Training 2020 Training Blog - Training Reports only - *NO DISCUSSION*

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Aug 26, 2004
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"Goddess"
Same principle as the Bluemour File - this thread is for TRAINING REPORTS ONLY

No discussion is to take place in this thread!

All discussion goes over here: https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/2020-pre-season-training-pics-reports-etc.1231775/

It's an easy reference point for training reports without having to sift through pages & pages of posts.

By all means copy and paste training reports from this thread using #TrackTalk hashtag which can be referenced back for discussion in the 'Pre-Season 2020 - Training reports, pics etc' thread & vice versa:-


This will be a valuable reference tool for those of us that love reading training reports and can't make it to training sessions whether it be to due to work commitments, living interstate etc.

The time and effort our posters put in attending training sessions and keep us up to date on how our players/new recruits are tracking is invaluable and we all love reading their informative training reports.
 

Matty411

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For the time poor poster or lurker, I give you the first bit of #TrackTalk for the preseason, care of windows1
Stockers kicking superb today. Elite. Looked fit.

Cunners and Setters looked outstanding. My on-site observer (I wasn’t there) suggested “if I had to pick between Setters and Walsh today I’d pick Setters”. Funeral for said observer is next Tuesday.

Weitering was said to be build like ‘a Coke Machine’. Kicking elite. Just looked the best player out there apparnelty.

Dow....hasn’t fixed his kicking yet. Has put on a bit of upper body muscle.

Fish looked good. Strong and fit.

That’s about it.


#TrackTalk
 
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- as indicated by others, the skills early in the session were rather ordinary. Polson dropping kicks short, Fisher kicking over targets 25m away, Cripps, Finbar, Willo, Betts all missing wide. Don't think it's cause for concern, just blokes re-finding their touch early in the preseason. Improved a bit as the session went on.

- where drills last year seemed to "conclude" with a set shot for goal, today featured a lot of quick snaps. Like it. Have felt for a long time we have too many blokes who lack the confidence to take the shot for goal in general play.

- SPS looking likely to do some major distribution from half back. Cottrell's field kicking looked really nice. Willo looking fit and moving well. Stocker definitely looking a touch lighter. Finbar has sticky hands and is a great size, and was working really hard in a drill that saw him leading outside 50 then doubling back and racing his man back to a vacant goal square. O'Brien's kicking was top notch and he's a really vocal trainer, giving good direction to teammates about where to kick. Jones moving really well. Weiters is a monster.



#TrackTalk
 
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Fisher and Gibbons were away from the midfield group at the end, practising small forward craft, for what it's worth.

Cripps, Walsh and Setterfield had a brief chat with Stanton at the end of the midfield stoppage drills before the conclusion of training. Those 3 will be playing significant midfield minutes, one would imagine.

Cuningham and Williamson looked really good. So too Samo. Weitering and Jones were beasts. Kreuzer and Casboult did a ton of laps. McGovern did plenty laps and looks in great shape. Marchbank limited to laps. Lochie looks fine. TDK had some good moments but is still building.

Stocker looks fit but his skills suffered at times, probably because of how hard he pushed himself in the running. Will benefit from more time on the track.

No Harry, JSOS or Charlie.
Finally, Docherty looks great and is obviously commanding out there. Would be incredible having his leadership and cool head back in defence.

And not much needs to be said about Walsh, guy is just insanely good.

Weitering must be in the leadership group this year. He is ready for that and ready for an AA CHB position.



#TrackTalk
 
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Terrible skills so far.
Generally speaking. So many kicks going nowhere and to no one. Walsh class though.
Can only get better
Ball movement much better that last 20 minutes.
SPS with all the best all coming out of the backline.
Pretty clear what he'll be doing next year.
Setterfield best in the midfield one on ones.
Lookin very strong and balanced.
Only one training session I know but watch out for Cottrell next year.
This isn't a late rookie nor afterthought type. He has it.



#TrackTalk
 
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DeLuca and Owies both tried, but time and time again missed easy targets or made poor decisions. Owies has definitely made improvements since last pre-season, but his kicking and hand-balling is still poor at best. I would be extremely surprised if Deluca is on the list in 2020.

Walsh and Weitering loudest voices. Both looked incredible.

Pittonet impressed me. Feel much more confident (although it is only a small sample size) with him as our backup than Phillips/Lobbe.

Setterfield is a GUN and absolutely destroyed Dow & Walsh in the clearance drill at the end. Stocker was paired up with Cripps and matched him for the most part - impressive.

