, Peatling, Cotton
4. (Could be group 3) Rachele, Soligo, Ah Chee, Laird, Drury
5. Edwards, Taylor, Cook, Worrell, N. Murray, Borlase
6. Keane, T. Murray, McAndrew, Welsh, Butts, Maley

I won’t lie, this was the most difficult time trial to keep track of so far since I’ve been doing this. There was a lot going on and with different groups finishing in different spots on the ground, most around the same 30 secs or so, it made it very tough to gauge who placed best.

However, some things I noticed:

• Almost certain that ANB finished first, with Thilthorpe a seriously close second. Cumming lagged a bit behind the rest of his group.
• Curtin finished first in his group.
• Pretty sure Drury won his group. Very solid little runner and has obviously kept very fit despite being only a SANFL player.
• Edwards appeared to win his group, while Taylor was at the back of the same group. The positive is Milk wasn’t in the slowest group unlike last year, and definitely ran better.
• Toby Murray appeared to be the last to finish his time trial. I was a bit disappointed as it would mean he lost to 210cm McAndrew as well as Welsh.

Obviously I would’ve liked to provide more info but it really is a bit of a mess to cover. One big positive is that seemingly no one really lagged behind or needed someone to push them - everyone finished within about a minute of each other. That hasn’t been the case in previous years.

As you would expect, the boys were a bit jelly-legged afterwards so skills and energy were a bit off for the next 10 or so minutes before they found their groove. Drills were largely the same as previous sessions, including the one where the ball can only move via the wing.

There was also a new one, which involved a stoppage at half forward where the receiver would drill a pass to a leading player inside forward 50. This was fun to watch as those with inside chops really stood out, particularly Curtin.

Speaking of which, we may have got our first taste of which positions players are being earmarked for this year. The aforementioned wing drill listed players in groups on the big screen, and they appeared to be def/mid/fwd despite not being listed as such.

Keep in mind that wings are part of the midfield group without being specified, so Curtin may still be considered a winger and not on ball. But these were the groups:

Laird, Ryan, Worrell, Murray, Milera, Cook, Butts, Borlase, Keane, Sholl, Nankervis, Bond

McAndrew, Soligo, Curtin, Edwards, Jones, Dowling, Berry, Drury, O’Brien, Peatling, Dawson, Cumming

Keays, Pedlar, Walker, Maley, Ah Chee, Thilthorpe, Rachele, Welsh, Murray, Taylor, Cotton, Foot, McGuane

Now things can change of course but some interesting observations to be made, namely Cook in the backline and Edwards considered a mid/wing. Plus Cotton as a forward and Sholl in defence as well based on this. Taylor is still in the forward group as is Rachele, but who really knows how concrete all this is.

Some player observations:

6. Curtin - knee strapping was back but gee he moved well, and was the first to celebrate and lift the energy of the group once the time trials were done. Also showed why he should make a great midfielder with his ability to break tackles (seemingly no one can bring him down) and his sixth sense for players on his peripheral.

7. Thilthorpe - we all know he’s a gun but the fact he appeared to almost win the time trial speaks volumes. He’s not going to coast on last year.

12. Dawson - he’s definitely looking a little bit thicker and not quite as chiselled as last year. Not overly surprising given the foot injury but suspect he’s got some ground to make up over the next couple of months.

13. Walker - I know he’s got nothing to prove (and looks in good nick) but I still think if you’re fit enough, you still do the time trial. I wonder if Burgo would’ve allowed the same leeway?

21. Bond - laid a glorious smother on a Nick Murray kick and deservedly got a lot of love for it. Doing little wrong and would probably be in my best 23 at the minute, such is his improvement over the past 12 months.

22. Ryan - finally showed a bit of razzle dazzle evading multiple opponents at a stoppage. Really like seeing him use his athleticism. More please.

27. Nankervis - looking really sharp and confident out there particularly when playing that distributing role off half back. His extra burst of speed and confidence to use it is a weapon. Pay attention Nicksy.

33. Cotton - love the way this bloke approaches the aerial ball, he really floats and grabs it at a high point. Interesting that he’s doing so much more with the main group than Marsh, despite being almost half a year younger. Also probably underestimated his build, he has some pretty decent guns for his age. A genuine watch next year.

40. McGuane - just don’t quite see it. Well aware he is an accumulator but he’s just so small out there and I don’t see the excitement or hurt factor. I do think we could’ve looked at Tom Lewis, who I know is on the slower side but at least he wouldn’t get ragdolled like McGuane clearly will.

47. Foot - showed a bit more today with some nice burst speed (Foot speed?) and agility around stoppage, there’s no denying he’s a good athlete. That ball drop though… when you see it you’ll know what I mean.

 

[Crow till I die]

Well I’m not convinced he is going to be what he should be as a first round pick, people seem to forget he is a first round pick. Is he another Chayce Jones?

None of us are, but my point is that he stood up in a final unlike most of the rest of the team so at least he deserves to start off in the side to see if he can be the player we hope he can as he earned his chance but then if his form does not warrant the spot, he won't last too many games.

