Yet we smashed their star studded team last year despite centre clearances going their way convincingly. In fact, we won clearances around the ground.
-
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Bigman’s Training Reports
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Pretty solid sesh on Friday morning, clocking in at almost two hours long.
A couple of key names returned to the main group which was pleasing to see.
Both Rankine and Fog did the majority of drills and appeared to be moving freely, though they clearly held back from full intensity.
Just as pleasing was seeing Draper train for the first time, albeit in rehab. It was only some light jogging up and down the ground but he seemed in good spirits nonetheless, even high-fiving the other rehab guys when he first came out. His movement seemed ok, maybe a bit stiff. He’s certainly bulked up, though I swear his calves looked a bit strange, almost lumpy?
Ryan was once again in the rehab group. Not sure what the go is there. He did a bunch of running work alongside Ludowyke. Max came out later on in the session, similar to Wednesday. He was running at a very high intensity so not sure why he’s being held back from the main group.
The no-shows were Cumming once again as well as Toby Murray. McGuane came out for some handball work but is likely out of any real action until after Christmas.
Pedlar copped a knock from Edwards during the final drill and hobbled off the ground. To my eye it looked like a corky or knee knock, but it was enough for him to finish his day early. I also noticed Thilthorpe was wearing some strapping around his knee. Still moved well but I never like seeing knee strapping. Especially given his history.
The large amount of players training (over 40 when including the likes of Drury, Foot, Strachan and Bell) allows for multiple drills to be active at the same time, with groups rotating between three of them. All three drills would start off simple before expanding. They were:
1. Inside 50 kicking drill with mock defenders (basically cardboard cutouts) filling holes. Kicks originally started from just outside the arc, before moving back into the centre square.
2. Ground ball drill, which would later include tackling. This one had a very quick turnaround - as soon as the ball got to the end zone, a new ball would be chucked in.
3. 45 degree short kicks off half back, with more congestion being added later on. These needed to be pinpoint, but taking risks seemed to be encouraged.
The lads then moved into a full ground drill, essentially a form of match sim. There was a diamond formation of cones in the middle, can’t say I knew exactly why this was but I’m guessing it was to restrict use of the corridor? Regardless, there were once again teams listed. They were much the same as last session but here they are:
Blue
FB: Keane Hinge
HB: Milera Murray Nankervis
_C: Ah Chee Dawson Peatling
HF: Keays N-Bullen Rankine
FF: Thilthorpe Pedlar
_R: O’Brien Soligo Curtin
IN: Laird
White
FB: Butts Worrell
HB: Cook Borlase Bond
_C: Jones Rachele Sholl
HF: Taylor Maley Foot
FF: Drury Welsh
_R: McAndrew Edwards Dowling
IN: Berry
As you can see, not a whole lot of change from last time, though it was good that Nank retained his half back spot in the Blue team despite the inclusion of Laird.
Speaking of which, I thought Nankervis was probably the standout trainer today. Admittedly I’m a tad biased as I am a fan, but he just keeps getting involved and his ball use/decision making is so much better than we saw in the back half of last season. His confidence seems sky high at present.
The boys ended on some pretty gruelling running at high speeds over 200m about 10 or so times. Curtin, Filthy, Dowling and Bond were among the best runners which is no surprise. I did notice ANB labour a bit towards the end which is unusual for him, perhaps just an off day. Foot kept up well with the best runners for the majority of it, but struggled on the last couple. Which isn’t overly surprising given he’s been playing VFL footy for some time.
I will say, Drury is seriously fit. Despite being only SANFL listed, his running is right up there. And he doesn’t look out of place at all. I know he’s a bit limited given he’s not quick for his height, so he may be in that awkward spot between state and national league. But he can play and he’s training like he still really wants it.
Some players thoughts:
3. Berry - had a nice moment where he fended off three (!) opponents in quick succession before feeding a handball out. Wish he would ditch the bucket hat though, he and Peatling look identical at times out there.
