Apples' Training Reports

[Apples]

Hello Joff
Kirby looks in pretty good nick and has been working hard during all of the sessions I have seen. He has no tank but he probably doesn't need one. His go will be the crumbing forward and the run-down tackler. He is certainly in much better shape than this time last year.

 

[Frank Gallagher]

Thanks, do you recall what time Kirby ran pre Xmas?

 

[Mkcaptain]

Thanks, do you recall what time Kirby ran pre Xmas?

8:05 from memory

 

[Frank Gallagher]

8:05 from memory

Went a bit slower this time but the weather was hot i guess.

 

[Dynamics]

Another great report and very much appreciated.

Mihocek will hopefully be able to slot right in and do a serviceable job on KPFs for at least a couple of seasons. Or more if we're extra optimistic.

How's his closing speed looking?

 

[Dubaimagpie]

Training Report: Monday Jan 8, 2018
A cool, cloudy morning for the first day of 2018 training. Early thundery showers cleared in time for the time trial.
Not Training: Jamie Elliott and Levi Greenwood.
In the time trial Smith and Phillips led from the start and the only query was how long Phillips would sit in second place before exploding away.
Smith led after the first lap, but there wasn’t much in it. Phillips made his move on the AAMI Yarra pocket and opened up a 100 metre lead very quickly. At the Olympic Blvd end he put on the gas again and literally sprinted home in 6 minutes flat.
Here are the times:
1. Tom Phillips 6:00
2. Smith 6:07
3. Flynn Appleby 6:15
4. Steele Sidebottom 6:16
5. Jack Crisp 6:17
6. Max Lynch 6:18
7. Nathan Murphy 6:19

8. Ben Crocker 6:28
9. Jarryd Blair 6:33
10/11 Jaidyn Stephenson & Jack Madgen 6:35
12. Jordan DeGoey 6:36
13. Tom Langdon 6:39

14. Lynden Dunn 6:44
15. Travis Varcoe 6:46

16. Brody Mihocek 6:50
17. Matty Sharenberg 6:51
18. Tyler Brown 6:52
19. Mason Cox 6:55

20. Tyson Goldsack 7:01
21. Sam McLarty 7:16

22. Kayle Kirby 8:14

Travis Varcoe gets the Side by Side Award for running across the oval to keep a struggling Kayle Kirby company for the last 200 metres. That’s a top effort after a gruelling 2km run.

Didn’t do the time trial:
Treloar, Broomhead, C Brown, Reid, Pendlebury, Grundy, Wells, Sier, Thomas, Aish, Wills, Daicos, Maynard, Oxley, Fasolo, Moore, Mayne, Howe, Hoskin-Elliott, Sam Murray.

Some players trained alone and didn’t take part in any drills. They were:
Aish, Rupert Wills, Hoskin-Elliott, Sam Murray and Fasolo.

After a warm down session and Sam McLarty’s obligatory throwing up, the players were rotated through 4 skill groups.
One group worked on the AAMI side doing evasive skills and delivering by hand and foot. I took some interest in this group as it contained Flynn Appleby, Nathan Murphy and Braidyn Stephenson. I hadn’t seen any of these boys in pressure situations or working through congestion.
Murphy has a raking right kick; a lovely style, but didn’t hit a target. Appleby was everywhere and seemed to relish the body contact. Went on his right most of the time, but when cornered on the boundary, moved naturally to his left. Didn’t hit a target with either foot.
Braidyn Stephenson did better with his accuracy, but has set himself very high standards, which is no bad thing. He appears pretty hard on himself when making errors. I’m not being critical of any of these boys, quite the contrary in fact. They appear to be real goers. Appleby has the body most ready – Stephenson and Murphy are very light on.

The other rookie with a body that looks ready to play is Jody Mihocek. This bloke has serious shoulders and massive legs.

