Training 2021 Preseason Training

[Lore]

The Road to 2021: New series documenting pre-season

Dons Digital will be taking you behind the scenes of the journey to the 2021 season.

www.essendonfc.com.au

Not quite pre-season yet but the club has already started its pre-season marketing stuff ^^ some of the younger guys training together in the off-season.

 

[Kyptastic]

The Road to 2021: New series documenting pre-season

Dons Digital will be taking you behind the scenes of the journey to the 2021 season.

www.essendonfc.com.au

Not quite pre-season yet but the club has already started its pre-season marketing stuff ^^ some of the younger guys training together in the off-season.

If there's one guy that gives me confidence that we'll be a successful club in the future it's Andy McGrath. What an absolute superstar.

 

[andleanback]

The Road to 2021: New series documenting pre-season

Dons Digital will be taking you behind the scenes of the journey to the 2021 season.

www.essendonfc.com.au

Not quite pre-season yet but the club has already started its pre-season marketing stuff ^^ some of the younger guys training together in the off-season.

5 more kids to add to the young group on Wednesday night. Good to see the young boys taking destiny into their own hands.

 

[84859300]

The Road to 2021: New series documenting pre-season

Dons Digital will be taking you behind the scenes of the journey to the 2021 season.

www.essendonfc.com.au

Not quite pre-season yet but the club has already started its pre-season marketing stuff ^^ some of the younger guys training together in the off-season.

Were these soem of the same blokes seen having a few drinks together a couple of weeks ago? If so, good signs of a buy in.

 

[ghostdog]

If there's one guy that gives me confidence that we'll be a successful club in the future it's Andy McGrath. What an absolute superstar.

That's as self-assured as I've heard him. He already speaks like more of a Captain than Dyson does. Sounds natural to him.

Also, his body is looking really filled out and solid now.

 

[eth-dog]

Pidge looks very solid

 

[Lore]

Well he had 6 weeks off that ankle, I suppose he spent it doing weights.

Good to see a quick clip of Heppell running around as well. I hope that means he’s out of the moonboot but that’s probably sooner than I would’ve expected.

 

[andleanback]

You’d think with the club trying to win back members, they’d be all over the social media content day 1 of pre season. Instead donuts. Gold Coast do it so well.

 

[84859300]

You’d think with the club trying to win back members, they’d be all over the social media content day 1 of pre season. Instead donuts. Gold Coast do it so well.

Honestly - for a team withouta winning final - we spout the most fluff pieces in the media.

Not even the WB flag has as much fluff as we had going.

Personally, I hate it.

 

[andleanback]

Honestly - for a team withouta winning final - we spout the most fluff pieces in the media.

Not even the WB flag has as much fluff as we had going.

Personally, I hate it.

Fluff pieces? I don’t think instagram stories of the guys train is a fluff piece. It’s what’s required this day and age to connect supporters with the team. Essendon would have one of the worst media departments in the league.

 

[Keystone agony]

Well he had 6 weeks off that ankle, I suppose he spent it doing weights.

Good to see a quick clip of Heppell running around as well. I hope that means he’s out of the moonboot but that’s probably sooner than I would’ve expected.

Thought the same thing

But he did chip kick on his right still but he also looks as big as ive seen not sure its the tan or that hes now 28 and thats probably the age where your at your biggest in an elite program

Good to see Francis down there

Parish also gives me the feeling of not leaving any stone unturned. Hes always there and always out leading the way i feel

On a different note
Interesting Will Brodie

17

Will Brodie

Age

25

Ht

190cm

Wt

89kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

19.0

5star

K

8.2

3star

HB

10.8

5star

M

3.1

3star

T

4.9

5star

CL

4.1

5star

D

14.0

3star

K

4.0

1star

HB

10.0

5star

M

3.0

3star

T

1.0

2star

CL

3.0

4star

D

13.8

4star

K

7.4

3star

HB

6.4

4star

M

3.2

4star

T

5.4

5star

CL

2.8

5star

just ran a big PB interesting year for him dont see him on the suns list next year unless he can push Greenwood to more of a HFF role

 

[84859300]

Fluff pieces? I don’t think instagram stories of the guys train is a fluff piece. It’s what’s required this day and age to connect supporters with the team. Essendon would have one of the worst media departments in the league.

