Bigman’s Training Reports

[VT0100]

Also apologises to those who I haven’t responded to, been a bit swamped lately with other things.

Hopefully my report answered some of those questions.

Please don’t stop asking either, I’ll try to answer them when I can.

How’s Dan Curtin looking like in the midfield? Can we jump on the “he’s going to be the next bont” train yet?

 

[1970crow]

Are we training today? Perhaps 1970 has put Bigman off.

And how would I have done that?

 

[beagle2]

Also apologises to those who I haven’t responded to, been a bit swamped lately with other things.

Hopefully my report answered some of those questions.

Please don’t stop asking either, I’ll try to answer them when I can.

Who was wearing no 46?

 

[AFC979810]

Yes.

We lost the Hawthorn, Collingwood and North games on xScore - so with league average goal kicking from both sides we would have lost those matches. We got lucky to win them all - and we certainly had some very poor patches in all of those games.

Great wins that set us up for finishing 1st, not the best performances from a form perspective

Our form was much better after the bye from the Richmond win through to the Port smashing

And it's quite clear the end of season form carried directly into finals - especially the poor starts against Hawthorn and Collingwood in the H&A were very similar to the Hawthorn final

Interesting that we were in a form slump against Hawthorn - yet our win over them made you believe we could win the flag.

Seems pretty revisionist to me.

Coming back twice against the Hawks, especially after we looked in serious strife, has me changing my vote to yes

 

[Slim258]

Who was wearing no 46?

I think that might be Bell, Foot has 47 & McGuane had 40 on the other day

 

[Betts are off]

How’s Dan Curtin looking like in the midfield? Can we jump on the “he’s going to be the next bont” train yet?

That trains already got quite a few seats taken mate.

Buy your ticket before its too late

 

[Betts are off]

Once again almost everyone on deck which was good to see.

Draper and O’Brien were the only no-shows, although Max did all his work before the main group came out. He was doing high-intensity running with a lot of stop-start work, so I’m guessing he’s either coming off a hamstring issue or has had groin problems. Hopefully the former. He looks fit though.

Thilthorpe trained for most of the session but ended up suffering what appeared to be some sort of knock or head/neck issue. He walked onto the sidelines with a trainer and did some light run throughs, but obviously didn’t feel 100 per cent and headed inside. I’ll keep tabs on this one, hopefully it’s not a concussion and he was just feeling off. He also still has that knee strapping but I don’t think that was the problem, there was no limp.

I also noticed McAndrew must have headed inside early but I didn’t see any incident as to why.

Pedlar only ran laps but looked fine to my eye. I’m guessing it’s a management thing, though he sure did a lot of running. Only alternative I can think of is perhaps he didn’t get his gps up enough last session, but I doubt that.

Ludowyke was integrated into more drills which was pleasing to see. He still seems a bit restricted in his movements but it’s a good step up for him. He probably won’t want to do the kicking test ever again though - he missed all six targets and copped a fair bit of light-hearted heckling from Fog (who only hit two, mind you).

Ludo didn’t do some of the latter drills and joined Strachan and Bell in some light jogging. Cotton and Marsh did the majority of the session but were held back from the running portion. Ryan, Fogarty and Hinge are all pretty much in full training now.

Soligo’s calf strapping was gone and he trained brilliantly before heading in a little early, no issues there. Peatling had shoulder strapping and was wearing a fluro hat whenever there was contact work.

I also noticed Nicks seemingly took a back seat for today’s session, instead allowing Burns and Davis to run the show.

The first section of training involved the boys breaking into their positional lines. Backs worked on defensive exits and shape, the mids on 45 degree kicks and forwards on their i50 connection as well as defensive zone. The groups were as follows:

Backs - Murray, Cook, Hinge, Bond, Ryan, Worrell, Nankervis, Laird, Milera, Borlase, Drury, Sholl, Butts, Bell, Keane

Mids - Jones, Berry, Curtin, Rachele, Edwards, Dawson, Soligo, Rankine, Peatling, Dowling, McAndrew, Cumming, Foot

Forwards - Keays, Ah Chee, Thilthorpe, Walker, Welsh, Taylor, Marsh, Neal-Bullen, Fogarty, Cotton, Ludowyke, Maley, Murray, Strachan

The lads then broke into six groups for three concurrent drills, but all were the same - essentially keeping’s off by foot, with one team moving the ball back and forth and the other defending before swapping after a minute or so. Once again turnovers were not allowed - Ibis missed a few targets and was filthy with himself.