After the boys had been on the track for about 45 minutes, Bucks called the players in with Robert Harvey holding up the white board. This looked like being the first match simulation I was going to get a look at thus far this pre-season.

I wasn’t disappointed. The players broke into two groups for what the digital display called Mid Stoppages and this session was led by Buddha Hocking. The ruck duels were shared between Cox, Grundy and Max Lynch, with Lynch and Cox doing most of it. This was a non-stop drill with players working the ball to either end (Black Team v Yellow Team) for an attempted score and then a whistle and the play would quickly move to the AAMI wing where the ball would be thrown in again.

Ben Reid kicked the first goal for the Black Team.
Here’s a call of the play:
……Rivers throws up the ball…..Grundy down to Phillips, Cox edges out Dunn and kicks long to Ben Reid. Easy mark to Reid who was opposed to Brody Mihocek. Reid kicks his second.
A few of the match ups:
Sidey v Stephenson, Blair v Broomhead, Pendles v DeGoey, Maynard V Treloar, Sharenberg V Wells, Appleby v Kirby, Mayne v Madgen,

Another call of play:
…….The ball comes in long toward Wells and Sharenberg. The ball hits the ground and Wells collects it, kicks down field and takes off after it leaving Sharenberg in his wake.
…….AAMI Wing with Grundy and Lynch. Grundy down to Sidebottom kicks across the backline towards Reid again but this time Mihocek knocks the ball away. Reid persists and wins the ball again to the plaudits of his teammates. Ball up now Lynch V Cox. Cox easily down to DeGoey who continues his impressive summer. DeGoey to Treloar nicely done, back to DeGoey who handballs to Cox who finds Nathan Murphy by foot. Across to Maynard who’s looking terrific and beats Treloar to find Dunn. Dunn goes long to Sharenberg who beats Wells. Adams receives the Sharenberg kick and wheels onto his left to the wing where the ball is in dispute with a ball up to follow.

-Wells looks very sharp and was able to really weave some magic in this drill. He doesn’t need a lot of the ball, because like Lynden Dunn, he never wastes it.
-DeGoey was very impressive also. Playing in the middle he just kept getting it. Treloar was also prominent winning the hard ball.

Happy to answer any questions you may have.

Great to have your reports back. Thanks


On iPad using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Finnishpie]

Training Report: Monday Jan 8, 2018
A cool, cloudy morning for the first day of 2018 training. Early thundery showers cleared in time for the time trial.
Not Training: Jamie Elliott and Levi Greenwood.
In the time trial Smith and Phillips led from the start and the only query was how long Phillips would sit in second place before exploding away.
Smith led after the first lap, but there wasn’t much in it. Phillips made his move on the AAMI Yarra pocket and opened up a 100 metre lead very quickly. At the Olympic Blvd end he put on the gas again and literally sprinted home in 6 minutes flat.
Here are the times:
1. Tom Phillips 6:00
2. Smith 6:07
3. Flynn Appleby 6:15
4. Steele Sidebottom 6:16
5. Jack Crisp 6:17
6. Max Lynch 6:18
7. Nathan Murphy 6:19

8. Ben Crocker 6:28
9. Jarryd Blair 6:33
10/11 Jaidyn Stephenson & Jack Madgen 6:35
12. Jordan DeGoey 6:36
13. Tom Langdon 6:39

14. Lynden Dunn 6:44
15. Travis Varcoe 6:46

16. Brody Mihocek 6:50
17. Matty Sharenberg 6:51
18. Tyler Brown 6:52
19. Mason Cox 6:55

20. Tyson Goldsack 7:01
21. Sam McLarty 7:16

22. Kayle Kirby 8:14

Travis Varcoe gets the Side by Side Award for running across the oval to keep a struggling Kayle Kirby company for the last 200 metres. That’s a top effort after a gruelling 2km run.

