Training 2025 Pre-Season Thread

[Nunez]

You'd imagine the club would put something together also. It would be strange (and a bit off) if they did something for the women's flag in 2023 but not for our men's team.

I would be surprised if they did tbh. sleepylion already did it better than they could, but having Pound The Rock and Dancing On Ice coming out, I somewhat expect that is what we'll get. I think they'll both be great though!

 

[BrainOfMorbius]

Bit like this perhaps

AFL Tables - Essendon All Games - By Season

Couldn't even beat the Bulldogs, pathetic

 

[martinson]

On the flat punt Grasshopper the greatest exponent was Pete Hudson. He'd hold the ball straighter than you would for a torp and somehow it'd wobble through the goals more often than not, generally with a tumble or two on the way. Before I get to his unbelievable accuracy ,consider that he regularly played on wet muddy grounds unprotected from the wind by stands

Once he had a season to his his straps he kicked
125.62
120.40
146.44
150.72

After his injury he had a comeback game where he kicked 8.1 and flew straight back to Tasmania

Then in his final comeback season he kicked 110.50.

Remarkably he wasn't renowned for his kicking and the general opinion was that he was just an average kick . But he was a dead eye. And he used the same technique on all angles. No around the body for Huddo. If you were going to use the flat punt today it doesn't have the pretty trajectory of the drop punt , you'd have to train for it and I just can't see the players being gutsy enough to go for it because there'd be a mountain of criticism if they didn't effect it well enough.

An interesting side story is that Huddo was a friend of Alistair Lynch's dad and when Lynchy was around 17 he was great athletically but unskilled and Lynchy's dad sent his son to Huddo for extensive private training sessions that went on for a couple of years. And eventually he got drafted. I don't think Huddo could help him much with his kicking which really wasn't much of a feature of his game but Lynchy credited him with turning him into a competitive footballer.

 

[BuntonRules]

Blimey that and "Dancing on Ice" on Fox/Kayo. Seems the Lions journey hit a chord ! Not sure if other premiers have got that kind of treatment.

Did you not see the Fox Collingwood special on high rotation for 2 weeks last year?

 

[Whatamark]

Did you not see the Fox Collingwood special on high rotation for 2 weeks last year?

strangely no

 

[martinson]

Did you not see the Fox Collingwood special on high rotation for 2 weeks last year?

I'd be surprised if anyone here watched that

 

[Dalions]

I'd be surprised if anyone here watched that

NFW

 

[Grasshopper17]

On the flat punt Grasshopper the greatest exponent was Pete Hudson. He'd hold the ball straighter than you would for a torp and somehow it'd wobble through the goals more often than not, generally with a tumble or two on the way. Before I get to his unbelievable accuracy ,consider that he regularly played on wet muddy grounds unprotected from the wind by stands

Once he had a season to his his straps he kicked
125.62
120.40
146.44
150.72

After his injury he had a comeback game where he kicked 8.1 and flew straight back to Tasmania

Then in his final comeback season he kicked 110.50.

Remarkably he wasn't renowned for his kicking and the general opinion was that he was just an average kick . But he was a dead eye. And he used the same technique on all angles. No around the body for Huddo. If you were going to use the flat punt today it doesn't have the pretty trajectory of the drop punt , you'd have to train for it and I just can't see the players being gutsy enough to go for it because there'd be a mountain of criticism if they didn't effect it well enough.

An interesting side story is that Huddo was a friend of Alistair Lynch's dad and when Lynchy was around 17 he was great athletically but unskilled and Lynchy's dad sent his son to Huddo for extensive private training sessions that went on for a couple of years. And eventually he got drafted. I don't think Huddo could help him much with his kicking which really wasn't much of a feature of his game but Lynchy credited him with turning him into a competitive footballer.

Yeah I heard that about Lynch and Huddo.

My understanding of the flat punt is you don't get as much distance out of it as the drop punt, but greater accuracy. But I guess you still have to practice it.

 

[mighty_lions]

I would be surprised if they did tbh. sleepylion already did it better than they could, but having Pound The Rock and Dancing On Ice coming out, I somewhat expect that is what we'll get. I think they'll both be great though!

I would assume the club would have inner sanctum video though, The club also have Dean Gibson a storyteller/film maker on the board

 

[mighty_lions]

Did you not see the Fox Collingwood special on high rotation for 2 weeks last year?

