Training 2026 Pre Season & Training Reports

[Chip Scab1]

^read the post I quoted you nuffy

In regards to running drills

You were smitten with our turncoat former skipper as he beat up on a few Norf kids.

Don't lie.

I might be a ****, but I can smell your bullshit from a mile away.

 

[Makeshift Park]

My 7 forwards for round 1 are the following:

Larkey
Curtis
Zurhaar
Duursma
Dovaston
Trembath
Simpkin/Parker

I’m not sold yet on where Dovaston sits relative to Banch and Konstanty for Round 1. I want to see how they all look against proper opposition in the preseason before locking in strong views. That said, it’s a good that for the first time in a while, there are actual small forward options to debate.

Broadly, I like the players you’ve listed. But I’m not convinced that, as a collective, they’re defensively accountable enough to function as a modern forward line. For me, slowing opposition rebound from our forward 50 has to be a top-five tactical priority heading into 2026.

If you look at the teams that moved the ball well last season, most of them ran three or more genuine pressure contributors in the forward half, plus multiple players who could win or keep the ball alive at ground level. On your list, we’ve got one absolute lock, and a couple of maybes:

- Curtis. Bona fide gun. Elite pressure, repeat efforts, and he’s doing it all despite some pretty ordinary entries. Deadset lock.

- Dovaston. He might be the long-term answer for what we've been missing. But for Round 1? I’m not quite there yet. Assuming Konstanty doesn't get reassigned as the Archer substitute in defence, it'll be interesting to see how his preseason tracks against the new kid. We certainly need someone to replicate his intensity, and if they have better skills ball-in-hand (or JK learns a bit of poise), happy days.

- Simpkin is the interesting one. I can absolutely see him thriving in an ANB/Keays-type two-way high half-forward role. The problem is that it risks robbing Peter to pay Paul. There were times in late 2025 where it felt that perhaps he's the only winger we trust to be genuinely defensively accountable. Does the prospect of FOS on a wing free Simpkin up? Possibly.

(Side note: I think Stephens cops more heat than he deserves, but even I’d concede that defensive craft isn’t the reason he’s selected - which reinforces why Simpkin on the other wing is so important)

For Duursma and Zurhaar to coexist in the same forward line, I think Bull needs to lean harder into a more unselfish, team-first version of his game - more bringing team mates into it, more defensive buy-in. That would be a great evolution, but it’d also be a surprising one at this stage of his career.

So what are the alternatives for Round 1?

I'm a Spargo optimist but it sounds like he probably needs a bit more time before he factors into best 23 discussions. But I can definitely see a role for him once he’s ready. Banch showed flashes in 2025, but I’d like to see the pressure, pace, and groundball work that made him stand out at Werribee translate consistently to AFL level before pencilling him in.

I do wonder whether the best starting personnel setup for Round 1 is running two of Konstanty, Banch, and Dovaston, alongside some kind of 50/50 Simpkin wing / high half-forward rotation, which in turn brings FOS upfield part-time as well.

Anyway, sorry for the mini-essay. I don’t hate the forward mix you’ve proposed, but I’m not sure it quite hits the modern threshold for forward-half pressure and ball retention. I'm worried that until we solve that, we’re going to keep seeing the same issues with opposition rebound, no matter how many clearances we win.

 

[The Nostradamus]

You were smitten with our turncoat former skipper as he beat up on a few Norf kids.

Don't lie.

I might be a ****, but I can smell your bullshit from a mile away.

lol wtf

Again try learning to read the post quoted was about fos and urqs dominating the running drills

 

[ferball]

For 80 year olds

Yeah whatever you reckon.

 

[DuckYeah]

Yeah whatever you reckon.

You know im taking the piss. However, I reckon I’d see you down at the leisure centre doing water aerobics too

 

[Chip Scab1]

lol wtf

Again try learning to read the post quoted was about fos and urqs dominating the running drills

Back at you;

Surprised jy not dominating as per
- is what you said.

As if you would bother to write this about a few drills.