Didn’t do the time trial:
Treloar, Broomhead, C Brown, Reid, Pendlebury, Grundy, Wells, Sier, Thomas, Aish, Wills, Daicos, Maynard, Oxley, Fasolo, Moore, Mayne, Howe, Hoskin-Elliott, Sam Murray.

Some players trained alone and didn’t take part in any drills. They were:
Aish, Rupert Wills, Hoskin-Elliott, Sam Murray and Fasolo.

After a warm down session and Sam McLarty’s obligatory throwing up, the players were rotated through 4 skill groups.
One group worked on the AAMI side doing evasive skills and delivering by hand and foot. I took some interest in this group as it contained Flynn Appleby, Nathan Murphy and Braidyn Stephenson. I hadn’t seen any of these boys in pressure situations or working through congestion.
Murphy has a raking right kick; a lovely style, but didn’t hit a target. Appleby was everywhere and seemed to relish the body contact. Went on his right most of the time, but when cornered on the boundary, moved naturally to his left. Didn’t hit a target with either foot.
Braidyn Stephenson did better with his accuracy, but has set himself very high standards, which is no bad thing. He appears pretty hard on himself when making errors. I’m not being critical of any of these boys, quite the contrary in fact. They appear to be real goers. Appleby has the body most ready – Stephenson and Murphy are very light on.

The other rookie with a body that looks ready to play is Jody Mihocek. This bloke has serious shoulders and massive legs.

After the boys had been on the track for about 45 minutes, Bucks called the players in with Robert Harvey holding up the white board. This looked like being the first match simulation I was going to get a look at thus far this pre-season.

I wasn’t disappointed. The players broke into two groups for what the digital display called Mid Stoppages and this session was led by Buddha Hocking. The ruck duels were shared between Cox, Grundy and Max Lynch, with Lynch and Cox doing most of it. This was a non-stop drill with players working the ball to either end (Black Team v Yellow Team) for an attempted score and then a whistle and the play would quickly move to the AAMI wing where the ball would be thrown in again.

Ben Reid kicked the first goal for the Black Team.
Here’s a call of the play:
……Rivers throws up the ball…..Grundy down to Phillips, Cox edges out Dunn and kicks long to Ben Reid. Easy mark to Reid who was opposed to Brody Mihocek. Reid kicks his second.
A few of the match ups:
Sidey v Stephenson, Blair v Broomhead, Pendles v DeGoey, Maynard V Treloar, Sharenberg V Wells, Appleby v Kirby, Mayne v Madgen,

Another call of play:
…….The ball comes in long toward Wells and Sharenberg. The ball hits the ground and Wells collects it, kicks down field and takes off after it leaving Sharenberg in his wake.
…….AAMI Wing with Grundy and Lynch. Grundy down to Sidebottom kicks across the backline towards Reid again but this time Mihocek knocks the ball away. Reid persists and wins the ball again to the plaudits of his teammates. Ball up now Lynch V Cox. Cox easily down to DeGoey who continues his impressive summer. DeGoey to Treloar nicely done, back to DeGoey who handballs to Cox who finds Nathan Murphy by foot. Across to Maynard who’s looking terrific and beats Treloar to find Dunn. Dunn goes long to Sharenberg who beats Wells. Adams receives the Sharenberg kick and wheels onto his left to the wing where the ball is in dispute with a ball up to follow.

-Wells looks very sharp and was able to really weave some magic in this drill. He doesn’t need a lot of the ball, because like Lynden Dunn, he never wastes it.
-DeGoey was very impressive also. Playing in the middle he just kept getting it. Treloar was also prominent winning the hard ball.

Happy to answer any questions you may have.

Thanks mate. What do you think explains the players who sat out the time trial? I notice Broomhead played in match simulation... so?

 

[Apples]

Thanks mate. What do you think explains the players who sat out the time trial? I notice Broomhead played in match simulation... so?

I did discuss this with another regular track watcher. He said they would be being very carefully managed and would be on individual programmes so as to maximise their game time. This makes sense, but there were a hell of a lot of players sitting it out today. No doubt some have niggles.