 

[Gtowncrow]

I don't care...I care about players that stand up in finals and he did in one of ours in a big way. So to me, he is in our R1 team and until his form decides otherwise, he is there

I'm hoping that not even Nicksy is picking the round 1 team on the 1st of December.
Whatever happened to 'earn your spot with a big pre season'?

With a gun to my head I'll concede Dawson and TT are in round 1 because they're so unique. Everyone else must compete...at least better than they did in September.

 

[Trigger13]

Thanks Biggyman smalls. Love your work. Amazing how the media haven’t made a story of Draper’s absence. Hopefully the club can keep us more in the loop.

 

[Gtowncrow]

Today was every footballer’s favourite - Time Trial Day.

First up, who was missing? Draper was the only one to not show his face at all, but a bunch didn’t do the run - Dawson, Walker, Michalanney, Hinge, Rankine, Marsh, Fogarty and Ludowyke. Some of these were understandable, but I was surprised that Daws and Tex didn’t run as they both otherwise trained fully.

Unfortunately Rankine appears to be managing some sort of injury. He was on the bike and moved pretty stiffly afterwards walking around the oval with Shane Edwards - perhaps a hamstring issue? Or maybe just cooked from the bike? Either way it’s a real shame as he was awesome last week.

Fog, Hinge and Max continue their rehab with lots of running, though Hinge again joined the main group for some drills. Marsh was also in the rehab group but looks completely fine so not sure why he’s being held back so much. Especially given he’s doing a power of running and trained fully last Monday.

Ludo did a bit more today, including some light running and skills work. He’s an interesting looking athlete - broad shoulders and long legs. Nice fluent kicking action.

Draper’s continued absence is strange. If it wasn’t for my reports there would be no indication whatsoever that he hadn’t kicked a single footy yet this pre season! Hopefully we can get some clarity on why he’s solely in the gym and nothing else.

Worrell wore a fluro yellow hat but did everything. Pedlar had some strapping on his knee but thankfully moved just fine.

Today also saw the return of Nibbler as well as the arrival of Ah Chee, who slipped in like a glove. Even in training drills his composure and skill level was evident. It makes you realise that we still don’t have quite enough of that on our list compared to sides like Brisbane.

A new bloke wearing 46 also appeared for the first time today, a tall left footer. Almost certain this was Tom Bell from WA. Looked a reasonable athlete and a nice kick, but only did some of the early drills before joining the rehab guys.

Worth noting that today was seriously windy with gusts over 50km. Not only did this make kicking and marking decidedly tricky, it was also unfortunate for the time trial, as much of the energy spent running into a headwind negated any benefits of the tailwind. Overall though the boys appeared to run well in what looked to be a 2km trial, though I can’t say for sure. The first to finish were at about the 6:25-6:30 mark, which was wind affected as I mentioned.

The squad was split up into six groups, with players being matched with those of similar running abilities. All ran at the same time but with different starting positions around the ground.

The groups were (in order from strongest to weakest - don’t read into the player order):

1. Neal-Bullen, Bond, Dowling, Keays, Cumming, Thilthorpe
2. Sholl, Curtin, Jones, Berry, O’Brien, McGuane, Foot
3. (Could be group 4) Milera, Ryan, Nankervis, Pedlar, Peatling, Cotton
4. (Could be group 3) Rachele, Soligo, Ah Chee, Laird, Drury
5. Edwards, Taylor, Cook, Worrell, N. Murray, Borlase
6. Keane, T. Murray, McAndrew, Welsh, Butts, Maley

I won’t lie, this was the most difficult time trial to keep track of so far since I’ve been doing this. There was a lot going on and with different groups finishing in different spots on the ground, most around the same 30 secs or so, it made it very tough to gauge who placed best.

However, some things I noticed:

• Almost certain that ANB finished first, with Thilthorpe a seriously close second. Cumming lagged a bit behind the rest of his group.
• Curtin finished first in his group.
• Pretty sure Drury won his group. Very solid little runner and has obviously kept very fit despite being only a SANFL player.
• Edwards appeared to win his group, while Taylor was at the back of the same group. The positive is Milk wasn’t in the slowest group unlike last year, and definitely ran better.
• Toby Murray appeared to be the last to finish his time trial. I was a bit disappointed as it would mean he lost to 210cm McAndrew as well as Welsh.

Obviously I would’ve liked to provide more info but it really is a bit of a mess to cover. One big positive is that seemingly no one really lagged behind or needed someone to push them - everyone finished within about a minute of each other. That hasn’t been the case in previous years.

As you would expect, the boys were a bit jelly-legged afterwards so skills and energy were a bit off for the next 10 or so minutes before they found their groove. Drills were largely the same as previous sessions, including the one where the ball can only move via the wing.

There was also a new one, which involved a stoppage at half forward where the receiver would drill a pass to a leading player inside forward 50. This was fun to watch as those with inside chops really stood out, particularly Curtin.

