Training this Friday...

[Demon Revival]

Thanks for the report Spirit, how are Bate & Tom McDonald going on the track... Was McDonald training with the forwards or backs group???

 

[Gazza_11]

Has your girlfriend dumped you? You go through girls pretty quick, the 1st one was a kung fu fighter or something and I can't remember what the most recent one was.

Wasn't one the daughter of the world's best oriental chef?

 

[Spirit of 39]

Thanks for the report Spirit, how are Bate & Tom McDonald going on the track... Was McDonald training with the forwards or backs group???

Thanks DR.

Bate looks to have slimmed down a little. Warnock played on him in this match simulation handball game they played and Bater did well. He was a bit fumbly, but conditions weren't easy.

Tom McDonald has good hands and marked well on the lead against strong opposition in a lengthy lead up drill. He looked a bit sharper than Lucas Cook here, and seemed more agile, ie, he moved better laterally than Cook. I didn't see where he went when they broke up, as I spent the whole time watching Scotty West and Todd Viney working with the on-ballers. Sorry. I assumed he went forward.

 

[ThePuppetMaster]

from what i hear Watts has been doing most of his pre season work so far outside the main group, is that correct?? do we know what the issue might be? and maybe that is a possible explanation for his lack of intensity that session (which by my info would probably be close to his first with the full group)

 

[Spirit of 39]

from what i hear Watts has been doing most of his pre season work so far outside the main group, is that correct?? do we know what the issue might be? and maybe that is a possible explanation for his lack of intensity that session (which by my info would probably be close to his first with the full group)

You're right in that Watts has done some work outside the main group. But one thing about Wattsy yesterday, was that he looked fit and did well in the running drills. I think he is raring to go.

With regards to his intensity, I think he will always be one of those players that looks laconic. But I do believe he can develop more urgency in his footy. The good news is that urgency is something that he can develop with hard work and with counsel from the coaching staff. It also comes with picking up the pace of the game. This takes most blokes 3 to 4 years of playing senior footy. I wouldn't worry too much about Jack.

 

[Demon Revival]

What about Maric, did he look the goods???

 

[Spirit of 39]

What about Maric, did he look the goods???

Mate, Maric is smashing it. He was right up there with Bennell and Scully for best trainer yesterday for mine.

When doing the running drills the players were split into groups of 5. And Maric was the only one in the group who was able to keep up with Scully until even he got blown away. Maric hit packs hard, got front and centre well and his skills were sharp. I could be wrong, but I reckon I even saw him smile once or twice.

 

[RockyBalboa]

I got down to Casey last night. I was impressed with the intensity. There is definitely a great feeling amongst the group, which is not uncommon a this time of year.

Just a couple of observations:
-I was impressed with how vocal Flash was. He was obviously short of a gallop as he struggled in the running (coming back from broken leg), but he was the player I could hear above all others in the repeat effort sprints.

-Bail and Gysberts are definitely injured. They walked laps all night. Gysberts had a compression bandage on his right leg.

-Of the new players, Dan Nicholson impressed me the most. He has a beautiful left foot and moves well.
-When they broke up into their groups of backs, mids and forwards, Michael Evans and Cam Johnston were with the onballers and they held their own at the stoppages, particularly Evans, who found a lot of the footy.

-Robbie Campbell moved well in the warm up, but spent most of the night in the rooms on a X-Trainer. I wouldn't worry about this as I assume it was to do with is loading.

-Sylvia, Jurrah, Tommy McNamara and Taps all worked seperately from the main group. They all moved well and worked fairly hard. Again, I assumed it must have had someting to do with their loading.

-It was a long 2 hour session done at high intensity. The boys were knackered afterwards.

-Stefan Martin had the yellow jersey on for trainer of the week. Hopefully the penny has dropped for the big fella and he finds the urgency required to play at this level. I hope this rubs off on Jack Watts as he really does seem laconic on the track and seems to go at everyting at about 75%. If I was Bails, I would have someone follow Killer around at training to clip him across whenever the ball was in the vicinity to fire him up.

