Training 3/12/2025
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First bit of match sim today.
Draper missing again as was Cumming, and unfortunately poor Tom McGuane came out later on crutches and in a moon boot. Obviously not great for his chances, I’m hoping we can get him onto our sanfl team and see a year of him?
Quite a few in and out of the rehab group today. Rankine was strictly doing running alongside Ludowyke, while Ryan was also relegated to pounding the pavement (grass) by himself. Hinge joined the rehab group in the back half of the session whilst Worrell did a bit of work with them but otherwise trained with the main group. Fog did some light drills but is still mostly running alongside Strachan and the top-up Bell. Max was nowhere to be seen for most of the session but came out later on and did some pretty intensive running. And finally Tex and Laird don’t have any issues but were held back from some drills. Marsh returned to the main group though!
It sounds like a lot but the only truly injured players are (seemingly) Draper, McGuane, Rankine and Ludowyke, the latter which we knew had hurt his PCL earlier this year. Fog and Max appear to be nearing full training while Ryan looked to be managed, likely just soreness but I’ll keep an eye on it.
The majority of the session involved three different drills that five groups rotated through. Two of the drills were quite similar, involving two groups each and both were all about clean ball movement (and defending said ball movement). The only difference was one encompassed two thirds of the ground and was focussed on precision kicking, while the other was played in the other 50m arc and went across the ground - this one allowed kicking but emphasised handball chains and burst speed.
Both drills did not allow a grounded ball, as in which case it would be an automatic turnover. It obviously placed a lot of pressure on kicks hitting the target and definitely separated some of the good kicks from the lesser. The other drill was just light ground ball work and mostly acted as a bit of respite before rotating back into the one of the other two, which were far more demanding.
The most interesting thing today was the 15 minutes of match sim, between what appeared to be A vs B teams with a couple of exceptions. Laird and Tex did not take part, nor did the rehab guys obviously. Marsh was also held out.
Thankfully the teams were listed for everyone to see and they were as follows (16 a side):
Blue
FB: Keane Hinge
HB: Milera Murray Nankervis
_C: Peatling Dawson Ah Chee
HF: ANB T.Murray Keays
FF: Pedlar Thilthorpe
_R: O’Brien Soligo Curtin
IN: Berry
Yellow
FB: Butts Worrell
HB: Cook Borlase Bond
_C: Jones Rachele Sholl
HF: Foot Maley Taylor
FF: Cotton Welsh
_R: McAndrew Edwards Dowling
IN: Drury
Some interesting points to take out of it.
Interestingly the game was essentially a draw with both teams kicking three snags each. Ibis kicked two goals for his team with Thilthorpe nailing a check side on the run, while for Yellow Welsh booted two and Taylor also hit the scoreboard.
I will say that there were a few dodgy kicks despite the really nice conditions. Keane and Murray both kicked absolute howlers out of deep defence that led directly to opposition shots on goal. And even in some of the earlier drills there were a fair amount of missed targets by foot. Early pre season days I know but I do wonder if we have enough good kicks in our team compared to the best sides
The group ended the session with some pretty intense running along the boundary, in which different players would have to lead the team (even Welsh on a couple of occasions).
A bunch of player thoughts:
3. Berry - hit a lovely pass to Ibis which set up his first goal. Interesting that he was part of the Blue team, but this was obviously without the likes of Rankine and Draper playing. Will be curious to see where he fits as the season draws closer.
4. Ah Chee - this bloke is just so clean and classy, very no-fuss and makes great decisions. Probably had one bad kick for the day - when it happened I was actually a bit shocked as he had otherwise been so clinical.
7. Thilthorpe - actually looks even fitter than last year without losing his size. Just ridiculous how well he covers the ground. He’s a special one.
14. Soligo - looks super sharp, hitting darts all over the ground and running so much better than he did in the back half of last season. We just need to get a whole year of his best.
15. Cook - Took a couple of kick outs and typically used it well. Can he get into the best 23 in this role? It’s certainly a good test for his competitiveness. But his boot is lethal, so you can see why they’re trying it.
17. Welsh - running better and the two goals is nice (one was a Joe the goose from Cotton though). He still drops a few too many marks and when the ball hits the deck I don’t see great footy iq.
