Training Training updates 2026.

[sideswipe]

imagine if the coaches and players had some of the defeatist attitudes on here. They wouldn’t show up to training.

Somebody has to be the first one on the lifeboat to give up. They are the ones who get eaten.

 

[sideswipe]

Get in before the Dees fans and beat them to the best ski packages around.

Mrs.Voss has booked a nice place in Positano.

 

[Gymnorhina tibic]

I said this to Jen at training on Monday and I'll say it again here

Right now, people should get the idea of Bobby playing this season out of their heads

Our goal, should just be Bobby being back and STAYING BACK training consistently and building himself back up to absolutely dominate 2027

We're not winning the flag this year and we might even struggle to make finals. We should be putting the pieces in place for 2027 and beyond. Getting games into the right kids, developing others in the VFL with some of our older players having games down there to help them and making sure Bobby is right for next year

Thanks for the tip, I was looking at a trip to Hawaii later in the year and September is very cheap.

 

[satty]

I said this to Jen at training on Monday and I'll say it again here

Right now, people should get the idea of Bobby playing this season out of their heads

Our goal, should just be Bobby being back and STAYING BACK training consistently and building himself back up to absolutely dominate 2027

We're not winning the flag this year and we might even struggle to make finals. We should be putting the pieces in place for 2027 and beyond. Getting games into the right kids, developing others in the VFL with some of our older players having games down there to help them and making sure Bobby is right for next year

That's assuming Collingwood still trust him and want him in the side going forward. They would have had a good look at bobby over the last year to be able to predict if it going to become a recurrent thing going forward.

We gain nothing by having him languish in the vfl all year. We need to know if he still has what it takes to perform at the top level. So having him play in the AFL will be beneficial on 2 fronts, it could improve his trade value and it could also give us important information on the possibility of him returning back to the elite level he was at before his sabbatical.

 

[satty]

I think the game against Adelaide broke us.Or at least some supporters anyway. But as you said,it’s a long season,and there’s still plenty to play out yet.

I think it is because the loss against Adelaide was very reminiscent of the bad stretch of losses we had at the of last year's season as well as the way in which we lost against Brisbane. There is a clear pattern emerging, and one that unfortunately won't be fixed with the current crop of midfielders.

We seriously need our young players to accelerate their development and make their way into the side.

 

[Cousin of Daicos]

Ah well, if you say so then…

Do you legitimately believe we're a genuine shot at the flag this year?

 

[Digsby]

Do you legitimately believe we're a genuine shot at the flag this year?

2022 Geelong vibes

 

[Vicky Park]

That's assuming Collingwood still trust him and want him in the side going forward. They would have had a good look at bobby over the last year to be able to predict if it going to become a recurrent thing going forward.

We gain nothing by having him languish in the vfl all year. We need to know if he still has what it takes to perform at the top level. So having him play in the AFL will be beneficial on 2 fronts, it could improve his trade value and it could also give us important information on the possibility of him returning back to the elite level he was at before his sabbatical.

Re the bolded, I doubt very much if the club could ‘predict’ a recurrence of Bobby’s problems. His mental health, coupled with his family issues, are complex matters. The club would be aware of the complexities, without having any idea as to whether they might be ‘recurrent’. It’s not as though Bobby has a sign on his head, flagging when he might next disappear.

But I agree with the rest of your post. If he’s fit enough, he will soon play VFL. And once his fitness and conditioning meet the club’s high performance requirements (as we’ve been told repeatedly) then he will play AFL. This part of the Bobby situation is not complicated. His talent will not have evaporated.

 

[Jen2310]

Training - March 25. Main session. Round 3 v GWS

Apart from HDM, everyone was present on the track.
And everyone got through the session injury free as well.

Felt like a short session. Basically finished about 10:45, now we're In season I notice like last year, they tend to only go for around 90 mins.

Black: (by role)

Forward-

• Membrey
• Mcstay
• Jamie
• Schultz
• Lippa
• Jordy

Mid:

• Cameron
• Steele (wing)
• Sidey (wing)
• Crisp
• Pendles
• Nick

Defence:

• Houston
• Maynard
• IQ
• Howe
• Moore
• Josh

Bench: Perryman, Frampton


White.

Defenders:

• Reef
• Cochran
• TJ
• Ryan
• Swadling
• Parker

Mid:

• Hayes (Wing)
• Steene
• Allan
• Hayes (Wing)
• Anderson
• Beau

Forward:

• Sullivan
• West
• Howes
• Buller
• Saxena
• HH

Bench: Long. McCarthy, Smit

There was lots of vocal out on the ground, Moore is usually good at this so good to see.

