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

 

[Chris_6678]

It matters if his form drops. Will put the club in a predicament do we drop the captain?

100% agree.

You only had to look at Shuey when he was in an injury riddled captaincy. He would rush to get back on the park and then not do the right thing and come back slowly.

 

[Moo]

I reckon he has hurt feelings.

I reckon he's protesting the constant coverage of Lachie Neale

 

[Doashuey]

I don’t think Harley being captain at 21 m, turning 22 would be a wise choice.

Let the kid be a kid for a little while. He can be captain at 25.

100%. Worst thing we could do is lump him with the C too early.
He does need to mature- and I believe that will come fairly quickly now. But more than that, he has had to deal with so much media speculation and pressure for such a young guy, the very last thing he needs tis to be fronting up to the media every week and getting more attention.
He can grow as an on field leader and take the reins during the half time huddle etc. but the Captain of one of the biggest clubs in the league comes with a serious amount of additional stress and time commitments. Let him enjoy his time with the Eagles and living in Perth for a few more years before even looking at that responsibility.

 

[swingdog]

It matters if his form drops. Will put the club in a predicament do we drop the captain?

Agree.

Professional athletes should be past the stage where they need to follow someone on the field or get strips torn off them at half-time to perform better.

I just think the idea of the inspirational captain (who isn't doing anything in terms of deciding tactics on the field) is old hat in a sport like footy. Look at Carlton - hard to get much more inspirational than Patrick Cripps. They're still shit.

Preparation of teams is about ensuring that they are training at the pressure and intensity that the jump to game day is manageable. A senior group is important to help bring young players along but otherwise, couldn't give a toss who goes in for the toss.

 

[unty11]

Agree.

Professional athletes should be past the stage where they need to follow someone on the field or get strips torn off them at half-time to perform better.

I just think the idea of the inspirational captain (who isn't doing anything in terms of deciding tactics on the field) is old hat in a sport like footy. Look at Carlton - hard to get much more inspirational than Patrick Cripps. They're still shit.

Preparation of teams is about ensuring that they are training at the pressure and intensity that the jump to game day is manageable. A senior group is important to help bring young players along but otherwise, couldn't give a toss who goes in for the toss.

I think on field leadership is important because they have that in game experience to know what to do during pivotal points in the game. I'm more saying a few games last season duggo stunk it up a bit and he's playing a position that has a lot of competition now. What if his form is patchy again do we keep him in for on field leadership or do we bring in someone who might perform better but not provide that leadership? That's the predicament I was getting at.

Young players can still panic in situations and forget what they are supposed to do and need on field direction. Anyways I hope duggo has a great season and this discussion was all for naught.

 

[ThePuma #9]

Let's all calm the farm on Heweys injury.

1. We don't even know what he's done yet.

2. He walked off the ground unassisted so it can't be too severe.

3. It happened in the warm up so it's probably soft tissue related but would be lower end of the scale, might jet be a week or so.

4. Punching the wall is just frustration, Hewett comes across as very competitive. Probably punches the wall when he leaves his drink bottle in the sheds too.

5. It's over 7 weeks until our first game or if you'd like it broken further 50 days!

6. He has put a body of work so far and missing a week or two will not effect him too much.

7. Remember before last year everyone was saying his career was done, finished, will never stay on the park and then he proceeded to play 20 games for the year despite the limited pre season AND the complete lack of pre seasons prior to it. He did pretty damn well all things considered and from all reports this year so far he seems to have built his tank even further to help run out games.


Just chill people, CHIIIILLLLLLLLLLLL.

 

[Jeremy McLovin]

Let's all calm the farm on Heweys injury.

1. We don't even know what he's done yet.

2. He walked off the ground unassisted so it can't be too severe.

3. It happened in the warm up so it's probably soft tissue related but would be lower end of the scale, might jet be a week or so.

4. Punching the wall is just frustration, Hewett comes across as very competitive. Probably punches the wall when he leaves his drink bottle in the sheds too.

5. It's over 7 weeks until our first game or if you'd like it broken further 50 days.!!!!

6. He has put a body of work so far and missing a week or two will not effect him too much.

7. Remember before last year everyone was saying his career was done, finished, will never stay on the park and then we proceeded to play 20 games for the year despite the limited pre season AND the complete lack of pre seasons prior to it. He did pretty damn well all things considered and from all reports so far he has built his tank even further to help run out games better.


Just chill people, CHIIIILLLLLLLLLLLL.

All wrong, the only path left to take is to crack each others' heads open and feast on the goo within.