6. Curtin - once again did work at the end of the session roving to the rucks, which im sure will please many.
11. Edwards - despite being listed in the midfield for the main drill, he got the majority of his ball distributing out of defence. His teammates definitely looked to give it to him as despite his unconventional ball drop, he’s a very accurate kick. Also has the ability to quickly adjust mid-kick to avoid being smothered or when he sees a teammate late.
17. Welsh - took a great mark at full strength on the wing and followed it up with a ripping pass to set up a goal. Having said that, he otherwise had a day to forget. Dropped or fumbled marks and his kicking was really off. Looked down on confidence early on and never really got it back.
20. Hinge - trained well. Looked strong and dynamic in the contest and you wouldn’t know he had spent a fair chunk of time in the rehab ground before today.
23. Rankine - visibly held himself back, likely to avoid reinjuring himself. But in the main drill he still couldn’t help himself for a moment, taking on multiple tacklers and bursting past them to hit a target inside 50.
31. Dowling - as I’ve said previously, he’s definitely the bulkiest I’ve seen him since he got to the club. He also joined Curtin to do stoppage work with the rucks. At one point in an earlier drill (the ground ball one) I saw him shrug or evade multiple tackles which hasn’t really been a thing for him previously.
33. Cotton - still has a lot of work to do with his ground ball and contest work, but his ability to intercept opposition handballs is pretty special. Also perfectly crumbed a ball off hands at full speed, so he has tricks.
47. Foot - finally saw more from him today. He’s quite exciting when he gets it - I don’t think he has express pace but he definitely has a burst and looks almost like a rugby player with ball in hand. He does seem quite frenetic though, certainly not a calm decision maker and I suspect he will be a bit error prone in games.
A couple of key names returned to the main group which was pleasing to see.
Both Rankine and Fog did the majority of drills and appeared to be moving freely, though they clearly held back from full intensity.
Just as pleasing was seeing Draper train for the first time, albeit in rehab. It was only some light jogging up and down the ground but he seemed in good spirits nonetheless, even high-fiving the other rehab guys when he first came out. His movement seemed ok, maybe a bit stiff. He’s certainly bulked up, though I swear his calves looked a bit strange, almost lumpy?
Ryan was once again in the rehab group. Not sure what the go is there. He did a bunch of running work alongside Ludowyke. Max came out later on in the session, similar to Wednesday. He was running at a very high intensity so not sure why he’s being held back from the main group.
The no-shows were Cumming once again as well as Toby Murray. McGuane came out for some handball work but is likely out of any real action until after Christmas.
Pedlar copped a knock from Edwards during the final drill and hobbled off the ground. To my eye it looked like a corky or knee knock, but it was enough for him to finish his day early. I also noticed Thilthorpe was wearing some strapping around his knee. Still moved well but I never like seeing knee strapping. Especially given his history.
The large amount of players training (over 40 when including the likes of Drury, Foot, Strachan and Bell) allows for multiple drills to be active at the same time, with groups rotating between three of them. All three drills would start off simple before expanding. They were:
1. Inside 50 kicking drill with mock defenders (basically cardboard cutouts) filling holes. Kicks originally started from just outside the arc, before moving back into the centre square.
2. Ground ball drill, which would later include tackling. This one had a very quick turnaround - as soon as the ball got to the end zone, a new ball would be chucked in.
3. 45 degree short kicks off half back, with more congestion being added later on. These needed to be pinpoint, but taking risks seemed to be encouraged.
The lads then moved into a full ground drill, essentially a form of match sim. There was a diamond formation of cones in the middle, can’t say I knew exactly why this was but I’m guessing it was to restrict use of the corridor? Regardless, there were once again teams listed. They were much the same as last session but here they are:
Blue
FB: Keane Hinge
HB: Milera Murray Nankervis
_C: Ah Chee Dawson Peatling
HF: Keays N-Bullen Rankine
FF: Thilthorpe Pedlar
_R: O’Brien Soligo Curtin
IN: Laird
White
FB: Butts Worrell
HB: Cook Borlase Bond
_C: Jones Rachele Sholl
HF: Taylor Maley Foot
FF: Drury Welsh
_R: McAndrew Edwards Dowling
IN: Berry
As you can see, not a whole lot of change from last time, though it was good that Nank retained his half back spot in the Blue team despite the inclusion of Laird.