Where the f*** is Harry?


#TrackTalk
 
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Aug 26, 2004
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I’ll write a detailed report later when I have some time. Observations:

- boys look in ripping nick. Skills were sketchy to start off with

- good to see not many on light duties - Marchy doing laps, Kreuz (think he has dropped a couple of kg) running and goal kicking. Lang and willo doing splits around the oval (willo looks switched on and determined - can’t wait til he’s back on the field)

- kicking rotations not too bad. Skills got better as time went on with this drill. Players that stood out in these drill were Fish, Cottrell, Gibbo.

- thought the 12v9 at the end looked pretty good for one of the first sessions of the year, think our defense will be back to good order this season coming

- goal kicking practice at the end, first few minutes boys couldn’t hit water if they fell out of a boat. Improved quickly though. Cuners, a nice set shot. Ed was great. Dow came good, was impressed. There’s heaps more but more on that later

- overall, professional training session without being amazing. Blowing out the cobwebs, but the boys know what they’re in for I think - they aren’t green anymore, these are men training now

- notable absences: H, JSOS

EDIT: Gibbo the perpetual pest. Like it - we need a bit of this.



#TrackTalk
 
In addition to that list...

Murphy: seasoned professional, looked good...

Dow: Trained hard and looks like his kicking for goal has improved - looks in great shape

Kennedy: Looks in great shape,

O'Brien: Like how he trains, but can't help but to think he could be putting in some extra yards in the gym. Wasn't as conditioned (muscle-wise) as the rest of his teammate and fear that he may struggle to stick tackles... Very, very happy to be proven wrong. Beautiful left peg

Kreuzer: Looks in career best shape, if I'm honest. On light duties but looks like he's taken a couple of years off the clock, body wise. Goal kicking style looked a bit different - was working close with Sav at training. Liked what I saw

Simpson: seasoned professional; doesn't look a day over 25. Trains that way too

McGovern: In amazing shape!! Looked fierce and determined. Think AR has done wonders. If he still kicked goals last season unfit, then a 40+ goal season looms in this form

De Koning: Looks super sharp. Can't wait til he's got a few more games under his belt. Looks the part.

Jones: Looked in good nick. Skills were good, I thought. Amazing how much he's turned his career around.

Docherty: Good to see him on the park. Participated in all drills and exercises, pretty much, at same intensity as others

Lang: Looked good, didn't impress me. Doesn't like running, I feel. Might be a make or break season for him.

Plowman: Looks good, but skills were questionable. Fumbled quite a bit in the kick rotations and run and carry drills. Really needs to work hard on this

Marchbank: Good to see him back on the ground. Was unconditioned, but understandable with the injury he had. Kept to running and light skills. Of the kicks I did see, they were very nice.

Weitering: He's a Rolls Royce out there. Skills, body, focus - a cut above the others. He'll be the play that hits a target with pinpoint finesse, but then spear-tackle through a brick wall. Just stands out above his peers.

Newman: Looks good - didn't have a keen eye on him but participated well in kicking rotation drills

Fisher: Looks in great for, sharp and quick. Skills sublime and kicking was great as the session progressed. Good shot for goal too. Has a great left boot. has put on 2-3kg in the off-season. Won't be ragdolled next year.

MacCreadie: Caught my eye at the start of training. Looked really, really good. Went off about 45mins in training looking ginger. Came back on for light duties. Overheard calf tightness?

Curnow: Looks amazing. Ran all training without missing a beat. Did running splits with Eddie and absolutely smoked him everytime (as much as I love Eddie!)

B.Silvagni - Great shape, looks the part. Skills were pretty good. Shots for goal were terrible. Think he will be a player.

O'Dwyer - Amazing conditioning. Echo other posters. Has put on weight, but not as much as people would think. Maybe 2-3kg in the off-season, but is absolutely ripped. Reckon he's about 83-85kg at a guess. Great skills, strong mark, good kick for goal. Think we might have found another player in him.

Casboult - Absolute unit of a bloke. Was doing laps with Kruez and some ruck drills. Looks in great shape.

#TrackTalk
 
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Not a detailed report as this time of the year isn't particularly exciting, so just some of the main points that caught my eye.

Session started off as though the guys were asleep.
I haven't seen so many kicks getting sprayed as in the first half hour today and when the kicking was over it was about ground ball pick-ups. I dare say this was possibly worse, with the amount of double-handling and failing to collect the ball going on. Reckon Bolton would have let out a few expletives here.
Stocker looked to have sprained a finger when he dropped a mark and held onto his hand for a while until the pain subsided. I thought we had our first casualty for the day in a warm-up drill.....anyway.

