They're back (including HFC082's training photos)

[RustyHawk]

And training hard.

Training Friday 5th January 2007

Warm to hot conditions at Waverley Park this morning. No cloud Wind blowing towards the Southern or Western end of the ground. Obviously helped kicking one way and hindered the other, hence training focus changed from one to other other for the major drills.

Ground looked green. There is a notice saying excemption from watering restrictions till 24.01.07. However, the ground also looks hard which has an effect later on.

When I arrived Clinton Young had just finished training (looked spent) followed soon after by Bob and Dowler.

Josh was there trying. (1 player you just cannot miss ).

Training during pre season certainly different to training once the season has started. During the season it is short 5-10 minute skill drills handball, short kicks, long kicks, long handball and then some training on moving the ball from backline to forward line. Fast, fast fast.

Pre season training much more emphasis on match practice.

Croady, Zac & Gilly vs Buddy, Roughie and Taylor in and around the goal square. Lots of bombs in to test the defenders and forwards alike.

Zac certainly seems to have put some weight on but is still only young and still got more gym work to do. Did a lovely piece of work, last line of D, the ball comes in and whilst clear decided right in the goal square to PUNCH the ball through rather than try for the mark. IMHO nothing looks worse than a defender fumbling in the goal square and the opposition kicking a goal. I hope that instinct of punching stays with him.

Hodge training beautifully. Looks fit. Brilliant player. At one stage out on the wing one on one. His opponent gets first bite as the ball is kicked to Hodgey. Hodgey just waits, the ball fisted to the ground, Hodgey's anticipation is spot on, the ball falls just where he wants it, grabs it, he ducks and weaves out of his opponents way and gets a 30m pass off to the next player. Perfect.

Mitchell is running hard with Crawf both look tip top.

When Big Max finished training, Buddy or Franko as they seemed to be calling him, moved up to the centre to contest against Taylor. Buddy looks good, ready for a big year.

In this match play scenario the pack has formed just inside the 50m on outside wing near eastern end. The ball has to be moved down forward,(doesnt matter which side marks the ball is stopped and moved back the other end where just 4 players, all from same team await to kick. Interesting to see Joel Smith playing outside midfielder in a few of these drills followed by Musto

Talking of Beau Muston gave a lovely elbow to Guerra during one training drill. They were chasing the ball onto the wing and and whack goes Musto, down goes Guerra. BG didnt look pleased. Didnt catch him full on but was there

Another incident was Taylor getting bowled over, well off the ball by someone (didnt see who - just caught the incident out of the corner of my eye. the offender had turned and jogged away) but I think Musto put himself between the offender and Taylor and Taylor is not a small guy.

Just near the end 1 player (either Ozzy or Ladson) *since it has been reported with photos on another hawk fan site it was Ladsonby the look landed badly after a pack and did what looks like a left ankle. 4 trainers attended and training held up as he was moved to the side of the oval. Got up and walked off to the medical rooms but was very proppy. The hardness of the grounds could cause problems for all Melbourne based teams with ankle and other type of leg injuries more prevalent.

We may see some photos on other Hawk talk sites including the ankle injury. The camera guy certainly had a good lens on his piece.

Cheers

 

[hawkaz1]

Re: They're back

Great report as usual Rusty

 

[RustyHawk]

Re: They're back

If you want to see some good photos of what happened at training. Go to the MH site and check out the thread "Training". HFC082 was there snapping away. Ladson went down right in front of him. Good shot in the background of young Zac and other players.

Other photos include Changa and Buddy leaving training. Funniest thing I saw at training. Changa standing the mark as Buddy kicked. Try as did I doubt Buddy even knew Changa was there

 

[Binxy]

Re: They're back

Great report as usual Rusty

Agreed - you're a gem, Rustoli.

 

[HFC082]

Re: They're back

Ground looked green. There is a notice saying excemption from watering restrictions till 24.01.07. However, the ground also looks hard which has an effect later on.

Hehe...took note of that. The ground was looking tip top again.

 

[RustyHawk]

Re: They're back

HFC082.

Luv the photo's man Couple of Q's.

*Who was doing the one on one training near the entry to the ground.
Was that Thorp or Renouf. I thought Renouf. Intensive 1 on 1. Lots of working palming the ball, using the ball, handling the ball with 1 hand first one side then the next plus reflex stuff.

**Nothing like answering your own Q. Confirmed on MH by Foo Foo - ty that it was Renouf - I think, hazarding a guess, he was working out with the high performance coach. Looked good.

&

Did you get any photos of that player?

Finally, who was your mate with the back pack or just another interested spectator?