I had all radio and fox banned until all of that was gone last year, after we won I actually went back and watch parts of theirs just to see some of our reactions post loss

 

[martinson]

Yeah I heard that about Lynch and Huddo.

My understanding of the flat punt is you don't get as much distance out of it as the drop punt, but greater accuracy. But I guess you still have to practice it.

Everyone who used it extensively had success with it.

Hudson could have chosen whatever kick he wanted and didn't budge whatever the conditions. You're correct in that he was a stay at home forward so distance wasn't much of an issue . But I can hardly ever remember him shanking it or putting it OOB except on the infamous occasion in the GF when he was going for his 150th at a tense point in the game .

Honestly if you just used it for 40m or less I think you'd find it more accurate than anything else , less susceptible to sprays , but I still can't see anyone in the modern game bothering to teach it.

 

[Grasshopper17]

Managed to watch very little of the game.

Interesting in thoughts from those that did:

• How fit did hippy look? I was working to the assumption he would struggle for OR given how long he has had off. Such a long time off and we wouldn't rush him, but maybe he has been held back and ready to go?
• Who took ruck minutes, sounds like only Oscar, Smith and Day? In that case presumably Day will play. I think Oscar needs some decent chop-out given he had a very limited pre season
• I saw some mention Charlie. He seemed to lose a bit of explosiveness last year, although it was the goal-kicking that hurt him most. Agree he is a watch, highly reliant on pace, Betts kept going beyond pace but he was more skilled i reckon
• Did anyone else look underdone? My long-term view has been we will really struggle in our first 2 games. Hoping to be wrong. Cats will be primed i reckon

Thought Hippy looked good. Kicking for goal a bit iffy, but then that's nothing new. But overall he got around the ground and looked better than I expected to be honest.

 

[Nunez]

Thought Hippy looked good. Kicking for goal a bit iffy, but then that's nothing new. But overall he got around the ground and looked better than I expected to be honest.

Agreed. Was great for a guy who hasn't even done match Sim.

 

[pod17]

I would be surprised if they did tbh. sleepylion already did it better than they could, but having Pound The Rock and Dancing On Ice coming out, I somewhat expect that is what we'll get. I think they'll both be great though!

This season’s version might be called Dancing in the rain if Thursday goes ahead!

Whereabouts is Pound The Rock airing?

 

[Grasshopper17]

This season’s version might be called Dancing in the rain if Thursday goes ahead!

Whereabouts is Pound The Rock airing?

I imagine the AFL website.

 

[BuntonRules]

Did you not see the Fox Collingwood special on high rotation for 2 weeks last year?

The thing that got me was how Fox management could think that the supporters of the other Victorian clubs, and the whole competition, would watch having a Pies flag shoved down their throats.

 

[Tassie4ever]

On the flat punt Grasshopper the greatest exponent was Pete Hudson. He'd hold the ball straighter than you would for a torp and somehow it'd wobble through the goals more often than not, generally with a tumble or two on the way. Before I get to his unbelievable accuracy ,consider that he regularly played on wet muddy grounds unprotected from the wind by stands

Once he had a season to his his straps he kicked
125.62
120.40
146.44
150.72

After his injury he had a comeback game where he kicked 8.1 and flew straight back to Tasmania

Then in his final comeback season he kicked 110.50.

Remarkably he wasn't renowned for his kicking and the general opinion was that he was just an average kick . But he was a dead eye. And he used the same technique on all angles. No around the body for Huddo. If you were going to use the flat punt today it doesn't have the pretty trajectory of the drop punt , you'd have to train for it and I just can't see the players being gutsy enough to go for it because there'd be a mountain of criticism if they didn't effect it well enough.

An interesting side story is that Huddo was a friend of Alistair Lynch's dad and when Lynchy was around 17 he was great athletically but unskilled and Lynchy's dad sent his son to Huddo for extensive private training sessions that went on for a couple of years. And eventually he got drafted. I don't think Huddo could help him much with his kicking which really wasn't much of a feature of his game but Lynchy credited him with turning him into a competitive footballer.

The mighty Hud averaged over 5 goals per game in all grades. Repeat- averaged over 5 per game.

He was 17yo when he made his debut for Tassie in the Carnival in Hobart in1967 IIRC, and in the process led the goalkicking for all sides. In the game v Vic he beat the 3 opponents the V's threw against him.

