Training Preseason Training Thread - 2026

[Keys]

The below is the OG faux training report from nearly 9 years ago - often imitated but never surpassed

In the absence of Keys I went down for a trundle this morning to check them out on return. Just a few random notes I took down...

• A lot of running work again, clearly a focus even in the heat.
• Duggan looked on and was hitting targets left and right. Set for a huge 2017.
• Giles went up against Vardy in the ruck contests and I'd say that Giles has the inside running at the moment.
• Mitchell looked a class above the other midfielders bar Priddis. Just knew how to find the footy and wouldn't miss a target all session. Shuey was very quiet and seemed to be taking direction from Mitchell. Doesn't bode well for his captaincy credentials, maybe he doesn't want the gig?
• Won't say too much about it in case I was just reading too much into it, but Rioli looked as though he'd enjoyed the Christmas break a bit too much. A few of the coaches pulled him aside and they were having quite an animated conversation before Rioli was sent to do laps for the rest of the session. Good news for Le Cras, I suppose.
• Sheed kicked on his right foot for 80% of the session, I reckon. Nice to see players working on their non-preferred so readily.
• Petrie looked like he was doing a great job 'coaching' the younger forwards in between the drills. Darling in particular seemed to be following him around.
• Gee Venables has some skills. He mainly jogged laps before spending the last half hour or so on set shots - curled a few beauties from behind the boundary line at the end for a bit of fun. Hardly saw him miss a kick.
• What interested me the most was that McGovern split his time between the defenders and the forwards, could be seeing a swingman role in 2017. He was his usual dominant self down back in some match simulation drills before going head-to-head with Mackenzie in a forward role.
• Bayok is very fast - Cripps was in most of the drills with him and couldn't keep up.
• Nelson is pale as buggery and still doesn't really have the body shape you'd expect of an AFL player.
• There was a big bloke who pulled up next to me and I could have sworn it was Suma, but I'm sure I was wrong...
• Masto was the player picked to kick the goal at the end today and nailed it. Celebrations were huge.
• No sign of Cole, Parto or Hill. Couldn't tell you why.

Will upload pics later if I have time. Let me know if you have any questions!

You might wonder why I’ve put this up and stickied it

Because this is the standard all copies should be measured against and it’s a reminder of how high the bar was set

And to hopefully discourage sequels.

If you want to have a crack in my absence, go ahead but if it doesn’t equal the standard set (as judged by me), then expect

• A one week threadban for a first offence
• A two week threadban for a second offence
• A one year threadban for a third offence

Actual training reports, minus discussion, can become found here:

Training - Preseason Training Reports -2025/26

This thread has been setup for training reports only and won’t be open for replies Informative reports from the preseason thread will be copied into this thread so posters have access to the quality work from the likes of LittleFires without wading through pages of general posts

www.bigfooty.com

 

[Boohemian]

We will only pick Harper if he is the best player available at whatever pick we have.

Of course. It's disappointing that we missed out on both Charlie and Koby, but overall I think we'd be happy with the kids we drafted last year.

 

[Yeahnahmate]

Of course. It's disappointing that we missed out on both Charlie and Koby, but overall I think we'd be happy with the kids we drafted last year.

I for one am not disappointed. When I compare Banfield and F-Rod - one captained and was MVP for WA & earnt All Australian honours and the other was Banfield

 

[sharps24]

I for one am not disappointed. When I compare Banfield and F-Rod - one captained and was MVP for WA & earnt All Australian honours and the other was Banfield

I personally was disappointed. When I compare them- one was passed over by every team in the competition in the main draft and the other was Banfield.

 

[FatPizza]

I was mainly disappointed that we didn't enter the draft with the flexibility to react based on what other teams decided to do.

 

[Elite Pete]

 

[Coasters7]

Of course. It's disappointing that we missed out on both Charlie and Koby, but overall I think we'd be happy with the kids we drafted last year.

Much like last year the process got bailed out by the final results.