Speaking of which, we may have got our first taste of which positions players are being earmarked for this year. The aforementioned wing drill listed players in groups on the big screen, and they appeared to be def/mid/fwd despite not being listed as such.

Keep in mind that wings are part of the midfield group without being specified, so Curtin may still be considered a winger and not on ball. But these were the groups:

Laird, Ryan, Worrell, Murray, Milera, Cook, Butts, Borlase, Keane, Sholl, Nankervis, Bond

McAndrew, Soligo, Curtin, Edwards, Jones, Dowling, Berry, Drury, O’Brien, Peatling, Dawson, Cumming

Keays, Pedlar, Walker, Maley, Ah Chee, Thilthorpe, Rachele, Welsh, Murray, Taylor, Cotton, Foot, McGuane

Now things can change of course but some interesting observations to be made, namely Cook in the backline and Edwards considered a mid/wing. Plus Cotton as a forward and Sholl in defence as well based on this. Taylor is still in the forward group as is Rachele, but who really knows how concrete all this is.

Some player observations:

6. Curtin - knee strapping was back but gee he moved well, and was the first to celebrate and lift the energy of the group once the time trials were done. Also showed why he should make a great midfielder with his ability to break tackles (seemingly no one can bring him down) and his sixth sense for players on his peripheral.

7. Thilthorpe - we all know he’s a gun but the fact he appeared to almost win the time trial speaks volumes. He’s not going to coast on last year.

12. Dawson - he’s definitely looking a little bit thicker and not quite as chiselled as last year. Not overly surprising given the foot injury but suspect he’s got some ground to make up over the next couple of months.

13. Walker - I know he’s got nothing to prove (and looks in good nick) but I still think if you’re fit enough, you still do the time trial. I wonder if Burgo would’ve allowed the same leeway?

21. Bond - laid a glorious smother on a Nick Murray kick and deservedly got a lot of love for it. Doing little wrong and would probably be in my best 23 at the minute, such is his improvement over the past 12 months.

22. Ryan - finally showed a bit of razzle dazzle evading multiple opponents at a stoppage. Really like seeing him use his athleticism. More please.

27. Nankervis - looking really sharp and confident out there particularly when playing that distributing role off half back. His extra burst of speed and confidence to use it is a weapon. Pay attention Nicksy.

33. Cotton - love the way this bloke approaches the aerial ball, he really floats and grabs it at a high point. Interesting that he’s doing so much more with the main group than Marsh, despite being almost half a year younger. Also probably underestimated his build, he has some pretty decent guns for his age. A genuine watch next year.

40. McGuane - just don’t quite see it. Well aware he is an accumulator but he’s just so small out there and I don’t see the excitement or hurt factor. I do think we could’ve looked at Tom Lewis, who I know is on the slower side but at least he wouldn’t get ragdolled like McGuane clearly will.

47. Foot - showed a bit more today with some nice burst speed (Foot speed?) and agility around stoppage, there’s no denying he’s a good athlete. That ball drop though… when you see it you’ll know what I mean.

Thanks once again #bigman.
These off season updates are true class and like many others I'm sure, I look forward to your training reports all summer.

 

[Crow till I die]

Today was every footballer’s favourite - Time Trial Day.

First up, who was missing? Draper was the only one to not show his face at all, but a bunch didn’t do the run - Dawson, Walker, Michalanney, Hinge, Rankine, Marsh, Fogarty and Ludowyke. Some of these were understandable, but I was surprised that Daws and Tex didn’t run as they both otherwise trained fully.

Unfortunately Rankine appears to be managing some sort of injury. He was on the bike and moved pretty stiffly afterwards walking around the oval with Shane Edwards - perhaps a hamstring issue? Or maybe just cooked from the bike? Either way it’s a real shame as he was awesome last week.

Fog, Hinge and Max continue their rehab with lots of running, though Hinge again joined the main group for some drills. Marsh was also in the rehab group but looks completely fine so not sure why he’s being held back so much. Especially given he’s doing a power of running and trained fully last Monday.

Ludo did a bit more today, including some light running and skills work. He’s an interesting looking athlete - broad shoulders and long legs. Nice fluent kicking action.

Draper’s continued absence is strange. If it wasn’t for my reports there would be no indication whatsoever that he hadn’t kicked a single footy yet this pre season! Hopefully we can get some clarity on why he’s solely in the gym and nothing else.

Worrell wore a fluro yellow hat but did everything. Pedlar had some strapping on his knee but thankfully moved just fine.

Today also saw the return of Nibbler as well as the arrival of Ah Chee, who slipped in like a glove. Even in training drills his composure and skill level was evident. It makes you realise that we still don’t have quite enough of that on our list compared to sides like Brisbane.

A new bloke wearing 46 also appeared for the first time today, a tall left footer. Almost certain this was Tom Bell from WA. Looked a reasonable athlete and a nice kick, but only did some of the early drills before joining the rehab guys.