West looked strong and took a great contested mark against howe on the wing. Looking forward to him playing some games and then breaking into the side. I'm sure it won't be too long.

They started centre bounce with Pendles, Crisp and Nick.
Reef played on a combination of Membrey and Mcstay. Moved well, and looked really involved. Can't wait to see him on friday back into the thick of the action. It's been so long for him.

Jordy rotated between forward and a bit of mid time. I think that's how we're gonna use him this year, as he has done so the last two games we have played.

Bobby did some warm up drills, running and then went inside before match sim started.

 

[stormskye]

Do you legitimately believe we're a genuine shot at the flag this year?

it takes a good list, coaching and luck to win a flag.

Petracca is now out for 6 weeks. That’s how luck can affect a season

Hill is a small chance of returning to play later in the season. Anything can happen.

There’s plenty of reasons why we can win it. Thankfully the coaches and players would think so also otherwise we’d be north Melbourne levels of bad.

We’ve never had the best list but the team with the best list isn’t guaranteed to win it

 

[Sea fog]

Thanks Jen above you have provided us with the update we wanted. I am glad especially about Reef as I really rate him.


You are quicker than Annabel who has just put this onto fb group




Main session before we face our bete noire


Conditions? Lights on prior to training and remained so throughout the session, light and darker grey clouds clotted the sky blocking out the blue but it became quite hot towards the end as they dissipated. It was very busy on the pavilion side as a well attended HR Conference saw long queues waiting to register.

Anyone missing - HDM who’s nursing a back injury was again the only one not participating.

What about rehab? Fortunately it was a lonely place again today.

Anything of note? - Noticed that when the players cleaved prior to the first drill essentially resembling whites and blacks (potentially firsts and seconds) that Bobby Hill attired in black, completed the drill with the seniors who provided him with plenty of encouragement and affirmation which may be a ploy to help maintain his sanguine attitude and buoy his spirits. For the record, he partook of the drills but didn’t do a lot of outside running like he did on Monday.

A second noteworthy occurrence was Buller appearing in white and playing in the match sim for the putative VFL team.

How did they warm-up? They were instructed to form three groups which were mixed in terms of age, and positional line, and the players navigated the mini hurdles, strode with discs above the head and did lots of repetitions of high knee lifts at a fair clip and some hopping on alternate legs. This was followed by two sets of staggered sprinting. Have noted that they undertake some burst high octane running which is said to be an essential ingredient in terms of conditioning the hammies, especially considering the heightened pace of the game.


What about the general drills/activities? As per usual, the blacks and whites according to top, divided and then further divided again as some donned orange or green vests to create a competitive keepings off type drill, with tackling and evasion involved. Simultaneously there was specialised rucking tutelage for Cameron, Smit and Steene who were then joined by the sharking brigade: Anderson, Allan and Prindable in white opposed to Pendles, Lippa and Nick in black. Guess this may be a portent of things to come in terms of the midfield set-up.

There was then a short stint of whole ground ball movement followed by three stations honing various skill areas. Some eschewed the whole ground movement for some marking practice with the tackle bag. Buller was heavily involved here. After a short break there was some further grid attack played on three quarters of the ground; at the River End was a group of mainly VFL types who were working on aspects of their craft under the guidance of coaches.

Following this was the matchplay segment. It was interesting to see those clad in black flog the white attired 39 to O which bucks the recent trend of relatively even contests.

Interesting takeaways from this were: Buller, Long, Allan and Parker all played for the white team. One intuits based on recent observations that Parker and Allan would be favoured to forfeit their places, though the black forward line functioned quite well sans JB. McStay, Elliott and Membrey seemed to move more freely with the first two named scoring the bulk of the goals. Howe and Moore played in defence, while Perryman seemed to rove far and wide perhaps suggesting a tagging or midfield role, though Pendles was used in the centre square set-up. Roan Steele also covered a lot of ground though seemed to be playing as a wingman.

A few random observations of players:

Beau - seemingly a bit anonymous since shedding his locks, the question is will this prove an aerodynamic advantage or a decline as he suffers the Samson effect. Would like to see him used more in the middle

JDG - spent some time in the centre square today and won some clearances - am hoping that the deterioration of his form between the first two rounds were due to an undisclosed niggle rather than a portent of a pattern of topsy-turvy form


Tew - is going under the radar a bit as a possible future inclusion and has been winning some ball and showing some dash but a some up the chimney kicks re-emerged so that habit has to be kicked

Moore and Howe - both looked fit - the former took a strong mark at one point and was apt to run and carry the ball a bit. One hopes that the hard Marvel surface doesn’t militate against them if they pass muster for selection

Maynard - wore long white sleeves under his top and was prominent today attacking from defence.

