Training 2026 Pre-Season Training - reports, pics etc

[DirtyLeeds]

We can only go with what is being told about Kemp.
Posters have mentioned that the injury he sustained needs a loongger recovery period than an ACL.
If the club provides updates that suggest he is recovering well then that is what we go with.

Kempy participated in the entire session from what we saw, and looked fast, turning and propping when required, he looks good to go IMO!

 

[Crippa#9]

Kempy participated in the entire session from what we saw, and looked fast, turning and propping when required, he looks good to go IMO!

I'm told Kemp, Jagga & Newman will be ready to play in the community series game on Feb 25.

Cottrell is the only player that's behind schedule.

 

[BluStreak]

Kempy participated in the entire session from what we saw, and looked fast, turning and propping when required, he looks good to go IMO!

This is where the confusion is coming from. What can be seen on the track at training vs what people who have experienced the injury have posted. So I know that if Kemp plays this season I would rather he come back via the VFL and with managed time. Only because I don't what to see a recurrance.

Williams did that injury and he really did not play well until his second season back. Different people I know but same injury.

 

[katmanblue]

Two of the best contested midfielders in the competition. There is zero reason why they can't play for another 3 to 4 years

Tell that to Tom Mitchell

 

[JJBagger]

Tell that to Tom Mitchell

Mitchell was injured more often than not after he broke his leg in 2019

 

[Jimmae]

Cripps 31 and Hewett 30, are entering the tail end of their careers.

They’ve been great inside midfielders and warriors, but I think we’ll see changes if we want to be a better transition team. Changes in game plan and player roles - Cripps, Hewett, Cerra may not be the ideal combo moving forward.

Changes like Cripps spending time up forward to provide another tall target and contested strength, will give others like Lord opportunities to be rotated through the midfield.

Lord replaces Cerra, being a lesser version of that play style. Maybe we're lucky and he's found a little more speed and strength this preseason, but I'm yet to see evidence of that.

I think we'll wind up trading him out. Would love to see a spot in the forward line that allows for a midfield rotation, but currently we're enamoured with O'Keeffe, Moir, Kemp, Ainsworth, Hayward, McKay, and then maybe Motlop.

Hes an 18 year old kid who’s been in the AFL program for a month. And his biggest strength has always been his intercepting and skill. The opposite of HOK, who is just a brute of a player. Of course he’s going to get bodied by bigger, stronger players at this stage

Wouldn't worry about Dean too much, O'Keefe is very good with his stength and bodywork for a young tall, looking forward to the future with him as long as his kicking is up to scratch.

Wow, Dean turned 18 about 1 month ago and HOK is about to turn 21. Three years age difference, at their age, and stage of development has a profound affect on their strength in contests! Was Dean often beaten for strength in one-on-one contests in any under 18 comps? Don’t recall that he was?

What are the three of you not understanding about my comment referring to his round 1 prospects? We have a hole in the the where a 2nd key defender should be.

O'Keeffe is not anything approaching an elite forward, and he's showing a very straightforward blueprint to beat Dean at this stage.

It validates my take on Dean's final draft rating, but that's now a sunk cost. I knew this would be an initial issue, but now I'm even more concerned given Young, McGovern and Kemp are the cover.

Kempy participated in the entire session from what we saw, and looked fast, turning and propping when required, he looks good to go IMO!

He stepped out of contact drills and didn't play in the match sim?

 

[WalshistheGOAT]

Lord replaces Cerra, being a lesser version of that play style. Maybe we're lucky and he's found a little more speed and strength this preseason, but I'm yet to see evidence of that.

I think we'll wind up trading him out. Would love to see a spot in the forward line that allows for a midfield rotation, but currently we're enamoured with O'Keeffe, Moir, Kemp, Ainsworth, Hayward, McKay, and then maybe Motlop.



What are the three of you not understanding about my comment referring to his round 1 prospects? We have a hole in the the where a 2nd key defender should be.

