Training 2022 Training Reports

[wayToGo_]

Henry is plenty quick enough and he has skills as good as anyone on our list... He is still building his endurance.

The only issue I have is he doesn't work hard enough. I'd be showing him the footage where he was out on the wing and the ball went over his head to his opponent and he just casually jogged towards him, then they fumbled and he finally started running towards him - but it was too late and they recovered, kicked the ball to someone who then scored (from memory). If he'd put the effort in like he should, he could have turned the ball over, or at the very least tackled and forced a stoppage. Needs a defence first mindset drilled into him. If he worked as hard as Schultz and was willing to put his head over the ball he'd become one of our best players overnight.

 

[Lach72]

Why would you move Chapman now? Surely it's an ain't broke don't fix scenario with him. He's played in the backline during colts days and showed he has it, but he's still finding his feet at the level and deserves some time to keep flourishing there.

While Henry's game was reasonably quiet on the weekend, he still got in some very tasty involvements including some smart deadly use of his boot (which is a great weapon to deploy on the wing). It's one of the facts of life with playing the wing that sometimes you can run all day and not get the ball much. It will come down to his running patterns to see if there's any real form things and no one being there to see them it's hard to fully know, but it did look at times he would run a bit of a defensive pattern. This might've been a learning project for him, given he was playing on the same wing as Gaff. Obviously this is something the coaching panel would know more than us.

Any which way, it'd be nuts to throw the baby out with the bathwater with this given what we've seen, especially this early on in the piece.

Why?

Because we have plenty of options off half back.
My preferred options would be Walker and Clark, with Pearce, Cox, Logue and Ryan. Wilson as a back up with Hughes

We have no potentially great options for the wing. I would use Chapman and Young.
Chapman has everything Nik Cox has but better disposal and he's quicker than Cox IMO. He has the potential to be the nightmare matchup for opposition Coaches. He reads the play beautifully

 

[arsesmart]

Henry is plenty quick enough and he has skills as good as anyone on our list... He is still building his endurance.

The only issue I have is he doesn't work hard enough. I'd be showing him the footage where he was out on the wing and the ball went over his head to his opponent and he just casually jogged towards him, then they fumbled and he finally started running towards him - but it was too late and they recovered, kicked the ball to someone who then scored (from memory). If he'd put the effort in like he should, he could have turned the ball over, or at the very least tackled and forced a stoppage. Needs a defence first mindset drilled into him. If he worked as hard as Schultz and was willing to put his head over the ball he'd become one of our best players overnight.

His endurance seems to be pretty reasonable from what I've seen. If his intensities lacking at the contest at times, then that could be any number of things, including confidence for someone getting established, fatigue or perhaps lapse in concentration or attitude. Perhaps if he occasionally gets a little overawed at the contest, it can cost him.

 

[wakojako]

Henry looks like he thinks he is a Sean Burgoyne type talent, I hope he is right.

I believe the term is show pony

 

[dont bowl there]

Why?

Because we have plenty of options off half back.
My preferred options would be Walker and Clark, with Pearce, Cox, Logue and Ryan. Wilson as a back up with Hughes

We have no potentially great options for the wing. I would use Chapman and Young.
Chapman has everything Nik Cox has but better disposal and he's quicker than Cox IMO. He has the potential to be the nightmare matchup for opposition Coaches. He reads the play beautifully

Chapman looks like one of those players that would excel in most positions of the ground, his ability to read the play is outstanding plus the perfect mix of inside/outside. Couldn't be more excited to follow his career.

 

[theGav56]

Why?

Because we have plenty of options off half back.
My preferred options would be Walker and Clark, with Pearce, Cox, Logue and Ryan. Wilson as a back up with Hughes

We have no potentially great options for the wing. I would use Chapman and Young.
Chapman has everything Nik Cox has but better disposal and he's quicker than Cox IMO. He has the potential to be the nightmare matchup for opposition Coaches. He reads the play beautifully

Unfortunately the preseason hasn't been used to test this out.

Chapman is developing beautifully, but the bigger picture of an overstocked backline isn't being addressed.

Plus the opportunity to exploit a match up that would be a genuine weapon is not taken up.

