Training 2026 Pre Season & Training Reports

[marklovesbeer]

Could finally get some cat b rookies with the latter 2

The first will go in the national draft for sure which we can match bid on

You love a Cat B rookie hey.

 

[The Nostradamus]

You love a Cat B rookie hey.

Yep but Brady doesn’t

 

[kaboom kid]

You love a Cat B rookie hey.

You love a Cat B rookie hey.

Somewhat of an obsession some might say. Definitely up there with Toby Pink and Bailey Scott

 

[Passmore]

We need some footy. Pronto.

 

[perplexed]

Yep but Brady doesn’t

Do you know what the current rules are for placing NGA players on the Cat B list?

If nobody bids on Thomas and Bula at the draft, could we put them on the Cat B list?

 

[King Corey]

We need some footy. Pronto.

And that my friend is a double edged sword.

In about 8 weeks we might be yearning for the sweet summer debates of ABC vs Sky.

 

[The Nostradamus]

Do you know what the current rules are for placing NGA players on the Cat B list?

If nobody bids on Thomas and Bula at the draft, could we put them on the Cat B list?

Yes

 

[CBSlogger]

Match sim flicks.

Parks = ceps
Bath = hops

 

[LB2Snake]

All kicks about 11 metres……”Not 15! Play on! Play on!”

When wil we learn. .

 

[DuckYeah]

 

[Caracas]

who is it?

You’re just boasting now, N!

 

[Caracas]

We need some footy. Pronto.

It’s a new year. What’s the point if we’re not hopeful? I mean, let’s be honest here for a moment. Why would we bother posting here otherwise?

 

[speedy]

This is one of the worst bigfooty preseasons ever. Normally the optimists dominate. This one feels weird.

 

[zoomba23]

Who's Cobden? Is he another player we are trialling down back.

He's a village in the south west. Hard to move when he's under the ball but rather slow to distribute

 

[zoomba23]

Look at the rock solid confidence on display when playing against North.

We would benefit more from training with another team, and risking them overhearing every little aspect of the coaches' chats, just from the standards it would force

 

[zoomba23]

Do the 'It's January' posters realise that January and February are where a LOT of the groundwork for both individual and team success is lain?

So unless we're planning on suddenly cranking it up during Feb (the last... four preseasons suggest not), there doesn't seem to be a lot about limit pushing and target areas. Also, an AFLPA-mandated 4 day break is horrific.

From these track watcher opinions, I'd take 3-3 in the opening weeks, and be half expecting 2-4

 

[Harvey Manfrenjensenden]

It’s a new year.

It's a new dawn, it's a new life.........





And I'm feeling good.

 

[ferball]

I might be in a minority but i dislike the whole "oh he's an ex basketball player" gloat.

It's not the flex you think it is. Basically what you're telling me is he didn't play footy as a kid.

I thought it was a joke about Pendlebury.

 

[marklovesbeer]

Christ.

Mods please sort this out.
95% of the posts in the pre-season & training thread have nothing to do with footy.

At a time of year when many posters take a break, or perhaps just jump on here a bit less frequently, it’s exhausting having to wade through the pages of childish arguing & bullshit, when you just want to check in & see how the players are tracking.

 

[Gasometer]

What did I miss in these still photos?

(I need to know because I burnt out my last pitchfork on the Nifty Nev return and need to drop by Bunnings this morning to get a new one)

 

[Kangaroos4eva]

This is one of the worst bigfooty preseasons ever. Normally the optimists dominate. This one feels weird.

I am cautiously optimistic, like every year.

 

[Merlin007]

OK following the ask from marklovesbeer to concentrate on footy, and the cautious optimism of Kangaroos4eva, I went back to what I think was our best performance in 2025, the draw against Brisbane, Round 9. The mind game here is to identify where could we reasonably hope to improve on that performance, and I'm only looking at a couple of variables, team composition and roles.

So the team that played that day was I think pretty close to what will be our starting 23 in 2026:



What were the weak links in this team?

1. Maley was poor. Playing as a defensive forward on Harris Andrews

31

Harris Andrews

Age

29

Ht

200cm

Wt

98kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.8

3star

K

7.4

3star

HB

5.4

4star

M

5.6

5star

T

1.6

4star

MG

151.7

2star

D

17.0

4star

K

9.0

4star

HB

8.0

4star

M

4.0

4star

T

2.0

3star

D

9.8

3star

K

5.0

2star

HB

4.8

4star

M

3.4

4star

T

1.6

4star

MG

94.0

2star

, he had little effect - Andrews chopped off forward thrusts on multiple occasions. Finbar got to plenty of packs but marked nothing. His one highlight was a second effort handball to provide Stephens with an opportunity to goal. Clearly an upgrade in this spot would improve team performance.
2. A number of the young players were quiet; FOS played on a wing/HF with 8 touches and little impact; Duursma - 7 touches, two poor set shots; McKercher (playing forward) - 1 classy goal but with only 13 touches. With another pre-season, it's reasonable to expect all three will be better again. Of others in the younger brigade, Wardlaw was dynamic but very (shockingly) wasteful by foot
3. Roles - Sheezel played back and got a heap of it, but his creativity might have been more impactful mid and forward.

