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Training 2026 Training Reports

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Jeremy Jordan said:
Our forward line and midfields better explode this year, because our backline is dead set woeful. My high hopes on Dawson are dwindling.
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Unfortunately just can't see it even in glimpses so far.

roos_fanatic08 rates him though so I'm clinging to that.

Anyone arguing to the contrary - WE have at least 3 tall blokes who would be able to turn him inside out (Larkey, Trembath, Whitlock) let alone terrors like the King brothers, H.McKay, Darcy (come on now) etc elsewhere.

Would be very reassuring for him starting to outright contested mark against quality VFL opponents this year as a development signpost.
 
Jeremy Jordan said:
Our forward line and midfields better explode this year, because our backline is dead set woeful. My high hopes on Dawson are dwindling.
Click to expand...
becker to come in and transform our defence as the perfect third tall defender who can defend and then clear zones
 

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Passmore said:
Chat GPT must rate Aiden Corr higher than most.
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Shocked The Usual Suspects GIF


The kicker: ChatGPT -IS- Aidan Corr typing replies all day while sipping lattes sitting on his Greensborough balcony
 
King Corey said:
Unfortunately just can't see it even in glimpses so far.

roos_fanatic08 rates him though so I'm clinging to that.

Anyone arguing to the contrary - WE have at least 3 tall blokes who would be able to turn him inside out (Larkey, Trembath, Whitlock) let alone terrors like the King brothers, H.McKay, Darcy (come on now) etc elsewhere.

Would be very reassuring for him starting to outright contested mark against quality VFL opponents this year as a development signpost.
Click to expand...

Maybe cause of how big the bloke is and of how desperate we are for a key back right now, I probably forget how young he is and think he should be further along.
 
 
King Corey said:
Unfortunately just can't see it even in glimpses so far.

roos_fanatic08 rates him though so I'm clinging to that.

Anyone arguing to the contrary - WE have at least 3 tall blokes who would be able to turn him inside out (Larkey, Trembath, Whitlock) let alone terrors like the King brothers, H.McKay, Darcy (come on now) etc elsewhere.

Would be very reassuring for him starting to outright contested mark against quality VFL opponents this year as a development signpost.
Click to expand...

Dawson will be right mate, still growing into his body and is still only 20 (and only just turned 20 in December last year).

imo he just needs continuity as a defender, build his confidence up and allow him to play a real physical style of defence.

In saying that, I still think we need to invest heavily in our key defense and half back stocks.

We still desperately need blokes who can actually defend, at present it’s Hardeman and…….pretty much no one.
 

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andana said:
Archer ? EVW
Goater. Thredgold. Hardeman
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Arch obviously sitting out the year. Thredgold will be sitting out a big chunk of it and Goater’s still had to prove his body is up to it.

It’s why I really want to keep FOS across half back for another 12 months. Can’t keep going in with 2 mid sized defenders who can’t defend (Kerch & Daniel)
 

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Morning NMFC BF,

So I went down for the whole intraclub and wanted to pass on my own thoughts and opinions. My aim was to not get too high or low on what I saw, but to try and compare it to what I remember from last year's showing.

On the game generally - it was quite windy, so was actually surprised that ball use wasn't worse than it was. While there were many scrappy moments, there were also plenty of clean moments as well. Clear plan is to get the ball moving when they can but also be willing to slow things down if options don't present themselves. It was also good to see the Orange team play hard, quick footy. They definitely gave the Blue's a test at periods which can only be a good thing IMO.

Defensively - I think the back-shoulder plan is more well suited to who we have available. Pink and Logue just look more assured when they're 1v1 than in a zone. They obviously made a few mistakes here and there, but it was a lot better than zoning off and being caught out.

Overall - I thought we were much better than this time last year. You can see the young boys have gone up a peg and it looks like they're taking more responsibility for their own part of the game. Still a bit to work through, so keen to see the games against the Dees and Pies for more of an idea of what to expect.