Cheers

 

[HFC082]

Re: They're back

HFC082.

Luv the photo's man Couple of Q's.

*Who was doing the one on one training near the entry to the ground.
Was that Thorp or Renouf. I thought Renouf. Intensive 1 on 1. Lots of working palming the ball, using the ball, handling the ball with 1 hand first one side then the next plus reflex stuff.

&

Did you get any photos of that player?

I am not the one to ask about the noobs...hahah...i have know idea who it was. I should have got a shot of him, but for some reason i didn't.

Finally, who was your mate with the back pack or just another interested spectator?

He was another interested spectator (A poster from Mightyhawk). It was good to have a chat about some AFL

 

[navier-stokes equation]

Re: They're back

How did Sewell train? Was in he in the midfield group?

 

[RustyHawk]

Re: They're back

How did Sewell train? Was in he in the midfield group?

Sorry, didnt really notice him. Players change their appearance quite a bit putting on and taking off the different colored tops to denote if playing blue or white. Pretty sure I heard his name being called during the action though.

He would have been in midfield action. The backline group was just the talls until the final drill, thats when Laddo got hurt.

 

[Philhawk]

Re: They're back

Brilliant report as always, Rusty. I'm slowly gearing up for hopefully a big season this year.

 

[pixie]

Re: They're back

how did lewis train??

 

[RustyHawk]

Re: They're back

how did lewis train??

Trained ok. Ran hard through the middle - drove his kicks long to the forwards

 

[Roughie]

Re: They're back

Loving the reports...is there anything Muston cant do wrong?

 

[HomerJay]

Re: They're back

Loving the reports...is there anything Muston cant do wrong?

Whacking one of his own, or not?

 

[Roughie]

Re: They're back

Whacking one of his own, or not?

I think its good seeing a young fella whacking one of the hardest players running around. Also read another report saying Sewelly bumped him over minutes later to hand it back to him.

 

[HFC082]

Re: They're back

I've updated my photos from Friday morning's training session and have added the entire shoot to my Flickr account.

The full list can be seen at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/94633110@N00/sets/72157594460858013/

 

[RustyHawk]

Re: They're back

Again, well done HFC.

Ooh, you managed to get me in 1 of your photos.... the one taking the screamer over the top of Croady & Buddy..... ok. not that one.

The one where Rick L is walking back to the dugout with the 2 trainers. Just to the right of Rick's big head is my sitting on one of the seats in front of the stadium...... personally I would have preferred you showing the 1 of me taking the screamer.. oh well.

 

[Philhawk]

Great pics HFC, much appreciated.

Also, is it just me or have Changa and Mitch really look like they've buffed up in those pics?

 

[HR Roughnstuf]

when is the next open session?

 

[RustyHawk]

Training report from Unfulfilled Potential from the MH website.
And a good read at that.


This is my first training report, hopefully it is worth the read.....


...I got to training about 9.30 (apparently they had been there from about 8.00).

Guys that I saw leave the track early were Thorp, Jacobs and Ossie. As mentioned missed Willo all together, and Dicko did look very tanned and was an onlooker,was giving input into some of the training drills.

Bit hard to see the whole ground and it too a while to pick up who is who but here are the things I noticed.

Dowler was back at training after gastro but was taking it easy, spent time hand balling and chipping the ball around with Robbie Campbell.

Watched Xavier Ellis, Renouf and (I think) McEntee practice an agility drill where a number of poles are placed closed together over a 15-20 metre distance and the guys weave through them, this was overseen by one of the fitness guys, the emphasis being on technique rather than speed.
They finished off by having kick to kick, with David Rath working with McEntee on technique, Ellis sprayed a few and wasn't too happy with that as most of his disposal was very neat.

Max Bailey worked on one grabbing, and Moss worked on close in work with one of the assistants, he was also very clean and neat in what I saw.

Clinton Young mostly ran laps - very hot work.

Guys did a handball drill with no tackling, over 40-50 metre distance, with teams of 4-5 each.
Two groups took part (on each wing), I watched the closest wing to the stand.

The idea was to break lines and create space, as there was no tackling the defensive teams idea was to knock the ball loose or hold them up through corralling, Crawf as usual ran his butt off, Buddy looked fantastic and carried the ball well, at one stage running about 30 metres with the footy without being caught (didn't bounce it once??), Bateman, Guerra and Joel Smith also broke the lines well.

The others in the drill I was were Vandenberg, Tuck, Muston,Thurgood and Morton.

Overall it was a pretty clean drill with only one or two fumbles over the 10-15 minutes it took place.

The next drill as Henry mentioned "They were mainly working on setting screens and bringing the ball into the forward line."

