Training-20/12/08

[Scott Van Persett]

I notice no-one has commented on training yesterday so I thought I would make some comments. I'm not very good at picking out players at training especially with new players so don't get too excited about getting a report like previous ones. I'm going to post this now then use reply as I've previously typed a report twice and it has been lost somewhere and not posted so I don't want to waste my time if it happens again

Scott

 

[Scott Van Persett]

Back again. Successful this time.

I got to training about 8am and it finished about 10.15am. Generally it was quite skillful and all the boys seemed to be in good spirits and interacting well with all levels of seniority. The drills were very similar to what has previously been posted in other reports so I'll comment more on individual players.

Moran and Maric basically did laps and some kick to kick. They were joined in laps by Dangerfield who also did some one-to-one kicking and I thought he was pretty good although it was short distances and not at pace. He didn't seem hampered by his calf. McLeod basically rode the bike for the training session and got to some good pace. He only had a stretch bandage on his knee and was not hampered at all. Towards the end of training he did a handball drill with 4 juniors where they stood in a circle and passed 5 balls quite quickly either left or right then made quick change. After some practice they got up to about 5 minutes before they made a mistake. The rapport between McLeod and the players was excellent

There was a wrestling drill in which Scott Thompson was paired with Sellar. Very competitive. Thommo's head hit Sellar's chin and the claret flowed but was stemmed by the trainers after a few minutes. Rob Shirley and Brad Symes were paired with Symes being very aggressive. Goodwin and Edwards were paired and it was like seeing some old wrestlers going through the paces with a locking of arms but then just circling and laughing. They were encouraged to try some moves but didn't happen. I kept an eye on Goodwin through the training and he didn't seem to be hampered by his back at all.

Downer of the wresting was Tippet twisted his left knee. Tried to take part in next drill but had to come off and had ice on the knee for 1/2 hour. Was still limping at end of training session but didn't seem too upset so hopefully only a tweak. Injured the inner part of the knee just below the kneecap and that can be cartilage so here's hoping !

Johncock looked fantastic, as trim as I've seen him at this time of the year. I have some photos which I will try to post but I've had enough trouble posting this report so we will see how we go. He had his old pace, agility and confidence back especially in the drill using a tennis ball and getting into a small box. This was in a confined field but on 2 occasions he was able to run the ball 3/4 length of the field before passing off. He also seemed in very good spirits.

My wife thought Henschell trained quite well but commented he seemed to be limping at times when walking. I was watching him and felt something was not quite right but I couldn't put my finger on it so hopefully I'm wrong as I think the club is happy with his progress. Jacky seems to be an outside player to me, he doesn't seem to get involved in the competitive stuff too well, maybe if his body develops he will get more confidence.

Towards the end of the session Peter Jonas was close to a young man videoing some of the session. He asked if he was the chap who put it on Youtube but the man said no but asked if the club objected to it or blogs on the internet by fans and Jonas said they did not.

At the end of training a group of adults who presumably had been taken on a tour of the old and new buildings gathered with all the players and it looked like the new players were introduced and applauded by all the team so I presume it was their parents so it's good to see that happening in the club.

All in all the boys looked fit, lean and happy so we look forward to a successful year for the club

Scott

 

[jo172]

Thanks for the report mate, love the sounds of these wrestling drills, will be good to see a bit of **** and toughness drilled into the players!

 

[WALL-e]

Cheers bro

 

[Symesy15]

There was a wrestling drill in which Scott Thompson was paired with Sellar. Very competitive. Thommo's head hit Sellar's chin and the claret flowed but was stemmed by the trainers after a few minutes. Rob Shirley and Brad Symes were paired with Symes being very aggressive.

Downer of the wresting was Tippet twisted his left knee.

That's my boy haha.

Well Tippett's got 2 weeks to rest it, so hopefully it will be okay! Who would want to be a Crow ruckman?? They'd have to be the unluckiest players in the AFL with all the knee injuries!

 

[macca23]

Well done SVP!!

A very interesting read.

 

[beagle2]

Downer of the wresting was Tippet twisted his left knee.ful year for the club

Scott

Would have thought Vince V tippet was a mismatch He must be a strong little bugger

 

[The Crows Truth]

Back again. Successful this time.

I got to training about 8am and it finished about 10.15am. Generally it was quite skillful and all the boys seemed to be in good spirits and interacting well with all levels of seniority. The drills were very similar to what has previously been posted in other reports so I'll comment more on individual players.