 

[Farmer Lister]

There was an interview recently with one of the other club's s&c coaches if anyone can find it.

He said he had never seen a player with an interrupted preseason have a top quality season. He said that they could come in for a few games and remind people of their capability, but not have a perfect season. Unfortunately in the modern game preseason is vitally important to playing well and having the durability to keep it up for every round. So with that in mind, any player we have with an interrupted preseason such as Starcevic and Baker should be viewed as fortunate if they make a big impact.

 

[RustyShacklefordFalcon]

Training report from the west

https://archive.md/TDvt8

I'm not sure what scares me more...the possibility of another 1 win season, or your avatar

 

[wce4premiership]

I heard that Hewett did both ACLs simultaneously because he was running to gather an errant Duggan kick.

 

[Farmer Lister]

 

[Keys]

Matchsim Friday - 3x 20min periods again broken up by skill sessions in line groups and one additional running session on the outside oval between the first and second “quarters” of match play. The final period finished at around 12.00 and was capped off by another session of repeat running for about 15 minutes although it was completed by only 20-25 players

All up the session would have gone for close to 3 hours

Rodriguez (foot), Starcevich (knee), Hough (illness), Hutchinson (ankle), Billiams (groin), Allen (knee) and Cole (finger) didn’t train with the main group at all and instead worked on their respective rehab programs away from where I was watching. Cole, however, did join in at least one of the drills when they broke into line groups

Not sure on Tylah Williams but I didn’t notice him at all during the session whilst it was reported Hewett departed early (before I’d arrived ) with a suspected leg injury of unknown severity. Fingers crossed it’s not significant

The teams for matchsim were split relatively evenly without any discernible stronger team. In what was a departure from usual practice, the teams remained constant across all three quarters without any switching of personnel

By my count 38 players took part plus around 4 of the WAFL listed players. The AFL academy players training with us this week - Garrison Kenh and Koby LeCras also got some game minutes

Random notes:
• Intensity was up as evidenced by the weight of holding the ball free kicks paid as tackling pressure ramped up
• At least 3x 50m penalties were given due to stand/protected area infringements. Another 50m penalty was paid for what looked/sounded like dissent. In a matchsim
• Whilst there was no apparent mismatch in talent the white team won by about 8 goals (14 goals to 6) - although whoever was operating the scoreboard had a bit of a mare. I’m pretty sure the first goal kicked by the blue team was added to white and at least two or three later goals weren’t updated on the scoreboard so I think it was perhaps closer than what was recorded
• McCarthy(w) was dominant. Found plenty of the ball, kicked a couple of goals and continually drove his team forward. The blue teams best patch (at the start of the second quarter) coincided with McCarthy being off the ground
• Waterman(w) and Ginbey(b) had an enthralling and combative contest. Jake took the early honours with a couple of strong marks leading to goals before Rueben fought back later in the contest. It must be said though Waterman is looking primed
• Liked what I saw of Kenh. He was by no means prolific but has (very) good pace and used the ball well when he got it. Didn’t look out of place and the prospect of him lining up across halfback with Lindsay for the next decade is a tantalising one
• Was a nice moment in the final quarter when Kenh got involved in a passage out of defence and delivered a lace out pass inside F50 to LeCras who made a well timed lead to beat Ginbey. Kicked the goal from about 40m out and the cries of Lecca ringing out around the ground from players near brought a tear to the eye
• Robertson(w) was more noticeable today playing as a mid with an occasional run on the wing and had a solid hitout. Best I’ve seen from him so far
• Jack Williams had a purple patch in the third quarter kicking 3 goals and missing another from a difficult set shot from ~50m out close to the boundary in a 5-10min burst.
• Barnett(b) had his first hitout in a matchsim for the preseason playing as a ruck opposed mainly to Flynn(w). Was beaten but not embarrassed in an encouraging performance
• Duursma(b) played on the wing in the first quarter before switching into the CBD for the second and was instrumental in the blue team having their best patch of the game. Won a couple of centre clearances and didn’t look out of place
• Yeo(w) played as a mid in the first quarter in short stints but sat it out after that as far as I could tell. Helped set up one goal but didn’t have a huge influence
• Reid(b) had a rare quieter game although he did lift a bit in the second quarter and combined nicely with Duursma a couple of times
• The other Reid(w) took two towering pack marks in the first quarter but missed the first shot from 40m before converting his second from a little closer in
• Schoenberg(w) also played well through the midfield and kicked a nice goal on the run
• Champion hit Gross(w) with a searing pass inside F50 late in Q2 which drew praise from coaching staff. Most importantly, Gross converted truly - he also had more impact today as he builds into preseason after spending most of his time pre-Christmas in rehab
• Shanahan(b) had some good moments, particularly in Q2 when he got on the end of some of the blue teams midfield work. Kicked at least two goals in a good outing
• Baker played today, albeit on limited minutes, in a positive indication his leg is/was minor
• Kelly(w) in combination with McCarthy was a big driver of white’s early dominance. Spent some time as a HF in what might be a sign of things to come. Quietly putting together a nice body of work
• Long(w) was handy
• The battle between Davis, Allen, Hall and Duursma for the two wing spots continues. Duursma had the best game overall but most of his influence came when he went into the centre. As a wingman, Allen had the best outing as the fat side winger - was getting plenty of encouragement/advice from one of the coaches on his positioning
• At one point it seemed like McQualter was in the grandstand barking instructions- presumably to get a better overall view of the patterns he’s looking for
• Plenty of voice too from the other coaches during the session as they start zeroing in on what they want the players to do