BLUE

1 Lachy Dovaston - will play Round 1. Adds something to our forward line we haven't had in a long time. Works a long way back down the ground to support too.
2 Finn O’Sullivan - definition of 'utility' for me. Feel like he can be a real Mr Fix It moving forward, but looks superb running through the middle of the ground. Also had some nice hops on the wing for a bit of a hanger.
3 Harry Sheezel - not much to add. Cruised and looks noticeabley bigger and leaner than 2025.
5 Caleb Daniel - many will just remember a few of his turnovers (like the first one from the kick-in). But forward of centre actually hit some lovely leads. If we can find a role for him further up the ground, he'd be fine coming off the interchange. Looked like he's also learning to trust his team mates, but want to see it during the year.
8 Bailey Scott - worked hard all day. Nothing special, but we now have some wing depth.
9 Luke Davies-Uniacke - looks in SUPER knick. Was happy to see him back himself on his left a few times as well. Would surpriose me if he doesn't output as well as his BnF year.
10 Colby McKercher - the word that came to me watching Colby was 'confidence'. He looks very comfortable in his role and what he's expected to do. When he's part of the play, we look a level above.
12 Jy Simpkin - reckon he'll have a sneaky good year this year. Used it well, ran up and down the wing all day and was always an option. Only focus now is footy and I think he'll do well.
15 Dylan Stephens - has that other wing sewn up. Ball use generally very good and contested stuff looks to have improved again. Not an A grader, but all teams need solid role players and that's what he is.
17 Riley Hardeman - looks noticeably bigger especially through the upper body. Ran hard, used it well and defended well.
19 Griffin Logue - watched him closely as I wanted to see how he looked after an uninterrupted pre-season. Honestly I thought he looked good! Used it much better than last year and was SUPER vocal all day. Definitely looks invested. Obviously some work to do on the updated defensive gameplan, but I think it'll suit him.
20 Nick Larkey - looked good. No surprises.
21 Callum Coleman-Jones - only played a half, but competed well. Good ruck depth.
24 Tom Powell - only played a half, but looked ok. Will be thrown around a bit where required.
25 Paul Curtis - looks like he'll follow on from last year. Always in dangerous spots and converted well. Looks slightly leaner than 25, probably from the health scare he had.
26 Luke Parker - solid as expcted.
27 Jack Darling - started like a 25yo Jack Darling. Moved really well - better than all of last year - and constantly providing an option. Really surprised me!
30 Charlie Comben - Was ok. A few turnovers, but also some good intercept marks. Competed hard all day.
32 Toby Pink - will play a lot of footy this year as much as some may hate it. Back shoulder suits him well and was just solid and played his role.
37 Cooper Harvey - some good signs down back. Used it well, but needs to work on his 1v1 as a defender.
41 Jacob Konstanty - good effort as usual. Didn't notice him a hell of a lot tbh.
44 Cameron Zurhaar - looked great. Fit, moved well and got in heaps of dangerous areas. May even be used as a drop-back option late in games. Something to watch.

ORANGE

7 Zane Duursma - did some nice things. I think he may have shown more if he started and stayed on Blue. Up to him to force his way in.
14 Luke Urquhart - lively, defensively sound. Way to go with his kicking. But something there to work with.
16 Zac Fisher - also lively. Did a few nice things, good forward depth if required.
18 Wil Dawson - developing nicely. Still a bit to work on, but you can't teach size. It's just the rest.
22 Taylor Goad - There's a reason he's my profile pic. Coming along realllly nicely. Still doesn't compute in my brain how he moves that quickly for someone close to 210cm. Was a great outlet option, did some nice things forward, and was untouchable once able to jump cleanly in the ruck due to his leap and height. So much there to work with and developing quicker than expected.
28 Hugo Mikunda - neat, ran hard. Might get a game or two through the year if opportunity presents.
29 Tom Blamires (SSP trial player)* - lively early, but faded. Could probably play at the level with some time.
33 Brayden George - didn't see enough of him to comment. Ran repeat efforts along the boundary with CCJ later in the day.
35 Matt Whitlock - this trade is looking less and less botched. Lead well and to good spots and converted well. Really nice set shot action. Constant threat up forward. Going well.
39 Zac Becker (SSP trial player)* - probably my pick of the two for that SSP spot. Built in to the game nicely and used it well. Like that he looks for the longer option out of defence too.
45 Zac Banch - Got enough of it, but could've used it better when he had it. Needed to keep is simple more often.
46 Robert Hansen jnr - when he did get his hands on it or was around the action, looked really good and used it really well. Just needs to find it a little more.
47 Cooper Trembath - taken a step. Looks fit and added a string to the bow in the ruck - also moves incredibly well in the middle of the ground for a guy his size. We've definitely found one there. Very impressed.

Only the opinions of one man who enjoyed being back around the game again :)
 
King Corey said:
Another example in the face of "our 90s guys were all dicks" arguments.

Heard some stories about him jumping in on footy trips when some much more credentialed teammates lacked their manners

Gentleman.
Click to expand...

Uncle (half-hearted Dees fan) did some work with him a few years ago, reckons he was great.
 
roos_tt29 said:
Morning NMFC BF,

So I went down for the whole intraclub and wanted to pass on my own thoughts and opinions. My aim was to not get too high or low on what I saw, but to try and compare it to what I remember from last year's showing...
Click to expand...