 

[Kirby]

I think that Kirby's time in the trial is a big concern. I know he's no endurance athlete but for a professional footballer to not be able to crack 7.30 after a year in the system does not speak well of his efforts to improve himself. A massive unit like Cox is running sub 7's.

If he can't get his mind around being a professional athlete then he won't make it.

Just my 2 cents but I'm concerned.

 

[PicaBoo]

I think that Kirby's time in the trial is a big concern. I know he's no endurance athlete but for a professional footballer to not be able to crack 7.30 after a year in the system does not speak well of his efforts to improve himself. A massive unit like Cox is running sub 7's.

If he can't get his mind around being a professional athlete then he won't make it.

Just my 2 cents but I'm concerned.

You can't compare Cox to Kirby in terms of professionalism and dedication. As long as he doesn't do a Motlop in a few years Kirby can run 8 minutes for all I care. Play him in the seniors and he will get in shape soon enough.

From a Galaxy S8 far far away

 

[Apples]

Another great report and very much appreciated.

Mihocek will hopefully be able to slot right in and do a serviceable job on KPFs for at least a couple of seasons. Or more if we're extra optimistic.

How's his closing speed looking?

I don't want to be too effusive Dynamics; we can get a bit carried away at this time of year, but you have to like this guy. He has the size to play AFL tomorrow, but what I like is his work ethic. He just works so hard on the track. He doesn't take a backward step either. Regarding his speed, he's not a sprinter, but he is there in the tackles. I reckon he may surprise. Unlike some players who look the goods but can't get to where the ball is, Brody seems to be a good judge of the ball in flight. Footballers need more than this of course, but so far I can't fault him. He also seems to be a very level headed and mature young man.

 

[Bored_Pie]

Training Report: Monday Jan 8, 2018
A cool, cloudy morning for the first day of 2018 training. Early thundery showers cleared in time for the time trial.
Not Training: Jamie Elliott and Levi Greenwood.
In the time trial Smith and Phillips led from the start and the only query was how long Phillips would sit in second place before exploding away.
Smith led after the first lap, but there wasn’t much in it. Phillips made his move on the AAMI Yarra pocket and opened up a 100 metre lead very quickly. At the Olympic Blvd end he put on the gas again and literally sprinted home in 6 minutes flat.
Here are the times:
1. Tom Phillips 6:00
2. Smith 6:07
3. Flynn Appleby 6:15
4. Steele Sidebottom 6:16
5. Jack Crisp 6:17
6. Max Lynch 6:18
7. Nathan Murphy 6:19

8. Ben Crocker 6:28
9. Jarryd Blair 6:33
10/11 Jaidyn Stephenson & Jack Madgen 6:35
12. Jordan DeGoey 6:36
13. Tom Langdon 6:39

14. Lynden Dunn 6:44
15. Travis Varcoe 6:46

16. Brody Mihocek 6:50
17. Matty Sharenberg 6:51
18. Tyler Brown 6:52
19. Mason Cox 6:55

20. Tyson Goldsack 7:01
21. Sam McLarty 7:16

22. Kayle Kirby 8:14

Travis Varcoe gets the Side by Side Award for running across the oval to keep a struggling Kayle Kirby company for the last 200 metres. That’s a top effort after a gruelling 2km run.

Didn’t do the time trial:
Treloar, Broomhead, C Brown, Reid, Pendlebury, Grundy, Wells, Sier, Thomas, Aish, Wills, Daicos, Maynard, Oxley, Fasolo, Moore, Mayne, Howe, Hoskin-Elliott, Sam Murray.

Some players trained alone and didn’t take part in any drills. They were:
Aish, Rupert Wills, Hoskin-Elliott, Sam Murray and Fasolo.

