Bigman’s Training Reports

[Scorpus]

Nah you are right as always mate.

Our form was shit in the last month. Only won 4 games and knocked off two preliminary finalist teams.


You think we were in a form slump when we knocked off Collingwood and Hawthorn?

Yes.

We lost the Hawthorn, Collingwood and North games on xScore - so with league average goal kicking from both sides we would have lost those matches. We got lucky to win them all - and we certainly had some very poor patches in all of those games.

Great wins that set us up for finishing 1st, not the best performances from a form perspective

Our form was much better after the bye from the Richmond win through to the Port smashing

And it's quite clear the end of season form carried directly into finals - especially the poor starts against Hawthorn and Collingwood in the H&A were very similar to the Hawthorn final

 

[AFC979810]

Did you watch the games

Sure did.

Also watched a lot of other teams playing during the season. Winning in the AFL is tough. Upsets happen.

The premiers drew with North, Saints beat Geelong, Melbourne beat Brisbane at the Gabba in the greatest comeback ever.

How anyone can look at our last month when we beat two preliminary finalists and say we were in a form slump is crazy.

 

[Scorpus]

How anyone can look at our last month when we beat two preliminary finalists and say we were in a form slump is crazy.

You seem to think a team can't win in a form slump. Of course you can.

 

[AFC979810]

Yes.

We lost the Hawthorn, Collingwood and North games on xScore - so with league average goal kicking from both sides we would have lost those matches. We got lucky to win them all - and we certainly had some very poor patches in all of those games.

Great wins that set us up for finishing 1st, not the best performances from a form perspective

Our form was much better after the bye from the Richmond win through to the Port smashing

And it's quite clear the end of season form carried directly into finals - especially the poor starts against Hawthorn and Collingwood in the H&A were very similar to the Hawthorn final

Xscore. You lost me at Score.

 

[AFC979810]

You seem to think a team can't win in a form slump. Of course you can.

I am arguing that our form wasn't a reason for us losing the 2 finals. Are you agreeing with me?

 

[Scorpus]

I am arguing that our form wasn't a reason for us losing the 2 finals. Are you agreeing with me?

I wouldn't say it was the main reason, but it was a contributing factor

I think the main reason was Nicks' incompetence

 

[Golumless]

We have Rankine in that side against Collingwood and non of the bullshit and we win that game IMO.

That's quite possible, seeing how much of a spark plug Rankine can be for this unit. Especially as Rachele was out injured at this point, and that gun small forwards is one of those things that can change the entire complexion of a football side.

Whilst I'm very critical of our coaching in the Hawthorn game, you could certainly make a case that what does this side in is the lack of genuine star power. After all, no matter what is sprouted about coaching/structure/depth, finals are won/lost by your star players (or lack thereof). Having two in the same sector ripped out of the lineup in the lead up (and one fade out, though I'm not critical of that) on top of the Achillies heel that was our inside midfield group may have made it a bridge too far.

It was a pretty sharp decline. Just two weeks prior to the horrible performance against West Coast, we beat Port Adelaide by a record margin, and smashed Gold Coast prior to that

Directly after playing Port we came out and were five goals down in the first quarter to Hawthorn

Obviously there were many contributing factors but I think in the space of a few weeks Nicks deliberately tried to tighten up our contest work and get into a defensive "grindset" that would win finals. I don't think he ever truly trusted the attacking plan that saw us win big over Port and GC. This backfired and as we went defensive we also began struggling all over the ground including at contests. The fact we looked absolutely clueless for three quarters against West Coast is a big tell, our players didn't seem able to execute the plan against the worst side in the league.

Combine Nicks' finals gameplan with the Rankine saga, supposed sickness and injuries to key players and the 'first time in finals' thing and we get our straight sets disaster

Advanced stats indicate you've got this backwards. For all the talk of this "offensive gameplan" against GC and Port, we were more successful in moving the ball out of our D50 (and defensive half) in both the Collingwood and Hawks finals then we were against either of those teams and our general average in that stretch (indicating we moved away from the defensive grinding style we were employing mid-year). However, I'm sceptical of there being any genuine argument in that space about changes in our ball movement having a genunie influence on our results (good or bad), mainly because there were red flags in a few of our wins against other top 8 teams (and Port) that we had an inside group that can be beaten up for 10-15 minute stretches by good units. Lo-and-behold, that appears in both matches and we lose both matches from those periods (the start of Q3 against Collingwood, and the Q1 burst from the Hawks causes our coaching group to panic).