I have a slightly different stance on Young, but agree that we can cover his role in defence if he was used in another position.

 

[wakojako]

Unfortunately the preseason hasn't been used to test this out.

Chapman is developing beautifully, but the bigger picture of an overstocked backline isn't being addressed.

Plus the opportunity to exploit a match up that would be a genuine weapon is not taken up.

I have a slightly different stance on Young, but agree that we can cover his role in defence if he was used in another position.

I would like to see Chapman trialed forward as well but believe defence would be his best spot for now.

 

[arsesmart]

Why?

Because we have plenty of options off half back.
My preferred options would be Walker and Clark, with Pearce, Cox, Logue and Ryan. Wilson as a back up with Hughes

We have no potentially great options for the wing. I would use Chapman and Young.
Chapman has everything Nik Cox has but better disposal and he's quicker than Cox IMO. He has the potential to be the nightmare matchup for opposition Coaches. He reads the play beautifully

He's just getting started, I'd avoid disrupting his development right now. Maybe I'd wait, perhaps till he's double figure game veteran, before shifting him out of what he knows.

 

[theGav56]

I would like to see Chapman trialed forward as well but believe defence would be his best spot for now.

I disagree with Longmuir's stance of putting players in their "best spots" or "natural position". I can't recall his exact wording. I'm not suggesting disregarding that, but many AFL players are developed in multiple roles. Chapman's attributes and our team needs make him an ideal candidate for that.

On the team level, keeping Chapman as a defender also results in keeping Walker in the wafl.

 

[theGav56]

I would like to see Chapman trialed forward as well but believe defence would be his best spot for now.

Struggling to see how trialling someone in another position would impede their development. Especially a HBF to wing type of move where the skillsets are similar and the positions frequently overlap.

* oops. Meant to be a reply to arsesmart

 

[DragoDelph]

I disagree with Longmuir's stance of putting players in their "best spots" or "natural position". I can't recall his exact wording. I'm not suggesting disregarding that, but many AFL players are developed in multiple roles. Chapman's attributes and our team needs make him an ideal candidate for that.

On the team level, keeping Chapman as a defender also results in keeping Walker in the wafl.

I think it was more around letting them develop and build confidence in the position, before giving them another challenge.

Then if the new position doesn’t work, they still have the self belief in themselves at the level, and maybe they just weren’t good at the new position.

 

[theGav56]

I think it was more around letting them develop and build confidence in the position, before giving them another challenge.

Then if the new position doesn’t work, they still have the self belief in themselves at the level, and maybe they just weren’t good at the new position.

Seems to be doing the opposite to that with Henry where he sees his position as wing but played him as a small forward.

 

[DragoDelph]

Seems to be doing the opposite to that with Henry where he sees his position as wing but played him as a small forward.

True.
Although he seemed to be moved to high half forward and then wing once he built some running capacity.

Was coming off a low base , and basically had no other options that year he debuted.

But I understand your point.

 

[apuchar]

I believe the term is show pony

Is that code for outside class. We have enough foot soldiers, we need skill and creativity. He is quite good in the contest considering his frame, he just lacks a bit of defensive run intensity,, but he is hardly the only one. I thought our leaving loose opposition players in dangerous positions facing goal inside defensive fifty and around stoppages was a bigger problem than Henry. Especially when we are not a great contested team most of the time. Brad Hill was a lot softer than Henry and Steven Hill didn't chase either. Henry's possessions are very valuable.

 

[CapitalA]

Seems to be doing the opposite to that with Henry where he sees his position as wing but played him as a small forward.

Moved him to wing as soon as he was fit enough at afl level (probably at the lowest required fitness).

 

[theGav56]

Is that code for outside class. We have enough foot soldiers, we need skill and creativity. He is quite good in the contest considering his frame, he just lacks a bit of defensive run intensity,, but he is hardly the only one. I thought our leaving loose opposition players in dangerous positions facing goal inside defensive fifty and around stoppages was a bigger problem than Henry. Especially when we are not a great contested team most of the time. Brad Hill was a lot softer than Henry and Steven Hill didn't chase either. Henry's possessions are very valuable.

Yes I agree. Brad Hill had exactly the right skillset for the role he was in. To get to the level he is at is a pretty gutsy achievement.