Part of this was also four midfielders chipping the ball from side to side just outside 50 until a leading forward was open, they were being pressured by three defenders.

There were 3-4 forwards and the same backs.

Forwards I can recall were Roughead, Boyle, Little and the backs were Dawson Gilham and Murphy.

The midfielders rotated but Birchall was in there as was Crawford, Clarke, Muston, Bateman, Laddo (pre-ankle roll) and Gibson(Rookie).

On the lead with the screens that were set the forwards had the easier roll with Roughead looking like the class act, the only concern was him double grabbing a few - but looked very hard to stop, had a mixture of Dawson/Gilham on him.

Tim Boyle also worked well and got open, he also took a fantastic one hander in a later drill against Tom Murphy.
Matt Little took a grab or two but wasn't used as much and didn't get open a great deal, he doesn't look overly quick but have seen him at Box Hill and he is very clever.

Have to say the talk and encouragement between the backline guys over the course of the morning was fantastic - Tom Murphy was very good in this area, as was Croad, Gilham and also Guerra.
Alot of encouragement for Zac especially, like most Backman he was beaten when the ball was delivered well, but in the drill that followed he was great at spoiling the high ball and did a good job overall.
Ultimately our midfield pressure will determine how successful Zac,Gilham, Murphy go this year.

The last drill was the ball being kicked long into the forward line, with the occasional kick to a lead, the midfielders worked the ball from Half Back with the forward competing against the backs similar to the previous drill.

This time Croady(hand still bandaged) was also part of the Backline set up and matched up on Buddy most of the time, Buddy had little effect and spilled a chest mark, which was the only chance that came his way.

Damien Hardwick also called out once to Buddy to watch the hands in the back while going for a grab, something he has been caught out with before - so they are working on that.

Roughy again looked the most threatening up forward, but as a general rule the backman won more of the contests.

Morton took a good leading grab, but Murphy/Gilham/Dawson all did well.

Of the midfielders, Hodge and Mitch both looked well muscled and solid impressive units, Lewis was also very busy in this drill as was Muston who banged through a drop punt from at least 55 after they had been called to come in.
His kicking style is different, both arms sort of flung out, not quite wings but getting there - whatever the hell I just tried to describe doesn't matter as the results were pretty good.

Vandeberg, McGlynn,Tuck,Clarke were others I recall being involved

Overall this drill was great to watch and was pretty hotly contested,the skills were again pretty solid, I liked the talk and spirit overall and it finished with the Boyler one hander followed by the Muston Bomb.

The guys then did this drill again, but swapped ends, I can't tell you too much as I started annoying HFC082, who was taking the picks that were posted on this thread.

The key thing that stood out was Croady going forward, he took 2-3 contested pack marks mostly on his chest, he is a strong boy and it will be interesting to see where he plays in 2007 as there are good arguments for both sides, with cloning being the best solution.

Otherwise the backline mopped up pretty well with Guerra and Ladson being the main guys, pre-Laddo ankle roll.

They finished up about 10.45.

 

[RustyHawk]

Training Report from Foo Foo Man also posted on the MH website. Another good read and different observations.


Yeh i dropped in for a bit as well, so to add to that already posted in regards to some of the newer recruits...

Ellis did some running then went inside pretty early and didnt come out again...

Renouf was just doing some running around the boundary then did some palming type work away from the group...certainly looks an athletic big man..

Morton (I'm pretty sure it was him) and Muston both participated in all of the practice match type scenarios and got involved quite a bit

I couldn't make Thorp out...so I'm not sure if he was there.

On the others, I thought Zac contested really well throughout the session...good attitude and appears stronger....here's hoping...

Also, Bailey seems to look to have developed his upper body more and looked leaner around the middle...when used as a link up player in the the drills he showed good skills.

I didn't think Franklin did too much when played on the full forward line but did some work in the midfield...we may see him play a ruck rover type role at times this year...

And Craw, Mitchell, Hodgey were really enthusiastic throughout...and i thought Roughhead (playing mainly up forward in the session) positioned himself well and presented as a target.

Overall I thought most looked a little rusty compared with other sessions i have attended previously...but thats probably due to the break...

BTW...Roughead took his cap off showing he has shaved his head bald..not sure if that is a new look for him

Cheers
FFM

 

[RustyHawk]

Training Report by Bootsie16 This was first posted I assume on Hawk Headquarters website then pinched to MightyHawk site. Another good read and observation.


Ventured out to Waverley this morning to join the capacity crowd of 6 plus a little boy. The conditions were very warm with a swirling breeze across the ground. The boys were on the track shortly after 9am to avoid the impact of the heat later in the morning.

