Training 2022 Training Reports

[Taylor]

I think opposition clubs know exactly how dangerous he is, particularly if he gets a run towards the forward fifty, and they will allocate his opponent's efforts accordingly.

 

[arsesmart]

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.

I think opposition clubs know exactly how dangerous he is, particularly if he gets a run towards the forward fifty, and they will allocate his opponent's efforts accordingly.

Yeah I reckon these three posts get to a lot of it. Confidence can wax and wane when you're a rookie and just feeling your way as to whether you really belong. Physically this would be the most acute for Henry. Being young he will have lapses and those conditions on the weekend - preseason against a team you poleaxed the week before - would heighten the lapsability factor.

His creativity and delivery are such weapons, it'd be really great to have those around the ball. Having those skills available more outside than inside, especially at this stage of his development would maximise the damage he can do with them. The WC would've tightened up on him for sure after seeing firsthand what he can do.

But he's still learning, so it'll be a matter of getting the balance between the future and present as far as the team goes.

 

[freo99]

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.

Chapman said after being drafted he had only been playing HBF recently, he played a number of other
positions previous to that.
From the look of him it seems to me that would be wing + forward.

 

[wakojako]

Yeah I reckon these three posts get to a lot of it. Confidence can wax and wane when you're a rookie and just feeling your way as to whether you really belong. Physically this would be the most acute for Henry. Being young he will have lapses and those conditions on the weekend - preseason against a team you poleaxed the week before - would heighten the lapsability factor.

His creativity and delivery are such weapons, it'd be really great to have those around the ball. Having those skills available more outside than inside, especially at this stage of his development would maximise the damage he can do with them. The WC would've tightened up on him for sure after seeing firsthand what he can do.

But he's still learning, so it'll be a matter of getting the balance between the future and present as far as the team goes.

He has the potential to be an absolute weapon but I still think he is one to two years away from being consistent and upping production. The question is where is the best place for that, the afl or wafl?

 

[DragoDelph]

Yeah I reckon these three posts get to a lot of it. Confidence can wax and wane when you're a rookie and just feeling your way as to whether you really belong. Physically this would be the most acute for Henry. Being young he will have lapses and those conditions on the weekend - preseason against a team you poleaxed the week before - would heighten the lapsability factor.

His creativity and delivery are such weapons, it'd be really great to have those around the ball. Having those skills available more outside than inside, especially at this stage of his development would maximise the damage he can do with them. The WC would've tightened up on him for sure after seeing firsthand what he can do.

But he's still learning, so it'll be a matter of getting the balance between the future and present as far as the team goes.

And as a team, they need to realise when he’s being minded, and either give support so he can get space, or use one of the other damaging players so the opposition think twice.

 

[arsesmart]

Chapman said after being drafted he had only been playing HBF recently, he played a number of other
positions previous to that.
From the look of him it seems to me that would be wing + forward.

Whenever I saw him play in the colts he pretty much played across half-back, but you can get thrown around a bit in colts or in junior days.

 

[Bring back Drum]

Why are we in such a hurry to move Chapman from half back? The way he plays it, it’s a far more important role than on a wing.
We are asking a defensively minded, reader of the ball to play a more creative outside role? He clearly likes the ball in front of him where he can read the play & attack the contest in front of him.
That’s not how you play the wing, even as the defensive side winger which would be a waste of his talents, he’d be too close to the contest to use his smarts & agility to its full advantage.

 

[pK75]

I posed the question because on the “best 22” thread most people are struggling to find a spot for him in the backline. Our 3 talls will come from Pearce, Cox, Hamling and Logue. Ryan is our general and Clark and Young are our rebounding HBFs. Add Wilson, Walker and Hughes as depth. How do we squeeze Chapman in there?
He’s way too good to be playing for peel so the obvious solution is to look to our weakness which is the wing. Where I believe he could excel.