-Ricky Petterd is certainly the class clown of the group. He was always stirring blokes up and having a laugh. We have done well with our sponsorship selection boys!

If you have any questions lads, fire away.

Well, spirit, great to hear it.

I have been rabbiting on about on the rookie draft thread, singing his praises and telling all who want to listen, he is an out and out gun and a steal in the rookie. Will win a rising star and play most of the year..

Not surprising that a guy who breaks Stephen Hills agility record "moves well".

All those Contrary Mary's on the rookies thread trying to play down his background will be eating their words. He is an elite athlete who can also play footy.

Great pick up Dees!

Go Nico!!

 

[ThePuppetMaster]

You're right in that Watts has done some work outside the main group. But one thing about Wattsy yesterday, was that he looked fit and did well in the running drills. I think he is raring to go.

With regards to his intensity, I think he will always be one of those players that looks laconic. But I do believe he can develop more urgency in his footy. The good news is that urgency is something that he can develop with hard work and with counsel from the coaching staff. It also comes with picking up the pace of the game. This takes most blokes 3 to 4 years of playing senior footy. I wouldn't worry too much about Jack.

k thanks for the details mate, appreciate it

 

[cannons]

Thanks for the report, S39.

Just wondering how Strauss is going.

Cheers.

 

[Spirit of 39]

Thanks for the report, S39.

Just wondering how Strauss is going.

Cheers.

I'm going to sound like a broken record here, but Strauss impressed me last night. He is a beautiful kick as we all know, but he attacked the ball confidently last night and demanded the footy from his more experienced colleagues. James surpried me with his voice. He might just be feeling more comfortable in his environment.

I know he has a lot of convincing to do, but don't write him off just yet.

 

[LITTLE STINGA]

Thanks for the report Spirit.

Just a few questions.

Is Maric in the midfield group?

Based on training who do you think will take the half back role out of Morton, MacDonald, Bail, Strauss, Blease and Nicholson?

 

[Spirit of 39]

Thanks for the report Spirit.

Just a few questions.

Is Maric in the midfield group?

Based on training who do you think will take the half back role out of Morton, MacDonald, Bail, Strauss, Blease and Nicholson?

Maric was with the forward group. They had set shots, did some entry into forward 50 work, and then practised their snap shots.

Morton and Davey were the nominated wingman at the stoppage drills with the mids last night, so I'd suggest Cale will be working up the ground more.

The other lads, with the exception of Bail who was injured, worked with the defensive group. I think Joel Mac will play on the third tall when he is called upon. Out of the the others, throw a blanket over Strauss, Nicholson and Bail. The spot is there to be earned during the practice matches. Sorry I can't be more specific.

 

[LITTLE STINGA]

Maric was with the forward group. They had set shots, did some entry into forward 50 work, and then practised their snap shots.

Morton and Davey were the nominated wingman at the stoppage drills with the mids last night, so I'd suggest Cale will be working up the ground more.

The other lads, with the exception of Bail who was injured, worked with the defensive group. I think Joel Mac will play on the third tall when he is called upon. Out of the the others, throw a blanket over Strauss, Nicholson and Bail. The spot is there to be earned during the practice matches. Sorry I can't be more specific.

Thanks. Just 1 more question
What group was Bennell in?

 

[Spirit of 39]

Thanks. Just 1 more question
What group was Bennell in?

I can't recall, but he was tearing it up and was really exciting to watch in other drills throughout the night.

Kelvin Lawrence is a dead-ringer for JB. Flash played on Kelvin in a handball game later in the evening and told him exactly when and where to run. He is sharp!

I might be getting ahead of myself, but I get the feeling that we'll be talking about how well we did out of the 2010 rookie draft in years to come.

 

[stretcharmstrong]

Hey Spirit, thanks for all the info mate. Only have one question that hasn't already been asked: how did Blease look? I take it from the above post (#38) that he spent most of the session with the defence?

 

[cannons]

I'm going to sound like a broken record here, but Strauss impressed me last night. He is a beautiful kick as we all know, but he attacked the ball confidently last night and demanded the footy from his more experienced colleagues. James surpried me with his voice. He might just be feeling more comfortable in his environment.

