Training 2021/22 Preseason Thread Lessssf*ngo

Sphynx

Norm Smith Medallist
Jul 10, 2011
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Can someone give me a sense of how fast Goater, Hore, Archer, and Bergman are when compared against our defensive fixture of 2021?

Goater is quicker than Atley. Further more, he's more agile than Jy, crazy combination.

Arch is Scotty McMahon sort of territory. Athletic side of the game isn's his go.

Bergman has a yard on LMAC imo.
 

Passmore

Brownlow Medallist
May 22, 2001
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Also, cooper looked better than I was expecting

I’ve seen 4 sessions now. I reckon he’s looked progressively better in all of them. He could slot in to the AFL team now and not look completely out of place. Not saying he would excel, bit he wouldn’t make a tit of himself.
 

Nugget 83

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Jan 14, 2022
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CCJ - One Passage of Play

1st Effort
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2nd Effort
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3rd Effort
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4th Effort
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Aftermath
DSC_5775.JPG

DSC_5776.JPG


Poor Flynny.

CCJ moved ahead of Xerri in my eyes today. He's such a weapon at ground level. He wants to be involved and hurt the opposition. Very hard worker. You could say he was getting cheapies, but he put in the work off the ball to get to the spots.
 
Dec 7, 2021
375
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Potential round 1 team with players from 2019, 2020 and 2021 drafts in bold.

B: Turner McKay Ziebell
HB: Hall Corr Perez
C: McDonald Greenwood Stephenson
HF: Thomas Comben Mahony
F: Zurhaar Larkey CCJ
Foll: Goldstein Simpkin LDU
Int: Powell, Phillips, JHF, Goater
I really rate this 22, could make a case for several others which is a great sign.
 

Heaps of fun

Goatered on the sticks
Sep 13, 2013
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I really rate this 22, could make a case for several others which is a great sign.
Yep, Polec and Josh Walker are probably the closest to making it. Scott, Taylor, Lazzaro and Ford could all end up in the side too. Bosenavulagi, Young, P. Walker, Xerri and Spicer the depth group at this stage, in my mind.
 

WodongaKanga

Rookie
Oct 7, 2021
39
166
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Potential round 1 team with players from 2019, 2020 and 2021 drafts in bold.

B: Turner McKay Ziebell
HB: Hall Corr Perez
C: McDonald Greenwood Stephenson
HF: Thomas Comben Mahony
F: Zurhaar Larkey CCJ
Foll: Goldstein Simpkin LDU
Int: Powell, Phillips, JHF, Goater
Can someone add the ages next to players names please? I'd love to see what the profile of our list is going to look like in 2-3 years!
 
Goater is quicker than Atley. Further more, he's more agile than Jy, crazy combination.

Arch is Scotty McMahon sort of territory. Athletic side of the game isn's his go.

Bergman has a yard on LMAC imo.
Goater seems to have some amazing physical gifts, makes me think of a player like Bontempelli. Not to say I'm predicting that but I can see the appeal for the club as a bit of a stretch for something special if he develops.
 
May 20, 2009
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coburg
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B: Turner McKay Ziebell
HB: Hall Corr Perez
C: McDonald Greenwood Stephenson
HF: Thomas Comben Mahony
F: Zurhaar Larkey CCJ
Foll: Goldstein Simpkin LDU
Int: Powell, Phillips, JHF, Goater
Green = in their prime.
Red = needs replacements soon.
White = To early to make a call on yet.
Bold = top 15 picks
All IMO OFC.
 
Last edited:
B: Turner McKay Ziebell
HB: Hall Corr Perez
C: McDonald Greenwood Stephenson
HF: Thomas Comben Mahony
F: Zurhaar Larkey CCJ
Foll: Goldstein Simpkin LDU
Int: Powell, Phillips, JHF, Goater
Green = in there prime.
Red = needs replacements soon.
White = To early to make a call on yet.
All IMO OFC.

Goldy?
Also what's your difference between Bold and Normal white text?
 

Heaps of fun

Goatered on the sticks
Sep 13, 2013
23,853
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Can someone add the ages next to players names please? I'd love to see what the profile of our list is going to look like in 2-3 years!
Here you go, mate.

B: Turner (26) McKay (24) Ziebell (30)

HB: Hall (31) Corr (27) Perez (20)

C: McDonald (26) Greenwood (29) Stephenson (23)

HF: Thomas (21) Comben (20) Mahony (20)

F: Zurhaar (23) Larkey (23) CCJ (22)

Foll: Goldstein (33) Simpkin (23) LDU (22)

Int: Powell (19), Phillips (19), JHF (18), Goater (18)
 

AnEmptyChair

Premiership Player
Nov 12, 2020
4,137
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AFL Club
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Looking at our list demographics I see that 27% of all our players are currently in their teens. A good reminder to keep expectations for this year grounded.
Yeah, I agree with this. The only expectation I have is that we're better than last year and that we don't have any real beltings. I'd also like to see us be a bit more consistent within games but I think that's to be expected with a young side. We're still going to be bottom 4-5 this year.
 
Yeah, I agree with this. The only expectation I have is that we're better than last year and that we don't have any real beltings. I'd also like to see us be a bit more consistent within games but I think that's to be expected with a young side. We're still going to be bottom 4-5 this year.
The first is doable. The second might be optimistic - even premiers can get belted and (IMO) it feels like some of the recent rule changes are making blowouts more common.
 

rooboy335

All Australian
Dec 15, 2005
865
2,276
Melbourne, Victoria
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Great reports all! Pretty much agree with most of what has been already said. Thought I'd throw in my 2 bobs worth and will try not to re-hash what's already been said. Speaking of B.O.B, was anyone able to work out what this stands for? Was listed a few times on the big screen today throughout the training session but still can't work it out! Be our best? Brains over brawn? Bend over backwards?