 

[wayToGo_]

I'd have Chapman close to first picked in our backline atm. So important because he gets the balance of defence and attack right better than anyone on our list... and after just 6 games.

Ryan, Chapman, Young and Clark gives us so much potential to attack from defence. Plenty of comments about our HBFers not attacking as much on the weekend but Clark was 2nd for score involvements (with 8). Ryan, Chapman and Logue all had over 6 score involvements. Young was the only one that was a bit down but think he was on Liam Ryan

31

Liam Ryan

Age

29

Ht

181cm

Wt

76kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

11.3

3star

K

8.6

3star

HB

2.7

2star

M

3.0

3star

T

2.0

4star

G

1.3

5star

D

9.9

3star

K

8.0

3star

HB

1.9

1star

M

3.3

3star

T

1.6

3star

G

1.3

5star

D

11.4

3star

K

9.0

4star

HB

2.4

3star

M

3.8

4star

T

1.8

4star

G

1.6

5star

a fair bit - who really is their most dangerous forward these days.

Wilson (when not injured) and Walker give us lots of attacking from defence options. Just need time for it all to gel and we'll be incredibly dangerous attacking from the back half imo.

 

[gungho]

Let’s be honest if Henry was pick 60 he wouldn’t be getting a game at Freo or any other club. You can be an outside player with skills but still need defensive running to pressure the ball carrier (which is mostly how teams win back possession).
He is currently no better than Acres, Aish, freddy, tucker (on a wing) and no better than any of our small forwards.
Absolutely nothing wrong with giving him a few months at Peel. As ruthless as it sounds he will either come back as an AFL footballer, or just not really have it in him. Either way a standard is set among the team- run and defend or you don’t get a game.

 

[Bring back Drum]

I posed the question because on the “best 22” thread most people are struggling to find a spot for him in the backline. Our 3 talls will come from Pearce, Cox, Hamling and Logue. Ryan is our general and Clark and Young are our rebounding HBFs. Add Wilson, Walker and Hughes as depth. How do we squeeze Chapman in there?
He’s way too good to be playing for peel so the obvious solution is to look to our weakness which is the wing. Where I believe he could excel.

Because Chapman is the best of our half backs, trial Wilson or Walker on the wing.

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

As a president of the "Move Chapman to the Middle" fan club, the logic makes sense to me.

• We have a lot of quality down back (on paper at least) so losing him from there shouldnt impact too badly
• He would address an area of need in what is basically the most important are of ground (the middle). His speed, size and skill is unicorn stuff that we dont have much of at the moment. Size is a particular concern within the next couple of years.

Does he need to move now? No, but I there is an uncanny resemblance to Fyfe when he first started where he already looks ridiculously good and you can see a picture of what midfield Chapman looks like in your head and God damn does it look good

 

[Eski3]

Let’s be honest if Henry was pick 60 he wouldn’t be getting a game at Freo or any other club. You can be an outside player with skills but still need defensive running to pressure the ball carrier (which is mostly how teams win back possession).
He is currently no better than Acres, Aish, freddy, tucker (on a wing) and no better than any of our small forwards.
Absolutely nothing wrong with giving him a few months at Peel. As ruthless as it sounds he will either come back as an AFL footballer, or just not really have it in him. Either way a standard is set among the team- run and defend or you don’t get a game.

The fat side wing really is the hardest position in football. You're expected to be the outlet kick out of defence, the loose option for run and spread then get back and defend when horribly out of position, because being out of position IS your position going forward. You're also the first to get blamed if the other team isn't being pressured enough

Give Henry time to work into the position at AFL level before assigning him official scapegoat status

 

[arsesmart]

The fat side wing really is the hardest position in football. You're expected to be the outlet kick out of defence, the loose option for run and spread then get back and defend when horribly out of position, because being out of position IS your position going forward. You're also the first to get blamed if the other team isn't being pressured enough

Give Henry time to work into the position at AFL level before assigning him official scapegoat status

He was hardly the worst out there on the weekend. Some very good involvements. He's in development phase too. I think he could develop as well at AFL level as at WAFL level, so it'll just be up to the balance the coach wants to strike.