That’s about it, other than to say Duggan had another solid hitout and it’ll be a surprise (to me at least) if he’s not captain again this season - either as sole skipper or sharing the role with Waterman. Baker I expect will continue as a vice captain

 

[RanaNaved]

Matchsim Friday - 3x 20min periods again broken up by skill sessions in line groups and one additional running session on the outside oval between the first and second “quarters” of match play. The final period finished at around 12.00 and was capped off by another session of repeat running for about 15 minutes although it was completed by only 20-25 players

All up the session would have gone for close to 3 hours

Rodriguez (foot), Starcevich (knee), Hough (illness), Hutchinson (ankle), Billiams (groin), Allen (knee) and Cole (finger) didn’t train with the main group at all and instead worked on their respective rehab programs away from where I was watching. Cole, however, did join in at least one of the drills when they broke into line groups

Not sure on Tylah Williams but I didn’t notice him at all during the session whilst it was reported Hewett departed early (before I’d arrived ) with a suspected leg injury of unknown severity. Fingers crossed it’s not significant

The teams for matchsim were split relatively evenly without any discernible stronger team. In what was a departure from usual practice, the teams remained constant across all three quarters without any switching of personnel

By my count 38 players took part plus around 4 of the WAFL listed players. The AFL academy players training with us this week - Garrison Kenh and Koby LeCras also got some game minutes

Random notes:
• Intensity was up as evidenced by the weight of holding the ball free kicks paid as tackling pressure ramped up
• At least 3x 50m penalties were given due to stand/protected area infringements. Another 50m penalty was paid for what looked/sounded like dissent. In a matchsim
• Whilst there was no apparent mismatch in talent the white team won by about 8 goals (14 goals to 6) - although whoever was operating the scoreboard had a bit of a mare. I’m pretty sure the first goal kicked by the blue team was added to white and at least two or three later goals weren’t updated on the scoreboard so I think it was perhaps closer than what was recorded
• McCarthy(w) was dominant. Found plenty of the ball, kicked a couple of goals and continually drove his team forward. The blue teams best patch (at the start of the second quarter) coincided with McCarthy being off the ground
• Waterman(w) and Ginbey(b) had an enthralling and combative contest. Jake took the early honours with a couple of strong marks leading to goals before Rueben fought back later in the contest. It must be said though Waterman is looking primed
• Liked what I saw of Kenh. He was by no means prolific but has (very) good pace and used the ball well when he got it. Didn’t look out of place and the prospect of him lining up across halfback with Lindsay for the next decade is a tantalising one
• Was a nice moment in the final quarter when Kenh got involved in a passage out of defence and delivered a lace out pass inside F50 to LeCras who made a well timed lead to beat Ginbey. Kicked the goal from about 40m out and the cries of Lecca ringing out around the ground from players near brought a tear to the eye
• Robertson(w) was more noticeable today playing as a mid with an occasional run on the wing and had a solid hitout. Best I’ve seen from him so far
• Jack Williams had a purple patch in the third quarter kicking 3 goals and missing another from a difficult set shot from ~50m out close to the boundary in a 5-10min burst.
• Barnett(b) had his first hitout in a matchsim for the preseason playing as a ruck opposed mainly to Flynn(w). Was beaten but not embarrassed in an encouraging performance
• Duursma(b) played on the wing in the first quarter before switching into the CBD for the second and was instrumental in the blue team having their best patch of the game. Won a couple of centre clearances and didn’t look out of place
• Yeo(w) played as a mid in the first quarter in short stints but sat it out after that as far as I could tell. Helped set up one goal but didn’t have a huge influence
• Reid(b) had a rare quieter game although he did lift a bit in the second quarter and combined nicely with Duursma a couple of times
• The other Reid(w) took two towering pack marks in the first quarter but missed the first shot from 40m before converting his second from a little closer in
• Schoenberg(w) also played well through the midfield and kicked a nice goal on the run
• Champion hit Gross(w) with a searing pass inside F50 late in Q2 which drew praise from coaching staff. Most importantly, Gross converted truly - he also had more impact today as he builds into preseason after spending most of his time pre-Christmas in rehab
• Shanahan(b) had some good moments, particularly in Q2 when he got on the end of some of the blue teams midfield work. Kicked at least two goals in a good outing
• Baker played today, albeit on limited minutes, in a positive indication his leg is/was minor
• Kelly(w) in combination with McCarthy was a big driver of white’s early dominance. Spent some time as a HF in what might be a sign of things to come. Quietly putting together a nice body of work
• Long(w) was handy
• The battle between Davis, Allen, Hall and Duursma for the two wing spots continues. Duursma had the best game overall but most of his influence came when he went into the centre. As a wingman, Allen had the best outing as the fat side winger - was getting plenty of encouragement/advice from one of the coaches on his positioning
• At one point it seemed like McQualter was in the grandstand barking instructions- presumably to get a better overall view of the patterns he’s looking for
• Plenty of voice too from the other coaches during the session as they start zeroing in on what they want the players to do