Again, enough of your bullshit.

You're a simpleton, deal with it. You were outsmarted by a genuine ****.

 

[The Nostradamus]

Back at you;

Surprised jy not dominating as per
- is what you said.

As if you would bother to write this about a few drills.

Again, enough of your bullshit.

You're a simpleton, deal with it. You were outsmarted by a genuine ****.

Wow you are a moron

I can’t tell if you are genuinely that stupid or taking the piss

Yes it was in direct relation to running drills as per the quote I replied to as he usually dominates them

 

[the big lebowski]

I’m not sold yet on where Dovaston sits relative to Banch and Konstanty for Round 1. I want to see how they all look against proper opposition in the preseason before locking in strong views. That said, it’s a good that for the first time in a while, there are actual small forward options to debate.

Broadly, I like the players you’ve listed. But I’m not convinced that, as a collective, they’re defensively accountable enough to function as a modern forward line. For me, slowing opposition rebound from our forward 50 has to be a top-five tactical priority heading into 2026.

If you look at the teams that moved the ball well last season, most of them ran three or more genuine pressure contributors in the forward half, plus multiple players who could win or keep the ball alive at ground level. On your list, we’ve got one absolute lock, and a couple of maybes:

- Curtis. Bona fide gun. Elite pressure, repeat efforts, and he’s doing it all despite some pretty ordinary entries. Deadset lock.

- Dovaston. He might be the long-term answer for what we've been missing. But for Round 1? I’m not quite there yet. Assuming Konstanty doesn't get reassigned as the Archer substitute in defence, it'll be interesting to see how his preseason tracks against the new kid. We certainly need someone to replicate his intensity, and if they have better skills ball-in-hand (or JK learns a bit of poise), happy days.

- Simpkin is the interesting one. I can absolutely see him thriving in an ANB/Keays-type two-way high half-forward role. The problem is that it risks robbing Peter to pay Paul. There were times in late 2025 where it felt that perhaps he's the only winger we trust to be genuinely defensively accountable. Does the prospect of FOS on a wing free Simpkin up? Possibly.

(Side note: I think Stephens cops more heat than he deserves, but even I’d concede that defensive craft isn’t the reason he’s selected - which reinforces why Simpkin on the other wing is so important)

For Duursma and Zurhaar to coexist in the same forward line, I think Bull needs to lean harder into a more unselfish, team-first version of his game - more bringing team mates into it, more defensive buy-in. That would be a great evolution, but it’d also be a surprising one at this stage of his career.

So what are the alternatives for Round 1?

I'm a Spargo optimist but it sounds like he probably needs a bit more time before he factors into best 23 discussions. But I can definitely see a role for him once he’s ready. Banch showed flashes in 2025, but I’d like to see the pressure, pace, and groundball work that made him stand out at Werribee translate consistently to AFL level before pencilling him in.

I do wonder whether the best starting personnel setup for Round 1 is running two of Konstanty, Banch, and Dovaston, alongside some kind of 50/50 Simpkin wing / high half-forward rotation, which in turn brings FOS upfield part-time as well.

Anyway, sorry for the mini-essay. I don’t hate the forward mix you’ve proposed, but I’m not sure it quite hits the modern threshold for forward-half pressure and ball retention. I'm worried that until we solve that, we’re going to keep seeing the same issues with opposition rebound, no matter how many clearances we win.

Great post mate

It gets to the heart of the issue of how we set up

Pressure

We just have to improve in this area, all over the ground but especially up forward

Larkey
Trembath
Curtis
Bull

These guy are locked in. As you’ve said Curtis is the elite in this regard and is the don Bradman of tackles inside 50.

Larkey is average at best. Trembath has at least shown that he has the desire to be a tackler inside 50. Bull is above average but below what he’s capable of.

Then you have Darling and Duursma that need to be considered

And that consideration needs to factor in the small forwards

Banch
JK
Dova

Lastly the mids that rest forward

Simpkin
Parker
Sheez

Seems like only 2 out of the 3 small forwards will fit. Which is disappointing as I’d like to see all 3 play.