Cripps looks terrific ands it's more than 2 kgs he's dropped. Looks decidedly slimmer. His goal-kicking was on the mark. Will spend time forward.
Walsh. Hard to take your eyes off him and just about everything he does is of a very high standard. He rarely takes long to work out the best option.
Cuningham. same as last year, I guess. He's weaving through traffic is A-grade to me. Finds a gap where there isn't one for most players.
Williamson. May sound odd but I can just watch him run glide. Beautiful running style with a high back-kick and has that good burst to seperate.
Cottrell: As per previous. Just looks a player and does many things well at training. Can't see how he slipped to a pick we didn't use on him.
SPS: Looks like it's the back-line for Sam. Team used him as the exit player in drills. Did a very good job I have to say with delivery forward.
Setterfield: It's starting to show isn't it? Holds his feet at stoppages very well and frees his arms as well as (almost as well as) Cripps. Big year coming up.
Stocker looked awful early but picked his output up in the second half of the day. The ball can travel when it leaves his boot.
Betts: What I liked was his instruction through the ball movement drills. He should be handy at worse for us, next year.
Polson: It's the longest I've seen him kick. Didn't look bad at all today.
Newnes: Kept forgetting about him. Keep a sharper lookout for him next time.

Most of the other players looked like themselves I guess. Macreadie looked a little stronger through the hips and legs seem to be bigger.
One last thing on Cottrell: When he stands next to his team-mates he looks like the 181cm he's listed at. In drills he looks 188. I've never come across that before. It's a really odd thing and I know it's just me, but that's a huge difference.
Just good to see Docherty on the track and involved. Slowly, slowly.

Some fun at the end of day with set shot goal-kicking.
Hard to say whether it's all a little too laid back, but then again it is only November.




#TrackTalk
 

mr_robot

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Just a couple of tidbits from the session today.

I paid particular attention to Stocker (because he’s my favourite) during some of the 12v9 drills. Up and back, up and back. No hands on hips. Worked hard and good body language. Didn’t look out of place fitness-wise. Only a small snapshot though, but positive. His kicking, left or right, phenomenal.

I echo the thoughts of a few, Gov looked very, very lean. Actually looks half a professional athlete now. The best of his career starts now.

Also paid attention to Dow because I have a huge soft spot for him. Aesthetically, looks insanely fit. Not an iota of body fat on him. Kicking still iffy though. Hope he is working really hard on his defensive pressure.

Watching Lang run, then Willo shortly after. Chalk and cheese. Lang runs robotic, awkward, no power. Willo runs as though it doesn’t phase him. Incredible. Kicks his bum with every stride. Amazing athlete. Also looks stronger than last year.

Harry not out there is a big concern. Thought he looked de-conditioned in the Puma jumper unveil pics. We need him up and running now that Charles is down. Not good. TDK/curnow and Gov isn’t an amazing forward line.

Not sure what people are seeing with Finbar. I saw a pretty poor session from him. Hope he proves me and a lot of others wrong though.

I liked Cottrell’s efforts today. He has something. I don’t know what it is, but he’s a likely prospect.

Cripps is at least 3-4kg lighter. He looks tiny compared to last year. Or actually, maybe it was his tiny calves that were throwing me. 🤷‍♂️

Deluca and Webb. I’d put a line through both based on today’s proceedings. Deluca’s skills just aren’t up to scratch. Webb has the body of an 18 year old. Give me Kye Quirk or Frank Anderson ahead of these two any day.





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Headed to training yesterday - always hard to tell what's going on at training a lot of the time, I don't go much if it all usually and everyone looks the part when the heat is not on but I kept a close eye on a few and here are some of my observations.

Overall the match sim drills were quite good I felt in the second half of the session - considering we have no tall forwards training at the minute and Gov and Levi ran laps for most of the match simulation I thought the ball movement was excellent. We are going to be a much faster paced side next year even moreso than the second half of last year.

SPS - Kept a close eye on Samo in many of the drills and the little match sim drill that was going on and my oh my he's a very neat player. Half back looks the go next year which I was not sure how I felt about it but on second glance he's just an absolute natural that position. He's so clean, his kicks are just perfectly weighted pretty much every time. Defensively is going to be the test when he needs to defend but if we can work a game plan around him not having to do it all that often then he's going to be very valuable in that area - if Doc can get anywhere near his best again and Samo keeps using the ball as he is in that location then I struggle to see how Newman and even probably Simmo keep there spots in 2020 on the HBF.

