Training Pre-Season 2026 chat

[Pure_Ownage]

Looking ripped

Great shape but im more concerned to see if he can improve his tank.

 

[Warhorse]

Some training photos of #4 up on the website from today's training.

Will finally break out this year. Hopefully has a real chip on his shoulder and a point to prove

 

[Footy Smarts]

Will finally break out this year. Hopefully has a real chip on his shoulder and a point to prove

I hope you're right! But what have you done with the real Warhorse???

 

[Vdubs]

It’s obvious.

Hawkins - Harley - Brownless

I have the same tattoo

He was a fanatical Pies supporter, despite his Bellarine Peninsula upbringing'
? Ben Johnson 26
? Dayne Beams 17
? Jordan de Goey 2
Who knows, maybe nothing to do with Pies players

 

[cats_09]

It’s obvious.

Hawkins - Harley - Brownless

I have the same tattoo

Except the tattoo is 26-2-17

Last time I checked, Brownless didn't wear 17...

 

[thejester]

Fair retrospective comparison and yep agreed, he has gained some muscle mass since arriving.

I think last season he was also doing boxing work with a professional trainer and Clohesy? I think he's putting in the work, maybe the results are just not happening as quick as he'd hope.

 

[geelong_crazy26]

I think last season he was also doing boxing work with a professional trainer and Clohesy? I think he's putting in the work, maybe the results are just not happening as quick as he'd hope.

Some body types just find it a bit more difficult to put on muscle mass than others and some just don’t have those defined looks like others do. Think dusty martin and Dane swann as good examples of those who have a stockier look compared to a lean shredded look ( mix of Endomorph and mesomorph body types)

 

[The rabbi]

Does anyone know when training takes place at Deakin Uni?
Times and days?

I would not mind having a look at the the Cats in preseason training.

 

[geelong_crazy26]

Dempsey looks in ripping shape.

 

[catswhiskers]

Does anyone know when training takes place at Deakin Uni?
Times and days?

I would not mind having a look at the the Cats in preseason training.

I was there yesterday. 10.30ish and they looked like they had warmed up and just getting into some small 8- 10 man drills. A few running. A count gave me about 30 listed players. Didnt see many newbies.

If I was to guess and you had an hour only maybe 11.30 to 12.30.
They are not always there so its hit or miss (again my guess)....3 or 4 days a week and Wed is one of them.

Very little done yesterday, if any, out of the ordinary. Happy cruisy squad but the real fight for places in best 22 will put an edge on things soon enough.

 

[The Unforgiven]

I'm pretty bullish about 2026. Worpel in the guts will help (so long as most of his possessions are handballs) if he plays as an extractor. Hopefully Bruhn picks up where he left off in 2024 and can continue to improve. Ollie Dempsey is a star.

I don't necessarily know if we can win the flag. Way too much has to be seen first before that can be said. But, if we don't lose any of the strengths that made us dominant in 2025, and can polish a few things up, there's no reason why we can't go deep.

 

[The Unforgiven]

Bit reactive to an imperfect angled photo?
He looked pretty fit and lean in finals 3 months ago.
And puppy fat-?- we have a new pup, 4 months old, not an ounce of fat.

I thought Clark showed some very positive signs in the Grand Final. So, yeah, apparently his direct opponent was Zac Bailey who - if had converted his chances in the first half - would have given him a bath, on paper.

However, I never pencilled in Clark as a lockdown small defender. For mine, he's a small, attacking midfielder who can hopefully mould himself into a Lachie Neale or Zac Merrett type (no, I don't think he'll ever be as good as them).

 

[geelong_crazy26]

I'm pretty bullish about 2026. Worpel in the guts will help (so long as most of his possessions are handballs) if he plays as an extractor. Hopefully Bruhn picks up where he left off in 2024 and can continue to improve. Ollie Dempsey is a star.

I don't necessarily know if we can win the flag. Way too much has to be seen first before that can be said. But, if we don't lose any of the strengths that made us dominant in 2025, and can polish a few things up, there's no reason why we can't go deep.