O'Keeffe is not anything approaching an elite forward, and he's showing a very straightforward blueprint to beat Dean at this stage.

Please tell you're not basing all of this off a the 2 minute long highlights montages the club uploads each week?

It validates my take on Dean's final draft rating, but that's now a sunk cost. I knew this would be an initial issue, but now I'm even more concerned given Young, McGovern and Kemp are the cover.

And no, it doesn't. You had Dean falling to the teens which proved to be miles off.

 

[Jimmae]

Please tell you're not basing all of this off a the 2 minute long highlights montages the club uploads each week?

No, it's something I noticed and commented on through the year, it's something Newman commented on and had him working on with his positioning in that video analysis snippet, and now we're seeing it in action in training tape.

Wrong foot the kid and you get an easy push off for a short to medium lead, which means teams will isolate him or Weitering deep and call it a day. Young has the same issue at times.

 

[DirtyLeeds]

Kemp was involved in the half ground match sim played in front of us....he looked alright to us

 

[Blue__Balls]

This is where the confusion is coming from. What can be seen on the track at training vs what people who have experienced the injury have posted. So I know that if Kemp plays this season I would rather he come back via the VFL and with managed time. Only because I don't what to see a recurrance.

Williams did that injury and he really did not play well until his second season back. Different people I know but same injury.

Definitely a stretch to assume that Kemp moving well in a particular training session now is any kind of guarantee that he'll be a) ready for R1, or b) back to his best by R1.

Training is a "safe" environment. Teammates aren't looking to hurt in the same way they do in games, players can be pulled at any time for any reason with no ramifications to a match result, and subsequent sessions can be adjusted to balance recovery considerations.

Very different to a player needing to be able to go full tilt for 4 quarters against genuine opposition, and then to back up again week after week after week.

Glad to hear Kemp is moving well and participating in most, if not all, drills. It bodes well. But this may have been a "stretch" session to test his confidence and tolerances, and how he goes post-session is likely a lot more relevant than how he went in it.

 

[Blue__Balls]

No, it's something I noticed and commented on through the year, it's something Newman commented on and had him working on with his positioning in that video analysis snippet, and now we're seeing it in action in training tape.

Wrong foot the kid and you get an easy push off for a short to medium lead, which means teams will isolate him or Weitering deep and call it a day. Young has the same issue at times.

If only he was drafted to an AFL club full of professional coaches and playing mentors...

Nobody is expecting him to dominate from R1, Jim. Certainly not the club. If he plays it will be as a supporting tall, probably given a job on a third tall, and he'll have guys like Weitering and Gov and Newman and Cowan around to come third man up if he finds himself in a wrestle. He'll learn and improve on the job and be better for it.

Same applies to pretty much every KPP ever drafted, Pick 1 or Pick 100.

 

[WalshistheGOAT]

No, it's something I noticed and commented on through the year, it's something Newman commented on and had him working on with his positioning in that video analysis snippet, and now we're seeing it in action in training tape.

Wrong foot the kid and you get an easy push off for a short to medium lead, which means teams will isolate him or Weitering deep and call it a day. Young has the same issue at times.

Wrong foot anyone and you get an easy push off for a short to medium lead. That's the entire purpose of the incessant wrestling and push off battles we see up forward in the AFL. The only difference between Weitering and Dean in that regard is Weitering has about 20kgs on him so its incredibly difficult to get him off balance.

The idea that this is some sort of Achilles heel for him as a prospect is a bit bizarre given he was easily the best lockdown defender in the draft and was playing on both tall and small opponents.

 

[Jimmae]

If only he was drafted to an AFL club full of professional coaches and playing mentors...

Nobody is expecting him to dominate from R1, Jim. Certainly not the club. If he plays it will be as a supporting tall, probably given a job on a third tall, and he'll have guys like Weitering and Gov and Newman and Cowan around to come third man up if he finds himself in a wrestle. He'll learn and improve on the job and be better for it.