Overall mate - overall.

Not just this particular single piece.

Just wait for the 'Check Heps new hairdo' or 'Farmer Parich on the John Deere'

They certainly aren't needed to connect supporters... unless, you're really into tractors.

 

[Lore]

Overall mate - overall.

Not just this particular single piece.

Just wait for the 'Check Heps new hairdo' or 'Farmer Parich on the John Deere'

They certainly aren't needed to connect supporters... unless, you're really into tractors.

I suppose the dreads coming off was player-driven for charity, similar to Hurley's beard. As for the tractors, they might just be really into us... like Amart couches?

The main fluffy things I can think of are like the AFL trying to build hype around the draft and paying their journos to go and interview kids catching crayfish with grandpa or shearing sheep with their old man. Similarly the clubs try to hype them up when they first land, so you get the requisite Dodoro quotes 'could be anything', 'can see him playing midfield', 'think he grew since the combine', etc.

You get a bit of fluff around milestones and marquee games too, players visiting sick kids for Good Friday, group photos of the Indigenous players for Indigenous round, Kokoda trail and talking to veterans and about sacrifices for ANZAC day.

I liked the series the club did for the what's in the box thing and the players had to touch like slime or fake spiders or whatever and guess what it was, definitely fluff but it was funny and not scripted bullshit.

The main thing kind of fluff that I'm not super interested in is like 'Dad jokes with Dev and Saady' type s**t that goes on the AFL website and then gets republished on the club websites. It seems kind of pointless, like I get that it's a Father's Day thing in that particular instance, but it doesn't feel meaningful at all, and I think partially that's because it's produced by AFL HQ and not by one of the clubs.

Like a club celebrating Father's Day might have like a members picnic day or a bring your kids/dad/granddad to work day, or a family reunion at the hub thing, players talking about their dads growing up, or hell they might even use the opportunity to champion mens health or something – something a bit more meaningful and interesting.

It's the sort of stuff that makes the club feel more like a community organisation and not some lofty "Company".

 

[citizen-erased]

5 more kids to add to the young group on Wednesday night. Good to see the young boys taking destiny into their own hands.

6 spots, so could be another one added too

 

[mike14]

Hope that Nike chipped in for the advertising in that video.
Absolute minor point but you'd think UA would be smart enough to provide all the players with a few sets of non-club training gear so that they're all still wearing branded merch in 'non-official' videos...

 

[Milanista28]

Credit to Nackers...from BB for todays report...