Absentees I noted were:

Anderson, Cunnington, J.Walker?, Goldy, McKay, Lazzaro?, Zurhaar

Will try to keep the reports on players to a sentence or two, especially the ones who didn't really stand out or were their usual selves:

Mahoney - Have probably said it in every training report, but just constantly runs hard to make himself an option for teammates when they need a chop out, or when the opposition has possession, is constantly tackling/harassing and making second efforts. Some may not like his game but I think he's got pretty important attributes that Nobes and the coaching staff are looking for in all of the players (pressure, gut-running, commitment etc. all compliment the game style I think Noble is looking to implement)

Stephenson - Agree with a few others in saying that he was impressive today and probably the most promising out of today's session for me. On numerous occasions he was able to put the jets on but I think what really makes him stand out is his endurance allows him to repeatedly sprint more often than others who may have similar speed but lack the endurance to go again. His disposal was pretty good as well today and instances where he was corralled or tackled, he showed poise with his decision making and handballing. Highlights from Jaidyn in the end-to-end handball drill were the LDU and Powell chases on him. Jaidyn received the ball about an arms length away from LDU and surprisingly, their straight line speed weren't much different and LDU maintained that gap until Jaidyn started to swerve left/right, which allowed him a bit more time and space.

Against Powell in the same drill, Jaidyn received the ball near one end of the field with everyone behind him and had to get to the other end. It was about a 35m - 45m sprint with only Powell giving chase and gave Jaidyn a metre head start. Powell was able to maintain the gap right up until about the last 10m when Stephenson started to pull away. Was just interesting to see that speed comparison and know that Powell and LDU are no slouches.

Corr - The general down back there today especially without McKay, and I just really like his game. Can mark, compete well in the air, but then also moves briskly for a KPD and delivered some beautiful passes up field today (one was about a 45m kick into corridor to a leading Horne-Francis, and there was a bit of traffic in the middle). Really important to our backline and how we set-up and move it out of D50.

Taylor - Was okay, didn't stand out too much today from what I can remember.

JHF - Was at times with the rehab group, and then other times would join in on main training. On the far side from me early on, the rehab group appeared to be doing some sprint work. In one of the quick sprint drills, two players would face each other and the leading player would then turn around and try to sprint away with the second player giving chase. Ziebell was matched with Corr and he caught Ziebs easily. Hayden was matched with Bonar and Aiden couldn't catch Kyron. JHF was matched with Spicer. After JHF turned around, Phoenix closed the gap by a few steps but when they both hit top speed, they appeared to be matching each other! I think Phoenix did reach out and tag JHF in the end, but was still interesting to see.

Jason looked good for the most part. Doesn't have the body developed to the point where he can take on tackles with disdain, but I think he'll get there. He took plenty on today but would either get caught by the jumper and couldn't break free, or would be stopped by the second tackler. In the match sim drill was where he shone most today, linking up with Paul Curtis on multiple occasions and then delivering into the F50 to Larkey. Was beautiful to watch. One play I can vaguely recall starting from half back went something like this (although I could have gotten players mixed up) Perez short pass > McDonald short pass to wing > Polec pass to half fwd > Curtis handball > Horne-Francis speeding past to receive then delivers 40-45m fat side kick lace out to leading Larkey. Was impressive and can see him and PC wreaking havoc one day, hopefully soon.

Ziebell - Was solid from Jack, who I think is still building into this pre-season. Can't dispute that he's a good user coming out the back-half and he showed that on more than a few occasions today.

Scott - Didn't notice too much from Scott today, just seems to go about his business as usual.

LMac - First time I've seen him this year I think and he looked good. Was barking orders and delivering nicely with that left. His maturity and experience will be really important.

Simpkin - Same old with Jy, although didn't notice him as much today which I think is a good thing.

Polec - Some may not want to hear it, but if he continues on with how he's going, I really do think he's best 22 come round 1. Trained at a good intensity, looked like he wanted to be out there and was enjoying himself. On top of that, was lace out a few times along the wing hitting up a player at half fwd, and showed great agility and evasiveness in some of the in-tight handballing drills (Simpkin, Polec, Thomas and another player ended up as a team in this drill at one stage, and the opposing players could not lay a hand on them from what I saw).

Bosenavulagi - Was good yet again today, hit some nice left foot kicks which I hadn't seen him use before, and is a beast in the end-to-end handball drill. Constantly runs at pace to create an option and is always used by his teammates. Was also involved in that drill for 3, maybe 4 continuous rounds before being rotated out.

Bonar - Was in the rehab group so didn't get to see much of Aiden today.

Young - Has good movement and reads the play well to spoil/intercept. Missed a kick going inboard in one of the drills (couldn't tell who he was aiming for) but other than that, was solid.

Greenwood - Was another that was good out there today. I don't recall many highlights but is just that big body that will do the hard stuff for us in the middle. I think he had a nice fend off today and stuck some really strong tackles.

Larkey - Works very hard and showed good endurance to create separation from his defender at times today. Took some decent marks as well. All things going well, could be set for his best year.

Powell - Not too much to say about Powell today surprisingly. Showed some great speed as mentioned earlier, but everything else he does is at a good-to-high level. Once again was one of the last few to leave the field as he joined Jy and Tarryn in some ground ball work with one of the coaches, and then peeled off to do some kick-to-kick with Goater.

Curtis - I've probably been a bit hard on PC in the past reports, but he was pretty good out there. Couldn't fault his kicking today and at times they were precise and got to the intended target quick smart. Has got a nice blend of speed/agility/size for a small fwd, and can see him being an awkward match up for some defenders. In the match sim sort of drill, linked up with JHF numerous times from wing to HF and each of their touches were clean/damaging. Will be interesting to see how many games they give him this year.

Thomas - Was his usual self today, controlled with his disposal, was able to find a good amount of the ball and also showed some of his dancing feet in the handball drills. Should be in for another good year, and was once again nice to see him stay out there a bit longer with Jy at the end of the session.

Phillips - Man, I think it's the similar hairstyles but I have to double check whether I'm watching Will or Cooper Harvey at times. Was solid today, love his disposal and how neat it is, and appears to be building a solid foundation of work this pre-season. Given the possibility of Cunners and Anderson being unavailable, Will should be licking his lips at the prospect of more game time in his favoured position this year.

Goater - Like others have mentioned, looked very comfortable at half back, switching play and accumulating. has a natural zip about him on the field but with his size, obviously plays a lot taller as well. What an exciting prospect. given his natural attributes I think he could make a great winger in the future, but definitely looks like he can start at half back for us sooner rather than later.