If there is a game that causes our coaching group to making changes, it's the win against Collingwood where our ball movement stats were diabolically bad (11.5 D50 to F50, 21.2 Def half to Fwd half chains), alongside the loss of Rankine (and I do think the subsequent tick up in ball movement is, ironically, due to this). To the point it probably is a contender for one of the worst performances of any club throughout the year in regards to ball movement, and we were trending that way for a while (but unlike West Coast which was similar, this is the one where you can't question workrate). We do put up one of our most prolific ball movement performances against North the week after, and the quarter final has a serious uptick compared to round 23. Whereas, until then, we were decently consistent in how effective we were at getting the ball out of our D50/defensive half (which is to say, we were consistently bad) and how well we did from defensive half to forward half. A lot of our offensive success really did just hinge on how effective we were at generating shots at goal once we broke through (+ our ability to convert goal opportunities), and in that sense, I do think AFC979810 is on the mony that the Rankine/Rachele loss was a potential death blow of sorts factored alongside our inside midfield weakeness. For all I want to talk about in the Collingwood game, 50 inside 50s for 19 shots with a team that usually hovers just above 50% is a lot of potentially lost momentum.

Equally, I think taking anything out of that West Coast game outside of its one of those odd performances sports throws up where a team has got complacent from a long winning streak, sandwitched between big games, and is against a trash team is disingenious. The US term of "trap games" is worth remembering here, especially on the back of Adelaide beating Collingwood the week after (albiet riding our luck with it, though we deserved that luck by virtue of considerably out working Collingwood). From watching that game, a lot of it did come off as a group who couldn't get up for that game, especially noting that we were below average in just about every workrate related stat compared to our typical season differential (not exactly a good spot to be with a team who is reliant on workrate).

 

[daniel_4tw]

I really didn’t mean to derail the best thread on this board. Sorry!

 

[AFC979810]

I really didn’t mean to derail the best thread on this board. Sorry!

Daaaamn Daniel - back at it again with a ruined thread.

 

[Samcro24]

You don’t go 18-5 due an easy draw.

2 of our losses really should have been wins (GC and Hawks away).

We failed in finals, big time, but the rewriting of history because the team ran out of steam is crazy.

It was a fantastic season and now the boys have proven they can take it to the best teams they can hopefully keep a bit in the tank and go a bit further next year.

I think our finals losses was on Nicks more than the players (and I’m a Nicks optimist). But some of those moves on game day was strange…

We went all out to win those games somewhat understandable having sucked for several years.

The run home looked challenging on paper. But the harder games were at home, easy ones away.

The likes of Collingwood and hawthorn leaving a bit in the tank for the real stuff.

We played those games as finals. Got the Ws. Then were found out a few weeks later.

One astute poster in particular called it fair way out and got howled down by a few. Hate to say he was right. Good looking bloke too, but that’s by the by.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

I think you are looking for explanations after the fact. Finals are about the day.

Uh uh

This was debated at length in the back half of the season

You might recall that you were adamant that losing the centre square clearances didn't matter and conceding a huge number of Inside 50s didn't matter and our forwards being efficient with limited supply didn't matter.

It all didn't matter. We were still winning, right?

Those who thought it might lead to us being exposed in September were ridiculed.

The "just a bad couple of moments in September" line is one I fully expect to be pushed (and whole-heartedly believed) by the club but I thought they'd have had very few buyers outside the fabled four walls.

 

[Mr MysteryGuest]

I'm not convinced the club believes the midfield is a weakness

We spent a lot of time chasing midfielders in the off-season

 

[daniel_4tw]

We went all out to win those games somewhat understandable having sucked for several years.

The run home looked challenging on paper. But the harder games were at home, easy ones away.

The likes of Collingwood and hawthorn leaving a bit in the tank for the real stuff.

We played those games as finals. Got the Ws. Then were found out a few weeks later.

One astute poster in particular called it fair way out and got howled down by a few. Hate to say he was right. Good looking bloke too, but that’s by the by.

That’s fair.

I think having the opportunity to finish first was the worst thing that could have happened. When you think about it, Crows had been going full tilt from pre-season against Brisbane. Which I get. No finals in 7 years and then the wins just kept coming. They kinda had to prove they belong.