Training this morning in cool windy conditions. Luckily the predicted storms of yesterday held off mostly and we only got drenched once. Training went for around 2 hours, starting about 9.30 and finishing around 11.30.
The news of the training centre is that it is still officially off limits to visitors and will probably remain that way for the foreseeable future, so we were again restricted to viewing from behind the fence on Melrose Drive. It would have been handy to know that before I went in, parked my car and made my way across to the hill on the wing. I thought if we weren’t allowed in there would surely have been some sign up saying so, and as training ramps up they will no doubt get a stream of people coming in trying to watch only to be told to leave. There is a small sign on the main gate to the complex, but you can’t see it or read it when the gate is open so it’s not of much use.
Anyway enough if the rant, I wasn’t sure what was going to be happening today but was pleasantly surprised to see a number of players training in addition to the 1 - 4 year players. those that trained were:
McGrath, Draper, Parish, Langford, Caldwell, Francis, Ridley, Hurley, Jones, Bryan, Cahill, Ambrose, Zerk, Ham, Phillips, Draper and Hind.
Heppell, Hird and Johnson were doing some modified work on the sidelines. Laverde appeared out from the Hanger where he had obviously been doing some work in the gym, and Mossie was watching on from the sidelines which is no doubt good news for his contact status (although it did look like he may have been hitting the turtle soup a bit too much).
Of the remaining 1 - 4 year players there was no sign of Redman, Guelfi, Clarke or Snelling.
Other than that I didn’t spot any other senior listed or trialling players.
Heppell seemed to be moving OK but was restricted to light drills and kicking with his right foot along with some handballing and running, mostly paired with Hird.
So who’s looking in good shape? Parish seems to have really bulked up, Francis looks to have a much more mature body, Laverde looked in ripping nick (doesn’t he always?), Johnson has bulked up considerably as has Zerk, and Hird looks to have put on a bit more size.
Overall it wasn’t too strenuous a workout, really just blowing a few of the cobwebs off. There was a bit of running, some wrestling and a number of ball movement drills, mostly working on disposals of 15 to 30 metres, no in tight contested work or long full length of the ground drills.
I watched Caldwell for quite a while and he seems to do everthing OK, he has a neat kick and moves smoothly, it will be interesting to see how he goes when we get to the more contested work.
I was also impressed with the look of Hind. I’ve obviously seen him play a lot in the VFL but never seen him train. He really does have that extra gear to accelerate away and his kicking looked more solid than it has in the past.
In the running Langford looked very very strong, and he is another one who’s body seems to have matured a lot in the break.
Some of things I have heard - a number of the players have been running at the Hanger and going to the gym for a month or more. Cahill has spent a lot of time following McGrath around, basically doing everything he was doing. Cahill was also another one that was running very well.
Bryan has been spotted there for a good deal of time as well, and was apparently looking very strong (although today he blew up towards the end of the session, he could barely run at the end.
Hooker has also been in solid training and is in great condition, along with Stringer who they say is looking as good as every.
The Irish boys are expected back in the new year.
Draper was wearing number 2 (for those interested in these things). Other than that he didn’t particularly stand out one way or another.
Even though not a lot happened it was great to be able to actually see the players in the flesh again.

 

[Lore]

 

[EnolaGay]

Credit to Nackers...from BB for todays report...

Nice. Main take-away, we need a sign at the car-park entrance. Bloody Essington.

 

[ghostdog]

Fluff pieces? I don’t think instagram stories of the guys train is a fluff piece. It’s what’s required this day and age to connect supporters with the team. Essendon would have one of the worst media departments in the league.

One of the worst on the basis of what? What do other clubs do that we don't?

 

[ghostdog]

Dunkley not sighted. This ******* club.

 

[Zach Package]

Must say, I can’t remember a time where our kids came back noticeably bigger. It just doesn’t happen for us, to the point where if it does, apparently we’re automatically doping.

Ham, Jones and Bryan look like different beasts

 

[11kgm]

Mozzie stacking on weight isn't good

 

[blitzer]

I'd be surprised if McGrath isn't in the leadership group this year. One of our best players, speaks really well and has a great attitude.
Some of the boys do look bigger but this often happens prior to preseason. See if they still look bigger after they've been running and doing footy drills for 3 months.

 

[Lore]

Okay so I can't open the photo gallery on the Essendon website, and I have no idea why. Won't work on my phone either, or in a different browser

If anyone else is having the same trouble, the only solution I've found so far is the photos that are available here (small and grainy ): https://www.aflphotos.com.au/galler...20 Training - Essendon 071220&image_id=796622

So we have;
Hind – who is wearing 42 btw
Phillips
Ambrose
Guelfi
Caldwell
Ham
Johnson
Hurley
Zerk-Thatcher
Cahill
Langford
Parish
Ridley
Draper
Bryan
Jones
Heppell

 

[Seagrave_Holmes]

Okay so I can't open the photo gallery on the Essendon website, and I have no idea why. Won't work on my phone either, or in a different browser

If anyone else is having the same trouble, the only solution I've found so far is the photos that are available here (small and grainy ): https://www.aflphotos.com.au/galleries/results/?q=collection:AFL 2020 Training - Essendon 071220&image_id=796622

So we have;
Hind – who is wearing 42 btw
Phillips
Ambrose
Guelfi
Caldwell
Ham
Johnson
Hurley
Zerk-Thatcher
Cahill
Langford
Parish
Ridley
Draper
Bryan
Jones
Heppell

Not working for me either - but thanks for the above link