Worth noting that today was seriously windy with gusts over 50km. Not only did this make kicking and marking decidedly tricky, it was also unfortunate for the time trial, as much of the energy spent running into a headwind negated any benefits of the tailwind. Overall though the boys appeared to run well in what looked to be a 2km trial, though I can’t say for sure. The first to finish were at about the 6:25-6:30 mark, which was wind affected as I mentioned.

The squad was split up into six groups, with players being matched with those of similar running abilities. All ran at the same time but with different starting positions around the ground.

The groups were (in order from strongest to weakest - don’t read into the player order):

1. Neal-Bullen, Bond, Dowling, Keays, Cumming, Thilthorpe
2. Sholl, Curtin, Jones, Berry, O’Brien, McGuane, Foot
3. (Could be group 4) Milera, Ryan, Nankervis, Pedlar, Peatling, Cotton
4. (Could be group 3) Rachele, Soligo, Ah Chee, Laird, Drury
5. Edwards, Taylor, Cook, Worrell, N. Murray, Borlase
6. Keane, T. Murray, McAndrew, Welsh, Butts, Maley

I won’t lie, this was the most difficult time trial to keep track of so far since I’ve been doing this. There was a lot going on and with different groups finishing in different spots on the ground, most around the same 30 secs or so, it made it very tough to gauge who placed best.

However, some things I noticed:

• Almost certain that ANB finished first, with Thilthorpe a seriously close second. Cumming lagged a bit behind the rest of his group.
• Curtin finished first in his group.
• Pretty sure Drury won his group. Very solid little runner and has obviously kept very fit despite being only a SANFL player.
• Edwards appeared to win his group, while Taylor was at the back of the same group. The positive is Milk wasn’t in the slowest group unlike last year, and definitely ran better.
• Toby Murray appeared to be the last to finish his time trial. I was a bit disappointed as it would mean he lost to 210cm McAndrew as well as Welsh.

Obviously I would’ve liked to provide more info but it really is a bit of a mess to cover. One big positive is that seemingly no one really lagged behind or needed someone to push them - everyone finished within about a minute of each other. That hasn’t been the case in previous years.

As you would expect, the boys were a bit jelly-legged afterwards so skills and energy were a bit off for the next 10 or so minutes before they found their groove. Drills were largely the same as previous sessions, including the one where the ball can only move via the wing.

There was also a new one, which involved a stoppage at half forward where the receiver would drill a pass to a leading player inside forward 50. This was fun to watch as those with inside chops really stood out, particularly Curtin.

Speaking of which, we may have got our first taste of which positions players are being earmarked for this year. The aforementioned wing drill listed players in groups on the big screen, and they appeared to be def/mid/fwd despite not being listed as such.

Keep in mind that wings are part of the midfield group without being specified, so Curtin may still be considered a winger and not on ball. But these were the groups:

Laird, Ryan, Worrell, Murray, Milera, Cook, Butts, Borlase, Keane, Sholl, Nankervis, Bond

McAndrew, Soligo, Curtin, Edwards, Jones, Dowling, Berry, Drury, O’Brien, Peatling, Dawson, Cumming

Keays, Pedlar, Walker, Maley, Ah Chee, Thilthorpe, Rachele, Welsh, Murray, Taylor, Cotton, Foot, McGuane

Now things can change of course but some interesting observations to be made, namely Cook in the backline and Edwards considered a mid/wing. Plus Cotton as a forward and Sholl in defence as well based on this. Taylor is still in the forward group as is Rachele, but who really knows how concrete all this is.

Some player observations:

6. Curtin - knee strapping was back but gee he moved well, and was the first to celebrate and lift the energy of the group once the time trials were done. Also showed why he should make a great midfielder with his ability to break tackles (seemingly no one can bring him down) and his sixth sense for players on his peripheral.

7. Thilthorpe - we all know he’s a gun but the fact he appeared to almost win the time trial speaks volumes. He’s not going to coast on last year.

12. Dawson - he’s definitely looking a little bit thicker and not quite as chiselled as last year. Not overly surprising given the foot injury but suspect he’s got some ground to make up over the next couple of months.

13. Walker - I know he’s got nothing to prove (and looks in good nick) but I still think if you’re fit enough, you still do the time trial. I wonder if Burgo would’ve allowed the same leeway?

21. Bond - laid a glorious smother on a Nick Murray kick and deservedly got a lot of love for it. Doing little wrong and would probably be in my best 23 at the minute, such is his improvement over the past 12 months.

22. Ryan - finally showed a bit of razzle dazzle evading multiple opponents at a stoppage. Really like seeing him use his athleticism. More please.

27. Nankervis - looking really sharp and confident out there particularly when playing that distributing role off half back. His extra burst of speed and confidence to use it is a weapon. Pay attention Nicksy.

33. Cotton - love the way this bloke approaches the aerial ball, he really floats and grabs it at a high point. Interesting that he’s doing so much more with the main group than Marsh, despite being almost half a year younger. Also probably underestimated his build, he has some pretty decent guns for his age. A genuine watch next year.