And then it looks like a darling vs Duursma for a spot

I like the idea of training JK up to be able to fill in down back if needed with an in game injury to a defender

I guess all in all, it’s a good problem to have and with Parker and darling maybe playing their last years, 2027 might see all of

Larkey
Trembath
Curtis
Bull
JK
Dova
Banch
duursma

In the team. That might require Trembath to chop out in the ruck. Which might even happen this year if Darling is being overlooked

 

[kaboom kid]

You can sneer if you wish but I took it up ten years ago (age 49) after a prolonged hospitalisation and massive spinal damage. Today my flexibility and balance/contact balance is better than my two 20 something ‘kids’, one who goes to a gym and the other who swims and runs. As a ‘small’ club we need to look for and exploit every cost effective marginal gain. Our training plans should be individualised and some of our players would almost certainly benefit from specialist low impact flexibility work in some form, particularly when recovering from soft tissue injuries.

Stick that up your dojo Duck Yeah.......

 

[Heaps of fun]

The logical omissions for me if we want to play two of Banch/JK/Dova (and we should) and Duursma demands selection (as Curtis, Sheezel, Zurhaar and Trembath are locks) is Darling and Trembath rucks or Parker/Powell and Curtis plays some midfield minutes.

The outcome looking something like this:

McDonald Pink Logue
Hardeman Comben McKercher
Simpkin LDU FOS
Banch Larkey Zurhaar
Curtis Trembath Duursma
Xerri Sheezel Wardlaw
Stephens Daniel Parker/Darling Powell Dovaston

I think ultimately we need the Three Amigos of pressure in the two smalls plus Curtis and then the most in form of Darling, Powell, Duursma and Parker pick themselves. If Duursma is there abouts I think we would be a bit silly to leave him out for either of the mid 30s blokes though, need an eye to the future.

 

[The Nostradamus]

The logical omissions for me if we want to play two of Banch/JK/Dova (and we should) and Duursma demands selection (as Curtis, Sheezel, Zurhaar and Trembath are locks) is Darling and Trembath rucks or Parker/Powell and Curtis plays some midfield minutes.

The outcome looking something like this:

McDonald Pink Logue
Hardeman Comben McKercher
Simpkin LDU FOS
Banch Larkey Zurhaar
Curtis Trembath Duursma
Xerri Sheezel Wardlaw
Stephens Daniel Parker/Darling Powell Dovaston

I think ultimately we need the Three Amigos of pressure in the two smalls plus Curtis and then the most in form of Darling, Powell, Duursma and Parker pick themselves. If Duursma is there abouts I think we would be a bit silly to leave him out for either of the mid 30s blokes though, need an eye to the future.

Get rid of pink bring in cooper Harvey into defence

Lmac to play third tall, Chom and Logue take the keys

 

[Heaps of fun]

Get rid of pink bring in cooper Harvey into defence

Lmac to play third tall, Chom and Logue take the keys

 

[The Nostradamus]

View attachment 2511456

 

[ferball]

You know im taking the piss. However, I reckon I’d see you down at the leisure centre doing water aerobics too

I don't do Tai Chi anymore. i used to in my 20s and 30s along with a bunch of other stuff. I learned about half of a form off this guy over about 6 monthas and then did it for years afterward but he went off to the UK and I never found anyone else who knew that form or what they were talking about.

There are some elements of it that are really good for fitness and physical strength but also just for proprioceptive understanding.

Like push hands.

It seems like a stupid thing but if you do it right it teaches you how to interpret someone else's movement from minimal contact. And how to maintain the right amount of force so you're not over committing and putting yourself in a position where you might be off balance for half a second. That is invaluable for contesting the ball around stoppages. I'm sure the best contested stoppage players already have those skills to a degree but it can help refine them.