 

[theGav56]

Why are we in such a hurry to move Chapman from half back? The way he plays it, it’s a far more important role than on a wing.
We are asking a defensively minded, reader of the ball to play a more creative outside role? He clearly likes the ball in front of him where he can read the play & attack the contest in front of him.
That’s not how you play the wing, even as the defensive side winger which would be a waste of his talents, he’d be too close to the contest to use his smarts & agility to its full advantage.

Why are we in such a hurry to turn him into a hbf-er?

 

[theGav56]

Are people really suggesting Henry is being tagged? At best he looks like he has an opponent. Sometimes.

Welcome to the AFL.

 

[One_Wing]

Henry's draft pick is a bit misleading anyway since only reason Carlton bid on him was to buy time and spite

 

[arsesmart]

Are people really suggesting Henry is being tagged? At best he looks like he has an opponent. Sometimes.

Welcome to the AFL.

No one has said tag. Some players, damaging ones, will get more attention than others to shut them down. That's something they'll need to work through, but it's certainly more of a challenge earlier in a career. No?

 

[Bring back Drum]

Why are we in such a hurry to turn him into a hbf-er?

I answered that in the post you responded to. Additionally he has played, what 6 games of AFL footy?
Let’s give him the opportunity to settle in to position he was drafted from before giving him new challenges.

 

[theGav56]

No one has said tag. Some players, damaging ones, will get more attention than others to shut them down. That's something they'll need to work through, but it's certainly more of a challenge earlier in a career. No?

I can't say that has been noticeable. I've seen him run down and tackled because he has been too slow to get rid of it a few times.

 

[arsesmart]

I can't say that has been noticeable. I've seen him run down and tackled because he has been too slow to get rid of it a few times.

What people notice can vary. How often has he been run down? More than anyone else looking to take the game on?

 

[theGav56]

I answered that in the post you responded to. Additionally he has played, what 6 games of AFL footy?
Let’s give him the opportunity to settle in to position he was drafted from before giving him new challenges.

According to Chapman playing hbf-er is new to him. Why are we trying to turn him into one?

Chapman said after being drafted he had only been playing HBF recently, he played a number of other
positions previous to that.
From the look of him it seems to me that would be wing + forward.

 

[Bring back Drum]

According to Chapman playing hbf-er is new to him. Why are we trying to turn him into one?

But what was he drafted as? He was playing as an intercept defender which is the reason he was so prominent in that draft. He wasn’t a wing, mid or forward.

I’ll edit this by saying I’m not suggesting he won’t make a very good player up the field, but currently his talents are suited to learning the caper as a HB flanker.

Pick no.14 - Heath Chapman

See who Freo selected with pick no.14 in the 2020 NAB AFL National Draft

www.fremantlefc.com.au

 

[theGav56]

But what was he drafted as? He was playing as an intercept defender which is the reason he was so prominent in that draft. He wasn’t a wing, mid or forward.

I’ll edit this by saying I’m not suggesting he won’t make a very good player up the field, but currently his talents are suited to learning the caper as a HB flanker.

Pick no.14 - Heath Chapman

See who Freo selected with pick no.14 in the 2020 NAB AFL National Draft

www.fremantlefc.com.au

Seriously? That is about as nothing an article as you can get. He was drafted as a player with AFL level potential just as Fyfe, Pavlich, Mundy and Erasmus were.

 

[Purple dynamite]

According to Chapman playing hbf-er is new to him. Why are we trying to turn him into one?

He will be our Bontempelli, just let him develop like Mundy did on the Half Back this year.
Then once Mundy retires, in goes Heath and Walker to the HBF.
I also think NOD and Henry will be our wingers proper by next year.