Moran and Maric basically did laps and some kick to kick. They were joined in laps by Dangerfield who also did some one-to-one kicking and I thought he was pretty good although it was short distances and not at pace. He didn't seem hampered by his calf. McLeod basically rode the bike for the training session and got to some good pace. He only had a stretch bandage on his knee and was not hampered at all. Towards the end of training he did a handball drill with 4 juniors where they stood in a circle and passed 5 balls quite quickly either left or right then made quick change. After some practice they got up to about 5 minutes before they made a mistake. The rapport between McLeod and the players was excellent

There was a wrestling drill in which Scott Thompson was paired with Sellar. Very competitive. Thommo's head hit Sellar's chin and the claret flowed but was stemmed by the trainers after a few minutes. Rob Shirley and Brad Symes were paired with Symes being very aggressive. Goodwin and Edwards were paired and it was like seeing some old wrestlers going through the paces with a locking of arms but then just circling and laughing. They were encouraged to try some moves but didn't happen. I kept an eye on Goodwin through the training and he didn't seem to be hampered by his back at all.

Downer of the wresting was Tippet twisted his left knee. Tried to take part in next drill but had to come off and had ice on the knee for 1/2 hour. Was still limping at end of training session but didn't seem too upset so hopefully only a tweak. Injured the inner part of the knee just below the kneecap and that can be cartilage so here's hoping !

Johncock looked fantastic, as trim as I've seen him at this time of the year. I have some photos which I will try to post but I've had enough trouble posting this report so we will see how we go. He had his old pace, agility and confidence back especially in the drill using a tennis ball and getting into a small box. This was in a confined field but on 2 occasions he was able to run the ball 3/4 length of the field before passing off. He also seemed in very good spirits.

My wife thought Henschell trained quite well but commented he seemed to be limping at times when walking. I was watching him and felt something was not quite right but I couldn't put my finger on it so hopefully I'm wrong as I think the club is happy with his progress. Jacky seems to be an outside player to me, he doesn't seem to get involved in the competitive stuff too well, maybe if his body develops he will get more confidence.

Towards the end of the session Peter Jonas was close to a young man videoing some of the session. He asked if he was the chap who put it on Youtube but the man said no but asked if the club objected to it or blogs on the internet by fans and Jonas said they did not.

At the end of training a group of adults who presumably had been taken on a tour of the old and new buildings gathered with all the players and it looked like the new players were introduced and applauded by all the team so I presume it was their parents so it's good to see that happening in the club.

All in all the boys looked fit, lean and happy so we look forward to a successful year for the club

Scott

OK, I will fess up. It was me...despite being non-committal at the time when speaking to 2 other Big Footy posters (I was a tad worried it may be Crow Mos or his soul mate stalking me ). I enjoyed my first training session for a couple of years and agree with everything said above.

The youngsters all were working hard with Sloane clearly leading the runs. Mc Kernan a very fine specimen and the 1st year player I am most excited by – he could be anything this boy. Young worked on the bikes all session and was a pretty upbeat and relaxed guy who mingled easily with seniors. Armstrong was very quiet throughout the session firstly running laps then working the bike. Donnelly will be released from the crows within 12 months imo. Schmidt seems slow as others have mentioned. I didn’t recognise Henderson.

I wont focus on the training as cant add much further value to your comments along with the excellent training reports from CG and Drummond in recent weeks. Plus its bloody hard to recognise players without numbers/wearing caps/more than 100 metres away etc etc

I spent the majority of the 2 hour session talking to the following people:

Barry Downs – Head Trainer role IIRC

Has been with the club since inception. A few highlights of the many questions I probed him on (many of which he couldn’t answer that openly for obvious reasons) :
- Club perceives current youngsters as best since early 90’s.
- Davis reminds him of a young Steve Kernahan! ( unfortunately I am not 100% sure what context this is in as I was concentrating on filming at the time and I only realised it when hearing it on review of the footage this morning).
- Petrenko is NOT seen as a forward crumbing option at this stage.
- Griff had had post-season surgery (i didn’t realise this) and was only riding the bike.
- Although he is still young Sellar will really need to show something this year (presumably to survive). The club has mentioned switching SANFL club to Sellar but Jimmy is very opposed to it. Doesnt want to be seen as ‘a complainer’ and if he cant make it at SANFL level he certainly wont be making it at the higher level.
- He said Johncock is now looking very good (in a fitness context). I said ‘wouldnt you love to see him in the midfield’ and he responded ‘he isnt looking that good’!
- He rated Adam Saliba (early 90’s player) as the big wasted talent he has seen at the club (I agree 100%)
- Agreed with me that the toughness and real physicality has gone out of the game in the last decade
- Said Craigy was on holidays in Canada and Reidy somewhere else (NZ perhaps). It looked like Viney was running the session
- He didn’t really respond to a few questions I asked that would have been interesting (eg most exciting youngsters, why did the club pass at the rookie draft, why is Rendell so public with his decision making)