I remember in round 18 or something McRae and Nicks were on AFL360 and McRae joked that Crows were peaking too early, and Nicks said something like ‘we’ll have to see’.

It’s all moot anyway. Rankine doesn’t get himself suspended, Port don’t beat Gold Coast in Round 23 and we vs GC in week 1 and maybe we get enough belief and a week off it’s different.

Instead we lose to Collingwood and face another traditional bogey side, and that’s all she wrote.

I don’t think anyone was beating Brisbane anyway. They were just on another level in the PF and GF.

 

[AFC979810]

Uh uh

This was debated at length in the back half of the season

You might recall that you were adamant that losing the centre square clearances didn't matter and conceding a huge number of Inside 50s didn't matter and our forwards being efficient with limited supply didn't matter.

Well - I was adamant about the clearances not mattering - particularly against the Pies. Our style of play is not reliant on clearances. Earlier in the season we were very untidy against allowing the opposition to score from centre clearances, but we tidied that up.

We won the clearances against Collingwood and lost the centre clearances by a tiny margin 10-12.

Look back at the other 2 games against them.

Game 1 we win clearances and win centre clearances and lose the game.

Game 2 they win the clearances and the centre clearances and lose.

In the final we win clearances they win centre clearances (by 2) and lose.

Our matches vs Collingwood were not decided by Clearances..

It all didn't matter. We were still winning, right?

Yeah we were. We won 9 straight and had beaten Collingwood and Hawthorn.

You can also pick apart the form of 6 other finalists entering the finals. It's the nature of the beast. Only Geelong had unquestionable form heading into the finals.

It's professional sport. There is a reason that no team has had not lost a game for the entire season.

Those who thought it might lead to us being exposed in September were ridiculed.

Those who sprout doom all the time every time are bound to be right eventually. All season I heard we couldn't win at the MCG, we couldn't win a close one, then it was we couldn't beat this coach, then this coach, then beat this team. Keep doubting eventually you will get It right.

The "just a bad couple of moments in September" line is one I fully expect to be pushed (and whole-heartedly believed) by the club but I thought they'd have had very few buyers outside the fabled four walls.

I don't think it's a couple of bad moments in September. I think its a team devoid of finals experience being embroiled in a national scandal in the lead up to their first finals series in 8 years combined with losing one of their 2 best players led to a piss poor finals series.

 

[AFC979810]

We went all out to win those games somewhat understandable having sucked for several years.

The run home looked challenging on paper. But the harder games were at home, easy ones away.

The likes of Collingwood and hawthorn leaving a bit in the tank for the real stuff.

We played those games as finals. Got the Ws. Then were found out a few weeks later.

One astute poster in particular called it fair way out and got howled down by a few. Hate to say he was right. Good looking bloke too, but that’s by the by

Betting against a team to win the flag wins 17 times outta 18. Way to play the numbers.

Might just splash some of my hard on earned on the Crows to win 5 games next year. Can't wait to brag about my winning ticket that gives me back $101 on my $100 ticket.

 

[Samcro24]

Betting against a team to win the flag wins 17 times outta 18. Way to play the numbers.

Might just splash some of my hard on earned on the Crows to win 5 games next year. Can't wait to brag about my winning ticket that gives me back $101 on my $100 ticket.

No, it was more like

We’re busting our balls to qualify, don’t write off the collingwoods of the world, they will be a much bigger challenge in September, minor round is minor.

The lack of respect some showed to the other finalists, some having been the most recent premiers mind you was mind boggling.

 

[BRL121]

Are we training today? Perhaps 1970 has put Bigman off.

 

[Not Darryl Moss]

You'd hope we learned some lessons, sorry, "took some learnings", from a management point of view.

All well and good to go 18-5 until you get to finals and your continuity team is toast, or until you lose one or two of your top 5 players and then have to pick from players that you refused to give game time to earlier.

Timing your run is important. I thought we beat Collingwood fair and square in August despite the BS over "missed" free kicks. But, in hindsight, we put everything we had in the tank into a meaningless win while they were just beginning to tune back up for September.

Agreed, except that IMO it meant a lot to beat the Pies and end a 0-10 (?) losing streak to them gointg into September.

 

[bigman]

Once again almost everyone on deck which was good to see.