The lads then merged into three groups. Two would play what was essentially match sim over two thirds of the ground, while the other group would do skills work in the other 50 before rotating in. I was surprised just how physical this section was - the boys did not hold back much and there were some pretty big tackles and collisions.

This was when Filthy had to walk off. Milk also hurt his ankle/foot tackling Hinge but thankfully recovered - he really does have issues in that area though which is concerning.

I must also say that the drill became a bit sloppy at times, most notably when classy players like Dawson and Ah Chee weren’t involved. A few too many poor errors for my liking given the excellent conditions. I will note however that the pressure being applied was pretty impressive - players were really switched on at closing the space of opponents and forcing them into mistakes.

The drill then expanded into the whole ground between two teams, though the corridor once again had a diamond formation of cones around it. Still not entirely sure the method behind this, as I did see the corridor being used at times.

One thing I have definitely noticed is a focus on making quicker decisions and moving the ball on faster, particularly by foot. Play on will be called quicker than normal and players are having to think fast. Obviously this does lead to some pretty horrendous errors at times but I think most would prefer this approach as it’s more in-line with genuine AFL football.

A bunch of player thoughts:

1. Jones - I was asked about Chayce as I haven’t written about him much. He’s definitely working hard out there but I think he knows what we all know, that this is likely his last year on our list. He’s one who will look really slick at times then make a poor mistake out of nowhere. He’s actually had some pretty solid sessions thus far, but today he was noticeably quiet.

4. Ah Chee - laid an absolute ripping tackle on Foot who was tearing through the corridor. He’s a great get for us - composed but tough, and has real toe when he wants to use it.

8. Rachele - gee he’s a pretty big lad now. Interesting to see him in the midfield group. I still have reservations about him in there but I’ll be curious to see how much time he actually gets. No doubt he’s bulked up to make a claim for a midfield spot.

11. Edwards - still reckon he needs to toughen up a bit. He knows where to run to receive the ball, particularly exiting out of defence, but a couple of times today I didn’t see him really embrace contact when there was a footy to be won. Not saying he’s soft, but he’s gonna need more grit and aggression if he wants to force his way in. Can’t just cruise around getting easy touches.

12. Dawson - covering the ground a bit better now and gee his kicking was a thing of beauty at times. Also wasn’t afraid to put on a burst and take players on. Good session from the skip.

13. Walker - I was a supporter of retaining Tex on the list but while he looks fit out there, there were a couple of times where he seemed a bit limited in his movements (Eg bending over to contest a ground ball). Not panic stations yet as he’s still being a managed through the summer, but thought it was worth noting.

14. Soligo - was awesome. Ran on top of the ground and was seemingly everywhere. Just looked really energetic and sharp in his movements. Definitely today’s standout trainer.

15. Cook - hit some lovely passes coming out of defence - not easy ones either. Had a bit of Bailey Dale about him and I can see why they’ve trying him in this role. On the flip side, he did get fended off too easily by Rankine which cost a goal. That will be the test for him.

20. Hinge - he was deadset impossible to tackle today. Multiple times he was able to shrug off opponents with a swivel of the hips. Was quite impressive.

24. Worrell - had one of the worst kicking days I’ve seen from him - multiple times he turned it over directly to opposition. Not worried of course but he wasn’t quite as sharp as usual. Still wearing a fluro hat during contact work so perhaps he’s a bit underdone.

26. Marsh - didn’t do a whole lot but gee he just looks and moves like a footballer. Had a fun moment on the wing where he gathered a loose ball and put on the jets to try and get past Cotton. He almost did but Cotton did enough to affect the kick.

31. Dowling - I’m telling you, this lad has changed. Clearly has more confidence with his improved physique and has still retained his elite running ability. Even showed a bit of dash and power which you wouldn’t typically associate with him.

36. Maley - he’s still a hard watch at times but there’s no denying that he was a nuisance for defenders today. Not only does he jump at the ball, but his large and stocky frame makes him hard to shift once he’s in the air. I’d be more excited if he looked more natural with ball in hand, but he does compete hard and has genuine aerial presence.