Walsh - I just naturally look for him wherever he is, he is that sort of player. Clean as a whistle, switched on 100% of the time, he's just a pro.

Finbar - he's built up a lot. He has a very good build to be a damaging 3rd tall up forward. Got involved in the match sim a lot but no one was paying much attention to him so will temper enthusiasm until he starts dominating the VFL, but has definitely come back in good shape.

Cunningham - another one who is just a class act, he's good at getting out of traffic and I expect him to have a big impact if he stays on the park.

Setters - looked good in many of the drills as well, as others have said in really good shape.

Gibbons - gets involved in everything, he's not the cleanest player going around but he's like a dog with a bone out there. For those who watched a lot of footy in the late 90s early 2000s he reminds a lot of Darren Hume - Pup was not the most gifted footballer going around but he played some good footy in some pretty decent sides in a lot of games. Given more midfield minutes next year Gibbo- he has the same feel about him.

Betts - I love Eddie - is adding so much on the track already and will play good footy for us next year. He's one of the most skillful players out there and in the match sim got up and about and was hitting targets almost as good as Samo. Natural - still a gun and can't wait to see him out there, might have another 2 or 3 years in him!

Tom De Koning - what a unit! Will be an absolute beast when he is finished - he's big now. I know he is coming back from a lay off also but if he can get some miles into the legs and with Harry and Charlie both out for extended periods and looking unreliable at best in the short term with their bodies hopefully De Koning can show what he is capable as that CHF second ruck option in the pre season games and you never know. This guy is going to be a handful as he is an athletic specimen!

Matt Kennedy - has leaned right up - more than Cripps at a glance. Will be fighting with Setters for that other inside mid role by the looks of it and we know he can go forward and kick a few.

Everyone is looking good, shame about Harry and Charlie not being available though. Lets hope Harrys groins settle down as with Charlie not available until early in the year I think we really need at least one of them up and running early.

Lets pray we get Martin for nothing on Thursday as he will only add to the depth we have around the park at the minute - looking around yesterday there will be a number of good footballers not getting a game next year. Dow, O'Brien, Newman etc will be playing alot of 2s footy unless we get injuries with guys like Betts, Newnes and Martin coming into the squad as the standards are definitely lifting. Lets hope we can get the big fellas on the park early in the season.




#TrackTalk
 
Ok I’m not writing a boring training report player by player. If I don’t mention the player then they did nothing they don’t normally do- take that as either good or bad. I WILL be making a player declaration....at the end of the post.

Firstly to LOB. Superb effort today. His running is back to elite. Competed with Cottrell for ‘runner of the day’. His kicking had a nice punch to it. He looks slightly stronger. At this stage I expect a lift from him next year. Nothing outrageous. Just a lift.

Weitering is going to go up another level. He looks strong and in command. Confident. Was just a boss out there at times.

Congrats to Doc. To be in that kind of shape is amazing. He participated in most drills- albeit carefully. He’s really working on his movement patterns. I expect to see the real Doc next year which is SO exciting.

BSOS is going to be a 200 gamer. There ya go. He’s a lovely size. Nice movement. Kicking looks good. Another VFL year and then up. For a long time.

The first years didn’t do much and I didn’t see anything that suggested ‘ready to go’. Which is fine.

Really like the way Kennedy is moving. I want to see him trialled as that dangerous forward. MCG is in fantastic shape.

I thought long and hard about making Setters my ‘declaration’. His running was amazing. Just behind the freaks. Has gone ahead a mile on last year. Looks stronger. Held his own one on one on ball against Cripps. Just loved it. Inside mid for him this year. Stuff the wing s**t.

Then I thought about making Fish the declaration. Much stronger. Running well. Broke tackles!! Kicking ok although a little erratic. But he seems a big lift in last year. Really loved seeing him today. Heart warming. Making life tough for selectors.

I tried so hard. I really did. To find someone. To declare. To bring a fresh name. But this guy just ******* blew me away. The ‘150m slalom run end to end link up play on repeat’ has gone up a gear. It’s faster. The kicking was a LOt better. Punchy and no errors. He has 2kg more muscle.

I swear to God I tried. But I just can’t. I declare that Sam Walsh will be an All Australian in 2020. He’s just the ******* bees knees.