Same applies to pretty much every KPP ever drafted, Pick 1 or Pick 100.

I wasn't expecting him to dominate, simply to do his role without much fuss, and that's now in a little more doubt.

But the task is there in front of him, and we've been hearing about his professionalism and general attitude, so hopefully we see an upswing and he uses his burst and agility to quickly slip out of a wrestle and then break ahead or use the body, or break even if he can't do either.

 

[Jimmae]

Wrong foot anyone and you get an easy push off for a short to medium lead. That's the entire purpose of the incessant wrestling and push off battles we see up forward in the AFL. The only difference between Weitering and Dean in that regard is Weitering has about 20kgs on him so its incredibly difficult to get him off balance.

The idea that this is some sort of Achilles heel for him as a prospect is a bit bizarre given he was easily the best lockdown defender in the draft and was playing on both tall and small opponents.

It was a weak draft in terms of the more physical forwards that could hack it at the next level being available as a matchup against him, maybe the closest being Schubert?

It's far more of an issue for him than Weitering at the same age because of how he plants his feet. He's constantly looking to get into a sprint and hasn't developed that lower body strength enough to be able to hedge his bets in terms of how to tackle the contest, meaning he will give up his ability to quickly accelerate if he widens his stance to maintain his balance.

He's going to have to slip his opponent or out-read them quickly enough to put his body into protecting the drop zone of the ball.

 

[WalshistheGOAT]

I wasn't expecting him to dominate, simply to do his role without much fuss, and that's now in a little more doubt.

But the task is there in front of him, and we've been hearing about his professionalism and general attitude, so hopefully we see an upswing and he uses his burst and agility to quickly slip out of a wrestle and then break ahead or use the body, or break even if he can't do either.

I will repeat... You are basing this off 2 minute highlights montages pre Christmas that the club releases once a week.

He was drafted not even a month ago

 

[Jimmae]

I will repeat... You are basing this off 2 minute highlights montages pre Christmas that the club releases once a week.

He was drafted not even a month ago

I've watched more than that of him given the content creators getting down there with cameras.

His kicking is also very basic, and will be pressured at the elite level, so we need all that mobility we've acquired to be in the selection mix to give him easier and quickly available targets.

 

[WalshistheGOAT]

It was a weak draft in terms of the more physical forwards that could hack it at the next level being available as a matchup against him, maybe the closest being Schubert?

It's far more of an issue for him than Weitering at the same age because of how he plants his feet. He's constantly looking to get into a sprint and hasn't developed that lower body strength enough to be able to hedge his bets in terms of how to tackle the contest, meaning he will give up his ability to quickly accelerate if he widens his stance to maintain his balance.

He's going to have to slip his opponent or out-read them quickly enough to put his body into protecting the drop zone of the ball.

I've watched more than that of him given the content creators getting down there with cameras.

His kicking is also very basic, and will be pressured at the elite level, so we need all that mobility we've acquired to be in the selection mix to give him easier and quickly available targets.

Once again diagnosing advanced biomechanical patterns/flaws in a player despite having no degree or insights on the subject. This is the Newman saga all over again.

How about giving Dean some time to adjust, build his body, work on his technique etc before ridiculing everything he does? He was drafted 27 days ago and you're here throwing pot-shots at him from the side lines because you didn't like that he was rated by the experts far higher than you had him all year.

Genuinely bizarre.

 

[Jimmae]

Once again diagnosing advanced biomechanical patterns/flaws in a player despite having no degree or insights on the matter. This is the Newman saga all over again.

Advanced is a stretch for what I just described... refresh my memory with respect to Newman?

Historically I just said his ability to recover was suspect, and he had to work bloody hard on his read, injury issues and anaerobic endurance to fix that. He's not in my best 22, and he's fighting with Cowan, Carroll and McGovern for a spot in the team.