A lot of the regulars in here tipped us to be bottom half of the 8 and didn’t give us much of a chance in 25 but I was bullish we would improve, and I think we will go GF or at least prelim again in 26.

Only thing that will restrict us is injuries, as we lack quality depth like Brisbane does.

 

[The Unforgiven]

A lot of the regulars in here tipped us to be bottom half of the 8 and didn’t give us much of a chance in 25 but I was bullish we would improve, and I think we will go GF or at least prelim again in 26.

Only thing that will restrict us is injuries, as we lack quality depth like Brisbane does.

Yeah, I wasn't one of those people at all. I didn't necessarily think we'd win, but I was certsin we'd finish in the top eight.

I think our reliance on Danger has to be weaned off, while others need to step up. The gulf between Danger's best as worst is unreal. He can play a Prelim like that against the Hawks, then flounder in thw Grand Final the following week.

The midfield needs to step up and become what we need it to be for the next 5-10 years, and that obviously means no Danger. Yes, they are actively working towards that now, and making good progress.

I agree about injuries. However, Bruhn and the inclusion of Worpel means we've essentially got two additional midfield rotations. With any luck, our problem throughout the year will be selection headaches rather than being thankful we have depth.

 

[geelong_crazy26]

Yeah, I wasn't one of those people at all. I didn't necessarily think we'd win, but I was certsin we'd finish in the top eight.

I think our reliance on Danger has to be weaned off, while others need to step up. The gulf between Danger's best as worst is unreal. He can play a Prelim like that against the Hawks, then flounder in thw Grand Final the following week.

The midfield needs to step up and become what we need it to be for the next 5-10 years, and that obviously means no Danger. Yes, they are actively working towards that now, and making good progress.

I agree about injuries. However, Bruhn and the inclusion of Worpel means we've essentially got two additional midfield rotations. With any luck, our problem throughout the year will be selection headaches rather than being thankful we have depth.

I don’t think we relied on him at all, if you look at our season his stats are very minimal.

He did put in a hurculean effort in the prelim and I believe this absolutely knocked him out for the GF. He said post prelim that he can’t play like that each week at his age, and I think this is why he struggled in the GF. He was bruised up.

I’m fine with that given he spent his tickets to get us there, but saying we relied on him is not true imo. We won our season matches with minimal influence from danger

 

[CatToTheFuture]

I don’t think we relied on him at all, if you look at our season his stats are very minimal.

He did put in a hurculean effort in the prelim and I believe this absolutely knocked him out for the GF. He said post prelim that he can’t play like that each week at his age, and I think this is why he struggled in the GF. He was bruised up.

I’m fine with that given he spent his tickets to get us there, but saying we relied on him is not true imo. We won our season matches with minimal influence from danger

He did play some blinders when the team was dowm to get us out a hole.

We just need a midfield that's good enough to make his rotations a luxury not a critical component

 

[geelong_crazy26]

He did play some blinders when the team was dowm to get us out a hole.

We just need a midfield that's good enough to make his rotations a luxury not a critical component

I wouldn’t mind a game plan where we push danger up as a high HF around stoppages and let him dictate when and where he throw himself into the contest.

Just don’t know how capable he is anymore of the km’s up and down the ground performing this sort of role unfortunately, but he would be perfect for it and very hard to match up on for a medium/small defender

 

[geelong_crazy26]

Will finally break out this year. Hopefully has a real chip on his shoulder and a point to prove

I will feel disgusted if he gets booed by some crowds after what he has been thru

 

[geelong_crazy26]

Will finally break out this year. Hopefully has a real chip on his shoulder and a point to prove

Double quote- if he can take his game another level and avg 25+ touches as an inside bull mid, we will win the flag.

 

[The Unforgiven]

I don’t think we relied on him at all, if you look at our season his stats are very minimal.

He did put in a hurculean effort in the prelim and I believe this absolutely knocked him out for the GF. He said post prelim that he can’t play like that each week at his age, and I think this is why he struggled in the GF. He was bruised up.

