Training Training updates 2026.

[Piesinmyeyes]

Was able to head down for the drills though had to leave halfway through match play. Have some minor observations though want to caveat that I sometimes couldn't tell who was who thanks to the random numbers and sitting far away. I swear I saw Harrison in 3 drills at once.

• Smit - What a behemoth. In the 1-on-1 drills I didn't see him lose a contest and was positioning his body well. Going to be praying all season that he gets better by foot because he could be a contributor in the senior team in time.
  
  
• Long - Was killing it. Didn't miss a tackle and he looks sharper in congestion. Saw some nice foot skills too which is welcomed.
  
  
• Houston - Still not sold on him playing midfield though looked very good forward of centre and bombed one from 50.
  
  
• Parker - Thought this was Harrison for a while which should tell you that he's put on size. Looked super calm as per usual. Will be disappointed if he doesn't feature in our best 23 early.
  
  
• Prindable - Just echoing what everyone else is saying but he'll feature this year at some stage. Elite left foot and looked like a 3+ year player when training with the other mids.
  
  
• Demattia - Really not sure what to make of him. Trained with the forwards and pressure on the ball carrier was Schultz-esque but his tackles weren't sticking. Had high hopes for him coming in to this year so let's see what the next month brings.
  
  
• Hayes - Definitely looks bigger and is still super fast though missed a fair few handballs and kicks to easy targets. Composure seems an issue so very interested come intraclub time to see him in match play.
  
  
• McCarthy - Absolute twig but great hands! Leads very well and marks the ball at the highest points. Positioned his body well in contest drills v Frampton.
  
  
• Frampton - All of these best 23 articles excluding him need a reality check. Was rock solid for us last season and looked great today. Don't think I saw him lose a contest. Put his name in permanent marker at FB.
  
  
• West - What a presence this kid is. Not much else to say that he leads well and looks solid.
  
  
• Allan - Didn't stand out though didn't do anything wrong. Guess that's all we can ask for as we just want consistency.

Barring say Framps, the rest of these players listed have capacity for upside.
This is what excites me most.
I’m actually bullish about Smit. I think he could become a player fwiw.
(Come at me in 6 months ).
The media can gagf for their assumptions on our lack of youth/depth.

 

[Jen2310]

Friday February 20


Collingwood v GWS Giants, La Trobe University Sports Park (Bundoora) at 11am (4 x 25-minute quarters, no time-on)

Derbies, new venues and ‘scenario’ play as every AFL club’s match sim details revealed

Derbies, new venues and ‘scenario’ play as every AFL club’s match sim details revealed

www.foxsports.com.au

 

[Jen2310]

What's the difference between an unoffocial match simulation and a practice match?

You can use your whole list in a match sim.
Official match practice obeys by the afl rules per a usual game.

 

[granniewolf]

You can use your whole list in a match sim.
Official match practice obeys by the afl rules per a usual game.

Great, thanks for that.

 

[Daicos Torpedo]

Friday February 20


Collingwood v GWS Giants, La Trobe University Sports Park (Bundoora) at 11am (4 x 25-minute quarters, no time-on)

Derbies, new venues and ‘scenario’ play as every AFL club’s match sim details revealed

Derbies, new venues and ‘scenario’ play as every AFL club’s match sim details revealed

www.foxsports.com.au

Doh! I finish work at 2.30pm. I was hoping for an arvo game... but it is Summer.

 

[Dead Eye Didak]

Wed - Mid week session.

Pretty light session on the track, which it being more skills based.

The session begun at 8:45, I assume because of the kids clinic starting at 11am, which they also had to prepare for.
Everyone was on deck, minus Bobby but I think I should stop including him until he does if he does turn up at some point.

Rehab:

Moore
IQ
Beau
Howe
Sullivan
Mcstay


* Howe and Sullivan came out in the black singlets. At the start of the session they all did some touch with a tennis ball. Once training commenced, Howe and Sullivan then went inside.
The others did some running.
Moore finished up early saying he was sore and a bit of pain. The others did a bit more running before finishing up and heading indoors.

The draftees did their warm up separate from the rest of the squad before they joined the group
Crisp and Pendles were briefly in the rehab group at the start, with Pendles getting some work done. Both joined the rest of the squad not too long after that.

Reef started with some drills, but his program today seemed to be agility as they ramp up his next steps as he heads toward full training.

Some centre bounce work involving Cameron, Sidey, Allan and Long, and then they went into line groups.
With the line groups:
Defenders: Josh, Houston, Pendles, Frampton. Reef. Perryman. Maynard. Cochran. Ryan. TJ. Smit
Forwards: Buller. Mccarthy. HH. Schutz. Hayes. Jamie. Howes. Saxena. Membrey. Swadling. Demattia and a surprise inclusion - Parker.

Some more centre bounce work with Steene, Lippa, Prindable, Nick, Steele and Jordy.


Mids: Cameron. Steene. Jordy. Andrrson. Sidey. Lippa. Prindable. Steele. Nick. Long.

They have a bit to do in terms of cleaning up their disposal by hand. Some sloppy handballs thats happening at the moment. Just got to be a bit more clean.

