Training today was brutal as it was extremely hot and the team did a ton of running to finish the session. I may have missed some things as I arrived around 9.30am and I was sitting on the other side of the oval (compared to some of the other training reporters) near the team store. I also stayed to see a very, very tall rehab group train.
It seemed like training in the heat got to a few today. Langdon, Ballaz, Igbo and Walters all came off before the session was over. Walters I think had a slight ankle injury as he was limping after training.
Some points of note from the training I saw included:
Some brilliant play from S.Hii. He seems to be training more as an inside mid from what I can tell.
Johno looking fitter than ever. Running lap after lap.
Cox taking some terrific marks in match sim play. Kicking looked fine to me.
Darcy is definitely a bloody good ruck prospect. His second efforts are fantastic. Both him and Stmadica also ran a ton of laps and seem more mobile that advertised in draft write-ups.
Kersten did some repeat sprint work with Grey and Johno, Kersten was the clear standout of the three. I really like what he could potentially add to the forward line. He is definitely key position size when you see him up close. His legs are massive. Will very hard to push off the ball in a marking contest.
Logue did a couple of terrific intercept marks and his kicking is fantastic in my view.
It was my first look at Luke Ryan and to me he seems a decent way off the pace in terms of making an early debut. He was infrequently involved in the play in match sims.
Ethan Hughes kicked the ball wonderfully today. I would love to see him play midfield for Peel in 2017.
Crozier for mine is a certain starter for round 1 even if everyone is available. His kicking today hitting targets with difficult kicks was superb. I really hope he takes the game on like he did today in season 2017.
They are definitely making up for lost time (compared to last year) in terms of running loads. Today the main group finished the session with a heap of all ground runs. When I say a ton I mean heaps and heaps of running the length of the oval in very hot conditions. The two stand-outs were De Luca and Connor Blakely. The improvement in both, in terms of their running and kicking skills since last year is gigantic. Balic seems to be pushing himself massively too and is definitely improving at a rapid rate in terms of keeping up with the main group.
The rehab group consists of Hamling, A.Pearce, Dawson, Griffin, Bennell, Neale and Sandy, with Clarke and Ueber nowhere to be seen. I am fairly certain Hamling and Sandy are doing individual programs and are not injured as they ran a ton at what appeared to be full pace. Harley has made progress and is now running slow repeat 100's. In my view it will be touch and go to see if he will be ready for Round 1. Neale looked fantastic and ran as well as anyone. Griffin too doesn't seem far off full fitness and he did some full speed running too. Ditto Dawson. Alex Pearce is becoming a beast and his speed is definitely terrific in sprint work.
With the amount of running at the end of the session today was some of the brutal training I've seen the players put through. Fyfe was so exhausted after the session he put his head straight into an esky of ice water. Compared to last year the players appeared to be pushed and extended more than Ive seen them before. I had a quick chat with Cam McCarthy after training and he said the training they were doing was a ton more intense training than what he did at GWS.