38. Sholl - summer specialist I know but had one moment where he was the link in the chain four (!) times moving the ball from defence to inside forward 50. He’s sharp out there and moving so much better than he did last year with that knee issue.

44. Cumming - I’m a fan but he just looks off at the moment. Appears to lack energy and often looks quite exhausted out there. Wonder if there’s an issue behind the scenes? Just doesn’t look like his normal self.

47. Foot - I’m warming up to him. Still don’t think he has great footy iq or skills - he hesitates a bit too much instead of making quick decisions - but one thing he can do is get the footy and run. He’s a really powerful athlete and does some exciting stuff, and seems to be coming out of his shell a bit more now and willing to show his tricks. Has a fair goatee as well.

I do like that Hinge hip shift that he does to turn himself out of tackles. My only issue is he is very fond of it. And have definitely seen games when the oppo figured it out.

Would actually like to see Mitch develop his straight line speed a bit more. Take the line breaking runs a bit more. His kick is such a weapon when he does run like that.

 

[Mutineer]

Benny backing up your reports on Hugh Bond bigman

Keays on the young Crow impressing this pre-season

The Vice Captain addressed the media on Wednesday

www.afc.com.au

Keays on the young Crow impressing this pre-season
The Vice Captain addressed the media on Wednesday


Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Keays said he was enjoying his sixth pre-season at West Lakes and was buoyed by the strong shape his teammates had returned in.

“We’ve been doing quite a lot of high-speed conditioning still early in the pre-season, which has been great,” Keays said.

“Guys are running really well, so it’s definitely been one of the tougher ones, but I am really enjoying it.

“Hugh Bond is impressing me, he’s been great and certainly set the tone with the running.

“It’s been great to be back, it’s been lots of fun, lots of hard work.”

 

[crowutopia]

You don’t go 18-5 due an easy draw.

2 of our losses really should have been wins (GC and Hawks away).

We failed in finals, big time, but the rewriting of history because the team ran out of steam is crazy.

It was a fantastic season and now the boys have proven they can take it to the best teams they can hopefully keep a bit in the tank and go a bit further next year.

I think our finals losses was on Nicks more than the players (and I’m a Nicks optimist). But some of those moves on game day was strange…

Nick's game day decisions should be another thread entirely during the season proper

 

[crowutopia]

If it wasn't for Bigman's reports, I wouldn't even bother with BF until the other side of Xmas.

There are far too many "Unhappy Clappers" that suck the joy out of supporting the club. Its like receiving Sox for Xmas.
Mind you, I don't necessarily disagree with their point of view, but it gets to the point where the constant negativity is exhausting and predictable.

So, Yay for Bigman! His contributions are balanced and very informative. His is the gift that keeps on giving.

 

[Jetwa5h]

Regarding Maley - You said he likes to jump at the ball, whats his timing like? Does or will he do you think be a pack crasher? I think he will be a candidate for that extra bench spot, last year when Thilly was off and rob was rucking i think we lacked a tall option inside 50, i can see him rucking and going forward, if he likes to jump and crash packs i can see rankine and rachele when forward being more dangerous

 

[Mutineer]

 

[1970crow]

Regarding Maley - You said he likes to jump at the ball, whats his timing like? Does or will he do you think be a pack crasher? I think he will be a candidate for that extra bench spot, last year when Thilly was off and rob was rucking i think we lacked a tall option inside 50, i can see him rucking and going forward, if he likes to jump and crash packs i can see rankine and rachele when forward being more dangerous

The bench make up is going to be interesting. My initial thought is that the ‘23rd’ spot will be the same type of player that would otherwise have been sub.

 

[Redleg Crow]

Also apologises to those who I haven’t responded to, been a bit swamped lately with other things.

Hopefully my report answered some of those questions.

Please don’t stop asking either, I’ll try to answer them when I can.

As ever, thanks for all you do. Really makes the summer

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

The bench make up is going to be interesting. My initial thought is that the ‘23rd’ spot will be the same type of player that would otherwise have been sub.

Reckon we need flexibility on the bench, with the 23rd player at least being able to play in the midfield.

Reckon someone like Nankervis would be a good option... then having some of our midfielders capable of playing inside/outside & forward.