Training Tomorrow

[atcocc]

Im considering making the trip down to training tomorrow for the first time. However, being my first time can anyone clarify a few things for me. IM not sure but i think it starts at 9:30 is that correct? And where do you park?

Is anyone else going to head down?

 

[cmndstab]

I'm contemplating it. James_37 did tell me when it was on but I've got a horrible memory and forgot. I assume it's something like 9:30. The Thursday one starts then so I don't see why the Monday one wouldn't.

Your best bet is to park near the bus terminal at AAMI Stadium, though I usually park in the car park near the old shed which is always open and completely empty.

 

[Riggy1]

I was going to try and make it down for tomorrow.
Dad is getting the car serviced and im going to crowmania and renwing our memberships, but i dont know if ill be at West Lakes at the times training occurs

Ill be at Thursday though. Gotta see Talia, Shaw, Gunston and Craig asap.

Are you going to try and make it down for Thursday cmndstab?
I hate being alone or meeting new people. If you're unable to be there, what about you Drummond?
I know we've had our differences in the past, but im willing to put everything behind us if you're willing too.

 

[cmndstab]

I don't know about Thursday. I'm hoping to go down once a week but twice a week sounds almost too indulgent. Whether I go down tomorrow or not depends on whether I get the work done tonight that I need to do. If I do then I'll reward myself with taking tomorrow morning off to go to training, otherwise I'll come to Uni and do it.


I always feel self-concious at training going up to people and asking if they're from Bigfooty There were a couple of girls last time I asked and when I got closer I realised they were mother and daughter and the daughter was around twelve, but I had already walked up so it'd look weird if I said nothing. I felt like the biggest creep And no, they weren't from Bigfooty.

atcocc - tell me what you'll be wearing or something.

 

[atcocc]

Cheers for that guys. I might run ito you down there.

 

[Symesy15]

I don't know about Thursday. I'm hoping to go down once a week but twice a week sounds almost too indulgent. Whether I go down tomorrow or not depends on whether I get the work done tonight that I need to do. If I do then I'll reward myself with taking tomorrow morning off to go to training, otherwise I'll come to Uni and do it.


I always feel self-concious at training going up to people and asking if they're from Bigfooty There were a couple of girls last time I asked and when I got closer I realised they were mother and daughter and the daughter was around twelve, but I had already walked up so it'd look weird if I said nothing. I felt like the biggest creep And no, they weren't from Bigfooty.

atcocc - tell me what you'll be wearing or something.

Was that the mother and daughter sitting next to me and my friends??

Maybe we all need to wear signs saying "I'M *insert username* FROM BIGFOOTY"

I don't know when I'll go to training next - I usually love it, but last Thursday was a yawn...it only got exciting when they started kicking for goal - a 2 hour+ training is a little too long for my short attention span..

 

[atcocc]

atcocc - tell me what you'll be wearing or something.

ill be wearing a greenand dark blue striped top, but thats abot aswel as i could describe it. Im pretty easy to spot. Im only 17 but im a big (wide) lad so you shouldn't be able to miss me. Plus ill be there by myself.

 

[cmndstab]

Symesy - yeah, that was them. I didn't mind training last thursday actually but it did taper out a bit by the end.

atcocc - cool, if I'm there I'm likely to be wearing some kind of button up shirt and dark blue shorts. I'll be the guy about 6'3" with short brown hair that looks like a creep asking all these people if they're from Bigfooty

 

[XztatiK]

I'll be there in last year's inverted (red) polo. Dark hair, quite handsome, likes long walks on the beach...

 

[Symesy15]

Symesy - yeah, that was them. I didn't mind training last thursday actually but it did taper out a bit by the end.

That girl is my friend (but she was a little depressed on Thursday so we let her be haha) and I'm sure she'll be happy to know you think she was 12 since she's about it turn 18!

 

[cmndstab]

Wait, serious, she was 17? Either we're talking about a different girl or she looks crazy young for her age

That said, I'm a horrible judge of age. If I can get it to the right decade I'm usually doing well.

XztatiK - this time come and say hi instead of telling me I gave you a dirty look

 

[Cole Dammett]

How long does training go for tomorrow?

 

[cmndstab]

Probably somewhere between 1.5-2.5 hours.

 

[WALL-e]

I'll be there in last year's inverted (red) polo. Dark hair, quite handsome, likes long walks on the beach...

What's on your feet?

Wait, serious, she was 17? Either we're talking about a different girl or she looks crazy young for her age

That said, I'm a horrible judge of age. If I can get it to the right decade I'm usually doing well.

Won't help you in court Stabby....trust me.

 

[Symesy15]

Wait, serious, she was 17? Either we're talking about a different girl or she looks crazy young for her age

That said, I'm a horrible judge of age. If I can get it to the right decade I'm usually doing well.

XztatiK - this time come and say hi instead of telling me I gave you a dirty look

If it was the mother & daughter (brunette, wearing short shorts & a crows guernsey) sitting near my group then yes, she's 17. haha.