19. Taylor - good to see my boy Milk taking advantage of his improved running ability, hitting up for more leads around the ground and just a lot more involved than previous summers. Still prefer him as a mid as you want him in traffic where he’s so clean and classy.
26. Marsh - nice to see him rejoin the main group and while he didn’t have a huge day, he rarely made a mistake with ball in hand. Very tidy player.
27. Nankervis - seems in a good space at the moment and looks at home in that half back role. Will Nicksy get a sudden onset of his annual Summer amnesia? We shall see.
28. Neal-Bullen - trained really well. He’s a great decision maker so you want the ball in his hands. What I want to see this season is for him to not get caught so much, as he doesn’t have much of an evasive game and isn’t the fend-off type. Can he find a yard of pace? Or play differently?
31. Dowling - got a fair bit of it, unfortunately had the worst kick in front of goal I’ve ever seen from him, going out on the full despite kicking from straight in front. Usually such a dead-eye too.
33. Cotton - marks the footy at a really high point which I love and gee he’s doing a lot of work for an 18 year old. Not sure about playing him forward though, at least full time. It’s a hard position to play when you’re adjusting back to footy.
35. Borlase - did a lovely spoil on Thilthorpe which got a lot of praise from the boys. The issue is that his game hasn’t really developed over the last couple years - he’s a very good SANFL player but he hasn’t developed enough tricks to compensate his lack of height and speed. Decent depth of course. But it is a contract year.
37. Drury - you would think he is a train-on such is his work rate and intensity out there. He’s a solid little player and makes good decisions, at his height though you need to be fast which he isn’t. But he can play.
39. Murray - took a ripping pack mark in between two opponents for his first goal. Kicked another and could’ve had three. He’s a funny one - not the most aesthetically pleasing trainer but when he’s on he really is on. He showed that last year.
47. Foot - was courageous as hell going back with the flight on one occasion and nearly got pole axed. Wasn’t necessary but indicates his mindset. Struggling a bit to get involved though, would like to see him own a drill or even session at some point.
Draper missing again as was Cumming, and unfortunately poor Tom McGuane came out later on crutches and in a moon boot. Obviously not great for his chances, I’m hoping we can get him onto our sanfl team and see a year of him?
Quite a few in and out of the rehab group today. Rankine was strictly doing running alongside Ludowyke, while Ryan was also relegated to pounding the pavement (grass) by himself. Hinge joined the rehab group in the back half of the session whilst Worrell did a bit of work with them but otherwise trained with the main group. Fog did some light drills but is still mostly running alongside Strachan and the top-up Bell. Max was nowhere to be seen for most of the session but came out later on and did some pretty intensive running. And finally Tex and Laird don’t have any issues but were held back from some drills. Marsh returned to the main group though!
It sounds like a lot but the only truly injured players are (seemingly) Draper, McGuane, Rankine and Ludowyke, the latter which we knew had hurt his PCL earlier this year. Fog and Max appear to be nearing full training while Ryan looked to be managed, likely just soreness but I’ll keep an eye on it.
The majority of the session involved three different drills that five groups rotated through. Two of the drills were quite similar, involving two groups each and both were all about clean ball movement (and defending said ball movement). The only difference was one encompassed two thirds of the ground and was focussed on precision kicking, while the other was played in the other 50m arc and went across the ground - this one allowed kicking but emphasised handball chains and burst speed.
Both drills did not allow a grounded ball, as in which case it would be an automatic turnover. It obviously placed a lot of pressure on kicks hitting the target and definitely separated some of the good kicks from the lesser. The other drill was just light ground ball work and mostly acted as a bit of respite before rotating back into the one of the other two, which were far more demanding.
The most interesting thing today was the 15 minutes of match sim, between what appeared to be A vs B teams with a couple of exceptions. Laird and Tex did not take part, nor did the rehab guys obviously. Marsh was also held out.
Thankfully the teams were listed for everyone to see and they were as follows (16 a side):
Blue
FB: Keane Hinge
HB: Milera Murray Nankervis
_C: Peatling Dawson Ah Chee
HF: ANB T.Murray Keays
FF: Pedlar Thilthorpe
_R: O’Brien Soligo Curtin
IN: Berry
Yellow
FB: Butts Worrell
HB: Cook Borlase Bond
_C: Jones Rachele Sholl
HF: Foot Maley Taylor
FF: Cotton Welsh
_R: McAndrew Edwards Dowling
IN: Drury
Some interesting points to take out of it.