I’m fine with that given he spent his tickets to get us there, but saying we relied on him is not true imo. We won our season matches with minimal influence from danger

On paper you're not wrong. It's a fair comment to make, however, it's more about Danger's ability to "be on" when the chips are down and spark a resurgence.

As good as Bailey and Max were, we need a few others to step up and be ready to fill the void. Brisbane bats so deep in the mid, their rotations are something to behold.

We need everyone playing out of their skins with no dips. As we've seen from Brisbane, their best is better than anyone else's. Danger's best is also better than almost anyone elses.

We could have done with a Prelim Dangerfield the following week. Who knows where that would have led us. But he, along with others, played very average games.

My point is, it needs to not matter that Danger doesn't play a great game. Unfortunately it still somewhat does. Granted, Danger is a pretty hard player to replace.

 

[Balardong]

In terms of anything unexpected I suppose by definition it is difficult to predict! Often these things aren't really planned and just evolve I think (Holmes from wing to defence sort of happened in experiment pre season, Dempsey from forward to wing was due to last minute injury in Adelaide, SDK to ruck due to injury).

Obviously Danger forward was a plan but most of the other recent changes seem to be more organic. I do think with a new mid field coach we may get some experiments in pre season (even just to try out the mix). Dempsey might get a look in CBA (personally I reckon best one more year on the wing but depending on mix they may see him balance out others?), and then yes I reckon they will try various "small" defenders...as I think that is potentially a weakness. Maybe they saw enough from Clark late to make that plan A?

I suppose the other thing we look for each year is that player that none of us really pick as best 23 in the start of the year. off top of my head it was SDK in 22, Dempsey in 24 (with Humphries coming late) and COS in 25 (did I miss one in 2023 or just bad year all-round!). The only possibility I reckon this year could be Lenny? Others have followed him more but he seems to have X factor in a part of the ground we have a weakness. Others (polk, Witchire etc) all have too battle no open spots...

In terms of clark and tanner - your observations are correct. this is pretty normal so in that sense not a great concern but we don't want it carrying into the new year

Mitch Edwards is a very good athlete with the talent to surprise, and the extra spot on the bench now that the sub rule has gone should provide him with opportunity

 

[TomsBulgingDisc]

Only thing that will restrict us is injuries, as we lack quality depth like Brisbane does.

Brisbane could just about field a second side each week that would beat the bottom 4.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

Brisbane could just about field a second side each week that would beat the bottom 4.

I actually wouldn't mind watching Essendon vs Brisbane B. Just like watching Australia field Australia A and still beating world class teams

 

[geelong_crazy26]

Brisbane could just about field a second side each week that would beat the bottom 4.

That’s what happens when a side gets no1 pick father sons, other first round father sons, free agents, academy kids, and then trades all clicking into gear at once… it creates one monster of a side.

I don’t think any of brisbanes 5 flags have been achieved without heavy compensations

 

[geelong_crazy26]

On paper you're not wrong. It's a fair comment to make, however, it's more about Danger's ability to "be on" when the chips are down and spark a resurgence.

As good as Bailey and Max were, we need a few others to step up and be ready to fill the void. Brisbane bats so deep in the mid, their rotations are something to behold.

We need everyone playing out of their skins with no dips. As we've seen from Brisbane, their best is better than anyone else's. Danger's best is also better than almost anyone elses.

We could have done with a Prelim Dangerfield the following week. Who knows where that would have led us. But he, along with others, played very average games.

My point is, it needs to not matter that Danger doesn't play a great game. Unfortunately it still somewhat does. Granted, Danger is a pretty hard player to replace.

Agreed he had some moments of impact and that’s what he has become, a low possession impact player who plays in small bursts in the middle. But “rely on him?” Far from it. I think you are having a bit of a recency bias from the prelim with this one.

To go back to our first final win over Brisbane, he got 19 touches 0 goals to his name. The team was led by smith Holmes Dempsey and then a fairly even collective effort.

I can’t think of any games we relied on him at all, besides an argument for the prelim effort.