After a warm down session and Sam McLarty’s obligatory throwing up, the players were rotated through 4 skill groups.
One group worked on the AAMI side doing evasive skills and delivering by hand and foot. I took some interest in this group as it contained Flynn Appleby, Nathan Murphy and Braidyn Stephenson. I hadn’t seen any of these boys in pressure situations or working through congestion.
Murphy has a raking right kick; a lovely style, but didn’t hit a target. Appleby was everywhere and seemed to relish the body contact. Went on his right most of the time, but when cornered on the boundary, moved naturally to his left. Didn’t hit a target with either foot.
Braidyn Stephenson did better with his accuracy, but has set himself very high standards, which is no bad thing. He appears pretty hard on himself when making errors. I’m not being critical of any of these boys, quite the contrary in fact. They appear to be real goers. Appleby has the body most ready – Stephenson and Murphy are very light on.

The other rookie with a body that looks ready to play is Jody Mihocek. This bloke has serious shoulders and massive legs.

After the boys had been on the track for about 45 minutes, Bucks called the players in with Robert Harvey holding up the white board. This looked like being the first match simulation I was going to get a look at thus far this pre-season.

I wasn’t disappointed. The players broke into two groups for what the digital display called Mid Stoppages and this session was led by Buddha Hocking. The ruck duels were shared between Cox, Grundy and Max Lynch, with Lynch and Cox doing most of it. This was a non-stop drill with players working the ball to either end (Black Team v Yellow Team) for an attempted score and then a whistle and the play would quickly move to the AAMI wing where the ball would be thrown in again.

Ben Reid kicked the first goal for the Black Team.
Here’s a call of the play:
……Rivers throws up the ball…..Grundy down to Phillips, Cox edges out Dunn and kicks long to Ben Reid. Easy mark to Reid who was opposed to Brody Mihocek. Reid kicks his second.
A few of the match ups:
Sidey v Stephenson, Blair v Broomhead, Pendles v DeGoey, Maynard V Treloar, Sharenberg V Wells, Appleby v Kirby, Mayne v Madgen,

Another call of play:
…….The ball comes in long toward Wells and Sharenberg. The ball hits the ground and Wells collects it, kicks down field and takes off after it leaving Sharenberg in his wake.
…….AAMI Wing with Grundy and Lynch. Grundy down to Sidebottom kicks across the backline towards Reid again but this time Mihocek knocks the ball away. Reid persists and wins the ball again to the plaudits of his teammates. Ball up now Lynch V Cox. Cox easily down to DeGoey who continues his impressive summer. DeGoey to Treloar nicely done, back to DeGoey who handballs to Cox who finds Nathan Murphy by foot. Across to Maynard who’s looking terrific and beats Treloar to find Dunn. Dunn goes long to Sharenberg who beats Wells. Adams receives the Sharenberg kick and wheels onto his left to the wing where the ball is in dispute with a ball up to follow.

-Wells looks very sharp and was able to really weave some magic in this drill. He doesn’t need a lot of the ball, because like Lynden Dunn, he never wastes it.
-DeGoey was very impressive also. Playing in the middle he just kept getting it. Treloar was also prominent winning the hard ball.

Happy to answer any questions you may have.

Great report mate, How's Max Lynch looking in the ruck and in the contested positions?

 

[neilk]

I think that Kirby's time in the trial is a big concern. I know he's no endurance athlete but for a professional footballer to not be able to crack 7.30 after a year in the system does not speak well of his efforts to improve himself. A massive unit like Cox is running sub 7's.

If he can't get his mind around being a professional athlete then he won't make it.

Just my 2 cents but I'm concerned.

Don’t be so hard on yourself and enough of the speaking of yourself in the third person

 

[Quicky]

Mazzarjo which of our key position players have been training forward? And which ones back? Particularly keen to know who's looking like our forward.

 

[Apples]

November 2017: Kayle Kirby 8:05. That was the first time trial of the year.
Today after the Christmas break 8:14. It was hardly a hot morning, in fact, it was a perfect morning for the run.
Phillips meanwhile, improved his time by 8 seconds over the same period.