Edwards - Not much to add with Edwards that others haven't said already. Has a long way to go but has only just stepped through the door. Development year/s ahead.

P. Walker - May have been with the rehab group early on? Don't recall seeing him out there.

Bergman - Wow hang on, where did this kid come from? Showed great poise, speed and skill in the match sim drill today, got a fair amount of it and also showed that he has a nice sidestep on him. I don't think it's unthinkable that he could debut at some point this year. Flew for a mark in the middle and coming the other way was CCJ! Winced a bit as both went for it and surprisingly it was Miller who came up with it. Great courage!

Ford - One of the quieter sessions for Ford today imo. Can't remember him doing anything that stood out, and in one of the final drills, one of the coaches (Blakey or Brown?) was urging Ford to push and finish out the drill. He also yelled "you're a backman in this one Fordy!" in this same drill where Eddy streamed through the middle and kicked it forward (I'm guessing he wasn't meant to). Not much else I can recall unfortunately.

Hore - Looked okay, in some of the main drills he was the designated player kicking out. Upon watching him in some of the drills, I don't think there is anything about him that really stands out. Looks to be in that 'tweener' category, and has a decent left foot on him but missed a couple of targets today. Unless he's great as a spoiler/interceptor, I rate someone like Perez higher. Not yet sold, but that was my first real look at him so who knows.

Spicer - Rehab group. Saw him early on but then must've went off after 15 minutes or so.

Hayden - Credit where it's due, looked great out there today. Was tough, won some hard ball, and executed well with his disposal. Have no idea whether he'll make it or not but has the tools.

Xerri - I think once Goldy has called it a day, Xerri and CCJ are different enough that they can both be a part of the team and both offer something different. Xerri is a fair bit more nimble than CCJ, and there were times today where Xerri won some contested ball that you could mistake an inside mid for winning. In one play, there was a contested ball to be won where Xerri, CCJ and Bergman(?) were all converging on the loose ball. Tristan came in at speed, bumped CCJ and Bergman out the way, won the ball and handballed it to Perez (who then had the unfortunate experience of running into a CCJ monster tackle!). Xerri's inside work and hands, when coupled with his aggression, gives him something to work with as a Ruckman. If he does end up leaving for more opportunity and gets a start someone as number 1 Ruck, I can see him doing quite well and at the very least holding his own.

McGuinness - Still not sure, I don't think he'll be that KPD we're looking for but I hope I'm wrong. Just doesn't do enough with the ball for mine and doesn't stand out when defending either one-on-one or intercepting. Again, it's early days and we haven't really had any proper match simulation or intraclub, so I'll continue to reserve judgment.

Cooper Harvey - Said it before, but it's impressive how seamlessly he has fitted into main training. I guess it helps when Boomer is your dad, but he's already playing his role in the drills, not looking out of place, delivering some nice passes to our forwards, and is already a solid unit. May not have any outstanding attributes, but looks like he is another that does most things to a decent level. Also hit up a very nice 40m pass inboard amongst a lot of traffic. Player he was passing to unfortunately dropped the mark, but Coop showed really good vision to see the pass and great skill to nail it.

Comben - Was solid for the most part today. I don't recall too many plays with him involved unfortunately as I was probably focussed on others.

Coleman-Jones - May not be the most agile but certainly knows where to run to. Made himself available as that 'get out' marking option down the wing on a few occasions, but nobody went with him, so I recall him taking a few marks uncontested. Won some contested ball at times and got the handball out, and also showed okay kicking skills albeit under minimal pressure. Also laid that crunching tackle (may have been slightly high) on Perez in the play mentioned earlier. Both Xerri and Perez came off worse for wear in that play and CCJ continued on as if nothing had happened. Big boy is CCJ.

LDU - Again, not the kicking display I expect from LDU. I think he goes for more than most players but at the moment they're not coming off. Despite that, for the most part he looked good. In the end-to-end handball drill, a lot of the advice from the coaches was to "explode" once a player had received a handball from a teammate. I'm guessing the plan is to try to burst/explode around your opponent to create some overlap run. In one instance, LDU received the handball and you could hear "explode!" in the background from one of the coaches. LDU was already tired (as most likely all players would've been considering the running involved in all of these drills), but he willed himself to step around Lachie Young, put a don't argue on him, pushed off Young and burst away to put a couple of metres on him. It was impressive as we know LDU isn't our best endurance athlete, but still found a way. With that being said, I don't see this year being a Petracca 2021 breakout sort of year for him. I really wish it is, but if we continue to see gradual improvement with little to no interruptions throughout the year, I'd take that.

Perez - Looked solid if not unspectacular to me today. Was moving great and composed off HB. And then CCJ hit. The tackle appeared to jam/compress his neck/shoulder a bit, and one of the Doc's went out there to have a chat and a look at him. Seemed to be annoying him for the next couple of drills, but then appeared to recover and play out the rest of the session. Fingers crossed it's just a slight knock.

Turner - Also solid and I thought provided a lot of voice and energy throughout the session and feels like a real leader out there. He's come a long way in that regard from when we recruited him as a school kid still doing year 12.

Archer - Really impresses me this kid. Maybe because expectations are low? In any case, he strikes me as the type to play within himself, knows what his limits are and doesn't stray from them too often. Had two memorable moments for me. One where McGuinness tried to hit up a short pass which was read beautifully by Archer, intercepted at pace, and he continued his run into the F50 and delivered nicely to Larkey? The other moment was when he contested a high ball one out with one of the key forwards (may have been Larkey again). Completely out of position with him being in front and the ball being favoured to go over him, and at a big height disadvantage, he managed to spoil and make a contest. Is another that will need time, and has quite a few ahead of him, but hope he makes it.

Hall - Just racks it up and was generally good with his ball use today. Will play a massive role in generating drive and setting up offensive plays for us this year. Well done to him and the team who have found this position for him to make his own.