How about giving Dean some time to adjust, build his body, work on his technique etc before ridiculing everything he does? He was drafted 27 days ago and you're here throwing pot-shots at him from the side lines because you didn't like that he was rated far higher than you had him all year.

I'm not the one putting pressure on him for round 1, the list management team are.

 

[blueboy25]

I'm told Kemp, Jagga & Newman will be ready to play in the community series game on Feb 25.

Cottrell is the only player that's behind schedule.

Cottrell is starting to become a bit of a worry.....been injured a lot and we certainly miss him when he is not playing.

 

[Lukeblueboy]

Cottrell is starting to become a bit of a worry.....been injured a lot and we certainly miss him when he is not playing.

Yep. Big season for cots.
Could be overtaken by a few this year imo

 

[Blue__Balls]

Yep. Big season for cots.
Could be overtaken by a few this year imo

Yeah, recruitment of Hayward, Ainsworth and Chesser, plus improvement from Moir, definitely makes it harder to justify a spot. And he's certainly looking like being categorised as "injury prone".

I think his spot on the list is safe enough though. Contracted for 2027 on what you'd have to assume is very moderate money. At least half a dozen out of contract players who could easily leave at the end of 2026. With the assets we'll be using for Cody I don't think we'll be cutting much deeper than 7-8 list spots. And while in isolation it shouldn't mean too much, when considered alongside the above....he's a really good bloke to have around the club, sets a great example on the track, and seems to make the joint an enjoyable place to be even when the whips are cracking.

Could very easily see 2027 being his last year though, his ceiling just isn't that high, and natural attrition is going to squeeze him before he ever gets to "veteran" territory. Could see him ekeing out a few years in Tassie.

 

[The Blue Weirdo]

Yeah, recruitment of Hayward, Ainsworth and Chesser, plus improvement from Moir, definitely makes it harder to justify a spot. And he's certainly looking like being categorised as "injury prone".

I think his spot on the list is safe enough though. Contracted for 2027 on what you'd have to assume is very moderate money. At least half a dozen out of contract players who could easily leave at the end of 2026. With the assets we'll be using for Cody I don't think we'll be cutting much deeper than 7-8 list spots. And while in isolation it shouldn't mean too much, when considered alongside the above....he's a really good bloke to have around the club, sets a great example on the track, and seems to make the joint an enjoyable place to be even when the whips are cracking.

Could very easily see 2027 being his last year though, his ceiling just isn't that high, and natural attrition is going to squeeze him before he ever gets to "veteran" territory. Could see him ekeing out a few years in Tassie.

I dunno, been too long since Cotts has been a regular on the track.
The cheapies are the easiest to pay out if not performing and like you say, 7 or 8 will have to make way.
Fog, Mona and Cotts need big years.

 

[bradfisher14]

Yeah, recruitment of Hayward, Ainsworth and Chesser, plus improvement from Moir, definitely makes it harder to justify a spot. And he's certainly looking like being categorised as "injury prone".

I think his spot on the list is safe enough though. Contracted for 2027 on what you'd have to assume is very moderate money. At least half a dozen out of contract players who could easily leave at the end of 2026. With the assets we'll be using for Cody I don't think we'll be cutting much deeper than 7-8 list spots. And while in isolation it shouldn't mean too much, when considered alongside the above....he's a really good bloke to have around the club, sets a great example on the track, and seems to make the joint an enjoyable place to be even when the whips are cracking.

Could very easily see 2027 being his last year though, his ceiling just isn't that high, and natural attrition is going to squeeze him before he ever gets to "veteran" territory. Could see him ekeing out a few years in Tassie.

Cotts is OOC 2026

 

[Stamos]

Cotts is OOC 2026

No he's not

 

[Blue__Balls]

Cotts is OOC 2026

Pranks a million: Lifelong Blue's new deal a relief for whole club

Matthew Cottrell's three-year contract was a fillip for more than just the Club's football department.

www.carltonfc.com.au