40. McGuane - just don’t quite see it. Well aware he is an accumulator but he’s just so small out there and I don’t see the excitement or hurt factor. I do think we could’ve looked at Tom Lewis, who I know is on the slower side but at least he wouldn’t get ragdolled like McGuane clearly will.

47. Foot - showed a bit more today with some nice burst speed (Foot speed?) and agility around stoppage, there’s no denying he’s a good athlete. That ball drop though… when you see it you’ll know what I mean.

Curtin sounds like our football equivalent of Josh Giddey.......

And thats great news re Cotton in how he looks to approach the footy and that he is such a big unknown in where he could be after a year in the system

 

[ams4crows]

With the new rules about last touch do you think it's strange that there seems to be a fair bit of training regarding wing work as compared to corridor work.

 

[Slim258]

Draper’s continued absence is strange.

Surely someone in here knows something?

 

[Slackjaw]

47. Foot - showed a bit more today with some nice burst speed (Foot speed?) and agility around stoppage, there’s no denying he’s a good athlete. That ball drop though… when you see it you’ll know what I mean.

Does his ball drop affect his accuracy or it just looks weird?

 

[Mostyn]

We were hopeless against West Coast and North Melbourne in the lead up to finals.

And some of our best late season wins came with conceding a huge number of I50s, being efficient up forward with limited supply and getting beaten in stoppages. We hung on grimly for wins on those occasions but it wasn't a long-term winning formula as September proved. In hindsight, the writing was on the wall.

Historically we tend to make excuses for these big stage flops instead of examining game plan, selection, coaching staff or playing personnel.

He said we were cooked. You seem to agree. Not sure what the debate is

 

[Coopers]

* Darren Jarman

What did he ever do in finals?

#GenerationZ

 

[jackster83]

With the new rules about last touch do you think it's strange that there seems to be a fair bit of training regarding wing work as compared to corridor work.

The long bomb down the wing to Jacobs ROB never let us down before.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

He said we were cooked. You seem to agree. Not sure what the debate is

I was more thinking about our playing style but yeah okay, Burgess was the problem, glad he's gone

 

[jimvic]

Today was every footballer’s favourite - Time Trial Day.

First up, who was missing? Draper was the only one to not show his face at all, but a bunch didn’t do the run - Dawson, Walker, Michalanney, Hinge, Rankine, Marsh, Fogarty and Ludowyke. Some of these were understandable, but I was surprised that Daws and Tex didn’t run as they both otherwise trained fully.

Unfortunately Rankine appears to be managing some sort of injury. He was on the bike and moved pretty stiffly afterwards walking around the oval with Shane Edwards - perhaps a hamstring issue? Or maybe just cooked from the bike? Either way it’s a real shame as he was awesome last week.

Fog, Hinge and Max continue their rehab with lots of running, though Hinge again joined the main group for some drills. Marsh was also in the rehab group but looks completely fine so not sure why he’s being held back so much. Especially given he’s doing a power of running and trained fully last Monday.

Ludo did a bit more today, including some light running and skills work. He’s an interesting looking athlete - broad shoulders and long legs. Nice fluent kicking action.

Draper’s continued absence is strange. If it wasn’t for my reports there would be no indication whatsoever that he hadn’t kicked a single footy yet this pre season! Hopefully we can get some clarity on why he’s solely in the gym and nothing else.

Worrell wore a fluro yellow hat but did everything. Pedlar had some strapping on his knee but thankfully moved just fine.

Today also saw the return of Nibbler as well as the arrival of Ah Chee, who slipped in like a glove. Even in training drills his composure and skill level was evident. It makes you realise that we still don’t have quite enough of that on our list compared to sides like Brisbane.

A new bloke wearing 46 also appeared for the first time today, a tall left footer. Almost certain this was Tom Bell from WA. Looked a reasonable athlete and a nice kick, but only did some of the early drills before joining the rehab guys.

Worth noting that today was seriously windy with gusts over 50km. Not only did this make kicking and marking decidedly tricky, it was also unfortunate for the time trial, as much of the energy spent running into a headwind negated any benefits of the tailwind. Overall though the boys appeared to run well in what looked to be a 2km trial, though I can’t say for sure. The first to finish were at about the 6:25-6:30 mark, which was wind affected as I mentioned.

The squad was split up into six groups, with players being matched with those of similar running abilities. All ran at the same time but with different starting positions around the ground.

The groups were (in order from strongest to weakest - don’t read into the player order):

1. Neal-Bullen, Bond, Dowling, Keays, Cumming, Thilthorpe
2. Sholl, Curtin, Jones, Berry, O’Brien, McGuane, Foot
3. (Could be group 4) Milera, Ryan, Nankervis, Pedlar, Peatling, Cotton
4. (Could be group 3) Rachele, Soligo, Ah Chee, Laird, Drury
5. Edwards, Taylor, Cook, Worrell, N. Murray, Borlase
6. Keane, T. Murray, McAndrew, Welsh, Butts, Maley

I won’t lie, this was the most difficult time trial to keep track of so far since I’ve been doing this. There was a lot going on and with different groups finishing in different spots on the ground, most around the same 30 secs or so, it made it very tough to gauge who placed best.