Just a couple of side notes:

- Not sure if other track watchers can comment, but does this years training seem to really touch upon conditioning and running? Each time I've been, just watching the drills has me exhausted. I can only imagine how the boys are feeling out there. What I like about the drills though are that they appear to incorporate realistic running patterns and sequences (e.g. 15-20 sec rest, then match sim drill, then sprint to the next station, repeat). I want to say that this pre-season will have our squad the fittest it has been for a while, but don't really have much to compare to as I haven't been to training the previous few pre-seasons.

- In the drill towards the end of the session which Shinboner1 mentioned - "Players now doing a transition drill up the wing. Clean kicking needed while under opposition pressure. Once they finish drill they're to run off to the other side of field and repeat after 2nd group has turn" - what was interesting was hearing Noble and I think Blakey. As the third set of this four minute drill was taking place, Noble yelled to the playing group "This is what will set us apart from the comp" or words to that affect. When one of the group of players had finished the entire drill, Blakey? (again not sure) said "think about the gains, think about the benefits" (again I'm paraphrasing). Point is, the coaches seem to think these types of drills will give us a leg up fitness wise over the competition. Not sure whether that will actually eventuate, but again, by the end of it the boys had their arms around each other, all hunched over trying to get some air in.

I think that's all I can recall, hope I haven't missed anyone! Let me know if you have any questions :)
 

Shack18

Team Captain
Feb 13, 2021
406
876
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Yep, Polec and Josh Walker are probably the closest to making it. Scott, Taylor, Lazzaro and Ford could all end up in the side too. Bosenavulagi, Young, P. Walker, Xerri and Spicer the depth group at this stage, in my mind.
Good work, I like team too, albeit I think we should let Luke settle in the backline. He has played his best afl footy there AND we need a backline core to build around, I see that core being Big Be, Luke and Cor.
cheers
 

Heaps of fun

Goatered on the sticks
Sep 13, 2013
23,853
62,248
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Great reports all! Pretty much agree with most of what has been already said. Thought I'd throw in my 2 bobs worth and will try not to re-hash what's already been said. Speaking of B.O.B, was anyone able to work out what this stands for? Was listed a few times on the big screen today throughout the training session but still can't work it out! Be our best? Brains over brawn? Bend over backwards?

Absentees I noted were:

Anderson, Cunnington, J.Walker?, Goldy, McKay, Lazzaro?, Zurhaar

Will try to keep the reports on players to a sentence or two, especially the ones who didn't really stand out or were their usual selves:

Mahoney - Have probably said it in every training report, but just constantly runs hard to make himself an option for teammates when they need a chop out, or when the opposition has possession, is constantly tackling/harassing and making second efforts. Some may not like his game but I think he's got pretty important attributes that Nobes and the coaching staff are looking for in all of the players (pressure, gut-running, commitment etc. all compliment the game style I think Noble is looking to implement)

Stephenson - Agree with a few others in saying that he was impressive today and probably the most promising out of today's session for me. On numerous occasions he was able to put the jets on but I think what really makes him stand out is his endurance allows him to repeatedly sprint more often than others who may have similar speed but lack the endurance to go again. His disposal was pretty good as well today and instances where he was corralled or tackled, he showed poise with his decision making and handballing. Highlights from Jaidyn in the end-to-end handball drill were the LDU and Powell chases on him. Jaidyn received the ball about an arms length away from LDU and surprisingly, their straight line speed weren't much different and LDU maintained that gap until Jaidyn started to swerve left/right, which allowed him a bit more time and space.

Against Powell in the same drill, Jaidyn received the ball near one end of the field with everyone behind him and had to get to the other end. It was about a 35m - 45m sprint with only Powell giving chase and gave Jaidyn a metre head start. Powell was able to maintain the gap right up until about the last 10m when Stephenson started to pull away. Was just interesting to see that speed comparison and know that Powell and LDU are no slouches.

Corr - The general down back there today especially without McKay, and I just really like his game. Can mark, compete well in the air, but then also moves briskly for a KPD and delivered some beautiful passes up field today (one was about a 45m kick into corridor to a leading Horne-Francis, and there was a bit of traffic in the middle). Really important to our backline and how we set-up and move it out of D50.

Taylor - Was okay, didn't stand out too much today from what I can remember.

JHF - Was at times with the rehab group, and then other times would join in on main training. On the far side from me early on, the rehab group appeared to be doing some sprint work. In one of the quick sprint drills, two players would face each other and the leading player would then turn around and try to sprint away with the second player giving chase. Ziebell was matched with Corr and he caught Ziebs easily. Hayden was matched with Bonar and Aiden couldn't catch Kyron. JHF was matched with Spicer. After JHF turned around, Phoenix closed the gap by a few steps but when they both hit top speed, they appeared to be matching each other! I think Phoenix did reach out and tag JHF in the end, but was still interesting to see.

Jason looked good for the most part. Doesn't have the body developed to the point where he can take on tackles with disdain, but I think he'll get there. He took plenty on today but would either get caught by the jumper and couldn't break free, or would be stopped by the second tackler. In the match sim drill was where he shone most today, linking up with Paul Curtis on multiple occasions and then delivering into the F50 to Larkey. Was beautiful to watch. One play I can vaguely recall starting from half back went something like this (although I could have gotten players mixed up) Perez short pass > McDonald short pass to wing > Polec pass to half fwd > Curtis handball > Horne-Francis speeding past to receive then delivers 40-45m fat side kick lace out to leading Larkey. Was impressive and can see him and PC wreaking havoc one day, hopefully soon.

Ziebell - Was solid from Jack, who I think is still building into this pre-season. Can't dispute that he's a good user coming out the back-half and he showed that on more than a few occasions today.

Scott - Didn't notice too much from Scott today, just seems to go about his business as usual.

LMac - First time I've seen him this year I think and he looked good. Was barking orders and delivering nicely with that left. His maturity and experience will be really important.

Simpkin - Same old with Jy, although didn't notice him as much today which I think is a good thing.

Polec - Some may not want to hear it, but if he continues on with how he's going, I really do think he's best 22 come round 1. Trained at a good intensity, looked like he wanted to be out there and was enjoying himself. On top of that, was lace out a few times along the wing hitting up a player at half fwd, and showed great agility and evasiveness in some of the in-tight handballing drills (Simpkin, Polec, Thomas and another player ended up as a team in this drill at one stage, and the opposing players could not lay a hand on them from what I saw).

