Training Preseason Training Thread - 2026

[Keys]

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

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

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

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

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

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

And to hopefully discourage sequels.

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

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

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

Training - Preseason Training Reports -2025/26

This thread has been setup for training reports only and won’t be open for replies Informative reports from the preseason thread will be copied into this thread so posters have access to the quality work from the likes of LittleFires without wading through pages of general posts

www.bigfooty.com

 

[Farmer Lister]

Given the boys were at training camp on the 17th of December, and the next open training session is listed as 14th January, do we expect the first training session back to be on Monday the 12th Jan? Possibly even Friday the 9th?

 

[Keys]

Given the boys were at training camp on the 17th of December, and the next open training session is listed as 14th January, do we expect the first training session back to be on Monday the 12th Jan? Possibly even Friday the 9th?

Last year they came back to train on a Thursday which was an open session that was only advertised the day before

Whether they do that again this year or not who knows but if it isn’t Thursday 8/1, then I expect it’ll be the Friday before settling back into the usual Mon/Wed/Fri schedule

 

[KERRPOW]

Brockman involved in some boxing training in gero.

 

[Carbine Chaos]

Brockman involved in some boxing training in gero.

Absolute ass end of the state.

Yes, even worse than Port Headland.

Group tried to carjack me last time I went through.

 

[Goroyals22]

Oh well… maybe he couldn’t deal with a year in the WAFL Eagles and wants to play for Casurina instead…. Was easy delist material anyway

 

[amazingjoshy]

I maintain we overpaid for him

 

[Jeremy McLovin]

I maintain we overpaid for him

Yeah it was a massive overpay. Hawks held out for an extra ass end pick that I think they didn't even use - after trying to wind him in to a deal for pick 1. Honestly that bullshit should have been enough reason to tell Barrass to either stay or find a different suitor.

 

[boondy]

Brockman involved in some boxing training in gero.

I preferred Winder

 

[Cuzz09]

oh well see what happens I guess...

 

[garlic munchers]

Oh well… maybe he couldn’t deal with a year in the WAFL Eagles and wants to play for Casurina instead…. Was easy delist material anyway

Initially heard on the rumour mill that Dewar had been involved in an incident and was gutted as the kid has something and it would have been out of character.

Then came out it was Brockman and its like meh, shame for the Beagles.

I hear the local lamp posts were just happy to avoid the kick off.

 

[GoEaglesGoSGIO]

I heard getting in a street fight is rated as the number 1 thing to do while in Geraldton by Tripadvisor

 

[Seadog]

Absolute ass end of the state.

Yes, even worse than Port Headland.

Group tried to carjack me last time I went through.

I dislike Gero intensely but there is nowhere worse than Port Headland.
At least Gero has some decent weather, beaches, waves and you can catch a lobster close to shore.
Headland has about 2 months of tolerable weather and 12 months of red dust, mosquitos and sand flies.

 

[ziad]

I dislike Gero intensely but there is nowhere worse than Port Headland.
At least Gero has some decent weather, beaches, waves and you can catch a lobster close to shore.
Headland has about 2 months of tolerable weather and 12 months of red dust, mosquitos and sand flies.

Glowing commendation, not as bad as Port Headland. I enjoyed my time in Gero but that was a few years ago.

 

[Jeremy McLovin]

I dislike Gero intensely but there is nowhere worse than Port Headland.
At least Gero has some decent weather, beaches, waves and you can catch a lobster close to shore.
Headland has about 2 months of tolerable weather and 12 months of red dust, mosquitos and sand flies.

Nowhere worse than Hedland? Never been to Hall's Creek I see.

 

[garlic munchers]

I dislike Gero intensely but there is nowhere worse than Port Headland.
At least Gero has some decent weather, beaches, waves and you can catch a lobster close to shore.
Headland has about 2 months of tolerable weather and 12 months of red dust, mosquitos and sand flies.

And then ladies and gentleman, I introduce you to Carnarvon........... only use for this place is for an overnight stay on your way to the annual boys fishing trip at Thevenard Island.

Just don't leave anything of value on your boats!

 

[HawkerHurricane]

Absolute ass end of the state.

Yes, even worse than Port Headland.

Group tried to carjack me last time I went through.

My MIL lives in Geraldton, it's a 6 1/2 hrs trip for us, with 3 kids, brutal, I detest the place.
Mr. Sikkants attached video sums it up pretty well

 

[garlic munchers]

My MIL lives in Geraldton, it's a 6 1/2 hrs trip for us, with 3 kids, brutal, I detest the place.
Mr. Sikkants attached video sums it up pretty well

Actually think Gero may have improved somewhat over the years.

Back in the day, the Geraldton Beach Hotel wasn't known by its moniker GBH because it was a way to shorten its name.

 

[Astro7]

Travelled through those places in the late 70's right up to Darwin.
Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing were the pits, covered in a sea of beer cans and broken bottles. Still had cyclone fencing down the centre of pubs to separate our indigenous brothers. They'd hose it down after each session.

Worked in Wickham Ore facility in mid 70's, and Roebourne and Karratha were dangerous places to visit. Was driving slowly through Roebourne one night with a couple of friends and a drunken brother stepped off the sidewalk and hurled a flagon through our windscreen; we skewed off the road, slid down an embankment; lucky not to roll it.
Got to say, none of those northern towns are particularly attractive, maybe Gero(?), Shark Bay, Carnarvon (do a lap) and Broome?

 

[Bender_]

Big Regional chat

 

[Astro7]

Big Regional chat

Yep...just driving back into footy central now for further footy chats, can't wait, so much going on.

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

My wife spent the first year of her life in Port Hedland, she has no memory of living there, but I still tease her.

She has a permanent reminder on her birth certificate too

 

[amazingjoshy]

The entire North West reading this thread

 

[Matera92]

As someone who grew up in Gero I can confirm it is indeed an absolute shithole.

 

[Seadog]

Nowhere worse than Hedland? Never been to Hall's Creek I see.

Well I have passed thru, spent a bit of time in Gero and Headland though. You'll have to forgive my rhetoric.

 

[GoEaglesGoSGIO]

One of the true reflections of Geraldton is the State govt started up a housing project in Geraldton that lasted only 9 months before ending due to the fact that equipment and tools kept getting stolen off the site + the staff kept quitting and going back to Perth. After 9 months with no tools and no workers they just gave up on it