There was lots of focus on tackling and pressure in space, had Max Viney help out in these situations. We must have him on the payrole part time at this point.

There was also some work being done into playing the turnover game in a semi sort of match play toward the end where one team played attacking, and the other had to turn the ball over to go the other way.

That comment regarding Moore doesn't sound too good....

 

[Harry O]

Doh! I finish work at 2.30pm. I was hoping for an arvo game... but it is Summer.

I work in Bundoora- might take an early lunch break

 

[DERKADERRR]

Doh! I finish work at 2.30pm. I was hoping for an arvo game... but it is Summer.

I thought you were "sick" that day?

 

[sr36]

Now I think about and watching some footage from yesterday and then rewatching the freo game, I think the only time we'll see Josh rotate through the middle is if Nick goes to half back. There would need to be some rotations with Pendles down back.

At least one of Josh, Pendles and Houston needs to play wing or mid. They can't all play defence. With that in mind the Pendles to half back move doesn't bode that well for Parker slotting straight into the 23 like many are hoping.

 

[Timmy from Thomastown]

At least one of Josh, Pendles and Houston needs to play wing or mid. They can't all play defence. With that in mind the Pendles to half back move doesn't bode that well for Parker slotting straight into the 23 like many are hoping.

With an extra body on the bench and given they’ll all have midfield cameos I don’t think it’s a concern

 

[Jen2310]

At least one of Josh, Pendles and Houston needs to play wing or mid. They can't all play defence. With that in mind the Pendles to half back move doesn't bode that well for Parker slotting straight into the 23 like many are hoping.

I think we'll see some rotation. I agree, I struggle to see how they all play in the same backline.

 

[manicpie]

At least one of Josh, Pendles and Houston needs to play wing or mid. They can't all play defence. With that in mind the Pendles to half back move doesn't bode that well for Parker slotting straight into the 23 like many are hoping.

I'm hoping Parker gets a look in the midfield. His attack on the ball and neat evasion skills could come in handy.

 

[Jen2310]

I'm hoping Parker gets a look in the midfield. His attack on the ball and neat evasion skills could come in handy.

I think he has the ability to move up the ground. His attack on the ball would be a waste to be a lock down defender

 

[pablo disco bar]

I was watching swoop lukes training report today and in one scene de goey seems to irritate naicos with Nick then taking off his orange Vesta and throwing it at him with some aggression

Not the first time ive noticed these 2 not like each other ...had anyone else noticed things like this ?

 

[pablo disco bar]

Barring say Framps, the rest of these players listed have capacity for upside.
This is what excites me most.
I’m actually bullish about Smit. I think he could become a player fwiw.
(Come at me in 6 months ).
The media can gagf for their assumptions on our lack of youth/depth.

Smit look huge.....im sure the ladies like him

Def could be a smokey this year ....needs a few games in seniors to learn

 

[Jen2310]

I was watching swoop lukes training report today and in one scene de goey seems to irritate naicos with Nick then taking off his orange Vesta and throwing it at him with some aggression

Not the first time ive noticed these 2 not like each other ...had anyone else noticed things like this ?

Just a bit of banter between two passionate players.

 

[sr36]

I'm hoping Parker gets a look in the midfield. His attack on the ball and neat evasion skills could come in handy.

It's going to be interesting with how they manage the list. We need to bring on a few kids, but it also feels like the veterans are going to play flanks in the roles you'd usually bring your kids into - even if they are future mids.

 

[SwanBet]

At least one of Josh, Pendles and Houston needs to play wing or mid. They can't all play defence. With that in mind the Pendles to half back move doesn't bode that well for Parker slotting straight into the 23 like many are hoping.

Trying not to read too much into one session but I was really surprised to read that Houston, Josh and Pendles were all training together as defenders. It also doesn't bode well for those who wanted Houston to be that quarterback out of the D50 with Josh looking to stay there too.

Quaynor is still out injured who trained a little with the midfield group pre Christmas, so maybe he is the planned defender they are looking to make that move? Otherwise it is looking like we will be going back to the well with NDaicos/Long/DeGoey/Sidebottom as the core 4 midfielders.

 

[Peters_Nuts]

I was watching swoop lukes training report today and in one scene de goey seems to irritate naicos with Nick then taking off his orange Vesta and throwing it at him with some aggression

Not the first time ive noticed these 2 not like each other ...had anyone else noticed things like this ?

Don’t read into it. Have seen them play fight with each other regularly at training

 

[cityslick1]

Pretty vanilla / lowish intensity training session again today. More of the same drills…. Keeping’s off with quick and precise disposal the focus. Then using opposite foot only, Then some one v one marking. Quite a bit of that actually… mids then practising basic extraction under pressure and delivering to a forward. then some basic kicking and goal kicking practice.

Few things that stood out for me…

Buller impressed. V competitive and led + competed well. Beat Smit a couple of times in the marking drill, so looked like he was establishing himself as a first choice forward / ruck forward today. Smit struggled a bit today actually, getting caught and lacking his prior dominance in marking duels.