Bosenavulagi - Was good yet again today, hit some nice left foot kicks which I hadn't seen him use before, and is a beast in the end-to-end handball drill. Constantly runs at pace to create an option and is always used by his teammates. Was also involved in that drill for 3, maybe 4 continuous rounds before being rotated out.

Bonar - Was in the rehab group so didn't get to see much of Aiden today.

Young - Has good movement and reads the play well to spoil/intercept. Missed a kick going inboard in one of the drills (couldn't tell who he was aiming for) but other than that, was solid.

Greenwood - Was another that was good out there today. I don't recall many highlights but is just that big body that will do the hard stuff for us in the middle. I think he had a nice fend off today and stuck some really strong tackles.

Larkey - Works very hard and showed good endurance to create separation from his defender at times today. Took some decent marks as well. All things going well, could be set for his best year.

Powell - Not too much to say about Powell today surprisingly. Showed some great speed as mentioned earlier, but everything else he does is at a good-to-high level. Once again was one of the last few to leave the field as he joined Jy and Tarryn in some ground ball work with one of the coaches, and then peeled off to do some kick-to-kick with Goater.

Curtis - I've probably been a bit hard on PC in the past reports, but he was pretty good out there. Couldn't fault his kicking today and at times they were precise and got to the intended target quick smart. Has got a nice blend of speed/agility/size for a small fwd, and can see him being an awkward match up for some defenders. In the match sim sort of drill, linked up with JHF numerous times from wing to HF and each of their touches were clean/damaging. Will be interesting to see how many games they give him this year.

Thomas - Was his usual self today, controlled with his disposal, was able to find a good amount of the ball and also showed some of his dancing feet in the handball drills. Should be in for another good year, and was once again nice to see him stay out there a bit longer with Jy at the end of the session.

Phillips - Man, I think it's the similar hairstyles but I have to double check whether I'm watching Will or Cooper Harvey at times. Was solid today, love his disposal and how neat it is, and appears to be building a solid foundation of work this pre-season. Given the possibility of Cunners and Anderson being unavailable, Will should be licking his lips at the prospect of more game time in his favoured position this year.

Goater - Like others have mentioned, looked very comfortable at half back, switching play and accumulating. has a natural zip about him on the field but with his size, obviously plays a lot taller as well. What an exciting prospect. given his natural attributes I think he could make a great winger in the future, but definitely looks like he can start at half back for us sooner rather than later.

Edwards - Not much to add with Edwards that others haven't said already. Has a long way to go but has only just stepped through the door. Development year/s ahead.

P. Walker - May have been with the rehab group early on? Don't recall seeing him out there.

Bergman - Wow hang on, where did this kid come from? Showed great poise, speed and skill in the match sim drill today, got a fair amount of it and also showed that he has a nice sidestep on him. I don't think it's unthinkable that he could debut at some point this year. Flew for a mark in the middle and coming the other way was CCJ! Winced a bit as both went for it and surprisingly it was Miller who came up with it. Great courage!

Ford - One of the quieter sessions for Ford today imo. Can't remember him doing anything that stood out, and in one of the final drills, one of the coaches (Blakey or Brown?) was urging Ford to push and finish out the drill. He also yelled "you're a backman in this one Fordy!" in this same drill where Eddy streamed through the middle and kicked it forward (I'm guessing he wasn't meant to). Not much else I can recall unfortunately.

Hore - Looked okay, in some of the main drills he was the designated player kicking out. Upon watching him in some of the drills, I don't think there is anything about him that really stands out. Looks to be in that 'tweener' category, and has a decent left foot on him but missed a couple of targets today. Unless he's great as a spoiler/interceptor, I rate someone like Perez higher. Not yet sold, but that was my first real look at him so who knows.

Spicer - Rehab group. Saw him early on but then must've went off after 15 minutes or so.

Hayden - Credit where it's due, looked great out there today. Was tough, won some hard ball, and executed well with his disposal. Have no idea whether he'll make it or not but has the tools.

Xerri - I think once Goldy has called it a day, Xerri and CCJ are different enough that they can both be a part of the team and both offer something different. Xerri is a fair bit more nimble than CCJ, and there were times today where Xerri won some contested ball that you could mistake an inside mid for winning. In one play, there was a contested ball to be won where Xerri, CCJ and Bergman(?) were all converging on the loose ball. Tristan came in at speed, bumped CCJ and Bergman out the way, won the ball and handballed it to Perez (who then had the unfortunate experience of running into a CCJ monster tackle!). Xerri's inside work and hands, when coupled with his aggression, gives him something to work with as a Ruckman. If he does end up leaving for more opportunity and gets a start someone as number 1 Ruck, I can see him doing quite well and at the very least holding his own.

McGuinness - Still not sure, I don't think he'll be that KPD we're looking for but I hope I'm wrong. Just doesn't do enough with the ball for mine and doesn't stand out when defending either one-on-one or intercepting. Again, it's early days and we haven't really had any proper match simulation or intraclub, so I'll continue to reserve judgment.

Cooper Harvey - Said it before, but it's impressive how seamlessly he has fitted into main training. I guess it helps when Boomer is your dad, but he's already playing his role in the drills, not looking out of place, delivering some nice passes to our forwards, and is already a solid unit. May not have any outstanding attributes, but looks like he is another that does most things to a decent level. Also hit up a very nice 40m pass inboard amongst a lot of traffic. Player he was passing to unfortunately dropped the mark, but Coop showed really good vision to see the pass and great skill to nail it.

Comben - Was solid for the most part today. I don't recall too many plays with him involved unfortunately as I was probably focussed on others.

Coleman-Jones - May not be the most agile but certainly knows where to run to. Made himself available as that 'get out' marking option down the wing on a few occasions, but nobody went with him, so I recall him taking a few marks uncontested. Won some contested ball at times and got the handball out, and also showed okay kicking skills albeit under minimal pressure. Also laid that crunching tackle (may have been slightly high) on Perez in the play mentioned earlier. Both Xerri and Perez came off worse for wear in that play and CCJ continued on as if nothing had happened. Big boy is CCJ.