Draper and O’Brien were the only no-shows, although Max did all his work before the main group came out. He was doing high-intensity running with a lot of stop-start work, so I’m guessing he’s either coming off a hamstring issue or has had groin problems. Hopefully the former. He looks fit though.

Thilthorpe trained for most of the session but ended up suffering what appeared to be some sort of knock or head/neck issue. He walked onto the sidelines with a trainer and did some light run throughs, but obviously didn’t feel 100 per cent and headed inside. I’ll keep tabs on this one, hopefully it’s not a concussion and he was just feeling off. He also still has that knee strapping but I don’t think that was the problem, there was no limp.

I also noticed McAndrew must have headed inside early but I didn’t see any incident as to why.

Pedlar only ran laps but looked fine to my eye. I’m guessing it’s a management thing, though he sure did a lot of running. Only alternative I can think of is perhaps he didn’t get his gps up enough last session, but I doubt that.

Ludowyke was integrated into more drills which was pleasing to see. He still seems a bit restricted in his movements but it’s a good step up for him. He probably won’t want to do the kicking test ever again though - he missed all six targets and copped a fair bit of light-hearted heckling from Fog (who only hit two, mind you).

Ludo didn’t do some of the latter drills and joined Strachan and Bell in some light jogging. Cotton and Marsh did the majority of the session but were held back from the running portion. Ryan, Fogarty and Hinge are all pretty much in full training now.

Soligo’s calf strapping was gone and he trained brilliantly before heading in a little early, no issues there. Peatling had shoulder strapping and was wearing a fluro hat whenever there was contact work.

I also noticed Nicks seemingly took a back seat for today’s session, instead allowing Burns and Davis to run the show.

The first section of training involved the boys breaking into their positional lines. Backs worked on defensive exits and shape, the mids on 45 degree kicks and forwards on their i50 connection as well as defensive zone. The groups were as follows:

Backs - Murray, Cook, Hinge, Bond, Ryan, Worrell, Nankervis, Laird, Milera, Borlase, Drury, Sholl, Butts, Bell, Keane

Mids - Jones, Berry, Curtin, Rachele, Edwards, Dawson, Soligo, Rankine, Peatling, Dowling, McAndrew, Cumming, Foot

Forwards - Keays, Ah Chee, Thilthorpe, Walker, Welsh, Taylor, Marsh, Neal-Bullen, Fogarty, Cotton, Ludowyke, Maley, Murray, Strachan

The lads then broke into six groups for three concurrent drills, but all were the same - essentially keeping’s off by foot, with one team moving the ball back and forth and the other defending before swapping after a minute or so. Once again turnovers were not allowed - Ibis missed a few targets and was filthy with himself.

The lads then merged into three groups. Two would play what was essentially match sim over two thirds of the ground, while the other group would do skills work in the other 50 before rotating in. I was surprised just how physical this section was - the boys did not hold back much and there were some pretty big tackles and collisions.

This was when Filthy had to walk off. Milk also hurt his ankle/foot tackling Hinge but thankfully recovered - he really does have issues in that area though which is concerning.

I must also say that the drill became a bit sloppy at times, most notably when classy players like Dawson and Ah Chee weren’t involved. A few too many poor errors for my liking given the excellent conditions. I will note however that the pressure being applied was pretty impressive - players were really switched on at closing the space of opponents and forcing them into mistakes.

The drill then expanded into the whole ground between two teams, though the corridor once again had a diamond formation of cones around it. Still not entirely sure the method behind this, as I did see the corridor being used at times.

One thing I have definitely noticed is a focus on making quicker decisions and moving the ball on faster, particularly by foot. Play on will be called quicker than normal and players are having to think fast. Obviously this does lead to some pretty horrendous errors at times but I think most would prefer this approach as it’s more in-line with genuine AFL football.

A bunch of player thoughts:

1. Jones - I was asked about Chayce as I haven’t written about him much. He’s definitely working hard out there but I think he knows what we all know, that this is likely his last year on our list. He’s one who will look really slick at times then make a poor mistake out of nowhere. He’s actually had some pretty solid sessions thus far, but today he was noticeably quiet.

4. Ah Chee - laid an absolute ripping tackle on Foot who was tearing through the corridor. He’s a great get for us - composed but tough, and has real toe when he wants to use it.