Most of the session focused on midfield and forward line set-up with the different exercises really aimed at getting the players to select the best option and execute their delivery skills. The forwards were being instructed to work hard to get to the "fat" side.

Most of the players were present including Beau Dowler who had his kit on but did very little. Was on the sidelines watching most of the time with Big Bob, Willo & Dicko before going inside. Ask Big Bob if there was a problem but he said he was fine and was just having a lighter day. Willo and Dicko took the boxing gloves inside for a session.

A group of 4 (Ellis, Renouf, Collins and ?) left the group to do some additional running work . Found it hard to identify Ellis initially as he now has red hair rather than the blond look. Ellis looks noticeably bigger in the body especially the legs but still needs to get some mass to his shape. Worked hard in the running but used up most of his petrol tickets. Ellis and Collins then went inside and Renouf did some ball work on the boundary. Renouf really does seem have good hands for a big man.

Some player comments;

Max Bailey - With Big Bob having a lighter day Max played as the main ruck in the set-up. One of the excerises involved 5 players around the 50m arc with the forwards and defenders in the goal square. The players had to keep moving the ball around the arc with pressure from additional defenders until a forward presented on the fat side. Big Max was used almost as a midfielder in this set-up and his foot skills were outstanding. A lot to like.

Roughie - Had a hat on for the full session which is not a bad move when you have pale skin and red hair!! (except now he has no red hair). Played as a key forward in each exercise which probably gives a good indication on where the coaches are looking to play him. Looked good today, used his strength and marked well. Still makes the occassional poor kicking error.

Ladson - Went down late in the session with a rolled ankle. Needed to get some assistance from the medical staff and left the track with his boot off and a noticeable limp. Hopefully nothing too bad. His vision and kicking skills in the set-up were most impressive.

Changa - Really has developed a solid AFL body. Trained hard and was used as the link man in most excerises. Looks ready for a big year.

Sewelly - Unless you really watch for Sewell he slides under the radar. At one stage Musto had knocked over BG in an exercise and shortly after Sewelly knocked over Musto as if to say what goes around comes around. All in good fun though.

Tails - Used mainly as a forward option in the exercises. Now has a massive frame and looks to be understanding the requirements of a leading forward. Still needs to work on his marking.

BG - Was starting to wonder with the younger players coming through if he would still be in the best 22. Seeing him today, without out a doubt is the best kick in the team. Just never seems to miss a target and gets real depth. Hodge is at a similiar level but still has the odd clanger.

Tim Boyle - Best session from Boyler in a long time. Played as a forward and one grabbed everything.

Zac Dawson - Played as the key back in every set-up and looked great. Contested hard, punched and ran off when the ball hit the ground. Kicking to targets was a little hit and miss. A lot to like and definately our best option at this stage for FB.

Stephen Gilham - Was the other main back in most set-ups. Has the ability to look out of position but still get to the contest to spoil. The coaching staff were very vocal in their praise of his continual efforts. Looked good.

Matt Little - Used as an alternate leading forward and crumbing option close to goal in nearly every set-up. Did a fair amount of work with Dimma late in the session on reading the ball and kicking crumbing goals. Interesting Campbell Brown and Morton also worked with Dimma on this. Don't be surprised to see Brown Dog used up forward a fair bit this year.

Tom Murphy - Is really filling out now. Not outstanding in any one area but solid in all. I like this kid.

Jarryd Morton - Interesting that when all of the other younger players left the session Morton stayed with the main group and did the whole session. May be a sign that they think he is almost ready.

Birch - Along with Hodge & BG really is the main option moving the ball out of the backline. Just looks so composed and rarely takes a bad option.

Youngy - Did his work early and left the track. Saw him later coming out of the gym and said all was good. Just trying to get an extra 2 to 3 kg of muscle before the season starts.

Hodge, Mitchell, McGlynn, Clarke, Crawf & Vanders all same old same old. Really set the standard of training intensity.

Didn't see Thorp, Kennedy, Jacobs, Ozzie & Moss at all. May have been doing some work indoors.




Thanks again, Bootsie16

 

[Pessimistic]

Driving past I noticed they have demolished the lake.

I thought the lake was crucial to the well-being of the oval - interesting to see what happens now.

 

[Binxy]

*drools*

 

[soupofficial]

Driving past I noticed they have demolished the lake.

I thought the lake was crucial to the well-being of the oval - interesting to see what happens now.

and having more houseblocks is crucial to the well-being of mirvac's balance sheet. though they sponsor hawthorn, so let's all join in a chorus of "H...F...C - more important than ecology!"