Speaking of which, I thought Nankervis was probably the standout trainer today. Admittedly I’m a tad biased as I am a fan, but he just keeps getting involved and his ball use/decision making is so much better than we saw in the back half of last season. His confidence seems sky high at present.
The boys ended on some pretty gruelling running at high speeds over 200m about 10 or so times. Curtin, Filthy, Dowling and Bond were among the best runners which is no surprise. I did notice ANB labour a bit towards the end which is unusual for him, perhaps just an off day. Foot kept up well with the best runners for the majority of it, but struggled on the last couple. Which isn’t overly surprising given he’s been playing VFL footy for some time.
I will say, Drury is seriously fit. Despite being only SANFL listed, his running is right up there. And he doesn’t look out of place at all. I know he’s a bit limited given he’s not quick for his height, so he may be in that awkward spot between state and national league. But he can play and he’s training like he still really wants it.
Some players thoughts:
3. Berry - had a nice moment where he fended off three (!) opponents in quick succession before feeding a handball out. Wish he would ditch the bucket hat though, he and Peatling look identical at times out there.
6. Curtin - once again did work at the end of the session roving to the rucks, which im sure will please many.
11. Edwards - despite being listed in the midfield for the main drill, he got the majority of his ball distributing out of defence. His teammates definitely looked to give it to him as despite his unconventional ball drop, he’s a very accurate kick. Also has the ability to quickly adjust mid-kick to avoid being smothered or when he sees a teammate late.
17. Welsh - took a great mark at full strength on the wing and followed it up with a ripping pass to set up a goal. Having said that, he otherwise had a day to forget. Dropped or fumbled marks and his kicking was really off. Looked down on confidence early on and never really got it back.
20. Hinge - trained well. Looked strong and dynamic in the contest and you wouldn’t know he had spent a fair chunk of time in the rehab ground before today.
23. Rankine - visibly held himself back, likely to avoid reinjuring himself. But in the main drill he still couldn’t help himself for a moment, taking on multiple tacklers and bursting past them to hit a target inside 50.
31. Dowling - as I’ve said previously, he’s definitely the bulkiest I’ve seen him since he got to the club. He also joined Curtin to do stoppage work with the rucks. At one point in an earlier drill (the ground ball one) I saw him shrug or evade multiple tackles which hasn’t really been a thing for him previously.
33. Cotton - still has a lot of work to do with his ground ball and contest work, but his ability to intercept opposition handballs is pretty special. Also perfectly crumbed a ball off hands at full speed, so he has tricks.
47. Foot - finally saw more from him today. He’s quite exciting when he gets it - I don’t think he has express pace but he definitely has a burst and looks almost like a rugby player with ball in hand. He does seem quite frenetic though, certainly not a calm decision maker and I suspect he will be a bit error prone in games.
- Aug 9, 2019
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How's Bell's kicking looking?
That was a bit of a knock on him in his draft year and ultimately what may have seen him overlooked at that point.
Not hearing anything of Marley, thoughts?
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- Aug 9, 2019
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- Panthers, GWV Rebels, Central Augusta
Also is he doing any ruckwork against ROB or McAndrew, ROB vs McAndrew if they're training the new ruck rules?
Last edited:
- Aug 30, 2021
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The times we’ve put him in the middle, if I recall correctly we did that against Sydney in 2023 when he replaced Sloane coming on as sub.
There were other bursts of CBA we gave him, he won clearances.
Thanks for the update BM - just great info. Was Tex out training?
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And where is Laird going?
Dogs are better than humans
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Ngl, I'm full mast rn.
Training 8/12/2025
New
- Thread starter
- #6,940
I think for the first time this pre season, everyone showed their face.
Doesn’t mean that they all trained - more on that soon - but seeing every listed player out there in some fashion is a good sign for the health of the group.