8. Rachele - gee he’s a pretty big lad now. Interesting to see him in the midfield group. I still have reservations about him in there but I’ll be curious to see how much time he actually gets. No doubt he’s bulked up to make a claim for a midfield spot.

11. Edwards - still reckon he needs to toughen up a bit. He knows where to run to receive the ball, particularly exiting out of defence, but a couple of times today I didn’t see him really embrace contact when there was a footy to be won. Not saying he’s soft, but he’s gonna need more grit and aggression if he wants to force his way in. Can’t just cruise around getting easy touches.

12. Dawson - covering the ground a bit better now and gee his kicking was a thing of beauty at times. Also wasn’t afraid to put on a burst and take players on. Good session from the skip.

13. Walker - I was a supporter of retaining Tex on the list but while he looks fit out there, there were a couple of times where he seemed a bit limited in his movements (Eg bending over to contest a ground ball). Not panic stations yet as he’s still being a managed through the summer, but thought it was worth noting.

14. Soligo - was awesome. Ran on top of the ground and was seemingly everywhere. Just looked really energetic and sharp in his movements. Definitely today’s standout trainer.

15. Cook - hit some lovely passes coming out of defence - not easy ones either. Had a bit of Bailey Dale

31

Bailey Dale

Age

29

Ht

188cm

Wt

85kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.2

3star

K

7.6

3star

HB

5.6

4star

M

3.1

3star

T

1.6

4star

MG

117.4

2star

D

9.0

2star

K

5.1

2star

HB

3.9

3star

M

2.3

2star

T

1.7

3star

MG

117.4

2star

D

8.0

2star

K

5.0

2star

HB

3.0

3star

M

1.4

2star

T

2.0

4star

about him and I can see why they’ve trying him in this role. On the flip side, he did get fended off too easily by Rankine which cost a goal. That will be the test for him.

20. Hinge - he was deadset impossible to tackle today. Multiple times he was able to shrug off opponents with a swivel of the hips. Was quite impressive.

24. Worrell - had one of the worst kicking days I’ve seen from him - multiple times he turned it over directly to opposition. Not worried of course but he wasn’t quite as sharp as usual. Still wearing a fluro hat during contact work so perhaps he’s a bit underdone.

26. Marsh - didn’t do a whole lot but gee he just looks and moves like a footballer. Had a fun moment on the wing where he gathered a loose ball and put on the jets to try and get past Cotton. He almost did but Cotton did enough to affect the kick.

31. Dowling - I’m telling you, this lad has changed. Clearly has more confidence with his improved physique and has still retained his elite running ability. Even showed a bit of dash and power which you wouldn’t typically associate with him.

36. Maley - he’s still a hard watch at times but there’s no denying that he was a nuisance for defenders today. Not only does he jump at the ball, but his large and stocky frame makes him hard to shift once he’s in the air. I’d be more excited if he looked more natural with ball in hand, but he does compete hard and has genuine aerial presence.

38. Sholl - summer specialist I know but had one moment where he was the link in the chain four (!) times moving the ball from defence to inside forward 50. He’s sharp out there and moving so much better than he did last year with that knee issue.

44. Cumming - I’m a fan but he just looks off at the moment. Appears to lack energy and often looks quite exhausted out there. Wonder if there’s an issue behind the scenes? Just doesn’t look like his normal self.

47. Foot - I’m warming up to him. Still don’t think he has great footy iq or skills - he hesitates a bit too much instead of making quick decisions - but one thing he can do is get the footy and run. He’s a really powerful athlete and does some exciting stuff, and seems to be coming out of his shell a bit more now and willing to show his tricks. Has a fair goatee as well.

 

[WaynesWorld19]

Sure did.

Also watched a lot of other teams playing during the season. Winning in the AFL is tough. Upsets happen.

The premiers drew with North, Saints beat Geelong, Melbourne beat Brisbane at the Gabba in the greatest comeback ever.

How anyone can look at our last month when we beat two preliminary finalists and say we were in a form slump is crazy.

There's no doubt that "some" key players had run out of gas .....without labelling the team as out of form, players like ROB who went back to norm after signing a Contract .....Soligo, and Berry, were bog average

Whatever happened to Berry's tackling game .....it fell right away

On the subject of wins in the tail end of the season ....I've seen so many finalists over the years, lose their last couple of games .....in some cases getting trounced

Players are in preservation mode for the Finals .....particularly if finals are secured, and you're playing a lowly ranked side

 

[bigman]

Also apologises to those who I haven’t responded to, been a bit swamped lately with other things.