That’s about it, other than to say Duggan had another solid hitout and it’ll be a surprise (to me at least) if he’s not captain again this season - either as sole skipper or sharing the role with Waterman. Baker I expect will continue as a vice captain

How was/is CDT tracking? I know he's a young tall and they take time, but I'd prefer we fast track him than even think of Barnett

 

[NYJetsfor2029]

There was an interview recently with one of the other club's s&c coaches if anyone can find it.

He said he had never seen a player with an interrupted preseason have a top quality season. He said that they could come in for a few games and remind people of their capability, but not have a perfect season. Unfortunately in the modern game preseason is vitally important to playing well and having the durability to keep it up for every round. So with that in mind, any player we have with an interrupted preseason such as Starcevic and Baker should be viewed as fortunate if they make a big impact.

S&C coach would say that though wouldn’t they

 

[Keys]

How was/is CDT tracking? I know he's a young tall and they take time, but I'd prefer we fast track him than even think of Barnett

CDT is tracking just fine. Was a bit quieter today splitting his time between ruck and up forward

Personally think he should be in the side R1 as a third tall to complement Waterman, Shanahan and Reid who I think will be second ruck behind Flynn

Because he’s developing I’m more than happy for him to only ruck sporadically

 

[Byron_Clanger]

Bloody hell

Taking player and our club medico's in to account, this could be anything from a 2 week 'light duties' kinda deal to a season long 3-5 weeker Elliot Yeo style

 

[JoshWoodenSpoon]

Sounds like Schoenberg has been hitting the scoreboard regularly, which is promising.

 

[Elite Pete]

https://archive.md/zfi4Z

Tmac out bodying Harley. Berg and Dev doing the hard yards as well. Could be a midfield that can at least compete.

 

[Elite Pete]

 

[flamingEMBERS]

and his body type/genes

Sorry this was always the biggest cop out. He was slim early career, he didn’t prioritise his diet and cardio late career and the club top toed around it. He was easily our best player and the most influential in the league, but being his size he played f’all game time and hurt us. the club couldn’t do much cause there were other blokes taking the piss and he was still performing. It’s always about calories in v calories out, not Fijian genetics as Duff would say.

 

[FatPizza]

So, I can take my membership card back out of the microwave?

 

[Elite Pete]

Brockman charged. Feb 19th court appearance

 

[Proeagle]

Sounds like Kenh is looking good. Lets hope he falls to the rookie draft later in the year.

 

[bzparkes]

Sounds like Kenh is looking good. Lets hope he falls to the rookie draft later in the year.

Would rather he has an amazing year and ends up going top 10, tbh.

Edit: maybe not that high with the new rules...

 

[WCE777]

Would rather he has an amazing year and ends up going top 10, tbh.

Edit: maybe not that high with the new rules...

I crave for the day we have to worry about an NGA/FS going top 10, first round!!
Would rather have the talent than worry about matching.