So I managed to make my training watcher’s debut for 2016 yesterday and it was a really nice day out. There was a pretty big crowd with lots of schoolkids hanging about the clubroom area and a generous amount of non-schoolkids (e.g. oldies) scattered about the ground in the pleasant shady areas.
I got there about 10.30, so I missed a fair bit.
When I arrived the main group were doing half ground work at the hospital end, but I went down the Prison end and watched the small group clearance work being led by Sumich. They were doing a drill with 4 on 4 simulating a throw in on the 50m line or a bounce on 50m arc at CHF. Mostly these guys were the “B” team – Uber, Brady Grey, Irish, Morabito and a few others (I’m not super familiar with our new recruits yet) - although at one point an “A” group rotated through (Griff, Neale, Barlow). Matty de Boer was with the “B” team for most of the time. I’m not sure if that’s an indication of where he sits in the pecking order, or a purely random grouping or if he was there to provide leadership – who knows, other training watchers might be able to provide more info as to MDB’s place in the team.
The point of the drill was to use quick hands to win a clearance – once a clearance was won, the coaches rotated the groups and re-set. There was a lot of emphasis on quick ball movement etc. Generally the skills were good.
One thing that irritated me was the lack of finishing class. On more than one occasion, the “attacking” team won the clearance and was able to have a shot on goal – instead of having a clean shot, most of the guys just threw it on the boot and got it away from the contest – with our goal kicking woes of late, I would like to have seen them making sure that EVERY kick on goal was executed well. While I realise goal kicking wasn’t the point of the drill, it should be something perfected all the time.
Of interest was that Uber and Irish were doing ruck work, not sure if we’re training them up, or they just needed a ruck for the drill and Sandi/Clarke weren’t available. Either way they both took quite a few taps and at one point Griff rotated through the drill and they rucked against him. Good to know we might have some depth ruck options anyway.
I know a few people have mentioned it, but Irish doesn’t look out of place. Sure he’s no Nat Fyfe yet, but for someone who hasn’t played the game until 2 years ago, it bodes well for his future success.
Speaking of not looking out of place – Morabito was doing these drills and he had no strapping on the knees and was moving with absolutely no regard to protecting his knee – with a full pre-season under his belt who know what he can do this year.
After a while, I wandered around to the clubhouse, so my little girl could use the toilets and after a quick break, I watched another drill where there were 2 teams of 6 in a 20m x 20m square with the point to use a series of quick handballs to move the ball from one side of the square to the other – kinda keepys off if you will.
Unlike the clearance drill the “A” team were on show – Pav, Mundy, C. Pearce, D. Pearce, Hilly, Sonny etc. I know it’s been said before, but it seems to me that Sonny Walters has gone up a notch this year. He was evading traffic, shooting off quick/accurate handballs and generally being all over the rest of his teammates like a rash. Mundy was also a standout – although he looks like he’s hardly moving he’s so relaxed out there.
At one point something wasn’t right and Pav pulled the group together (about 12/14 players) and gave them a good talking too – pointing at chests and showing running patterns with his hands. Watching this, I was totally convinced that he was going to keep the Skipper’s job this year – Imagine how upset I was last night when I heard he was handing the baton on!
The last part of the main session was a ¾ ground match sim. Not much else needs to be said that hasn’t been said by others – Mundy was playing CHB, which was interesting and Hilly looked to be able to find pace and space at will – Ballas worked as hard as ever and Mayne looked good (as has been previously mentioned).
However, the single biggest surprise of the day was David Hale – he was running the “keepy off” drill and at one point stepped in to fill in numbers. For a big guy he’s very light on his feet and has super quick hands – honestly, he looked like he could play if we had a big guy go down.
Also, the players hang off his every word. They huddled around him and were obviously asking questions of him (I couldn’t hear the conversation, but you could tell).
At the end of the main session, it was Hale who addressed the group and it looked like he was discussing forward movement patterns etc. He spoke to the whole group for 5 -10 minutes – as I said all the players were hanging off his every word.
THEN – after the players left, Hale addressed the coaching group for another 5 or so minutes. It was really interesting to see – even Ross the boss was listening intently.
We’ll have to see what comes of it, but maybe Hale will be the recruit of the off season???
Speaking of recruits, Harley Bennell was only walking laps and running slow jogs with a trainer. His calf was bandaged, but he didn’t appear to be hindered at all. Maybe just being super cautious.
After the main session, the rehab crew came out. Johnno (I didn’t know he was injured) and Clarke seemed like they were the closest to being fully fit as they ran 100m efforts together. A Pearce and Apeness look like they’re a while off and only jogged slow 100s.
As mentioned, Fyfey was working on his own with a trainer, but he didn’t look hindered. Again, maybe a precaution.
At this stage my interest in the Dockers was outweighed by the need to feed the 5 year old, so we left.
It was a really pleasant day, and I recommend it to any Dockers fans – if you have kids the players all generally will give a wave and say hello, so take them down too.
Yours in Purple – OK.