Appreciate the big write-up, mate.

Not having a go at you or anything, but there's no criticism or negatives in your post, really. Was there anyone you thought didn't have a solid day out from what you saw?
 
Popped up to training for a casual start to the week. A little late thanks to the mighty Monash .... got there at the end of the warm up drills I reckon. Players were pretty vocal and the intensity was pretty good. X, Goad and PC with some separate running, Spargo, Stevens, Trembath and Goater iirc with some physio lead resistance run throughs. Spargo later on did a solid bit of agility and ended up joining in with the main group. Stevens ramped up his work with the physios and showed he is pretty fleet of foot. LMac with the yellow cap, Simpkins with the Palmer? shirt, or whatever it is.
RHJ walked by, said g'day, headed over the other side and did some running.
Goad, CCJ, Hardeman, Goater, George and Wardlaw ran through a smaller drill - the former 2 alternating a mark, then a dinky little ball inside before a longer one back out to the kicker, with the latter 4 rolling through the other 2 spots.
There was a pretty good zing about the training overall, certainly more than going through the motions.
No physical stuff, no tackling, but good pressure and good voice.
Urquhart hit a couple of nice balls when on the run - confirming for me what I'd seen previously.
Looked like Wardlaw and Goater were on monitored minutes.
I reckon Colby left a little early, dentist I reckon :-D
Blake Thredgold popped out for a bit, he's quite a polite young chap :-) Got a cheer from Aiden Corr and Zane Littlejohn :-)
Harry Sheezel was last off the deck, with the exception of 1 young VFL listed player I reckon, and Corr and LMac still doing more running.

You'll have to play spot the ball with most of these pics, but they were taken with an iPhone 4 with a noscopic, muscle reducing, anti-focus lens.
e796db13-77cd-4c8f-b9dd-b46effd99f72.webp e0c97c99-8608-43a6-9c96-12f256126ff4.webp 4eb3d487-44b3-4327-b7a8-525880ee792b.webp 95472d02-db20-4f3d-92e1-9a1ac2bda844.webp 81f57c93-290d-445a-aa5f-fc5b6c840e4c.webp c6d4fc52-9adc-4085-8955-1297d68bfdc4.webp 145a0b15-9e5c-452f-97f0-a038d2058821.webp 145a0b15-9e5c-452f-97f0-a038d2058821.webp 00fed9ca-584b-4797-b294-bc72839877e7.webp f71ffcea-75cb-4429-8f43-fb7ccdf45dc9.webp d6de24fd-3be8-49fa-90e1-6f11175aa7c9.webp 1e72fc12-c459-4898-9576-7092dd6f8409.webp d6de24fd-3be8-49fa-90e1-6f11175aa7c9.webp b37c9249-f2f3-4f5f-bfc4-e5bc3c2d6e28.webp 988f6e61-fa2e-48bd-8653-fe4c936f8a9a.webp 5eaad8ab-7f64-4ed6-87c7-5f26387d2981.webp 06d9ec92-dd1e-4e98-a10d-e8f37f50764f.webp 140fcff8-1065-499e-972e-6e201dbf6480.webp 9f5ba702-d826-4ebe-ab70-db4506d6c8f8.webp 29b30220-c5d8-402e-8160-9bcdbb798196.webp ad1013b2-a2a8-4574-b279-1c64f73ea17d.webp ffcda48e-1b85-4303-a37a-538c49f6f5a6.webp ee394ae4-fc4a-4fbe-82c7-8e4a9f4cc33e.webp 2dc097aa-16ed-4a64-b807-c86f1599dc16.webp 599d38eb-0b4f-4989-8f98-2c18a578a6a6.webp 4fba93e4-85ef-49e2-be51-ea5db9f2bedf.webp 9cdaa224-363c-4dd6-a8ad-efc4434fc316.webp e796db13-77cd-4c8f-b9dd-b46effd99f72.webp b614d631-209e-43f7-a82f-cd087c735bdc.webp
 
Chadwiko said:
Appreciate the big write-up, mate.

Not having a go at you or anything, but there's no criticism or negatives in your post, really. Was there anyone you thought didn't have a solid day out from what you saw?
Click to expand...
Fair call.

Probably best to base it on the amount written up per player to be honest. The less written generally meant (for me) there wasn't as much to see/take note of - especially for those guys sitting in the bottom end of the 23 and those on the fringe.

There were definitely guys who didn't have a huge impact and those who made mistakes, but overall it was a better showing than last year.

I figured there's enough bashing on here, so kept that aspect light :sweatsmile:
 

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