Getting Lindsay and Rodriguez after fluffing the trade for Addinsall plus the list spot debacle, is similar to ending up with Shanahan and Gross after trading pick 3 for Owies.

 

[RanaNaved]

Honestly the club obviously didn't rate Banfield that highly, they probably had a rookie spot grading on him which is fine, it was one of those drafts. I like him, but can see why other's think he's a bit meh

 

[Shueygod]

Wow, Starcevich is a proven quality backman/midfielder, a double grand finalist with 132 games under his belt. Mini has suggested he could rotate through the midfield.
Starc and Dev are solid builds and would provide serious grunt in the mid.
Ok, Dev is unproven as yet, but he's a GF player, and known as a hard running aggressive/combative midfielder.

This from WCE -
“Dev is a high-quality individual who comes from a highly successful program,” Clarke said. We’re looking forward to him showcasing his ball-winning ability, hardness and competitive traits on-field, as well as his work ethic and standards off-field.
We feel Dev is a great fit for our midfield and will complement the emerging players we’ve added through the draft.”

Ginbey wasn't that good in the midfield and admitted so himself, preferring the backline for the present. Sure, he could be a battering ram, but it requires a bit more than that.
For mine Starc is a given, while Dev could underwhelm, but likely to surprise many.
Either way, hardly in the View attachment 2509439 category?

Stretch is definitely a quality back man, when has he ever shown to be a midfielder?

Unironically Ginbey has more credentials as a midfielder at AFL level than both.

 

[EagleMan87]

There's going to be a hell of a lot of salty West Coast fans

FTFY

 

[Barrybran]

Honestly the club obviously didn't rate Banfield that highly, they probably had a rookie spot grading on him which is fine, it was one of those drafts. I like him, but can see why other's think he's a bit meh

I look at it from the perspective that we drafted Sam Allen instead. We obviously wanted our NGA/FS boys but felt there were better options available.

 

[WCE777]

I look at it from the perspective that we drafted Sam Allen instead. We obviously wanted our NGA/FS boys but felt there were better options available.

I agree.
I am super excited about our 2025 draft and should set us up for many years.
S Allen looks really exciting if he overcomes his ACL, from training reports he is tracking well.
At the end of the day if Banfield and K Evans have a decent couple of years then we can always bring them home.
If they don't we have missed nothing.

 

[BSD]

And if we rate Cripps on the senior list over the rookie list

Then so be it. The rookies will take his place if they can prove they are better than him.

 

[Mighty Eagles]

Then so be it. The rookies will take his place if they can prove they are better than him.

This! I'm so over hearing, especially post-draft, how we should've rookie-listed Cripps to have another spot in the draft. Cripps is a Premiership player of our club and actually (one of) last year's leading goal kicker(s). It's terribly disrespectful to have him drop down to the rookie list and signficantly reduce his income in what will likely be his last year. He's got plenty of runs on the board and frankly, last year's draft was long mooted for not being deep. Five picks was sufficient in last year's draft and frankly he offers both experience and talent in a list that doesn't have a lot of either.

If you made the same case about Long or Johnston I'd be more likely to consider that argument but not Cripps.

 

[Shueygod]

This! I'm so over hearing, especially post-draft, how we should've rookie-listed Cripps to have another spot in the draft. Cripps is a Premiership player of our club and actually (one of) last year's leading goal kicker(s). It's terribly disrespectful to have him drop down to the rookie list and signficantly reduce his income in what will likely be his last year. He's got plenty of runs on the board and frankly, last year's draft was long mooted for not being deep. Five picks was sufficient in last year's draft and frankly he offers both experience and talent in a list that doesn't have a lot of either.

If you made the same case about Long or Johnston I'd be more likely to consider that argument but not Cripps.

His income would not have been affected, better players than Cripps have been placed on the rookie list.

 

[Mighty Eagles]

Honestly the club obviously didn't rate Banfield that highly, they probably had a rookie spot grading on him which is fine, it was one of those drafts. I like him, but can see why other's think he's a bit meh

That's right. The fact we had just one West Australian boy drafted in the first two rounds speaks volumes about how WA Football manages talent in this state. But putting that aside, there obviously wasn't much separating the likes of Banfield, Evans and TWilliams. I heard from a few different sources that Banfield, despite having a great GF, was a touch slow. I think that was part of the rationale which led us to drafting TWilliams with our third rounder and not the other kids.