I saw him play for the Vics [pre State of origin] v SA in the carnival in Adelaide in 1969 [?] when he kicked 9. A favoured technique of Hudson was to run the FB under the ball and double back into an open goal. Which he did several times v SA, to deafening silence.

 

[Johnny Bananas]

Liked the look of: Who shone for your club in practice matches?

Check out the players who caught our eye during the 2025 pre-season practice matches

www.afl.com.au

JASPA FLETCHER

Already a premiership player at the age of 21, Fletcher has returned stronger, more nimble and more creative in 2025. Playing on the wing doesn't always translate to big statistics, but against Adelaide, Fletcher continued an outstanding pre-season with 16 disposals that included a goal, seven score involvements and six intercepts. He looks ready to make a jump this season. - Michael Whiting

 

[Bucking Beads]

One of the more disappointing things about Eric Hipwood is how unnatural he manages to make kicking for goal look. You can actually tell he has been working on it but gee it just looks so clunky.

 

[Dalions]

One of the more disappointing things about Eric Hipwood is how unnatural he manages to make kicking for goal look. You can actually tell he has been working on it but gee it just looks so clunky.

His run up definitely looks clunky

 

[mpal6]

One of the more disappointing things about Eric Hipwood is how unnatural he manages to make kicking for goal look. You can actually tell he has been working on it but gee it just looks so clunky.

Just needs to watch what Browny did and copy it.

Or Roughead, I loved his short run up kicking action which always had a compact, locked-in look with little to no room for variations or errors.

 

[Saucery]

Just needs to watch what Browny did and copy it.

Or Roughead, I loved his short run up kicking action which always had a compact, locked-in look with little to no room for variations or errors.

It may have to do with bio-mechanics, very few cricket bowlers have exactly the same actions and strengths. Some things just can't be homogenized, I guess.

 

[morsie]

On the flat punt Grasshopper the greatest exponent was Pete Hudson. He'd hold the ball straighter than you would for a torp and somehow it'd wobble through the goals more often than not, generally with a tumble or two on the way. Before I get to his unbelievable accuracy ,consider that he regularly played on wet muddy grounds unprotected from the wind by stands

Once he had a season to his his straps he kicked
125.62
120.40
146.44
150.72

After his injury he had a comeback game where he kicked 8.1 and flew straight back to Tasmania

Then in his final comeback season he kicked 110.50.

Remarkably he wasn't renowned for his kicking and the general opinion was that he was just an average kick . But he was a dead eye. And he used the same technique on all angles. No around the body for Huddo. If you were going to use the flat punt today it doesn't have the pretty trajectory of the drop punt , you'd have to train for it and I just can't see the players being gutsy enough to go for it because there'd be a mountain of criticism if they didn't effect it well enough.

An interesting side story is that Huddo was a friend of Alistair Lynch's dad and when Lynchy was around 17 he was great athletically but unskilled and Lynchy's dad sent his son to Huddo for extensive private training sessions that went on for a couple of years. And eventually he got drafted. I don't think Huddo could help him much with his kicking which really wasn't much of a feature of his game but Lynchy credited him with turning him into a competitive footballer.

Hudson was also the master of creating a situation where he could run into an open goal.Hard to miss from one metre out.He did it so often it was incredibly annoying and frustrating for opposition supporters.

 

[morsie]

Hudson was also the master of creating a situation where he could run into an open goal.Hard to miss from one metre out.He did it so often it was incredibly annoying and frustrating for opposition supporters.

Should have read back further.Already raised by9

Hudson was also the master of creating a situation where he could run into an open goal.Hard to miss from one metre out.He did it so often it was incredibly annoying and frustrating for opposition supporters.

Should have read back a bit already raised by Tassie 4 Ever

 

[martinson]

Hudson was also the master of creating a situation where he could run into an open goal.Hard to miss from one metre out.He did it so often it was incredibly annoying and frustrating for opposition supporters.

He was basically just a genius at manufacturing goals out of whatever situation presented itself.

He wasn't much to look at as far as footballers go . He wasn't super fit. He wasn't a great high mark or had much pace. In fact he'd come last in a foot race. And he played in an era where Cowboy Neale infamously bit off part of his ear.

But whatever they tried he just consistently kicked goals in every game. There isn't a comparable player in this era and you wonder how he'd go in this era. But I'm sure he'd work it out.