I know he has a lot of convincing to do, but don't write him off just yet.

Thanks mate, it's good to hear that he's starting to assert himself a bit more, as he definitely seemed to play rather nervously last season.

He's a player I rate pretty highly, so hopefully he's starting to find his feet.

 

[Spirit of 39]

Hey Spirit, thanks for all the info mate. Only have one question that hasn't already been asked: how did Blease look? I take it from the above post (#38) that he spent most of the session with the defence?

Sam looked ok. We all know he is quick and a lovely user of the footy.

My immediate thought upon seeing Sam last night was "Gee, Bleasey is small." If he was to play back, I really think at the moment he'd be limited to the sort of player he could play on. Crumbing forwards only. See Eddie Betts, Rat Milne. I'd think he'd be in direct competition with Barts for his spot for round one. So he has some work to do.

 

[stretcharmstrong]

Sam looked ok. We all know he is quick and a lovely user of the footy.

My immediate thought upon seeing Sam last night was "Gee, Bleasey is small." If he was to play back, I really think at the moment he'd be limited to the sort of player he could play on. Crumbing forwards only. See Eddie Betts, Rat Milne. I'd think he'd be in direct competition with Barts for his spot for round one. So he has some work to do.

Thanks mate. I've always thought of Blease as being a potential outside mid/wingman. I was really excited about him a couple of years ago, but am starting to wonder whether he will come on as expected and where he will fit into the side.

When you say small, do you mean weight, height or just overall "frame" size? On the website he is listed as 184cm/78kg which doesn't seem too bad for a HBF/wingman type (obviously would like to get that weight up by five or so kilos)...

 

[Spirit of 39]

Thanks mate. I've always thought of Blease as being a potential outside mid/wingman. I was really excited about him a couple of years ago, but am starting to wonder whether he will come on as expected and where he will fit into the side.

When you say small, do you mean weight, height or just overall "frame" size? On the website he is listed as 184cm/78kg which doesn't seem too bad for a HBF/wingman type (obviously would like to get that weight up by five or so kilos)...

Skinny. He is still pretty slim as you would expect and his arms are like toothpicks. I, too, see him as an outside mid/winger, not a half back.

I'm just looking forward to seeing him string some games together at Casey, and then push for senior selection early in the year. Get him playing, building confidence in his leg.

 

[Canary]

This is great stuff spirit.

Just one question - what did you see of Spencer?

 

[Spirit of 39]

This is great stuff spirit.

Just one question - what did you see of Spencer?

He is an enigma. One minute you're watching him and he is moving like a gazelle, taking strong marks and throwing his weight around. The next, he looks like a new born baby giraffe way out of his depth.

That reminds me. The players were running 200m sprints from the point post to the pocket at the other end of the ground. They were running along the boundary in groups of 5. I was watching Scully lead the front group when out of the corner of my eye, I noticed someone fall over. It was Spencer. He had tripped over his own feet. The coaches in the middle of the ground started pissing themselves laughing. I could hear them from the boundary. Funny stuff.

 

[overtheline]

He is an enigma. One minute you're watching him and he is moving like a gazelle, taking strong marks and throwing his weight around. The next, he looks like a new born baby giraffe way out of his depth.

That reminds me. The players were running 200m sprints from the point post to the pocket at the other end of the ground. They were running along the boundary in groups of 5. I was watching Scully lead the front group when out of the corner of my eye, I noticed someone fall over. It was Spencer. He had tripped over his own feet. The coaches in the middle of the ground started pissing themselves laughing. I could hear them from the boundary. Funny stuff.

Can I ask what do you think of nicholson?

Can he play seniors?

If so, how many games?

 

[Spirit of 39]

Can I ask what do you think of nicholson?

Can he play seniors?

If so, how many games?

A great mover with a beautiful left foot. I'd be confident he'll play next year. No idea how many games he'll play though.

 

[Demon Revival]

Spirit, what about the track, has it recovered to be as good as it used to be??? There were a few reports a little while ago, saying it was in pretty bad shape, not having recovered from drainage problems...