However, some things I noticed:

• Almost certain that ANB finished first, with Thilthorpe a seriously close second. Cumming lagged a bit behind the rest of his group.
• Curtin finished first in his group.
• Pretty sure Drury won his group. Very solid little runner and has obviously kept very fit despite being only a SANFL player.
• Edwards appeared to win his group, while Taylor was at the back of the same group. The positive is Milk wasn’t in the slowest group unlike last year, and definitely ran better.
• Toby Murray appeared to be the last to finish his time trial. I was a bit disappointed as it would mean he lost to 210cm McAndrew as well as Welsh.

Obviously I would’ve liked to provide more info but it really is a bit of a mess to cover. One big positive is that seemingly no one really lagged behind or needed someone to push them - everyone finished within about a minute of each other. That hasn’t been the case in previous years.

As you would expect, the boys were a bit jelly-legged afterwards so skills and energy were a bit off for the next 10 or so minutes before they found their groove. Drills were largely the same as previous sessions, including the one where the ball can only move via the wing.

There was also a new one, which involved a stoppage at half forward where the receiver would drill a pass to a leading player inside forward 50. This was fun to watch as those with inside chops really stood out, particularly Curtin.

Speaking of which, we may have got our first taste of which positions players are being earmarked for this year. The aforementioned wing drill listed players in groups on the big screen, and they appeared to be def/mid/fwd despite not being listed as such.

Keep in mind that wings are part of the midfield group without being specified, so Curtin may still be considered a winger and not on ball. But these were the groups:

Laird, Ryan, Worrell, Murray, Milera, Cook, Butts, Borlase, Keane, Sholl, Nankervis, Bond

McAndrew, Soligo, Curtin, Edwards, Jones, Dowling, Berry, Drury, O’Brien, Peatling, Dawson, Cumming

Keays, Pedlar, Walker, Maley, Ah Chee, Thilthorpe, Rachele, Welsh, Murray, Taylor, Cotton, Foot, McGuane

Now things can change of course but some interesting observations to be made, namely Cook in the backline and Edwards considered a mid/wing. Plus Cotton as a forward and Sholl in defence as well based on this. Taylor is still in the forward group as is Rachele, but who really knows how concrete all this is.

Some player observations:

6. Curtin - knee strapping was back but gee he moved well, and was the first to celebrate and lift the energy of the group once the time trials were done. Also showed why he should make a great midfielder with his ability to break tackles (seemingly no one can bring him down) and his sixth sense for players on his peripheral.

7. Thilthorpe - we all know he’s a gun but the fact he appeared to almost win the time trial speaks volumes. He’s not going to coast on last year.

12. Dawson - he’s definitely looking a little bit thicker and not quite as chiselled as last year. Not overly surprising given the foot injury but suspect he’s got some ground to make up over the next couple of months.

13. Walker - I know he’s got nothing to prove (and looks in good nick) but I still think if you’re fit enough, you still do the time trial. I wonder if Burgo would’ve allowed the same leeway?

21. Bond - laid a glorious smother on a Nick Murray kick and deservedly got a lot of love for it. Doing little wrong and would probably be in my best 23 at the minute, such is his improvement over the past 12 months.

22. Ryan - finally showed a bit of razzle dazzle evading multiple opponents at a stoppage. Really like seeing him use his athleticism. More please.

27. Nankervis - looking really sharp and confident out there particularly when playing that distributing role off half back. His extra burst of speed and confidence to use it is a weapon. Pay attention Nicksy.

33. Cotton - love the way this bloke approaches the aerial ball, he really floats and grabs it at a high point. Interesting that he’s doing so much more with the main group than Marsh, despite being almost half a year younger. Also probably underestimated his build, he has some pretty decent guns for his age. A genuine watch next year.

40. McGuane - just don’t quite see it. Well aware he is an accumulator but he’s just so small out there and I don’t see the excitement or hurt factor. I do think we could’ve looked at Tom Lewis, who I know is on the slower side but at least he wouldn’t get ragdolled like McGuane clearly will.

47. Foot - showed a bit more today with some nice burst speed (Foot speed?) and agility around stoppage, there’s no denying he’s a good athlete. That ball drop though… when you see it you’ll know what I mean.

Hey BM, lovin your work - any feedback on how Keane, Butts and Murray are progressing? Who do you think will fill our 2 Key defensive positions?

 

[Golumless]

Today was every footballer’s favourite - Time Trial Day.

First up, who was missing? Draper was the only one to not show his face at all, but a bunch didn’t do the run - Dawson, Walker, Michalanney, Hinge, Rankine, Marsh, Fogarty and Ludowyke. Some of these were understandable, but I was surprised that Daws and Tex didn’t run as they both otherwise trained fully.