Standing in some of those horse riding stances for 45 minutes, just focusing on your breathing, until your body is screaming out for a break, then standing for longer is incredible training. It drains all of your faster twitch fibres and then trains the slower ones while also training your body to recover and get O2 where it needs to go while the muscles are under duress and holding a position. But it also trains your mind and makes you mentally tougher cos its ****en hard to do and it would be so easy to stop - that's probably the most important thing about it.

So in the fourth quarter when you're exhausted you might still be a little stronger and holding that position at a stoppage or in a marking contest a little better than the other guy and a little more determined to be able to do it.

 

[Chip Scab1]

Wow you are a moron

I can’t tell if you are genuinely that stupid or taking the piss

Yes it was in direct relation to running drills as per the quote I replied to as he usually dominates them

Ok. Granted.

I wasn't aware of the possibility that those metrics were in play. A 27 year old, smallish mid with 9 Preseasons is doing well against U21s in terms of fitness.

****ing call CNN.

 

[The Nostradamus]

Ok. Granted.

I wasn't aware of the possibility that those metrics were in play. A 27 year old, smallish mid, with 9 Preseasons is doing well against U21s in terms of fitness.

****ing call CNN.

He’s our best runner

But again my post was more about being impressed with FOS and urquhart dominating the running drills as jy usually does

 

[king of the road]

Reports suggesting Dawson, Goad & Whitlock all struggled is not great.

You mean some of the 3 youngest talls on the list?

Might be something in that.

 

[Makeshift Park]

The logical omissions for me if we want to play two of Banch/JK/Dova (and we should) and Duursma demands selection (as Curtis, Sheezel, Zurhaar and Trembath are locks) is Darling and Trembath rucks or Parker/Powell and Curtis plays some midfield minutes.

The outcome looking something like this:

McDonald Pink Logue
Hardeman Comben McKercher
Simpkin LDU FOS
Banch Larkey Zurhaar
Curtis Trembath Duursma
Xerri Sheezel Wardlaw
Stephens Daniel Parker/Darling Powell Dovaston

I think ultimately we need the Three Amigos of pressure in the two smalls plus Curtis and then the most in form of Darling, Powell, Duursma and Parker pick themselves. If Duursma is there abouts I think we would be a bit silly to leave him out for either of the mid 30s blokes though, need an eye to the future.

Nicely balanced squad that.

If you sub Goater or Thredgold onto the bench to bolster the backline at the expense of a mid or Daniel, then that's pretty close to my best 23 for round 23. Pending a decision from Brayden George's body on whether its cool with the rigours of elite footy.

 

[Rod Stroker]

Goad doesn't need to be beating Xerri, the best ruckman in the competition. He needs to be beating the back up ruckman when Xerri is resting. He was competitive against many in the twos last year and not many have a 210cm athletic freak backing up in the AFL anyway.

Xerri had some long stints forward today, especially in the second period of the match sim. JD didn't even both trying to compete with Goad in the middle.

He'll be replacing JD as soon as he can run out a game.

huh? JD has serious forward craft that Goad is miles away from possessing. That's the main reason why JD is the team, the secondary reason is ruck relief. Goad ain't tipping him out of the forward line any time soon.

 

[Rod Stroker]

I’m not sold yet on where Dovaston sits relative to Banch and Konstanty for Round 1. I want to see how they all look against proper opposition in the preseason before locking in strong views. That said, it’s a good that for the first time in a while, there are actual small forward options to debate.

Broadly, I like the players you’ve listed. But I’m not convinced that, as a collective, they’re defensively accountable enough to function as a modern forward line. For me, slowing opposition rebound from our forward 50 has to be a top-five tactical priority heading into 2026.

If you look at the teams that moved the ball well last season, most of them ran three or more genuine pressure contributors in the forward half, plus multiple players who could win or keep the ball alive at ground level. On your list, we’ve got one absolute lock, and a couple of maybes:

- Curtis. Bona fide gun. Elite pressure, repeat efforts, and he’s doing it all despite some pretty ordinary entries. Deadset lock.