Overall great session. Super skills. Really good. Loved what I saw today. Finals on the way folks!!!!

#TrackTalk
 

windows1

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Up your bum Ferrisb

Gee we are close to a full squad these days. CC and McKay the obvious outs. Owies not training. Murph rest day maybe. Kreuzer on his often restricted duties. Just manage him these days I think. Goddard, Marchy doing intervals. LOb and macreadie mostly intervals. Dow did about half the session then intervals. Fish did half the session then like a 5km run. Newman intervals (a lot).

The rest trained I think.

Firstly my observations from the group intervals. Maybe 8 x 150-180? 30-45 rest.

A few groups. Interestingly Cripps pushes himself into the first group. Ed and Cottrell. Just in front of setters (flying) and Walshy. Then Cunners, Kennedy and Crippa. I don’t think other than the first 4 there is too much to read into group structure. Cripps is career best running I think.

Next group contained Doc, McG, sos (all going well).

Dow seemed to handle the intervals better today (in group) and ran more on his own. I’m sure I overheard him saying he was managing something. Lob def managing a lower back/hammy. Just tightness? Fish the same I think. Just being careful.

The big guys (Pittonet, Weiters, Casboult, TDk) rain with the first years on the other side. First years again didn’t do much.

Running wise I am stunned at setters. He’s had a massive off season. Ed seemed intent on beating Cottrell today (and did).

Lots of in close work early in training. The usual suspects showed out. Walsh Cripps Setters.

The full ground activity (3 groups taking each other on 2 at a time) was great. Kicking is very good. Better than last year. Gee Cunners can kick the ball. And is so fast. I love him as a half forward. You see in the intervals he can’t really repeat run like Walsh etc. So he’s best kept to half forward and bursts on ball.

Fisher and MCG are in great shape. MCG is flying. I can’t believe he is the same guy who got pulled out of training to run intervals with Ben S and couldn’t keep up.

Sam Walsh must be the fastest runner when leaning at 45 degrees in the history of ever....

Jones looked fantastic. Was a boss out there. He and Weitering are a brick wall. Like amazing.

Willo, Stocker and Martin all really ‘punch’ the ball when kicking. In fact it seems to be a focus. A lot are doing it. Cripps. Cunners. Walsh. Much more than the past. Great to see.

Matty K’s hands below knees are oft missed and ignored. Truly a freak for his size. Or any size. Like the way they are bringing him on.

TDk is a wonderful mover. May be a long slow burn but I can’t wait to see him in game.

COshches report: Teague in the thick of it. And also ran laps on his own. Stanton tan with Fish for support. Russell very attentive to every athlete. Every minor adjustment to program. Wanted more (and got it) from dow.

Love the feel of the place. They seem very happy.



#TrackTalk
 

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Good to see Docherty competing in everything, today. Really has some dancing feet happening.
I don't recall him being so light on his feet before. It's still his backline, ever marshalling the troops.
McGovern looks good to me. Gets to positions you wouldn't think someone his height could get to. Did have some strapping on right calf later in the day, but that didn't seem to hinder him at all. Maybe just a knock.
Kennedy not so lucky and spent some time on his back. Did eventually get up and got back into full ground drills, so can't be too bad.
Jones buried Gibbons in one drill and Gibbons didn't like it at all. Gave Jones a couple of rib-ticklers to go on with things. There was some heat out there.
Petrevski-Seton also hurt his arm but shook the pain off, eventually.

So many new faces it was hard to track everyone. Walsh stood out given his height but I had to give up on the other boys eventually.
They did compete in some drills and sat it out later in the day.

Full ground ball movement drill was interesting enough. Looked like a 10 on 10 to me and had players rotating quite regularly.
When you walked out though, you didn't hang around watching but had to run the boundary. I don't think I got the full idea of what was going on though.

Nothing really stood out worthy of putting forward, but -
Docherty obviously because he's right back in the swing of things, earlier than had been stated.
Stocker no longer has strapping on his knee. His kicking today was much better than the other week.
JSilvagni really down on the guys and in particular Dow after he dropped an easy mark -"We're better than that" is what he yelled out.
Did yell out a few more things just a little later and there was no shortage of expletives. Really seemed invested, did Jack.
Martin - All a little too casual for mine. May be wrong but fitness just doesn't seem to be of a high standard.
Philp looked O.K. Has presence and intercepted a ball that brought about a clap from coaches.
Plowman wore a hat. Jones is a beast. Kreuzer hard joined in. Williamson a no-show. No Macreadie. Gibbons a pest.
Cottrell has ECurnow well covered now where running is concerned, but more importantly he really looks like he knows what he's doing.
Some of his kicks across his body into the forward target were sublime. He had something last year, but this is a whole new level.