- Obviously Rachele was in the ‘B’ team but it allowed him to play as a mid. Worrell was also B team which we know he isn’t - leadership work perhaps?
- Nankervis played in the A side but worth noting that Laird didn’t participate. Still a good sign though.
- Ah Chee on the wing.
- Ibis ahead of Maley in the absence of Tex and Fogarty.
- Curtin named on ball.
- Cook the defender appears to be a thing, as does Edwards returning to the midfield.
Interestingly the game was essentially a draw with both teams kicking three snags each. Ibis kicked two goals for his team with Thilthorpe nailing a check side on the run, while for Yellow Welsh booted two and Taylor also hit the scoreboard.
I will say that there were a few dodgy kicks despite the really nice conditions. Keane and Murray both kicked absolute howlers out of deep defence that led directly to opposition shots on goal. And even in some of the earlier drills there were a fair amount of missed targets by foot. Early pre season days I know but I do wonder if we have enough good kicks in our team compared to the best sides
The group ended the session with some pretty intense running along the boundary, in which different players would have to lead the team (even Welsh on a couple of occasions).
A bunch of player thoughts:
3. Berry - hit a lovely pass to Ibis which set up his first goal. Interesting that he was part of the Blue team, but this was obviously without the likes of Rankine and Draper playing. Will be curious to see where he fits as the season draws closer.
4. Ah Chee - this bloke is just so clean and classy, very no-fuss and makes great decisions. Probably had one bad kick for the day - when it happened I was actually a bit shocked as he had otherwise been so clinical.
7. Thilthorpe - actually looks even fitter than last year without losing his size. Just ridiculous how well he covers the ground. He’s a special one.
14. Soligo - looks super sharp, hitting darts all over the ground and running so much better than he did in the back half of last season. We just need to get a whole year of his best.
15. Cook - Took a couple of kick outs and typically used it well. Can he get into the best 23 in this role? It’s certainly a good test for his competitiveness. But his boot is lethal, so you can see why they’re trying it.
17. Welsh - running better and the two goals is nice (one was a Joe the goose from Cotton though). He still drops a few too many marks and when the ball hits the deck I don’t see great footy iq.
19. Taylor - good to see my boy Milk taking advantage of his improved running ability, hitting up for more leads around the ground and just a lot more involved than previous summers. Still prefer him as a mid as you want him in traffic where he’s so clean and classy.
26. Marsh - nice to see him rejoin the main group and while he didn’t have a huge day, he rarely made a mistake with ball in hand. Very tidy player.
27. Nankervis - seems in a good space at the moment and looks at home in that half back role. Will Nicksy get a sudden onset of his annual Summer amnesia? We shall see.
28. Neal-Bullen - trained really well. He’s a great decision maker so you want the ball in his hands. What I want to see this season is for him to not get caught so much, as he doesn’t have much of an evasive game and isn’t the fend-off type. Can he find a yard of pace? Or play differently?
31. Dowling - got a fair bit of it, unfortunately had the worst kick in front of goal I’ve ever seen from him, going out on the full despite kicking from straight in front. Usually such a dead-eye too.
33. Cotton - marks the footy at a really high point which I love and gee he’s doing a lot of work for an 18 year old. Not sure about playing him forward though, at least full time. It’s a hard position to play when you’re adjusting back to footy.
35. Borlase - did a lovely spoil on Thilthorpe which got a lot of praise from the boys. The issue is that his game hasn’t really developed over the last couple years - he’s a very good SANFL player but he hasn’t developed enough tricks to compensate his lack of height and speed. Decent depth of course. But it is a contract year.
37. Drury - you would think he is a train-on such is his work rate and intensity out there. He’s a solid little player and makes good decisions, at his height though you need to be fast which he isn’t. But he can play.
39. Murray - took a ripping pack mark in between two opponents for his first goal. Kicked another and could’ve had three. He’s a funny one - not the most aesthetically pleasing trainer but when he’s on he really is on. He showed that last year.
47. Foot - was courageous as hell going back with the flight on one occasion and nearly got pole axed. Wasn’t necessary but indicates his mindset. Struggling a bit to get involved though, would like to see him own a drill or even session at some point.
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