Hopefully my report answered some of those questions.

Please don’t stop asking either, I’ll try to answer them when I can.

 

[whitey_1975]

Big fan of Dowling, good to hear your positive reviews of him bigman He seems to be standing out to you this year much more than last

 

[BRL121]

47. Foot - I’m warming up to him. Still don’t think he has great footy iq or skills - he hesitates a bit too much instead of making quick decisions - but one thing he can do is get the footy and run. He’s a really powerful athlete and does some exciting stuff, and seems to be coming out of his shell a bit more now and willing to show his tricks. Has a fair goatee as well.

You've got a foot-warmer?

 

[cleanhands]

Once again almost everyone on deck which was good to see.

Draper and O’Brien were the only no-shows, although Max did all his work before the main group came out. He was doing high-intensity running with a lot of stop-start work, so I’m guessing he’s either coming off a hamstring issue or has had groin problems. Hopefully the former. He looks fit though.

Thilthorpe trained for most of the session but ended up suffering what appeared to be some sort of knock or head/neck issue. He walked onto the sidelines with a trainer and did some light run throughs, but obviously didn’t feel 100 per cent and headed inside. I’ll keep tabs on this one, hopefully it’s not a concussion and he was just feeling off. He also still has that knee strapping but I don’t think that was the problem, there was no limp.

I also noticed McAndrew must have headed inside early but I didn’t see any incident as to why.

Pedlar only ran laps but looked fine to my eye. I’m guessing it’s a management thing, though he sure did a lot of running. Only alternative I can think of is perhaps he didn’t get his gps up enough last session, but I doubt that.

Ludowyke was integrated into more drills which was pleasing to see. He still seems a bit restricted in his movements but it’s a good step up for him. He probably won’t want to do the kicking test ever again though - he missed all six targets and copped a fair bit of light-hearted heckling from Fog (who only hit two, mind you).

Ludo didn’t do some of the latter drills and joined Strachan and Bell in some light jogging. Cotton and Marsh did the majority of the session but were held back from the running portion. Ryan, Fogarty and Hinge are all pretty much in full training now.

Soligo’s calf strapping was gone and he trained brilliantly before heading in a little early, no issues there. Peatling had shoulder strapping and was wearing a fluro hat whenever there was contact work.

I also noticed Nicks seemingly took a back seat for today’s session, instead allowing Burns and Davis to run the show.

The first section of training involved the boys breaking into their positional lines. Backs worked on defensive exits and shape, the mids on 45 degree kicks and forwards on their i50 connection as well as defensive zone. The groups were as follows:

Backs - Murray, Cook, Hinge, Bond, Ryan, Worrell, Nankervis, Laird, Milera, Borlase, Drury, Sholl, Butts, Bell, Keane

Mids - Jones, Berry, Curtin, Rachele, Edwards, Dawson, Soligo, Rankine, Peatling, Dowling, McAndrew, Cumming, Foot

Forwards - Keays, Ah Chee, Thilthorpe, Walker, Welsh, Taylor, Marsh, Neal-Bullen, Fogarty, Cotton, Ludowyke, Maley, Murray, Strachan

The lads then broke into six groups for three concurrent drills, but all were the same - essentially keeping’s off by foot, with one team moving the ball back and forth and the other defending before swapping after a minute or so. Once again turnovers were not allowed - Ibis missed a few targets and was filthy with himself.

The lads then merged into three groups. Two would play what was essentially match sim over two thirds of the ground, while the other group would do skills work in the other 50 before rotating in. I was surprised just how physical this section was - the boys did not hold back much and there were some pretty big tackles and collisions.

This was when Filthy had to walk off. Milk also hurt his ankle/foot tackling Hinge but thankfully recovered - he really does have issues in that area though which is concerning.

I must also say that the drill became a bit sloppy at times, most notably when classy players like Dawson and Ah Chee weren’t involved. A few too many poor errors for my liking given the excellent conditions. I will note however that the pressure being applied was pretty impressive - players were really switched on at closing the space of opponents and forcing them into mistakes.

The drill then expanded into the whole ground between two teams, though the corridor once again had a diamond formation of cones around it. Still not entirely sure the method behind this, as I did see the corridor being used at times.