LDU - Again, not the kicking display I expect from LDU. I think he goes for more than most players but at the moment they're not coming off. Despite that, for the most part he looked good. In the end-to-end handball drill, a lot of the advice from the coaches was to "explode" once a player had received a handball from a teammate. I'm guessing the plan is to try to burst/explode around your opponent to create some overlap run. In one instance, LDU received the handball and you could hear "explode!" in the background from one of the coaches. LDU was already tired (as most likely all players would've been considering the running involved in all of these drills), but he willed himself to step around Lachie Young, put a don't argue on him, pushed off Young and burst away to put a couple of metres on him. It was impressive as we know LDU isn't our best endurance athlete, but still found a way. With that being said, I don't see this year being a Petracca 2021 breakout sort of year for him. I really wish it is, but if we continue to see gradual improvement with little to no interruptions throughout the year, I'd take that.

Perez - Looked solid if not unspectacular to me today. Was moving great and composed off HB. And then CCJ hit. The tackle appeared to jam/compress his neck/shoulder a bit, and one of the Doc's went out there to have a chat and a look at him. Seemed to be annoying him for the next couple of drills, but then appeared to recover and play out the rest of the session. Fingers crossed it's just a slight knock.

Turner - Also solid and I thought provided a lot of voice and energy throughout the session and feels like a real leader out there. He's come a long way in that regard from when we recruited him as a school kid still doing year 12.

Archer - Really impresses me this kid. Maybe because expectations are low? In any case, he strikes me as the type to play within himself, knows what his limits are and doesn't stray from them too often. Had two memorable moments for me. One where McGuinness tried to hit up a short pass which was read beautifully by Archer, intercepted at pace, and he continued his run into the F50 and delivered nicely to Larkey? The other moment was when he contested a high ball one out with one of the key forwards (may have been Larkey again). Completely out of position with him being in front and the ball being favoured to go over him, and at a big height disadvantage, he managed to spoil and make a contest. Is another that will need time, and has quite a few ahead of him, but hope he makes it.

Hall - Just racks it up and was generally good with his ball use today. Will play a massive role in generating drive and setting up offensive plays for us this year. Well done to him and the team who have found this position for him to make his own.

Just a couple of side notes:

- Not sure if other track watchers can comment, but does this years training seem to really touch upon conditioning and running? Each time I've been, just watching the drills has me exhausted. I can only imagine how the boys are feeling out there. What I like about the drills though are that they appear to incorporate realistic running patterns and sequences (e.g. 15-20 sec rest, then match sim drill, then sprint to the next station, repeat). I want to say that this pre-season will have our squad the fittest it has been for a while, but don't really have much to compare to as I haven't been to training the previous few pre-seasons.

- In the drill towards the end of the session which Shinboner1 mentioned - "Players now doing a transition drill up the wing. Clean kicking needed while under opposition pressure. Once they finish drill they're to run off to the other side of field and repeat after 2nd group has turn" - what was interesting was hearing Noble and I think Blakey. As the third set of this four minute drill was taking place, Noble yelled to the playing group "This is what will set us apart from the comp" or words to that affect. When one of the group of players had finished the entire drill, Blakey? (again not sure) said "think about the gains, think about the benefits" (again I'm paraphrasing). Point is, the coaches seem to think these types of drills will give us a leg up fitness wise over the competition. Not sure whether that will actually eventuate, but again, by the end of it the boys had their arms around each other, all hunched over trying to get some air in.

I think that's all I can recall, hope I haven't missed anyone! Let me know if you have any questions :)
Bombs over Baghdad.
 
May 24, 2011
1,978
2,413
Richmond
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Went along to have a look for about 45 mins missed the Scratch match, what I did see looked impressive, ( had to go back to work ) but after one of the drills one of the guys was bent over and one of the coaches yelled out “ GET UP DON’T SHOW THE OPPOSITION YOUR WEAKNESS “ don‘t know who it is was, but the player jumped.
 
May 24, 2011
1,978
2,413
Richmond
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Great reports all! Pretty much agree with most of what has been already said. Thought I'd throw in my 2 bobs worth and will try not to re-hash what's already been said. Speaking of B.O.B, was anyone able to work out what this stands for? Was listed a few times on the big screen today throughout the training session but still can't work it out! Be our best? Brains over brawn? Bend over backwards?

Absentees I noted were:

Anderson, Cunnington, J.Walker?, Goldy, McKay, Lazzaro?, Zurhaar

Will try to keep the reports on players to a sentence or two, especially the ones who didn't really stand out or were their usual selves:

Mahoney - Have probably said it in every training report, but just constantly runs hard to make himself an option for teammates when they need a chop out, or when the opposition has possession, is constantly tackling/harassing and making second efforts. Some may not like his game but I think he's got pretty important attributes that Nobes and the coaching staff are looking for in all of the players (pressure, gut-running, commitment etc. all compliment the game style I think Noble is looking to implement)

Stephenson - Agree with a few others in saying that he was impressive today and probably the most promising out of today's session for me. On numerous occasions he was able to put the jets on but I think what really makes him stand out is his endurance allows him to repeatedly sprint more often than others who may have similar speed but lack the endurance to go again. His disposal was pretty good as well today and instances where he was corralled or tackled, he showed poise with his decision making and handballing. Highlights from Jaidyn in the end-to-end handball drill were the LDU and Powell chases on him. Jaidyn received the ball about an arms length away from LDU and surprisingly, their straight line speed weren't much different and LDU maintained that gap until Jaidyn started to swerve left/right, which allowed him a bit more time and space.

Against Powell in the same drill, Jaidyn received the ball near one end of the field with everyone behind him and had to get to the other end. It was about a 35m - 45m sprint with only Powell giving chase and gave Jaidyn a metre head start. Powell was able to maintain the gap right up until about the last 10m when Stephenson started to pull away. Was just interesting to see that speed comparison and know that Powell and LDU are no slouches.