Smit - is big unit, am seeing some signs that his hands are becoming surer; his leap is certainly impressive at centre ball-ups

Cameron - was intercepting well in the match simulation

Nick - tore away from clearances on a number of occasions so is as good a touch as ever - will need him firing to offset the play of a nemesis of ours Callahan’s work

Perryman - to tag or not to tag? With him playing all over the ground, there may be a hint that he will tag with FC being the logical choice for him to go to. If Nick is tagged by the possibly returning Bedford, this strategy may nullify theirs

 

[Peters_Nuts]

If Reef and Jiath can force themselves into the team this year then I'll be extremely happy.

Also regarding Perryman, I'd be keen if he plays a run-with role on Callaghan. By far their best mid at the moment.

 

[Peters_Nuts]

Do you legitimately believe we're a genuine shot at the flag this year?

From my perspective, do I think we will? Not at this stage.

Can we? Everything needs to go right, but sure. Our backline is still elite and we still may see improvement with our midfield.

Jordy stays fit, Bobby comes back, Buller and/or West contribute and even Reef cements himself then anything can happen. No one would want to play us at the MCG in a final. Freo are known bed wetters, Suns still yet to prove themselves in September and anything can happen with the Bulldogs. Hawks have our number though I think our midfield is still better than theirs.

There's a bit of unknown about us and that makes it exciting (or ominous).

 

[granniewolf]

From my perspective, do I think we will? Not at this stage.

Can we? Everything needs to go right, but sure. Our backline is still elite and we still may see improvement with our midfield.

Jordy stays fit, Bobby comes back, Buller and/or West contribute and even Reef cements himself then anything can happen. No one would want to play us at the MCG in a final. Freo are known bed wetters, Suns still yet to prove themselves in September and anything can happen with the Bulldogs. Hawks have our number though I think our midfield is still better than theirs.

There's a bit of unknown about us and that makes it exciting (or ominous).

I am going to do what I always do, treat every win as a grand final. I get so much pleasure out of every win.

 

[gouki88]

Do you legitimately believe we're a genuine shot at the flag this year?

Why not? We were close last season and have arguably the best player in the competition.

I think this team should do comparably well to ‘22 and ‘25

 

[Cousin of Daicos]

Why not? We were close last season and have arguably the best player in the competition.

I think this team should do comparably well to ‘22 and ‘25

Fair enough

I think we have a weaker list overall than last season and we made a Prelim (despite a shitload of injuries)

Our list is still “old” and arguably weaker with the departures of Cox, Mihocek and Mitchell. Don’t get me wrong, I was fine with Mihocek and Cox leaving, but it was with a view to 2027 and beyond

I was hoping we’d really start to filter the future through this year but that doesn’t appear to the the case right this moment

Happy to be proven wrong, but I reckon this is a pivotal year to our long term future, but that’s borne from a belief that we’re not a realistic chance to contend

 

[Bianconeri]

Based on some of the comments on here you’d think Bobby needed a 2 year preseason before he’s ready to play a quarter of VFL footy.

 

[Fruit]

Thanks Jen above you have provided us with the update we wanted. I am glad especially about Reef as I really rate him.


You are quicker than Annabel who has just put this onto fb group




Main session before we face our bete noire


Conditions? Lights on prior to training and remained so throughout the session, light and darker grey clouds clotted the sky blocking out the blue but it became quite hot towards the end as they dissipated. It was very busy on the pavilion side as a well attended HR Conference saw long queues waiting to register.

Anyone missing - HDM who’s nursing a back injury was again the only one not participating.

What about rehab? Fortunately it was a lonely place again today.

Anything of note? - Noticed that when the players cleaved prior to the first drill essentially resembling whites and blacks (potentially firsts and seconds) that Bobby Hill attired in black, completed the drill with the seniors who provided him with plenty of encouragement and affirmation which may be a ploy to help maintain his sanguine attitude and buoy his spirits. For the record, he partook of the drills but didn’t do a lot of outside running like he did on Monday.

A second noteworthy occurrence was Buller appearing in white and playing in the match sim for the putative VFL team.