- Dovaston. He might be the long-term answer for what we've been missing. But for Round 1? I’m not quite there yet. Assuming Konstanty doesn't get reassigned as the Archer substitute in defence, it'll be interesting to see how his preseason tracks against the new kid. We certainly need someone to replicate his intensity, and if they have better skills ball-in-hand (or JK learns a bit of poise), happy days.

- Simpkin is the interesting one. I can absolutely see him thriving in an ANB/Keays-type two-way high half-forward role. The problem is that it risks robbing Peter to pay Paul. There were times in late 2025 where it felt that perhaps he's the only winger we trust to be genuinely defensively accountable. Does the prospect of FOS on a wing free Simpkin up? Possibly.

(Side note: I think Stephens cops more heat than he deserves, but even I’d concede that defensive craft isn’t the reason he’s selected - which reinforces why Simpkin on the other wing is so important)

For Duursma and Zurhaar to coexist in the same forward line, I think Bull needs to lean harder into a more unselfish, team-first version of his game - more bringing team mates into it, more defensive buy-in. That would be a great evolution, but it’d also be a surprising one at this stage of his career.

So what are the alternatives for Round 1?

I'm a Spargo optimist but it sounds like he probably needs a bit more time before he factors into best 23 discussions. But I can definitely see a role for him once he’s ready. Banch showed flashes in 2025, but I’d like to see the pressure, pace, and groundball work that made him stand out at Werribee translate consistently to AFL level before pencilling him in.

I do wonder whether the best starting personnel setup for Round 1 is running two of Konstanty, Banch, and Dovaston, alongside some kind of 50/50 Simpkin wing / high half-forward rotation, which in turn brings FOS upfield part-time as well.

Anyway, sorry for the mini-essay. I don’t hate the forward mix you’ve proposed, but I’m not sure it quite hits the modern threshold for forward-half pressure and ball retention. I'm worried that until we solve that, we’re going to keep seeing the same issues with opposition rebound, no matter how many clearances we win.

Geez people are quick to write off JD from forward line calculations.
He was arguably our second best forward last year, worst case our third best.
From all reports he's had a good pre-season and showing no signs of slowing down.
We'd be mad to toss his experience and scoreboard impact.

 

[Kangaroos4eva]

Trembath is also doing ruck training atm.

 

[Daniltchenko You Beauty]

huh? JD has serious forward craft that Goad is miles away from possessing. That's the main reason why JD is the team, the secondary reason is ruck relief. Goad ain't tipping him out of the forward line any time soon.

Trembath and potentially Duursma will go past JD as forward options from R1.

Most teams will play a second ruckman with five on the bench so the ruck role becomes more significant than the forward role. JD will get destroyed by proper second rucks this year.

Xerri is training forward more to prepare for this.

 

[perplexed]

Trembath and potentially Duursma will go past JD as forward options from R1.

Most teams will play a second ruckman with five on the bench so the ruck role becomes more significant than the forward role. JD will get destroyed by proper second rucks this year.

Xerri is training forward more to prepare for this.

Na. Some teams may play an extra ruck, most won't. Transition is our biggest liability; we'll want an extra runner.

Xerri typically rucks for 85% of the game. We aren't picking a second ruck who is useless forward. It cuts Xerri's ruck time, weakens our forward line and slows us down. It's a big price to pay merely to cover the 15% of the game X needs to rest.

 

[zoomba23]

Trembath and potentially Duursma will go past JD as forward options from R1.

Most teams will play a second ruckman with five on the bench so the ruck role becomes more significant than the forward role. JD will get destroyed by proper second rucks this year.

Xerri is training forward more to prepare for this.

Xerri as a forward will be like watching a giraffe trying to dance a waltz

 

[ferball]

Geez people are quick to write off JD from forward line calculations.
He was arguably our second best forward last year, worst case our third best.
From all reports he's had a good pre-season and showing no signs of slowing down.
We'd be mad to toss his experience and scoreboard impact.

I think he's physically cooked, at least lower body/running and jumping wise, but like you say knowledge and experience are thru the roof.