Unfortunately Sid didn’t do nearly as much work as he did last Friday. After a few run throughs he headed back inside and didn’t reappear, which suggests to me his groins weren’t feeling great. Who knows what’s going on but I’m half expecting something to come out about him being sidelined indefinitely, just has that whiff about it. Sure hope not.
On the positive side, Cumming was back today although I’m not convinced he’s 100 percent at the moment. Doesn’t seem injured but he isn’t running as well as last year and seems fatigued easily.
Fog is almost back in full training, as he did everything bar the most intense drills. Same for Ryan. The rehab group was pleasingly small - just Michalanney, Ludowyke and Strachan. Max would have to be nearing a return to full training as he looks good to go. I wonder what the issue is? Ludowyke is still some ways off but he is definitely running better.
Thilthorpe must have left the session early as he did not participate in the match sim despite being initially listed. Didn’t see any incident where he got injured, so hopefully he was just managed. He still had that strapping on his right knee, so perhaps it’s something to do with that.
Rachele was also done early but this was almost certainly just management. Soligo had strapping around his left calf and was held off from doing the running portion of training. Pedlar thankfully had no injury from last Friday’s knock but does still have some right knee strapping.
Side note, I noticed a camera man recording training up close today, with a lot of focus on Nicks. Not sure if it was a club thing or perhaps something from outside.
There was barely a breath of wind today so no excuses for poor skill errors, and thankfully it was a pretty high standard affair. Much of the session revolved around five groups rotating between three concurrent drills - a handball game (across ground inside 50), a kicking game (two thirds of the ground) and tackling work.
Similar to other times, turnovers/fumbles were not allowed and would result in the ball being given to the opposition. Thankfully players were still willing to take some risks by foot. I also noticed in the kicking drill there was an emphasis on making the final pass a long ball over the top, with the forward goal-side of one or two defenders.
The squad then broke into two teams for about 15 minutes of match practice. Interestingly, the last two minutes involved the Blue team - which was up by a goal - kicking the ball around in the defensive half in order to burn up the clock. It worked well until ANB ended up going long down the line which created a turnover. Fortunately for the Blue team, the Yellow side stuffed up their counter attack and the game was over.
These were the teams:
Blue
FB: Keane Hinge
HB: Milera Murray Nankervis
_C: Cumming Dawson Curtin
HF: Ah Chee T.Murray Rachele
FF: Walker Keays
_R: O’Brien Soligo Rankine
IN: ANB Laird
White
FB: Butts Worrell
HB: Cook Borlase Bond
_C: Jones Berry Sholl
HF: Taylor Maley Peatling
FF: Pedlar Welsh
_R: McAndrew Dowling Edwards
IN: Foot Drury Bell
As you can see, pretty similar to previous sessions, although Peatling and Pedlar were in the B side and Rachele back in the As.
The Blue team won four goals to two. Finbarr (more on him soon) kicked both goals for his side, while for the Blue it was singles to Keays, Rankine, Ibis and Ah Chee.
The boys then did about 10 or so minutes of some pretty exhausting looking running work - just like last week, it was about 10x200m runs along the boundary at about 90 percent intensity. Different players would again lead the group each run, but it was evident that Dowling and Neal-Bullen ran the strongest. Marsh was also very good, the lad sure can run.
Some player thoughts:
Pedlar - even though he was on the ‘B’ team, I wouldn’t read too much into it. He’s training well - really jumping at the ball in the air and his hands have been super clean. Still the odd poor error but much tidier than I’ve seen previous.
Cook - hit some lovely kicks out of half back but did get beaten in one aerial contest by Keays, who is no Wayne Carey. Clearly an area of improvement but it’s early days.
Bond - hoping his regular appearance in the B side doesn’t mean much for his selection chances early in the season, because he looks great out there. Ridiculous physique and his ball use and composure has come such a long way.
Ryan - really struggled to get involved but I’ll give him some leeway as he had been in the rehab group the past few sessions prior.
Worrell - did a lovely burst through the corridor with three bounces, which I’ve seen before at training but he has yet to do in-game. Would love for him to bring this out of his trick bag at some stage, he really has wheels.