How did they warm-up? They were instructed to form three groups which were mixed in terms of age, and positional line, and the players navigated the mini hurdles, strode with discs above the head and did lots of repetitions of high knee lifts at a fair clip and some hopping on alternate legs. This was followed by two sets of staggered sprinting. Have noted that they undertake some burst high octane running which is said to be an essential ingredient in terms of conditioning the hammies, especially considering the heightened pace of the game.


What about the general drills/activities? As per usual, the blacks and whites according to top, divided and then further divided again as some donned orange or green vests to create a competitive keepings off type drill, with tackling and evasion involved. Simultaneously there was specialised rucking tutelage for Cameron, Smit and Steene who were then joined by the sharking brigade: Anderson, Allan and Prindable in white opposed to Pendles, Lippa and Nick in black. Guess this may be a portent of things to come in terms of the midfield set-up.

There was then a short stint of whole ground ball movement followed by three stations honing various skill areas. Some eschewed the whole ground movement for some marking practice with the tackle bag. Buller was heavily involved here. After a short break there was some further grid attack played on three quarters of the ground; at the River End was a group of mainly VFL types who were working on aspects of their craft under the guidance of coaches.

Following this was the matchplay segment. It was interesting to see those clad in black flog the white attired 39 to O which bucks the recent trend of relatively even contests.

Interesting takeaways from this were: Buller, Long, Allan and Parker all played for the white team. One intuits based on recent observations that Parker and Allan would be favoured to forfeit their places, though the black forward line functioned quite well sans JB. McStay, Elliott and Membrey seemed to move more freely with the first two named scoring the bulk of the goals. Howe and Moore played in defence, while Perryman seemed to rove far and wide perhaps suggesting a tagging or midfield role, though Pendles was used in the centre square set-up. Roan Steele also covered a lot of ground though seemed to be playing as a wingman.

A few random observations of players:

Beau - seemingly a bit anonymous since shedding his locks, the question is will this prove an aerodynamic advantage or a decline as he suffers the Samson effect. Would like to see him used more in the middle

JDG - spent some time in the centre square today and won some clearances - am hoping that the deterioration of his form between the first two rounds were due to an undisclosed niggle rather than a portent of a pattern of topsy-turvy form


Tew - is going under the radar a bit as a possible future inclusion and has been winning some ball and showing some dash but a some up the chimney kicks re-emerged so that habit has to be kicked

Moore and Howe - both looked fit - the former took a strong mark at one point and was apt to run and carry the ball a bit. One hopes that the hard Marvel surface doesn’t militate against them if they pass muster for selection

Maynard - wore long white sleeves under his top and was prominent today attacking from defence.

Smit - is big unit, am seeing some signs that his hands are becoming surer; his leap is certainly impressive at centre ball-ups

Cameron - was intercepting well in the match simulation

Nick - tore away from clearances on a number of occasions so is as good a touch as ever - will need him firing to offset the play of a nemesis of ours Callahan’s work

Perryman - to tag or not to tag? With him playing all over the ground, there may be a hint that he will tag with FC being the logical choice for him to go to. If Nick is tagged by the possibly returning Bedford, this strategy may nullify theirs

I think tagging is a good option for us while we are a bit thin with A grade midfield talent. Taking out their best midfielder can compensate for that.

 

[Apex36]

Imagine how much more of a downer he would be if he was?

He’d be disappointed, that’s for sure

 

[No SPIN]

I said this to Jen at training on Monday and I'll say it again here

Right now, people should get the idea of Bobby playing this season out of their heads

Our goal, should just be Bobby being back and STAYING BACK training consistently and building himself back up to absolutely dominate 2027

We're not winning the flag this year and we might even struggle to make finals. We should be putting the pieces in place for 2027 and beyond. Getting games into the right kids, developing others in the VFL with some of our older players having games down there to help them and making sure Bobby is right for next year

I’m tipping Bobby has very different ideas now that he’s back.

 

[Pistol Night]

Why not? We were close last season and have arguably the best player in the competition.

I think this team should do comparably well to ‘22 and ‘25

We were 3 games clear on top of the ladder 10-12 games of footy ago. As far as I’m aware they all didn’t die over summer

 

[Finnishpie]

Of course. But why isn't it ok to consider Hawthorn a higher priority and burn and destroy their heads first before doing the same to Carlton?

That's just how the universe works SR. God made it that way.

 

[Chrispiesssss]

How many training sessions did Bobby actually miss? About 12 weeks worth?

 

[Cousin of Daicos]

I’m tipping Bobby has very different ideas now that he’s back.

Hopefully