One of the leading trainer guys also with club since inception (the biggish guy who drives the mini-ambulance)

- Otten had been a standout at training in recent weeks. Cook has also looked good. Also thinks Armstrong is a good chance to make it.
- Didnt think it was a fait accompli that VB was next captain and mentioned Rutten and Bock also
- Toughest few players he has seen at the club – Mark Viska, The Weed, Bickley and..... Scott Hodges!. He didn’t categorically endorse Roo which was a little surprising. Quite surprising these last 2 views imo.
- I enjoyed asking him about the Blight years and hearing about the huddle in the middle of the MCG after the final siren and also the feeling in the rooms after the back to back flags 97/98

New recruit Tom Lees Mum and Grandad

Both were very friendly and introduced themself. Tom is ‘the baby’ from a very close-knit family. His Dad died very young at 39 and the extended family rallied around him and his siblings. They were slightly non-committal re how he had settled in and indicated it would take time.

7-8 clubs were interested in him prior to the draft (The Weagles had ruled themself out and his Mum joked look how they are going at the moment ). The Bulldogs Clayton said he was one of 4 options they had at pick 30 ish. Sydney was very keen and said they were going to take him at 61 – the pick after the Crows picked him up! They actually thought the Roos (one of the teams that hadn’t indicated any interest) had drafted him at 59 but it was actually a **** up with the AFL draft tracker.

They are very impressed by the professionalism of the club. Flights over, staying at The Hilton, cab charges to and from training. They perceive the Crows, Eagles, Pies as the financial powerhouses in the league. Said Rendell was in contact on numerous occasions throughout the year and very professional. Craig was on the phone within 15 mins of the Crows drafting him and spoke to his mum not only as a coach but also as ‘a parent to a parent’ which really impressed them.

Jonas indicated in the short chat I had with him that the club does know about the training reports we do.

I am sure that will come to me later – i didn’t take notes at the time and this is going from memory. sorry about any formatting issues as i typed into Word first

ps thanks for the ‘young man’ comment. I haven’t heard that for a while

 

[Drummond]

Great work SVP and The Crows Truth. Excllent insight. This board really is brilliant, makes the off-season that much better.

One thing that is for sure, you always hear about how professional the club is when it comes to handling the youngsters and their families. That's a great reputation to have.

Glad to see that Petrenko isn't going to be used as a crumbing forward in the short term. While he has shown some promising signs up forward he looks like a natural running defender at this stage. I am just so excited by this guy, he is everything you ask for in a player. Extremely hard at the contest and man, good skills, strong overhead and he's one of the quickest blokes I've seen. He is a dead set gem and should play Round 1 as he'll be a 10 year player and the sooner we get him in the better.

Hopefully Tommy Lee gets settled and overcomes any homesickness I'm sure he's feeling. Everyone has their favourite draftee from last year and he's certainly mine. Just got to hope he falls to Norwood tomorrow.

In regards to our forward line for next year, it's going to have an interesting look to it. Burton will be absent for the first 15 or so rounds, if not all year, so his position will need to be filled. Assuming they're fit, Gill and Tippett will be walk-up starts. Hentschel is looking strong and you would think if he performs well in the NAB Cup he'll be right to go. Walker's training strongly with improved defensive efforts but I still believe they'll be hesitant to rush him so don't expect him to play too many games in 2009. We'll likely rotate Goodwin, Edwards and Thompson through the forward line a fair bit next year to give the youngsters more experience.

2009 is going to be very exciting that's for sure.

 

[dylan123]

more great reports

looks like a lot of the players on our list r going very good and we will have good depth next season for when we get injuries. also gives us to rest a few of the older guys e.g goodwin,edwards and mcleod later on in the season to let them recover a bit more.

looking forward to 09 season

 

[macca23]

Jonas indicated in the short chat I had with him that the club does know about the training reports we do.

I am sure that will come to me later – i didn’t take notes at the time and this is going from memory. sorry about any formatting issues as i typed into Word first

ps thanks for the ‘young man’ comment. I haven’t heard that for a while

Well done TCT - your maiden report.

I thoroughly enjoyed it as you came from a slightly different slant to the other training reports. Put them all together and we get a fantastic coverage of what's happening.

Oh yes, Jonas would most certainly be aware of not only the training reports but also everything and anything of importance on this site, as are the rest of the officials. That couldn't be illustrated better than the fact that afccomau posts on behalf of the club on this site where they feel applicable.

Once again - well done.

 

[KUNG FU]

Very surprised Petrenko is not seen as a forward option just going by his game near goal, as well as our obvious surpluses and shortages in the respective HBF & forward pocket roles.