Peatling - not sure I would read too much into him being ‘demoted,’ but I will say that I haven’t been wowed much by his work so far this summer. Admittedly his best attributes don’t really shine this time of year. Just a slight watch is all.
Nankervis - hit one of the more glorious kicks off half back you will see, a 55m bomb on Curtin’s chest that cleared two defenders. Where was this kicking last year? Regardless, exciting times for Nank.
Laird - just quietly having a very solid pre season. Has done almost very session and is pretty fired up out there. Seems energised rather than going through the motions.
Milera - still want to see more dash from him but there’s no denying he is a calm head down back. The players look to give it to him as much as possible and I’m not sure he had an error by foot in match sim.
Dowling - even though he’s still in the B team, I think he’s one to keep an eye on. Not only covering the ground really well, but his new physique appears to have given him more confidence to get involved and demand the ball. Brought down Worrell with a lovely tackle at one point. He’s actually a bit hard to recognise out there such is the change in his frame. He’s not exactly Scott Thompson but credit to him, he’s clearly going hard in a contract year.
Maley - there’s a bit of (dare I say it) John Butcher about this lad. Slightly awkward shuffling gait, erratic kicking, lovely hands. Sounds familiar doesn’t it? Took the best mark of pre season so far, a serious pack mark that got a bunch of cheers. Also saw him dob a goal from 50m out that sailed through beautifully. It’s the other moments that give reason for doubt - but credit to him, he was good today. Also likes to lay a big tackle!
Sholl - finally has some arms after about eight years on the list. Still has his work cut out for him, and I’m well aware he is a summer specialist, but he’s doing the right things.
O’Brien - kicked 6 out of 6 in the kicking test. I’m dead serious.
Doesn’t mean that they all trained - more on that soon - but seeing every listed player out there in some fashion is a good sign for the health of the group.
Unfortunately Sid didn’t do nearly as much work as he did last Friday. After a few run throughs he headed back inside and didn’t reappear, which suggests to me his groins weren’t feeling great. Who knows what’s going on but I’m half expecting something to come out about him being sidelined indefinitely, just has that whiff about it. Sure hope not.
On the positive side, Cumming was back today although I’m not convinced he’s 100 percent at the moment. Doesn’t seem injured but he isn’t running as well as last year and seems fatigued easily.
Fog is almost back in full training, as he did everything bar the most intense drills. Same for Ryan. The rehab group was pleasingly small - just Michalanney, Ludowyke and Strachan. Max would have to be nearing a return to full training as he looks good to go. I wonder what the issue is? Ludowyke is still some ways off but he is definitely running better.
Thilthorpe must have left the session early as he did not participate in the match sim despite being initially listed. Didn’t see any incident where he got injured, so hopefully he was just managed. He still had that strapping on his right knee, so perhaps it’s something to do with that.
Rachele was also done early but this was almost certainly just management. Soligo had strapping around his left calf and was held off from doing the running portion of training. Pedlar thankfully had no injury from last Friday’s knock but does still have some right knee strapping.
Side note, I noticed a camera man recording training up close today, with a lot of focus on Nicks. Not sure if it was a club thing or perhaps something from outside.
There was barely a breath of wind today so no excuses for poor skill errors, and thankfully it was a pretty high standard affair. Much of the session revolved around five groups rotating between three concurrent drills - a handball game (across ground inside 50), a kicking game (two thirds of the ground) and tackling work.
Similar to other times, turnovers/fumbles were not allowed and would result in the ball being given to the opposition. Thankfully players were still willing to take some risks by foot. I also noticed in the kicking drill there was an emphasis on making the final pass a long ball over the top, with the forward goal-side of one or two defenders.
The squad then broke into two teams for about 15 minutes of match practice. Interestingly, the last two minutes involved the Blue team - which was up by a goal - kicking the ball around in the defensive half in order to burn up the clock. It worked well until ANB ended up going long down the line which created a turnover. Fortunately for the Blue team, the Yellow side stuffed up their counter attack and the game was over.