Hayes was the other that stood out a bit today. With a beefier look (legs), along with his pace and neat disposal / nous around goals, he looks like a genuine option to play some games now. Has a bit of competition, but Hope his highlights it translate to the real stuff

Jordys disposal was nice, but always is.

Swadling again showed good vision and confidence to take the game on in competitive drills. Was excused from some more serious team v team drills, which he didn’t seem to like. Kid is competitive and driven I reckon.

Tyan keeps keeping on. Has been a bit quieter lately, so wonder if long preseason sessions are taking their toll, or if he’s conserving energy, or neither of the above.

Steene also showed some nice marking traits with the bags. But again, it’s v hard to correlate this to his abilities with the real stuff. This sentiment pretty much sums up the whole session actually.

Josh was another that looked good in some transition stuff, but no surprises here.

Heppell was noticeably vocal amongst the coaches. Looks a fine addition, adds positivity and encouragement, along with his kicking skills still being nice.

 

[Obese Arachnid]

Pretty vanilla / lowish intensity training session again today. More of the same drills…. Keeping’s off with quick and precise disposal the focus. Then using opposite foot only, Then some one v one marking. Quite a bit of that actually… miss then practising basic extraction under pressure and delivering to a forward. then some basic kicking and goal kicking practice.

Few things that stood out for me…

Buller impressed. V competitive and led + competed well. Beat Smit a couple of times in the marking drill, so looked like he was establishing himself as a first choice forward / ruck forward today. Smit struggled a bit today actually, getting caught and lacking his prior dominance in marking duels.

Hayes was the other that stood out a bit today. With a beefier look (legs), along with his pace and neat disposal / nous around goals, he looks like a genuine option to play some games now. Has a bit of competition, but Hope his highlights it translate to the real stuff

Jordys disposal was nice, but always is.

Swadling again showed good vision and confidence to take the game on in competitive drills. Was excused from some more serious team v team drills, which he didn’t seem to like. Kid is competitive and driven I reckon.

Tyan keeps keeping on. Has been a bit quieter lately, so wonder if long preseason sessions are taking their toll, or if he’s conserving energy, or neither of the above.

Steene also showed some nice marking traits with the bags. But again, it’s v hard to correlate this to his abilities with the real stuff. This sentiment pretty much sums up the whole session actually.

Josh was another that looked good in some transition stuff, but no surprises here.

Heppell was noticeably vocal amongst the coaches. Looks a fine addition, adds positivity and encouragement, along with his kicking skills still being nice.

Thanks mate, enjoy your reports.

 

[Dead Eye Didak]

I was watching swoop lukes training report today and in one scene de goey seems to irritate naicos with Nick then taking off his orange Vesta and throwing it at him with some aggression

Not the first time ive noticed these 2 not like each other ...had anyone else noticed things like this ?

They are always doing that fake aggressive stuff towards each other...

 

[SchuPie]

It also doesn't bode well for those who wanted Houston to be that quarterback out of the D50 with Josh looking to stay there too.

IMO Fly needs to sort this out
We’ve invested in a jet with a kick that can carve the opposition apart and his skills are not being maximised
Fine, play him where you like, but he needs to be getting 25 touches a game, so if he HBF then he needs to constantly get the ball to distribute or to run up the field

 

[Soups]

I was watching swoop lukes training report today and in one scene de goey seems to irritate naicos with Nick then taking off his orange Vesta and throwing it at him with some aggression

Not the first time ive noticed these 2 not like each other ...had anyone else noticed things like this ?

Just like Beams and Barham.

 

[Rorzza]

Thank you all those who have posted training reviews.


Fingers crossed, not a lot of injury concern regarding those younger draftees in the 19 to 22 year old bracket. We will definitely need one, two or three of those guys to develop if CFC is to be competitive this year.

Structurally, I'm a little concerned with the forward line, the health of Beau and Bobby is huge. Beau's midfield presences will be important too and Bobby is simply a freak, inconsistent but still a freak.

Chekers is a big loss too, Buller looks like a sound investment and both West and Howes were exciting at different stages in the VFL last year. Can see their potential and hopefully both play a part this year.

I'm less concerned about the back line and with Cornes' opinion. If CFC produce the same team defense as last year they will be competitive once again this year and there's solid back up IMO.

Midfield is a big concern for me, the depth looks shallow, and lacks quality talent at this stage of the lists development. Obviously, the health of DeGoey is a important piece of the puzzle but outside DeGoo and the Daicos brothers, it looks like theirs not enough players that can perform at the required standard consistently this year. Siddy and Pendles will play a part/role but don't expect the same standard as past seasons when the two were in their prime.

Obviously their are a number of names that will get the opportunity and hopefully one or two of them steps up to support DeGoo, Cameron and the Daicos'.

I'm not as optimistic as others regarding CFC's potential this year which is okay! Fly is a good coach and well supported. CFC will be competitive but my gut feeling the team lacks a little spunk, a good healthy smattering of above average talent across all lines to win when it counts against the Northern academies, Freo and the perennial VIC power house clubs.

I hope I'm wrong, go Pies!