 

[theGav56]

Moved him to wing as soon as he was fit enough at afl level (probably at the lowest required fitness).

Disagree. Aish and Acres are at the required fitness level and Henry is being shown up. He should be playing in a pocket or in the wafl.

 

[Spirit Level]

I'm in the Chapman between HB and the midfield basket.

He's fast, agile, a bullet kick and tall, adds another dimension to the midfield

 

[Eski3]

We don't need to rush Chapman to the midfield, he's played 6 games. He looks like an absolute Rolls Royce in his current spot, let him play 20-30 games there and see what develops.

As an aside, Chapman is playing like he is after 6 games. That is insane

 

[Bring back Drum]

In Henry we’ll get a Lewis Jetta type wingman. Outside run with elite skill. He’ll develop with time & hasn’t been a complete disaster in the position with his kicking inside 50 a real positive.

How many games has he played there, 3? 2 scratchies & a bit late last year?
How about we have a bit of patience & he might develop into that wingman we’ve been crying out for.

 

[theGav56]

We don't need to rush Chapman to the midfield, he's played 6 games. He looks like an absolute Rolls Royce in his current spot, let him play 20-30 games there and see what develops.

As an aside, Chapman is playing like he is after 6 games. That is insane

The issue isn't Chapman.

The issues are;

• our struggle to develop an AFL standard wing set up.
• our transition from midfield to the forward line.
• our holding back the development of players such as Walker.
• our under utilisation of our best 22 players due to an overstock of defenders.
• our list balance.

Trialling Chapman in a position we are deficient in a possible way to address those kind of issues, but there are others. But given his role back there is the easiest for us to cover, and given what he shows when he transitions into other parts of the ground, it definitely looks worth a shot.

I also don't see that is what rushing a player looks like. What is happening to Henry is what rushing a player looks like.

 

[Dockers v Channel7West]

We have a lot of talented HBFlankers. I just hope JLo can pick the right ones to develop into midfielders

 

[GingerDocker]

If this is the spit balling area for Chapman, I'm all in.

There's been heaps said about the young fella and I thoroughly agree...he looks to be a ripper.

What I particularly love is his mindset to the game as much as his skills and physical attributes. I have waxed lyrical here before about his amazing second and third efforts in the contest, but I was trying to dive deeper and work out why he seems so adept at the elite level at such a young age. What I came up with was his awareness...the dude is switched on, 100%, for every second he is on the ground. He alert to his man, he is alert to his positioning, he is alert to the flight of the ball...and even when he takes and dishes off possession, he is still totally focused on the task at hand, whether that be to run on, shepherd, or direct traffic for the ball carrier.

He plays like a veteran.

Side note - If I was coaching Liam Henry, I'd be clipping vision of all the times Heath is within 100m of the ball. Getting him to understand the energy and focus that is required when playing AFL would turbocharge his development.

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

Henry is so confusing, as someone said, he's actually pretty good in a contest for the most part, 100x better than Brad Hill anyway. In particular, he battles way out of his weight contest in aerial battles where he rarely loses it outright and at least brings it to ground even when he doesnt have any right to, but, you cant help but feel watching him that he picks and chooses when to go, and I cant work out how he seems to decide this. I think this is a good thing, I dont know haha? It seems likes its a mental thing and more than anyone else on the list, he just needs games games and more games so he fully understands the attitude and tempo required to succeed at AFL level

 

[GingerDocker]

Henry is so confusing, as someone said, he's actually pretty good in a contest for the most part, 100x better than Brad Hill anyway. In particular, he battles way out of his weight contest in aerial battles where he rarely loses it outright and at least brings it to ground even when he doesnt have any right to, but, you cant help but feel watching him that he picks and chooses when to go, and I cant work out how he seems to decide this. I think this is a good thing, I dont know haha? It seems likes its a mental thing and more than anyone else on the list, he just needs games games and more games so he fully understands the attitude and tempo required to succeed at AFL level

It's a focus thing for me. He's gone from being a talented kid, having a blast playing footy against his contemporaries, to an elite, professional environment where your weaknesses are analysed and brutally exploited.

He definitely needs time. Whether that's enough is the mystery at this point.