Corr - The general down back there today especially without McKay, and I just really like his game. Can mark, compete well in the air, but then also moves briskly for a KPD and delivered some beautiful passes up field today (one was about a 45m kick into corridor to a leading Horne-Francis, and there was a bit of traffic in the middle). Really important to our backline and how we set-up and move it out of D50.

Taylor - Was okay, didn't stand out too much today from what I can remember.

JHF - Was at times with the rehab group, and then other times would join in on main training. On the far side from me early on, the rehab group appeared to be doing some sprint work. In one of the quick sprint drills, two players would face each other and the leading player would then turn around and try to sprint away with the second player giving chase. Ziebell was matched with Corr and he caught Ziebs easily. Hayden was matched with Bonar and Aiden couldn't catch Kyron. JHF was matched with Spicer. After JHF turned around, Phoenix closed the gap by a few steps but when they both hit top speed, they appeared to be matching each other! I think Phoenix did reach out and tag JHF in the end, but was still interesting to see.

Jason looked good for the most part. Doesn't have the body developed to the point where he can take on tackles with disdain, but I think he'll get there. He took plenty on today but would either get caught by the jumper and couldn't break free, or would be stopped by the second tackler. In the match sim drill was where he shone most today, linking up with Paul Curtis on multiple occasions and then delivering into the F50 to Larkey. Was beautiful to watch. One play I can vaguely recall starting from half back went something like this (although I could have gotten players mixed up) Perez short pass > McDonald short pass to wing > Polec pass to half fwd > Curtis handball > Horne-Francis speeding past to receive then delivers 40-45m fat side kick lace out to leading Larkey. Was impressive and can see him and PC wreaking havoc one day, hopefully soon.

Ziebell - Was solid from Jack, who I think is still building into this pre-season. Can't dispute that he's a good user coming out the back-half and he showed that on more than a few occasions today.

Scott - Didn't notice too much from Scott today, just seems to go about his business as usual.

LMac - First time I've seen him this year I think and he looked good. Was barking orders and delivering nicely with that left. His maturity and experience will be really important.

Simpkin - Same old with Jy, although didn't notice him as much today which I think is a good thing.

Polec - Some may not want to hear it, but if he continues on with how he's going, I really do think he's best 22 come round 1. Trained at a good intensity, looked like he wanted to be out there and was enjoying himself. On top of that, was lace out a few times along the wing hitting up a player at half fwd, and showed great agility and evasiveness in some of the in-tight handballing drills (Simpkin, Polec, Thomas and another player ended up as a team in this drill at one stage, and the opposing players could not lay a hand on them from what I saw).

Bosenavulagi - Was good yet again today, hit some nice left foot kicks which I hadn't seen him use before, and is a beast in the end-to-end handball drill. Constantly runs at pace to create an option and is always used by his teammates. Was also involved in that drill for 3, maybe 4 continuous rounds before being rotated out.

Bonar - Was in the rehab group so didn't get to see much of Aiden today.

Young - Has good movement and reads the play well to spoil/intercept. Missed a kick going inboard in one of the drills (couldn't tell who he was aiming for) but other than that, was solid.

Greenwood - Was another that was good out there today. I don't recall many highlights but is just that big body that will do the hard stuff for us in the middle. I think he had a nice fend off today and stuck some really strong tackles.

Larkey - Works very hard and showed good endurance to create separation from his defender at times today. Took some decent marks as well. All things going well, could be set for his best year.

Powell - Not too much to say about Powell today surprisingly. Showed some great speed as mentioned earlier, but everything else he does is at a good-to-high level. Once again was one of the last few to leave the field as he joined Jy and Tarryn in some ground ball work with one of the coaches, and then peeled off to do some kick-to-kick with Goater.

Curtis - I've probably been a bit hard on PC in the past reports, but he was pretty good out there. Couldn't fault his kicking today and at times they were precise and got to the intended target quick smart. Has got a nice blend of speed/agility/size for a small fwd, and can see him being an awkward match up for some defenders. In the match sim sort of drill, linked up with JHF numerous times from wing to HF and each of their touches were clean/damaging. Will be interesting to see how many games they give him this year.

Thomas - Was his usual self today, controlled with his disposal, was able to find a good amount of the ball and also showed some of his dancing feet in the handball drills. Should be in for another good year, and was once again nice to see him stay out there a bit longer with Jy at the end of the session.

Phillips - Man, I think it's the similar hairstyles but I have to double check whether I'm watching Will or Cooper Harvey at times. Was solid today, love his disposal and how neat it is, and appears to be building a solid foundation of work this pre-season. Given the possibility of Cunners and Anderson being unavailable, Will should be licking his lips at the prospect of more game time in his favoured position this year.

Goater - Like others have mentioned, looked very comfortable at half back, switching play and accumulating. has a natural zip about him on the field but with his size, obviously plays a lot taller as well. What an exciting prospect. given his natural attributes I think he could make a great winger in the future, but definitely looks like he can start at half back for us sooner rather than later.

Edwards - Not much to add with Edwards that others haven't said already. Has a long way to go but has only just stepped through the door. Development year/s ahead.

P. Walker - May have been with the rehab group early on? Don't recall seeing him out there.

Bergman - Wow hang on, where did this kid come from? Showed great poise, speed and skill in the match sim drill today, got a fair amount of it and also showed that he has a nice sidestep on him. I don't think it's unthinkable that he could debut at some point this year. Flew for a mark in the middle and coming the other way was CCJ! Winced a bit as both went for it and surprisingly it was Miller who came up with it. Great courage!

Ford - One of the quieter sessions for Ford today imo. Can't remember him doing anything that stood out, and in one of the final drills, one of the coaches (Blakey or Brown?) was urging Ford to push and finish out the drill. He also yelled "you're a backman in this one Fordy!" in this same drill where Eddy streamed through the middle and kicked it forward (I'm guessing he wasn't meant to). Not much else I can recall unfortunately.

Hore - Looked okay, in some of the main drills he was the designated player kicking out. Upon watching him in some of the drills, I don't think there is anything about him that really stands out. Looks to be in that 'tweener' category, and has a decent left foot on him but missed a couple of targets today. Unless he's great as a spoiler/interceptor, I rate someone like Perez higher. Not yet sold, but that was my first real look at him so who knows.