 

[twentydollarnote]

OK, I will fess up. It was me...despite being non-committal at the time when speaking to 2 other Big Footy posters (I was a tad worried it may be Crow Mos or his soul mate stalking me )

hahahaa

 

[twentydollarnote]

Very surprised Petrenko is not seen as a forward option just going by his game near goal, as well as our obvious surpluses and shortages in the respective HBF & forward pocket roles.

Leave that role to Douglas and Jacky imo. Play him in a back pocket and push johncock into the middle.

 

[Vantz]

Thanks for the report guys i had work so could not make it.
I hope they dont oppose us making short movies or taking photos at training. Also great news petrenko is going to be used in the backline i really like the look of him

 

[The Crows Truth]

just remembered some other points that were made ( but i wont after the next couple of beers..)

Barry Downs said the new recruits were now being slowly introduced into the groups main training at the advice of Alan Stewart (and contrary to Craigy and Reids preferences). Mentioned the various injuries in recent years to youngsters like Cook and Mc Kay as examples

Biggish trainer who drives the ambulance said Norwood training had been recently cut back from 2 days a week to 1. Doubts very much real stuff can be hidden away anyway. After youve introduced a new game style all other clubs are onto it immediately anyway he thought

Tom Lees Mum said that after hoping a WA side picked up Tom that Adelaide was next on her list (I dont know if she meant the city or club). Either way she is comfortable that we have picked up Tom and its normally harder for WA lads to quit the club and try and return home through the PSD. A very sound (and lovely) family he seems to be from. Now lets hope he can find the ball

 

[KUNG FU]

Leave that role to Douglas and Jacky imo. Play him in a back pocket and push johncock into the middle.

Douglas is a midfielder. Jacky still has a long way to go, football, fitness & injury wise. Petrenko has a much more natural knack in front of the goal face imo.

 

[The Crows Truth]

Well done TCT - your maiden report.

I thoroughly enjoyed it as you came from a slightly different slant to the other training reports. Put them all together and we get a fantastic coverage of what's happening.

Oh yes, Jonas would most certainly be aware of not only the training reports but also everything and anything of importance on this site, as are the rest of the officials. That couldn't be illustrated better than the fact that afccomau posts on behalf of the club on this site where they feel applicable.

Once again - well done.

Thanks M23. It might be the last for a while though...Byron Bay to AAMI is quite a drive

 

[KUNG FU]

Oh and Johncock in the midfield is a running joke on this board. You cannot be serious.

 

[cmndstab]

Hey they were awesome reports guys

I want to reiterate what Drummond said, these forums basically make the offseason worth living. I miss footy so much each year when it finishes but thanks to draftee news, rumour threads, discussion about youngsters and now the latest in a whole string of brilliant training reports it's flown by! Only a month and a half to go

I hope nothing serious is wrong with Tippett, that's the major downer from the training report. I'm really hoping he can step up again next year, I'd love to see him go into the year injury free. That being said I wish we had another tall that was ready to go down there so Tippett wouldn't get double-teamed all the time. Assuming Hentschel isn't ready to play there, and Burton is gone, and Walker doesn't play right up close to goals, I guess that means I'm relying on either Sellar to get his act together or Davis/McKernan to come on early.

 

[macca23]

Thanks M23. It might be the last for a while though...Byron Bay to AAMI is quite a drive

Excuses, excuses. Nothing but excuses!!

 

[Vince Van Mackay]

Douglas is a midfielder. Jacky still has a long way to go, football, fitness & injury wise. Petrenko has a much more natural knack in front of the goal face imo.

Well it seems they don't want to play him there so badluck.

 

[NTRabbit]

Douglas is a midfielder.

Correction, Douglas is a wannabe midfielder. He still has a lot of work to do before he proves to many of us that he is up to being part of an AFL midfielder rotation, and by my count this will be the third year that Douglas is "ready to stamp his authority on the midfield" - any longer and we can start mentioning it in the same sentence as Johncock's move into the midfield.

 

[slippery crow]

Thanks to all for posting the taining reports the quality keeps going to another level with every report, I can now visualise the sessions through the reports....

Living in sydney, these reports provide a fantastic insight and I thank everyone for their efforts for keeping us ex SA patriots in touch and feeling so close tpo the club

 

[Mego Red]

Correction, Douglas is a wannabe midfielder. He still has a lot of work to do before he proves to many of us that he is up to being part of an AFL midfielder rotation, and by my count this will be the third year that Douglas is "ready to stamp his authority on the midfield" - any longer and we can start mentioning it in the same sentence as Johncock's move into the midfield.

Settle down - last year was the first year he was a first 22 player. Unless my math is terrible, he's only been on our LIST for three years! Just because the "many of us" on bigfooty thought he should have been playing in the midfield by now doesn't mean the club thought that. He's done the right apprenticeship and will see himself in more midfield rotations this year.