These were the teams:
Blue
FB: Keane Hinge
HB: Milera Murray Nankervis
_C: Cumming Dawson Curtin
HF: Ah Chee T.Murray Rachele
FF: Walker Keays
_R: O’Brien Soligo Rankine
IN: ANB Laird
White
FB: Butts Worrell
HB: Cook Borlase Bond
_C: Jones Berry Sholl
HF: Taylor Maley Peatling
FF: Pedlar Welsh
_R: McAndrew Dowling Edwards
IN: Foot Drury Bell
As you can see, pretty similar to previous sessions, although Peatling and Pedlar were in the B side and Rachele back in the As.
The Blue team won four goals to two. Finbarr (more on him soon) kicked both goals for his side, while for the Blue it was singles to Keays, Rankine, Ibis and Ah Chee.
The boys then did about 10 or so minutes of some pretty exhausting looking running work - just like last week, it was about 10x200m runs along the boundary at about 90 percent intensity. Different players would again lead the group each run, but it was evident that Dowling and Neal-Bullen ran the strongest. Marsh was also very good, the lad sure can run.
Some player thoughts:
Pedlar - even though he was on the ‘B’ team, I wouldn’t read too much into it. He’s training well - really jumping at the ball in the air and his hands have been super clean. Still the odd poor error but much tidier than I’ve seen previous.
Cook - hit some lovely kicks out of half back but did get beaten in one aerial contest by Keays, who is no Wayne Carey. Clearly an area of improvement but it’s early days.
Bond - hoping his regular appearance in the B side doesn’t mean much for his selection chances early in the season, because he looks great out there. Ridiculous physique and his ball use and composure has come such a long way.
Ryan - really struggled to get involved but I’ll give him some leeway as he had been in the rehab group the past few sessions prior.
Worrell - did a lovely burst through the corridor with three bounces, which I’ve seen before at training but he has yet to do in-game. Would love for him to bring this out of his trick bag at some stage, he really has wheels.
Peatling - not sure I would read too much into him being ‘demoted,’ but I will say that I haven’t been wowed much by his work so far this summer. Admittedly his best attributes don’t really shine this time of year. Just a slight watch is all.
Nankervis - hit one of the more glorious kicks off half back you will see, a 55m bomb on Curtin’s chest that cleared two defenders. Where was this kicking last year? Regardless, exciting times for Nank.
Laird - just quietly having a very solid pre season. Has done almost very session and is pretty fired up out there. Seems energised rather than going through the motions.
Milera - still want to see more dash from him but there’s no denying he is a calm head down back. The players look to give it to him as much as possible and I’m not sure he had an error by foot in match sim.
Dowling - even though he’s still in the B team, I think he’s one to keep an eye on. Not only covering the ground really well, but his new physique appears to have given him more confidence to get involved and demand the ball. Brought down Worrell with a lovely tackle at one point. He’s actually a bit hard to recognise out there such is the change in his frame. He’s not exactly Scott Thompson but credit to him, he’s clearly going hard in a contract year.
Maley - there’s a bit of (dare I say it) John Butcher about this lad. Slightly awkward shuffling gait, erratic kicking, lovely hands. Sounds familiar doesn’t it? Took the best mark of pre season so far, a serious pack mark that got a bunch of cheers. Also saw him dob a goal from 50m out that sailed through beautifully. It’s the other moments that give reason for doubt - but credit to him, he was good today. Also likes to lay a big tackle!
Sholl - finally has some arms after about eight years on the list. Still has his work cut out for him, and I’m well aware he is a summer specialist, but he’s doing the right things.
O’Brien - kicked 6 out of 6 in the kicking test. I’m dead serious.
thanks BM - any comment on Walker?
Any notes on Marsh?
I see he wasn’t named in the scratch match
Kane McGoodwin
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I'm thinking Nankervis is an option as 23rd player as can switch between half back & wing.
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Brenton Davy
Premium Gold
No Marsh, Cotton or Ludowyke. They being held back
None of our draftees were
I'm assuming Bigman that Jones is going through the motions, you haven't mentioned him at all. Final year of contract looks more likely to be his final year
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Your reviews are always quality. Appreciate your work bigman!!