Okay, without looking at my profile (since I'm pretty sure it's on there) how old did I look, because no one usually guesses my age?

 

[Riggy1]

I went down today but not for training
went to get membership and the new away guersey, have to wait untill 21/12 and then they send it out. I want it now!!!!!!!!

but on training, I got a tour of the Adelaide Fitness Solutions area, and while down in the adealide weights room I noticed Rutten and someone else who I didnt catch a glimpse of were inside training.

Just thought I would say that for those who didnt see him outside training and were wondering where they were

 

[cmndstab]

If it was the mother & daughter (brunette, wearing short shorts & a crows guernsey) sitting near my group then yes, she's 17. haha.

Okay, without looking at my profile (since I'm pretty sure it's on there) how old did I look, because no one usually guesses my age?

This seems like a loaded question to me Actually, I'm pretty sure I recall you mentioning in the past that you're 20 so I'd be cheating anyway, but I'd say you looked 18 or so.


I went down to training today, caught up with James_37 and beagle2 again, as well as atcocc. It was a fairly sedate session and I haven't got a huge amount to say - but a few things stuck out to me.


Tippett seems a touch behind fitness. He's a naturally fit lad so I can't imagine it'll take him time to get back into shape but he was really lagging behind today, after looking so dominant only a few weeks ago. The group did what I assume was a Goodwin run at one stage and he was clearly behind the pack in his group. Meanwhile, the majority of the session seemed to be focused on ball movement drills, and he didn't have the best of days. He looks cut as hell, so I don't think it's an issue of excess weight - perhaps he just didn't run as much as he should have in the off-season

Standouts today for me were Stevens, Knights and McKernan. I kept mistaking both Stevens and Davis and Otten so it is possible I'm attributing other's success to Stevens, but he just looked a livewire today during the ball movement drills, laying some great tackles, and showing a turn of pace I don't usually associate with Stevens. He was hitting targets beautifully too. He looks in real good nick.

Knights just stands out like a beacon on the training track, and what I love about him is that he is just constantly talking and directing and encouraging. He's always pointing out where players should go, and clapping them on when they do well, and he was training damn hard himself. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he ends up in the leadership group within a year or two. I never took any thought of him being a potential captain in the future seriously but I have to say, he's impressive. A meticulous trainer by all reports and a strong voice, it's a good sign

McKernan is still raw and his kicking could use some work, but gee he looked a unit out there today. He stood next to Griffin at one point and he is already has a bigger body than Griffin - perhaps not the best benchmark but for a young kid, that's impressive. He was being used as a leading forward in the ball movement drills, often opposed to Davis, and gave Davis a fair bath. His hands were strong and he was using his body to protect the area in front of him well. He also laid a couple of absolutely beautiful tackles, he crunched one poor dude, spun around a couple of times before depositing him. Lent a couple of spoils too, beautiful.

I also want to give special mention to Jacky, who is someone I've never been impressed with so far. He looked quite good out there today in the ball movement drills, very slippery and difficult to tackle. It was funny, we're clearly a better side at laying a tackle than escaping from one, because all of our players kept getting caught in tackles (Danger seemed to do it every time he got the ball, though he usually managed to dish a handball off before going down), but Jacky was the notable exception. He'd do a spin, sidestep, and off he'd go. What impressed me the most though was seeing him doing extra goalkicking training at the end of the session. In the past he's worked with Petrenko on trying to kick goals from impossible angles on the boundary line, but this time he was practising in the same vein as Porplyzia and Tippett from last season, working all different angles around 40m out. Impressively for someone whose goalkicking has always looked awful to me, he was striking them fairly well in a very stiff breeze. Hopefully he's realised that if he's going to make it at AFL level it's probably as a nippy forward flanker and he needs to be able to slot the goals when the opportunity arrives.

Speaking of staying back and doing extra work, I was impressed to see all of our young indigenous boys out there doing extra work at the end, with McLeod staying back to work with them. Even if his output starts to fall away this year keeping him around another season could end up being pivotal in the development of Jacky, Petrenko and Armstrong. All of them (Armstrong in particular) seem to have come out of their shell somewhat and were chatting to other players a fair bit during training. Armstrong may have a slight niggle because he joined the handball drill group on the side. When they all went in, however, Armstrong stayed out and continued to work with McLeod. They (McLeod, Armstrong and Jacky) were practising kicking pinpoint passes to one another that barely went above head height at one stage and looked pretty good. Then Armstrong and Petrenko were practising slotting goals from a tight angle, and missing them, so McLeod went up and told them, this is how you do it boys, and slotted a beauty

Donnelly was still doing running - looked to be giving a bit more today than last Thursday, but then left the track early. Henderson continued to cut laps, I wonder how far away he is from being back in the real stuff?