#TrackTalk
 

Mr_Plow

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This was a relatively light session, with no full ground drill or 10-12 vs 10-12 which has happened before.

I didn’t see Marchbank out there at all. McKay, Macreadie, Kennedy and McGovern didn’t partake in the main drills. McKay not running laps yet, just some boxing along the boundary I think. Not sure what is up with Macreadie, who wasn’t even jogging laps today. Kennedy and McGovern jogged some laps together early and then departed, both only showing signs of minor injury/soreness. Owies too wasn’t involved in any of the main stuff, jogging laps and some solo training.

There were two main drills I was paying attention to along the wing:

  • 1st was a defensive positioning drill with Cam Bruce, with groups of 10-12 guarding space without the ball whilst maintaining knowledge of surroundings (which teammates and where), moving in a box as a unit and keeping voices active. Some groups better than others. The ones you’d expect to be on top of this were commanding, Weitering, Jones, Docherty and Plowman the standouts.

  • The other more interesting drill conducted by Luke Power was 3v3 in a tight space, using handpasses to break out into space. It took a while but the groups which figured out that the key was to apply blocks and engage the pick & roll did best. Some players stood out here. Dow with some sweet sidesteps and breakaway speed, Cuningham with his combination of power and evasion, Fisher with his slipperiness and quick hands and finally Setterfield with exquisitely clean hands, strong frame and vision to put the ball out in front of his teammate.

  • I didn’t catch any of the midfield drills since they were on the other side of the ground, saw a lot of the defence, though. I must say, literally everything Samo does is sublime, he didn’t miss a target today and his kicks are zipping through the air faster. Weitering is simply a boss, we all know this, a powerhouse. Plowman’s kicking looks tighter too, drilling teammates onto the chest with ease. Docherty wasn’t involved in this defensive ball movement work, so it will only get better. Also worth noting that Goddard doesn’t seem out of place now, his kicking has improved and he looks fitter, good for him.

  • Dow: only saw him early in the session, but his kicking also looked much more compact today and his teammates took notice and lauded him for it. Obviously needs to execute under pressure in games, but at least the mechanics are better.

  • Cottrell: kicking for goal is still sublime, but field kicking can be suspect at times. Prefer LOB at this stage, who was kicking the ball super cleanly.

  • Webb: still training with us.

  • Most excited today about: SPS, all class, looks set for a great year.

If anybody has player-specific questions, fire away.




#TrackTalk
 
Williamson hurt but now OK.
Cripps hands are unbelievable. Nothing new.
(Williamson) Hit to the head.
Now SPS in a little trouble.
Williamson looks amazing.
SPS OK. But they are going down
Surprised for the intensity.
We look like a football team today. Much sharper than previous.
Good one on ones in the goal square
Cripps terrific in the full ground drill
Quite a few (standouts) but get to them later.
We look light on our feet. Really like that
What's with all the anger here? No pleasantries at all.
Going to have to buy plenty of new green vests after this session. Good to see.
New boys are seriously quick on the outside.

#TrackTalk
 

Graffy4242

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Took my 2 boys down this morning for their first Open Training which they loved.

I have to echo the other's comments regarding the intensity. It was quite nasty in spots. VERY VERY physical. Levi dumped someone twice in about 2 mins.

The 1 on 1s near the goal square were as physical as you would see in a real game.

Overall the boys look very sharp, very serious and very focused.

MASSIVE year ahead for us if we stay on the right side of the injury ledger.



#TrackTalk
 

Graffy4242

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Also, I was quite impressed with the goal kicking in both the set shot practice and game simulation.

Hardly anyone missed anything!!!

One last point, was very surprised that Doc was in the match simulation given how physical it was. He was very vocal and his delivery out of the backline was superb. Will be amazing to have an AA defender slot straight back into our defensive 6.



#TrackTalk
 
Just some quick points for now -

We look a lot pacier overall than this time last year.
A lot faster, a lot more agile and a lot more willing to attack the game.
This was evident through all drills today - quick ball movement, overlap, punchy low kicking etc.