One thing I have definitely noticed is a focus on making quicker decisions and moving the ball on faster, particularly by foot. Play on will be called quicker than normal and players are having to think fast. Obviously this does lead to some pretty horrendous errors at times but I think most would prefer this approach as it’s more in-line with genuine AFL football.

A bunch of player thoughts:

1. Jones - I was asked about Chayce as I haven’t written about him much. He’s definitely working hard out there but I think he knows what we all know, that this is likely his last year on our list. He’s one who will look really slick at times then make a poor mistake out of nowhere. He’s actually had some pretty solid sessions thus far, but today he was noticeably quiet.

4. Ah Chee - laid an absolute ripping tackle on Foot who was tearing through the corridor. He’s a great get for us - composed but tough, and has real toe when he wants to use it.

8. Rachele - gee he’s a pretty big lad now. Interesting to see him in the midfield group. I still have reservations about him in there but I’ll be curious to see how much time he actually gets. No doubt he’s bulked up to make a claim for a midfield spot.

11. Edwards - still reckon he needs to toughen up a bit. He knows where to run to receive the ball, particularly exiting out of defence, but a couple of times today I didn’t see him really embrace contact when there was a footy to be won. Not saying he’s soft, but he’s gonna need more grit and aggression if he wants to force his way in. Can’t just cruise around getting easy touches.

12. Dawson - covering the ground a bit better now and gee his kicking was a thing of beauty at times. Also wasn’t afraid to put on a burst and take players on. Good session from the skip.

13. Walker - I was a supporter of retaining Tex on the list but while he looks fit out there, there were a couple of times where he seemed a bit limited in his movements (Eg bending over to contest a ground ball). Not panic stations yet as he’s still being a managed through the summer, but thought it was worth noting.

14. Soligo - was awesome. Ran on top of the ground and was seemingly everywhere. Just looked really energetic and sharp in his movements. Definitely today’s standout trainer.

15. Cook - hit some lovely passes coming out of defence - not easy ones either. Had a bit of Bailey Dale about him and I can see why they’ve trying him in this role. On the flip side, he did get fended off too easily by Rankine which cost a goal. That will be the test for him.

20. Hinge - he was deadset impossible to tackle today. Multiple times he was able to shrug off opponents with a swivel of the hips. Was quite impressive.

24. Worrell - had one of the worst kicking days I’ve seen from him - multiple times he turned it over directly to opposition. Not worried of course but he wasn’t quite as sharp as usual. Still wearing a fluro hat during contact work so perhaps he’s a bit underdone.

26. Marsh - didn’t do a whole lot but gee he just looks and moves like a footballer. Had a fun moment on the wing where he gathered a loose ball and put on the jets to try and get past Cotton. He almost did but Cotton did enough to affect the kick.

31. Dowling - I’m telling you, this lad has changed. Clearly has more confidence with his improved physique and has still retained his elite running ability. Even showed a bit of dash and power which you wouldn’t typically associate with him.

36. Maley - he’s still a hard watch at times but there’s no denying that he was a nuisance for defenders today. Not only does he jump at the ball, but his large and stocky frame makes him hard to shift once he’s in the air. I’d be more excited if he looked more natural with ball in hand, but he does compete hard and has genuine aerial presence.

38. Sholl - summer specialist I know but had one moment where he was the link in the chain four (!) times moving the ball from defence to inside forward 50. He’s sharp out there and moving so much better than he did last year with that knee issue.

44. Cumming - I’m a fan but he just looks off at the moment. Appears to lack energy and often looks quite exhausted out there. Wonder if there’s an issue behind the scenes? Just doesn’t look like his normal self.

47. Foot - I’m warming up to him. Still don’t think he has great footy iq or skills - he hesitates a bit too much instead of making quick decisions - but one thing he can do is get the footy and run. He’s a really powerful athlete and does some exciting stuff, and seems to be coming out of his shell a bit more now and willing to show his tricks. Has a fair goatee as well.

 

[VT0100]

Also apologises to those who I haven’t responded to, been a bit swamped lately with other things.

Hopefully my report answered some of those questions.

Please don’t stop asking either, I’ll try to answer them when I can.

How’s Dan Curtin looking like in the midfield? Can we jump on the “he’s going to be the next bont” train yet?