Unfortunately Rankine appears to be managing some sort of injury. He was on the bike and moved pretty stiffly afterwards walking around the oval with Shane Edwards - perhaps a hamstring issue? Or maybe just cooked from the bike? Either way it’s a real shame as he was awesome last week.

Fog, Hinge and Max continue their rehab with lots of running, though Hinge again joined the main group for some drills. Marsh was also in the rehab group but looks completely fine so not sure why he’s being held back so much. Especially given he’s doing a power of running and trained fully last Monday.

Ludo did a bit more today, including some light running and skills work. He’s an interesting looking athlete - broad shoulders and long legs. Nice fluent kicking action.

Draper’s continued absence is strange. If it wasn’t for my reports there would be no indication whatsoever that he hadn’t kicked a single footy yet this pre season! Hopefully we can get some clarity on why he’s solely in the gym and nothing else.

Worrell wore a fluro yellow hat but did everything. Pedlar had some strapping on his knee but thankfully moved just fine.

Today also saw the return of Nibbler as well as the arrival of Ah Chee, who slipped in like a glove. Even in training drills his composure and skill level was evident. It makes you realise that we still don’t have quite enough of that on our list compared to sides like Brisbane.

A new bloke wearing 46 also appeared for the first time today, a tall left footer. Almost certain this was Tom Bell from WA. Looked a reasonable athlete and a nice kick, but only did some of the early drills before joining the rehab guys.

Worth noting that today was seriously windy with gusts over 50km. Not only did this make kicking and marking decidedly tricky, it was also unfortunate for the time trial, as much of the energy spent running into a headwind negated any benefits of the tailwind. Overall though the boys appeared to run well in what looked to be a 2km trial, though I can’t say for sure. The first to finish were at about the 6:25-6:30 mark, which was wind affected as I mentioned.

The squad was split up into six groups, with players being matched with those of similar running abilities. All ran at the same time but with different starting positions around the ground.

The groups were (in order from strongest to weakest - don’t read into the player order):

1. Neal-Bullen, Bond, Dowling, Keays, Cumming, Thilthorpe
2. Sholl, Curtin, Jones, Berry, O’Brien, McGuane, Foot
3. (Could be group 4) Milera, Ryan, Nankervis, Pedlar, Peatling, Cotton
4. (Could be group 3) Rachele, Soligo, Ah Chee, Laird, Drury
5. Edwards, Taylor, Cook, Worrell, N. Murray, Borlase
6. Keane, T. Murray, McAndrew, Welsh, Butts, Maley

I won’t lie, this was the most difficult time trial to keep track of so far since I’ve been doing this. There was a lot going on and with different groups finishing in different spots on the ground, most around the same 30 secs or so, it made it very tough to gauge who placed best.

However, some things I noticed:

• Almost certain that ANB finished first, with Thilthorpe a seriously close second. Cumming lagged a bit behind the rest of his group.
• Curtin finished first in his group.
• Pretty sure Drury won his group. Very solid little runner and has obviously kept very fit despite being only a SANFL player.
• Edwards appeared to win his group, while Taylor was at the back of the same group. The positive is Milk wasn’t in the slowest group unlike last year, and definitely ran better.
• Toby Murray appeared to be the last to finish his time trial. I was a bit disappointed as it would mean he lost to 210cm McAndrew as well as Welsh.

Obviously I would’ve liked to provide more info but it really is a bit of a mess to cover. One big positive is that seemingly no one really lagged behind or needed someone to push them - everyone finished within about a minute of each other. That hasn’t been the case in previous years.

As you would expect, the boys were a bit jelly-legged afterwards so skills and energy were a bit off for the next 10 or so minutes before they found their groove. Drills were largely the same as previous sessions, including the one where the ball can only move via the wing.

There was also a new one, which involved a stoppage at half forward where the receiver would drill a pass to a leading player inside forward 50. This was fun to watch as those with inside chops really stood out, particularly Curtin.

Speaking of which, we may have got our first taste of which positions players are being earmarked for this year. The aforementioned wing drill listed players in groups on the big screen, and they appeared to be def/mid/fwd despite not being listed as such.

Keep in mind that wings are part of the midfield group without being specified, so Curtin may still be considered a winger and not on ball. But these were the groups:

Laird, Ryan, Worrell, Murray, Milera, Cook, Butts, Borlase, Keane, Sholl, Nankervis, Bond

McAndrew, Soligo, Curtin, Edwards, Jones, Dowling, Berry, Drury, O’Brien, Peatling, Dawson, Cumming

Keays, Pedlar, Walker, Maley, Ah Chee, Thilthorpe, Rachele, Welsh, Murray, Taylor, Cotton, Foot, McGuane

Now things can change of course but some interesting observations to be made, namely Cook in the backline and Edwards considered a mid/wing. Plus Cotton as a forward and Sholl in defence as well based on this. Taylor is still in the forward group as is Rachele, but who really knows how concrete all this is.