Williamson, Cuningham and Martin worked great in tight, with their explosive first couple of steps and willingness to take on opponents.
Williiamson had players hanging off him and he still made headway. He's a powerhouse.
Overall though we looked very quick...to me, in the full ground drills - Docherty, Williamson, Cuningham, Dow, Martin, Cottrell, Stocker and Honey.....
Boy did he impress me today. Has that ability to weave by tilting his body when running at defenders in the way Cuningham can.

The new boys did get found out when things got tight though, which shouldn't be any surprise and in particular for the intensity shown up by all.
You're not to get through easily with the likes of Cripps, Jones, Plowman ready to bury you when they get hold.
On the outside though and through more open drills, Philp and Ramsey looked good....Honey a good couple of notches better.

Was pretty willing today with plenty being 'treated' for being dumped and/or injured.
Betts had his ear taped up after it almost being ripped off. Others had a rest to recover from beatings and bruises. :)

Mckay and CCurnow stuck their heads out.
McGovern, Kennedy, Owies and Macreadie involved only in only small ways.
Marchbank a no-show and Setterfield? Did I somehow miss him today? Just came to mind.




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BlueView

Club Legend
Oct 13, 2018
1,419
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LOB was winning group 1 (Ed, Walsh Cottrell) in the boundary runs / sprints that I saw, Newman was winning group 2 ( Doc SPS) and unfortunately Dow was languishing group 3

Jones was a standout for mine winning plenty of the high contested stuff in the three quarter ground drills which were designed to transition from an opposition kicked behind to the half forward flank, LOB again with some beautifully weighted passes to Cunningham streaming towards goal.
With Rance’s retirement Carlton could realistically have three All Australian hopefuls in Jones Weeties and Doc.

Impressed with Lob today think he may come on a bit quicker than Dow who I reckon might still be a year and a bit away.

Docherty super impressed by his ball use it was sublime & presence, its easy to forgot after not seeing him play for two years how good he is. All the hard work he’s put in should reap the rewards...I don’t think it’ll take him as long as it’s taken others to get back into the full swing of things with a high output. Touch wood :evergreen:

I didn’t get there until about 30 mins after the session started and was only concentrating on one group, (when they were split) I missed the SPS knock Harker referred to but there was a contest where he was third man up or at least should have been, he had the sit and flew without intent, missed the ball by the best part of 4 metres. It was almost Garlettesque in defence but that was maybe due to the knock he had earlier. Rest of his session was solid.

Kreuze ship mainly playing a forward leading target which he preformed ok except slipping over in the contest one time.

Martin looked silky, from what I saw. I didn’t see Setterfield out there either hopefully it’s nothing serious.

All in all the intensity was pretty good and the skills were decent and players were executing. Fairly impressed with that, everyone looks super fit too.



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windows1

Premiership Player
Sep 8, 2018
4,897
30,235
AFL Club
Carlton
Ok fine I will write one for you. Paneful Training observations from yesterday:

The ball movement generally was terrific as Harks has pointed out. I left pre-season training two years ago and called us ‘a vFL side’ to a mate. We pretty much were. This is a serious AFL side in front of our eyes now. As Arrow said- a good run with injuries and LOOK OUT.

I would like to start with Sam Docherty. Like forget all the doubts NOW. Just forget them. He is moving incredibly well. Not just for ‘this stage’. He looks in career best shape to me. Not too heavy. Fast on his feet. Quick sideways. And in the runs today I’d give him Third most impressive all around (across sprints and endurance). His kicking was fantatsic. 50m cross ground punches.

A Windows big prediction: he’s gonna be AA this year. Have no doubts. Just stop it. Please trust me. Please. He’s every bit as good as he was pre Knees. Maybe better. He will be straight back into 27/28 touches a game the shape he’s in. No doubt. 450m gained a match this year. Incredible effort by him. The most professional player we’ve ever had. Congratulations Sam.

David Cunningham showed me his problem today. I’ve never really understood what was missing. It’s a combination of ‘intensity/concentration’. He just doesn’t show it. As such he’s a ‘low involvement’ guy. The one on ones from the goal square showed it. He just loses focus. Isn’t desperate. Doesn’t really ‘fight’ for it. He’s so clean and skilled and fast that there are still plenty of highlights. If they could put him in a cage and only feed him raw meat....

And then there’s Jack Silvagni. Once again: if you don’t see ‘AA Defender’ in this guy you don’t know footy. You literally can’t get a touch on him when he defends you. He IS his dad: the desperate last 5 steps ARE there, the perfectly timed spoil, the great use of the body to apply a nudge. Honestly PLEASE play him in the backline. Please.