 

[Astro7]

Stretch is definitely a quality back man, when has he ever shown to be a midfielder?

Unironically Ginbey has more credentials as a midfielder at AFL level than both.

He's said he'd like to play mid at times. Mini has suggested it also. He played mid and forward in his early years.
Ginbey's credentials as a mid didn't amount to much. Got lost.

 

[Shueygod]

He's said he'd like to play mid at times. Mini has suggested it also. He played mid and forward in his early years.
Ginbey's credentials as a mid didn't amount to much. Got lost.

He’s never played midfield, suggesting he has is blatantly wrong.

He might be played there this year if we need a big body through there, it would be no different to when Duggan played there.

 

[Godfather32]

He’s never played midfield, suggesting he has is blatantly wrong.

He might be played there this year if we need a big body through there, it would be no different to when Duggan played there.

He definitely did early on

 

[Shueygod]

He definitely did early on

What year?

He averaged 1.8CBAs in his first season (4 games).

Since then he hasn’t had a single CBA.

 

[Astro7]

He’s never played midfield, suggesting he has is blatantly wrong.

He might be played there this year if we need a big body through there, it would be no different to when Duggan played there.

Just going off his history/bio, in his teen years. To suggest he would be no different to Duggan is lame . The coach has discussed it with him, presumably for good reason. For starters he has more upside than Duggan.

 

[Godfather32]

What year?

He averaged 1.8CBAs in his first season (4 games).

Since then he hasn’t had a single CBA.

From the horses mouth -
“I played quite a few games as an inside midfielder and on a wing, but I don’t think I was having the impact I probably should’ve been and probably wasn’t playing my best footy.”

https://archive.md/egkBP#selection-2083.0-2087.177

 

[Shueygod]

Just going off his history/bio, in his teen years. To suggest he would be no different to Duggan is lame . The coach has discussed it with him, presumably for good reason. For starters he has more upside than Duggan.

The only time he played midfield was at juniors, majority of WAFL colts/State were both in defence.

He’s not a natural midfielder and shouldn’t be shoehorned there, could I see him as being slightly better in the midfield than Duggan? Probably.

Would the gap of them through the middle be as big as the gap between them in defence? I doubt it.

From the horses mouth -
“I played quite a few games as an inside midfielder and on a wing, but I don’t think I was having the impact I probably should’ve been and probably wasn’t playing my best footy.”

https://archive.md/egkBP#selection-2083.0-2087.177

I’ve just given you the stats to prove he hasn’t played inside midfield.

Hasn’t had a single centre bounce attendance since his debut season (4 games).

Why are you doubling down?

 

[Godfather32]

The only time he played midfield was at juniors, majority of WAFL colts/State were both in defence.

He’s not a natural midfielder and shouldn’t be shoehorned there, could I see him as being slightly better in the midfield than Duggan? Probably.

Would the gap of them through the middle be as big as the gap between them in defence? I doubt it.

I’ve just given you the stats to prove he hasn’t played inside midfield.

Hasn’t had a single centre bounce attendance since his debut season (4 games).

Why are you doubling down?

That article was from 2025 talking about 2024, it was literally a quote from Gibney himself. You're wrong.

 

[Shueygod]

That article was from 2025 talking about 2024, it was literally a quote from Gibney himself. You're wrong.

We were talking about Starcevich, I didn’t even bother clicking on the article.

Try actually follow a conversation before embarrassing yourself, Ginbey also played more than 4 games in his first year.

 

[Godfather32]

We were talking about Starcevich, I didn’t even bother clicking on the article.

Try actually follow a conversation before embarrassing yourself, Ginbey also played more than 4 games in his first year.

I don't bother reading your posts cause they're usually rubbish, I just saw Astro's comment about Ginbey