A quick note on the youngsters - none of them trained today. When I arrived (I was a touch late) they were doing interviews (except Craig who wasn't around) and then they took off. At one point Talia and one of the others, I believe it was Shaw, came out and watched a bit of training and went and said hi to the boys but didn't participate. Apparently two of the young kids (Craig and whichever one didn't come out with Talia, Gunston I believe) have niggling injuries from the footy season just passed and will be getting over them before they start training. Talia and the other one are expected to start training on Thursday I believe.


Anyway, that's all! A sedate session but it was still good to see the boys anyway. One of the others may be able to add more!

 

[TheMelbourneCrow]

Walker, how is he looking?
Your main man Sloane?
Did bock/vb train?
Davis?

Damn I wish training was in vic.

 

[WALL-e]

Thanks mate, much appreciated.

 

[dylan123]

Damn I wish training was in vic.

Me too

Thanks for the report

 

[cmndstab]

Walker, how is he looking?
Your main man Sloane?
Did bock/vb train?
Davis?

Damn I wish training was in vic.

Walker looked alright... he doesn't look any bigger or faster than last season, but he's obviously fit - in the Goodwin runs, he was always at the lead of his pack. They don't run full pace in those runs (I'm assuming they're a Goodwin run) so he top pace wasn't an issue, but he didn't even break stride most of the time. I'm hoping that his fitness will allow him to make leads all day long, which seems to me the way he'll be able to best get the ball. He was used as a forward a couple of times in the ball movement drills and took a beautiful contested diving mark low to the ground at one point, but didn't stand out as much as he often does.

Sloane looks like he's a man ready to play AFL footy. His arms and legs are still a bit slight, but he's solid through the midsection and works his guts out try to get involved in play. He's not scared to take a tackler on, and has a ripper handball on in if he does get caught. Short of copping an injury (and he doesn't strike me as having the type of body to get easily injured) I'd place money on him being in the team come round 1.

Bock and VB trained but only with the handball drills, and then those two and Rutten went in very early, after probably only 30 or 40 minutes out there.

Davis trained, like I mentioned earlier he was lining up on McKernan most of the time who gave him a bit of a bath To be fair to him, Davis didn't really do anything wrong but the pressure on the ball carrier wasn't enormous and often they were able to put it down McKernan's throat, so he couldn't do much to stop him.

 

[-CG-]

I headed down to training today also and saw most of the session but missed the last bit because I was freezing .

It was so great to see all the guys out on the track again after the end of season break. I was hoping to see more of the new draftees but I did get a glimpse of Talia and Shaw who briefly headed out onto the Reserve. Shaw could certainly do with some time in the gym! He is a slight young lad.

The drills were quite interesting to watch today. They were fast, there were plenty of tackles and a fair bit of handballing too. They mostly appeared to be game like drills with two teams taking on each other. However positions didn't seem to be too specified and some players rotated through most areas.

Jacky stood out to me early. He was dodging and weaving his way through trouble and most importantly he was finishing off with his disposal. I think he could be that small midfielder we all seem to be crying out for. I'm certainly looking forward to seeing for the rest of the summer.

I also thought Dmack looked suburb out on the track. He and Jacky showed off a big tackle or two and he basically just looked so smooth and effortless.

Tippett and Reilly looked a bit slimmer to me and Johncock's form was fine. I don't think there is any issue with his weight.

Hentschel and Burton showed no signs at all of being hindered from their troubled knees. In one instance Hentschel went for one long run down the wing and had at least three bounces. Moran tried to do something similar at one point but took too long to make up his mind and got caught. Burton was attacking the ball with a lot of vigour and almost took a diving mark at great speed, which to me looked like he was just asking to do his knee again They were both great.

In one drill I did notice that Tippett, Walker, Hentschel and McKernan were the forwards. They didn't have an opportunity to play one on one with a defender but they did get a chance to mark the ball and have a quick shot on goal. Some of them were woeful! The wind was playing up a bit though and they were pretty much all quick snap shots. Walker, unsurprisingly, did the best with his natural goal-sneak prowess. Burton was on the wing and looked great there.

Rutten, Bock and van Berlo were only around for a short while doing handballs. Donnelly and Henderson did a lot of running and Martin was around for the whole session doing bits and bobs. Donnelly has done something to one of his fingers. He had quite an impressive cast on!

I'll put a few pics up in a minute.

 

[Riggy1]

just wondering
When I was up in the facilities I looked out and saw a group of aboutut 4-5 off to the side on the Northern wing, were they the injured group doing handballs, or were they another group alltogether (this occured just before all those random guys came and started kicking for goal)

 

[-CG-]

Maric, Stevens, Jacky, McKernan, Burton

Dmack catching Moran on the wing.

Vince and McKernan getting caught by Tippett

Brian Donnelly

Patrick Dangerfield

 

[-CG-]

Sam Shaw

Shaw, Martin and Talia

Talia and Shaw

Maric

Edwards

Schmidt

Porplyzia

Armstrong