Training 2022 pre-season


 
I found the article to be a little strange. "Six players ran personal best times"... implying the rest did not?

Assuming it's not the club's media inadvertently throwing a heap of the boys under the bus, I'm gonna chalk it up to phrasing. Also names a few different players in the by-line to the ones who supposedly impressed the most. Not important but odd.

I am a time trial sceptic but Sheather being listed as one of the big improvers is pleasing. For a player relatively at the bottom of the pecking order, there's no better way to get yourself noticed at the start of pre-season than by showing how hard you've worked to take the next step.
 

Kiama Chris

Norm Smith Medallist
May 10, 2016
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Ffs can we get this guy out of defence.
He doesn’t want to stop goals, he wants to score them.
His last 2 games were out of defence and he looked a lot more relaxed.
I think having him and Dawson in defence was all about being able to kick OVER the "ring of steel". Once teams woke up to that (thanks Hawks!) Dawson spent more time forward and Campbell got injured. We moved Blakey and JMac back and added the run out option.
Doubt we'll see him in defence too often.
 
Oct 17, 2016
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Had day off work so had a look at training. Started around 9am and finished around 1030am.

I think there was about 18 players in the main group. I think Parker Papley, Hickey, Cunningham, COR, Melican, Florent, Hayward, Rowbottom, Ronke, Sheather, Campbell, McAndrew, Stephens, Wicks, Mcinerney, Gould and maybe Gulden.

McLean, McCartin, Amartey, Clarke and Blakey were doing lighter stuff to the side. Blakey was doing a lot of straight line running, kicking the ball back and forth and taking a few marks on the run.

Naismith with his dog came by to watch the session from the boundary. I think I saw P. McCartin as well on the boundary.
 
Oct 17, 2016
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- Started with a warmup. Split into 4 groups and ran around a square to 4 stations. Things like stepping over mini hurdles or weaving between poles.

- Kicking back and forth in 3s.

- 3 skill stations. (Quick flat handballs across the body to a player running next to them, kicking drill within defensive 50 and contested marking practice from high long balls.)

- Handball drill. Attacking team tries to handball their way past defensive team in a tight congested space.

- Another handball drill. Cox hurls the ball away, attacking team picks it up and handballs past the defensive team. Maybe simulating a defender picking up a loose ball and using the extra numbers to stay composed and keep possession with handballs.

- Ball movement drill. Attacking team set up with 4 backs 3 mids and 4 forwards vs a few coaches as opposition. Practiced moving the ball upfield with kicks. With a focus on the players upfield creating options by making angled runs into space and the players behind making supporting runs from deep.

- Ball movement/rebound drill. Ball starts from a kick in at the goal square. Work the ball upfield for a little bit with a few kicks, then kick it long to a ruckman on halfway who knocks it down. Then the team quickly attacks in the opposite direction. Maybe this simulates quickly attacking from a turnover.

- Did a 3min run around the boundary about 2 laps. Brief rest then run a few shuttles back and forth. Then a few players did another 3min run around the boundary. McAndrew did some 1 on 1 ruck work with Cox whilst this was happening.
 
- Started with a warmup. Split into 4 groups and ran around a square to 4 stations. Things like stepping over mini hurdles or weaving between poles.

- Kicking back and forth in 3s.

- 3 skill stations. (Quick flat handballs across the body to a player running next to them, kicking drill within defensive 50 and contested marking practice from high long balls.)

- Handball drill. Attacking team tries to handball their way past defensive team in a tight congested space.

- Another handball drill. Cox hurls the ball away, attacking team picks it up and handballs past the defensive team. Maybe simulating a defender picking up a loose ball and using the extra numbers to stay composed and keep possession with handballs.

- Ball movement drill. Attacking team set up with 4 backs 3 mids and 4 forwards vs a few coaches as opposition. Practiced moving the ball upfield with kicks. With a focus on the players upfield creating options by making angled runs into space and the players behind making supporting runs from deep.

- Ball movement/rebound drill. Ball starts from a kick in at the goal square. Work the ball upfield for a little bit with a few kicks, then kick it long to a ruckman on halfway who knocks it down. Then the team quickly attacks in the opposite direction. Maybe this simulates quickly attacking from a turnover.

- Did a 3min run around the boundary about 2 laps. Brief rest then run a few shuttles back and forth. Then a few players did another 3min run around the boundary. McAndrew did some 1 on 1 ruck work with Cox whilst this was happening.
:heart: reading your training posts :)
 
Head of Athletic Performance Rob Inness has lauded the intensity of the Swans opening training sessions of the 2022 pre-season as the first-four year players focus on building a strong fitness base heading into the Christmas break.
There were plenty of familiar faces with the likes of Oliver Florent, Tom McCartin, Errol Gulden and James Bell joining the first group, while senior figures Callum Mills, Luke Parker and Lance Franklin were also at Lakeside Oval for Day One.
 
Oct 9, 2001
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Had day off work so had a look at training. Started around 9am and finished around 1030am.

I think there was about 18 players in the main group. I think Parker Papley, Hickey, Cunningham, COR, Melican, Florent, Hayward, Rowbottom, Ronke, Sheather, Campbell, McAndrew, Stephens, Wicks, Mcinerney, Gould and maybe Gulden.

McLean, McCartin, Amartey, Clarke and Blakey were doing lighter stuff to the side. Blakey was doing a lot of straight line running, kicking the ball back and forth and taking a few marks on the run.

Naismith with his dog came by to watch the session from the boundary. I think I saw P. McCartin as well on the boundary.

So that is a Ryan Clarke sighting which answers the last remaining contract question.
 

ScottBo

Team Captain
Aug 17, 2009
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I try to get to training on the draftees first day when I can, swung past this morning. Here are a few observations...

Compared with recent years, it felt like a team in a different stage of development. Maybe I just stumbled on a skills-based session, but there was little running and lots of high intensity drills. It was often game day intensity. At one stage I heard an assistant coach light-heartedly ask Paddy McCartin to ease up on his tackling.

While the WA recruits were absent, Roberts and Rankin were out on the field. In other years I've seen the new players sit it out early in their first session.

Rankin was in a kicking drill with Franklin. Imagine that on your first day. Roberts looks a tidy and confident player. Both of them were given a shot from fifty with the whole group watching. Roberts nailed his, Rankin just missed. Lots of encouragement for both. Pretty sure I heard someone yell out Gaz when Rankin was about to kick. They are already working on nicknames.

Ladhams and Hickey were in the same group and there was a nice duel taking place, Luke Parker getting behind Ladhams when he took possession and kicked a sweet low pass. Hickey responded by roving a tap. Good signs.

There were a few extras players I didn't recognise, probably our VFL team. Pretty sure I saw Malachy Curruthers, so he might have signed with the VFL side or training with the hope of being relisted.

Ryan Clarke was training off to the side with Blakey, so might be in a rehab group.

There's a good vibe with the group. Light-hearted but serious. You get the sense they are really confident about 2022.
 
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