I haven’t read anyone account for Setters today. Bit of a worry given he’s been the find of the preseason thus far. Barrass70 if you could confirm he’s ok that would be great.

LOB 2nd best runner of the day. Wow is his junior 400 pace back (as ive posted before he holds the Vic U15 400m record). I think maybe two efforts today they went ALL in on their sprints. Frankly: he murdered them. Must have beaten Ed and Cottrell by 7-8 metres. Just wish his hands below knees were cleaner. But there’s a definite lift in his physical conditioning this year. He looks a lot stronger. Far less body flopping from him. His long distance isn’t quite at its best (neither is Sam’s btw). I suspect both LOB and Walsh are working on ‘power/speed’ rather than endurance. I’d say Sam has sacrificed a bit of 2km time for a bit of muscle/strength.

Walsh and Dow continue to show improved kicking. Frankly I hardly noticed Dow’s kicking today. And that’s a positive. I can only recall one mongrel punt from him. Again his pace and his vastly under rated hands below knees stood out. I really think we need to applaud his ability to hit half volleys at pace and break away more than we do. It’s truly amazing. He’s a long slow burn this kid. Will be a bit better each year. Just a bit fitter. Just a bit stronger. Just a bit cleaner by foot. By the time he finishes his college years (two more left) he will be killing it. A bit of a step up this year but the competition will be tough.

Willo is flying. Just flying. He’s never looked this fit. His kicking is fantastic. I have him ahead of Newman and Marchbank at the moment as we ponder round one. I expect him to really show up in the preseason games and be very hard to hold out. They should be congratulated on how well they’ve managed him back.

High time we gave a thumbs up to the vets. Kreuzer, Ed, Murph and Simmo? Going as well as they ever have. Simmo I had as the second best endurance runner today. Maybe fourth or fifth overall (when factoring the intervals). He is NOT slowing down at all. He looked agile today. Fast. Fit as hell. Just fantastic. The big Kreuze was managed to 80 percent as he seems to be for most sessions these days. He’s fit. Moving so well. Seems to have changed his set shot style to be a little more efficient in the ball drop. Marked it forward a fair bit. Murph is in shape. Ready to go. So is Curnow. I don’t think he cares about ‘winning’ the runs as much. He knows he’s as fit as you have to be. He’s clearly focused on speed and ball use. Both look good. I left the ground today thinking ‘don’t be thinking Murph or Ed are giving up their midfield spots any time soon’. I also thought ‘those that didn’t have Simmo in their best 22 have got to change their medifications’.

Not sure Eddie is in he best shape. And I don’t mean endurance wise. He just didn’t seem to have any real zip to me. Wait and see I guess.

Zac Fisher? Haven’t seen a player change his fitness base by AS MUCH as this kid has in one off season. Just incredible. He really wants it. His endurance is through the roof. Forget worrying about whether he can two way run all day or not: he most definitely can. He’s also much stronger. And the left leg is punchy AF. Forget about it. He’s best 22 easily. Like easily.

Special mention to Sam Ramsay. I see you kid. I see you. Not ‘making a Panecall’ on you yet but fu** I’m close. He’s possibly pushing for games much quicker than I thought.

No one else really blew me away OR disappointed. Other than Crippa. Who always blows me away. He’s a good 5kg lighter. Comically threw Stocker to the ground at will in their one on one battles. ‘Get the fu** off me kid I’m the AFLPA MVP’.


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Mr_Plow

That name again...
May 18, 2008
17,226
65,653
Melbourne
AFL Club
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Players who particularly caught my eye today in the full-ground drills:

O'Brien: looks extremely fit, much more mature physically, kicking the ball magnificently. I think he's set for a big year if he can keep training at this intensity. Lock him in on the wing.

Cuningham: nothing new here, I'm always praising him. Just super slick, one-handed gather and clearance was just superb early and then everything he does is class.

Walsh: outstanding, at one point burnt about three players as he went on a run through the middle taking a few bounces (match sim) and then hit the target. Special player.

Philp: a few nice signs here, particularly in traffic where he excels with acceleration and power. Used the handball well to teammates in better position but was prone to just bombing it long a few times. A bit to work with.

Will add Dow too, actually: kicking again looks much more efficient than last year, looks fit and strong, much more prominent in match sim than I usually see. Completing a pre-season is exactly what he needs to improve his endurance. Only downside is when he had the opportunity to handball to O'Brien out wide who was open but chose to go back into congestion and got caught HTB. The little decision-making things.



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