Some player observations:

6. Curtin - knee strapping was back but gee he moved well, and was the first to celebrate and lift the energy of the group once the time trials were done. Also showed why he should make a great midfielder with his ability to break tackles (seemingly no one can bring him down) and his sixth sense for players on his peripheral.

7. Thilthorpe - we all know he’s a gun but the fact he appeared to almost win the time trial speaks volumes. He’s not going to coast on last year.

12. Dawson - he’s definitely looking a little bit thicker and not quite as chiselled as last year. Not overly surprising given the foot injury but suspect he’s got some ground to make up over the next couple of months.

13. Walker - I know he’s got nothing to prove (and looks in good nick) but I still think if you’re fit enough, you still do the time trial. I wonder if Burgo would’ve allowed the same leeway?

21. Bond - laid a glorious smother on a Nick Murray kick and deservedly got a lot of love for it. Doing little wrong and would probably be in my best 23 at the minute, such is his improvement over the past 12 months.

22. Ryan - finally showed a bit of razzle dazzle evading multiple opponents at a stoppage. Really like seeing him use his athleticism. More please.

27. Nankervis - looking really sharp and confident out there particularly when playing that distributing role off half back. His extra burst of speed and confidence to use it is a weapon. Pay attention Nicksy.

33. Cotton - love the way this bloke approaches the aerial ball, he really floats and grabs it at a high point. Interesting that he’s doing so much more with the main group than Marsh, despite being almost half a year younger. Also probably underestimated his build, he has some pretty decent guns for his age. A genuine watch next year.

40. McGuane - just don’t quite see it. Well aware he is an accumulator but he’s just so small out there and I don’t see the excitement or hurt factor. I do think we could’ve looked at Tom Lewis, who I know is on the slower side but at least he wouldn’t get ragdolled like McGuane clearly will.

47. Foot - showed a bit more today with some nice burst speed (Foot speed?) and agility around stoppage, there’s no denying he’s a good athlete. That ball drop though… when you see it you’ll know what I mean.

One of my great disappointments with Adelaide in the last half decade has been the lack of willing to move Cook into the back lines. There was one trial game against Glenelg a few years ago where he bossed it like a young Dawson, and then nothing else.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

I'm perfectly happy to give players mulligans, like Darren Jarman in his first AFL grand final - especially because he had performed well in the 1987 SANFL premiership

You don't get many chances to show your worth in finals though. A lot of our squad have used up their mulligans

How many mulligans do the cosches get?

 

[spenze]

Draper’s continued absence is strange. If it wasn’t for my reports there would be no indication whatsoever that he hadn’t kicked a single footy yet this pre season! Hopefully we can get some clarity on why he’s solely in the gym and nothing else.

Mismanaged groin issues.

 

[Brenton Davy]

47. Foot - showed a bit more today with some nice burst speed (Foot speed?) and agility around stoppage, there’s no denying he’s a good athlete. That ball drop though… when you see it you’ll know what I mean

I’ve seen worse.

Love your work though!

 

[WeeBlake]

Mismanaged groin issues.

Would make a lot of sense. He was underwhelming last year.

 

[Scorpus]

How many mulligans do the cosches get?

Ours have well and truly used theirs

 

[SadCromFan]

From the Advertiser... "Last year’s top draftee Sid Draper was inside as he deals with a back issue."

Also worth nothing this: "Izak Rankine

23

Izak Rankine

Age

25

Ht

179cm

Wt

82kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.0

3star

K

9.0

3star

HB

4.0

3star

M

2.7

3star

T

2.7

4star

CL

1.7

4star

D

13.0

3star

K

9.0

4star

HB

4.0

3star

M

2.7

3star

T

2.7

4star

CL

1.7

4star

D

13.0

4star

K

9.0

4star

HB

4.0

3star

M

2.7

3star

T

2.7

5star

CL

1.7

4star

only walked a lap or two before going inside but the Crows have said it is nothing serious."

Annnnnnnnd - Elijah Hollands was at a wedding in Adelaide over the weekend.

 

[BRL121]

From the Advertiser... "Last year’s top draftee Sid Draper was inside as he deals with a back issue."

Also worth nothing this: "Izak Rankine only walked a lap or two before going inside but the Crows have said it is nothing serious."

Annnnnnnnd - Elijah Hollands was at a wedding in Adelaide over the weekend.

So, is Draper still having problems from the pars defect?

 

[Mutineer]

Draper’s continued absence is strange. If it wasn’t for my reports there would be no indication whatsoever that he hadn’t kicked a single footy yet this pre season! Hopefully we can get some clarity on why he’s solely in the gym and nothing else.

WHAT ELSE CAUGHT THE EYE​

With Ah Chee now at the club, nearly all of the Crows list was on the track.

Captain Jordan Dawson was out there after he was one of only a handful of senior players who did not report for day one of pre-season last week.

Izak Rankine only walked a lap or two before going inside but the Crows have said it is nothing serious.

Last year’s top draftee Sid Draper was inside as he deals with a back issue.

Fellow draftee from last year Tyler Welsh looks to have gotten leaner after his first season at AFL level.