So carry forward to R1 2026, what might the side look like, and would it be an upgrade on the side above? One caveat - what follows is predicated on an 'ideal' situation regarding player availability, which might never occur.

That said, purple represents 'replacement' players - Logue for Corr, Trembath for Maley, Curtis for Scott. I keep Konstanty as like others I think he's doing enough to get first crack, but I acknowledge there's an argument Dovaston or Banch would be better again. And whether posters like it or not, Daniel and MacDonald will be playing.



I think it's reasonable to say the three changes range from significant upgrades (Trembath and Curtis) to a marginal upgrade (Logue for Corr, noting that Corr was good against Brisbane).

Then if you put Harry on- and forward of the ball, and get McKercher's pace off half back (coded in green), the team has a more incisive/creative look.

Coupled with improvement in FOS and Duursma, and Wardlaw tidying up his kicking, I reckon we're entitled to expect the trajectory is heading north.

PS - one final point; I understand why Larkey - after so many years effectively one-out in a poor side - looks for the ball over the top, but if he leads a couple of times at the ball carrier, we're a two goal a game better side with that tweak alone.

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

OK following the ask from marklovesbeer to concentrate on footy, and the cautious optimism of Kangaroos4eva, I went back to what I think was our best performance in 2025, the draw against Brisbane, Round 9. The mind game here is to identify where could we reasonably hope to improve on that performance, and I'm only looking at a couple of variables, team composition and roles.

So the team that played that day was I think pretty close to what will be our starting 23 in 2026:

View attachment 2518711

What were the weak links in this team?

1. Maley was poor. Playing as a defensive forward on Harris Andrews, he had little effect - Andrews chopped off forward thrusts on multiple occasions. Finbar got to plenty of packs but marked nothing. His one highlight was a second effort handball to provide Stephens with an opportunity to goal. Clearly an upgrade in this spot would improve team performance.
2. A number of the young players were quiet; FOS played on a wing/HF with 8 touches and little impact; Duursma - 7 touches, two poor set shots; McKercher (playing forward) - 1 classy goal but with only 13 touches. With another pre-season, it's reasonable to expect all three will be better again. Of others in the younger brigade, Wardlaw was dynamic but very (shockingly) wasteful by foot
3. Roles - Sheezel played back and got a heap of it, but his creativity might have been more impactful mid and forward.

So carry forward to R1 2026, what might the side look like, and would it be an upgrade on the side above? One caveat - what follows is predicated on an 'ideal' situation regarding player availability, which might never occur.

That said, purple represents 'replacement' players - Logue for Corr, Trembath for Maley, Curtis for Scott. I keep Konstanty as like others I think he's doing enough to get first crack, but I acknowledge there's an argument Dovaston or Banch would be better again. And whether posters like it or not, Daniel and MacDonald will be playing.

View attachment 2518713

I think it's reasonable to say the three changes range from significant upgrades (Trembath and Curtis) to a marginal upgrade (Logue for Corr, noting that Corr was good against Brisbane).

Then if you put Harry on- and forward of the ball, and get McKercher's pace off half back (coded in green), the team has a more incisive/creative look.

Coupled with improvement in FOS and Duursma, and Wardlaw tidying up his kicking, I reckon we're entitled to expect the trajectory is heading north.

PS - one final point; I understand why Larkey - after so many years effectively one-out in a poor side - looks for the ball over the top, but if he leads a couple of times at the ball carrier, we're a two goal a game better side with that tweak alone.

Love everything about this, except McKercher and Daniel in the same backline.

We will continue to get curbstomped with 1/3 of our defenders being non competitive in a vast majority of contested situations.

I expect significant improvement across the younger guys, but are they going to improve at a greater rate than players at other clubs?

I wish improvement was measured in a vacuum, but it’s not.

 

[Themanbun]

I wish improvement was measured in a vacuum, but it’s not.

This is a really salient point. There's also nothing that means that just because they're young they'll improve faster than slightly older guys at other clubs. Players improve up until their bodies decline, which generally isn't really until early thirties-ish.

 

[ferball]

This is one of the worst bigfooty preseasons ever. Normally the optimists dominate. This one feels weird.

Lets hope that's a sign.