Spicer - Rehab group. Saw him early on but then must've went off after 15 minutes or so.

Hayden - Credit where it's due, looked great out there today. Was tough, won some hard ball, and executed well with his disposal. Have no idea whether he'll make it or not but has the tools.

Xerri - I think once Goldy has called it a day, Xerri and CCJ are different enough that they can both be a part of the team and both offer something different. Xerri is a fair bit more nimble than CCJ, and there were times today where Xerri won some contested ball that you could mistake an inside mid for winning. In one play, there was a contested ball to be won where Xerri, CCJ and Bergman(?) were all converging on the loose ball. Tristan came in at speed, bumped CCJ and Bergman out the way, won the ball and handballed it to Perez (who then had the unfortunate experience of running into a CCJ monster tackle!). Xerri's inside work and hands, when coupled with his aggression, gives him something to work with as a Ruckman. If he does end up leaving for more opportunity and gets a start someone as number 1 Ruck, I can see him doing quite well and at the very least holding his own.

McGuinness - Still not sure, I don't think he'll be that KPD we're looking for but I hope I'm wrong. Just doesn't do enough with the ball for mine and doesn't stand out when defending either one-on-one or intercepting. Again, it's early days and we haven't really had any proper match simulation or intraclub, so I'll continue to reserve judgment.

Cooper Harvey - Said it before, but it's impressive how seamlessly he has fitted into main training. I guess it helps when Boomer is your dad, but he's already playing his role in the drills, not looking out of place, delivering some nice passes to our forwards, and is already a solid unit. May not have any outstanding attributes, but looks like he is another that does most things to a decent level. Also hit up a very nice 40m pass inboard amongst a lot of traffic. Player he was passing to unfortunately dropped the mark, but Coop showed really good vision to see the pass and great skill to nail it.

Comben - Was solid for the most part today. I don't recall too many plays with him involved unfortunately as I was probably focussed on others.

Coleman-Jones - May not be the most agile but certainly knows where to run to. Made himself available as that 'get out' marking option down the wing on a few occasions, but nobody went with him, so I recall him taking a few marks uncontested. Won some contested ball at times and got the handball out, and also showed okay kicking skills albeit under minimal pressure. Also laid that crunching tackle (may have been slightly high) on Perez in the play mentioned earlier. Both Xerri and Perez came off worse for wear in that play and CCJ continued on as if nothing had happened. Big boy is CCJ.

LDU - Again, not the kicking display I expect from LDU. I think he goes for more than most players but at the moment they're not coming off. Despite that, for the most part he looked good. In the end-to-end handball drill, a lot of the advice from the coaches was to "explode" once a player had received a handball from a teammate. I'm guessing the plan is to try to burst/explode around your opponent to create some overlap run. In one instance, LDU received the handball and you could hear "explode!" in the background from one of the coaches. LDU was already tired (as most likely all players would've been considering the running involved in all of these drills), but he willed himself to step around Lachie Young, put a don't argue on him, pushed off Young and burst away to put a couple of metres on him. It was impressive as we know LDU isn't our best endurance athlete, but still found a way. With that being said, I don't see this year being a Petracca 2021 breakout sort of year for him. I really wish it is, but if we continue to see gradual improvement with little to no interruptions throughout the year, I'd take that.

Perez - Looked solid if not unspectacular to me today. Was moving great and composed off HB. And then CCJ hit. The tackle appeared to jam/compress his neck/shoulder a bit, and one of the Doc's went out there to have a chat and a look at him. Seemed to be annoying him for the next couple of drills, but then appeared to recover and play out the rest of the session. Fingers crossed it's just a slight knock.

Turner - Also solid and I thought provided a lot of voice and energy throughout the session and feels like a real leader out there. He's come a long way in that regard from when we recruited him as a school kid still doing year 12.

Archer - Really impresses me this kid. Maybe because expectations are low? In any case, he strikes me as the type to play within himself, knows what his limits are and doesn't stray from them too often. Had two memorable moments for me. One where McGuinness tried to hit up a short pass which was read beautifully by Archer, intercepted at pace, and he continued his run into the F50 and delivered nicely to Larkey? The other moment was when he contested a high ball one out with one of the key forwards (may have been Larkey again). Completely out of position with him being in front and the ball being favoured to go over him, and at a big height disadvantage, he managed to spoil and make a contest. Is another that will need time, and has quite a few ahead of him, but hope he makes it.

Hall - Just racks it up and was generally good with his ball use today. Will play a massive role in generating drive and setting up offensive plays for us this year. Well done to him and the team who have found this position for him to make his own.

Just a couple of side notes:

- Not sure if other track watchers can comment, but does this years training seem to really touch upon conditioning and running? Each time I've been, just watching the drills has me exhausted. I can only imagine how the boys are feeling out there. What I like about the drills though are that they appear to incorporate realistic running patterns and sequences (e.g. 15-20 sec rest, then match sim drill, then sprint to the next station, repeat). I want to say that this pre-season will have our squad the fittest it has been for a while, but don't really have much to compare to as I haven't been to training the previous few pre-seasons.

- In the drill towards the end of the session which Shinboner1 mentioned - "Players now doing a transition drill up the wing. Clean kicking needed while under opposition pressure. Once they finish drill they're to run off to the other side of field and repeat after 2nd group has turn" - what was interesting was hearing Noble and I think Blakey. As the third set of this four minute drill was taking place, Noble yelled to the playing group "This is what will set us apart from the comp" or words to that affect. When one of the group of players had finished the entire drill, Blakey? (again not sure) said "think about the gains, think about the benefits" (again I'm paraphrasing). Point is, the coaches seem to think these types of drills will give us a leg up fitness wise over the competition. Not sure whether that will actually eventuate, but again, by the end of it the boys had their arms around each other, all hunched over trying to get some air in.

I think that's all I can recall, hope I haven't missed anyone! Let me know if you have any questions :)
Thank you, your reports are great
 
People don’t bring up Sleevos name as the most talented player on our list.

That’s a mistake

Dominated that 15 minute match sim
People forget just how good he was in his rising star year.
 
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