 

[Soups]

I think that Kirby's time in the trial is a big concern. I know he's no endurance athlete but for a professional footballer to not be able to crack 7.30 after a year in the system does not speak well of his efforts to improve himself. A massive unit like Cox is running sub 7's.

If he can't get his mind around being a professional athlete then he won't make it.

Just my 2 cents but I'm concerned.

I think you’re being a little harsh. Where he was compared to last year is a massive improvement and from what I have read he is coming to terms with being a professional athlete, it’s just going to take a little longer than a lot of other players coming into the system.

I think we’ll enjoy another year of Kirby in the 2’s and he’ll really shine next year as a goal kicking pressure small forward fwiw.

 

[Robroy22]

November 2017: Kayle Kirby 8:05. That was the first time trial of the year.
Today after the Christmas break 8:14. It was hardly a hot morning, in fact, it was a perfect morning for the run.
Phillips meanwhile, improved his time by 8 seconds over the same period.

And ones a midfielder and the others a burst forward.....why don't we compare Usain Bolt to Rob De Castella?

 

[TradeDraft]

I think you’re being a little harsh. Where he was compared to last year is a massive improvement and from what I have read he is coming to terms with being a professional athlete, it’s just going to take a little longer than a lot of other players coming into the system.

I think we’ll enjoy another year of Kirby in the 2’s and he’ll really shine next year as a goal kicking pressure small forward fwiw.

Doubt Kirby be much of a Pressure Forward though he could kick a Few Bag around 5

 

[Apples]

Mazzarjo which of our key position players have been training forward? And which ones back? Particularly keen to know who's looking like our forward.

Reid was the standout forward today, but there were so many players not taking part, it was hard to get a clear picture. It was though, a particularly gruelling session for the first day back. Mihocek played fullback on Reid.

 

[Soups]

Doubt Kirby be much of a Pressure Forward though he could kick a Few Bag around 5

Runs and tackles hard in the VFL, can’t see why he can’t translate it to AFL.

 

[Quicky]

Reid was the standout forward today, but there were so many players not taking part, it was hard to get a clear picture. It was though, a particularly gruelling session for the first day back. Mihocek played fullback on Reid.

Thanks! It's curious all the talk of Moore to defence yet he hasn't trained there yet? He did go and step on that starfish though.

I'm also interested in Cox. He's an obvious option at full forward but the training reports seem to have him mostly rucking. Has he trained much forward?

 

[sr36]

I think that Kirby's time in the trial is a big concern. I know he's no endurance athlete but for a professional footballer to not be able to crack 7.30 after a year in the system does not speak well of his efforts to improve himself. A massive unit like Cox is running sub 7's.

If he can't get his mind around being a professional athlete then he won't make it.

Just my 2 cents but I'm concerned.

It's pretty clear that if he makes it, he will be playing deep forward. His ability to recover from sprint efforts is going to be more important than his ability to run 2kms at medium pace. That should be the focus.

 

[Apex36]

I think you’re being a little harsh. Where he was compared to last year is a massive improvement and from what I have read he is coming to terms with being a professional athlete, it’s just going to take a little longer than a lot of other players coming into the system.

I think we’ll enjoy another year of Kirby in the 2’s and he’ll really shine next year as a goal kicking pressure small forward fwiw.

It’s disappointing that his time is about 10 seconds worse now than it was at the start of preseason.

 

[Apex36]

Doubt Kirby be much of a Pressure Forward though he could kick a Few Bag around 5

Kirby could be an excellent pressure forward. His tackle numbers are very good and he is very quick in a sprint chase down. He laid 5 tackles in his debut against Melbourne and certainly wasn’t embarrassed by Jetta.

 

[Robroy22]

Geez I'd like to have seen Peter Daicos's 3k time trial times in his forward years!
Didn't matter once the real stuff started