Francis started his pre-season early in late September, with almost no break after the 2016 season ended. Even so, his condition after about 5 months of interrupted pre-season is pretty much an unknown ( outside the club). There has been some improvement in muscle definition based on casual observation but there were no reports of him "tearing up the training track" , setting personal bests, starring in intraclubs, yada yada.
We will just have to wait until we see him in a game, any game, to judge what improvement there has been.
Aside from the rolled ankle in the intraclub a few weeks back, what other interruptions has he had? You would have to think it slightly concerning if his physical endurance hasnāt improved markedly with 5 months of pre season in such an elite environment.
There was a period of at least a couple of weeks, maybe longer, where he was absent from the track for unexplained reasons. I think it was immediately post Xmas, but could have been just before Xmas as well. Maybe he has been sick, or maybe a niggle. Whatever, he was not included on injury reports at the time. When he came back (a few weeks ago), he hurt his ankle. He has had very little training since maybe mid December, and almost no match practice.
Francis started his pre-season early in late September, with almost no break after the 2016 season ended. Even so, his condition after about 5 months of interrupted pre-season is pretty much an unknown ( outside the club). There has been some improvement in muscle definition based on casual observation but there were no reports of him "tearing up the training track" , setting personal bests, starring in intraclubs, yada yada.
We will just have to wait until we see him in a game, any game, to judge what improvement there has been.
Early on in the preseason there were reports on the club website stating that he had shed weight and his fitness was improving. My recollection of the 2015/2016 (Francis first following the draft) preseason was that he spent large parts of the preseason just running laps in order to get a base level of fitness. This year Francis has pretty much been involved with full training from the get go, except when injured.
When I saw him at training a couple of times prior to the Christmas break he was looking in great nick. At one stage he was able to break a Hooker tackle pretty much just through the strength through the hips and waist. At the time people were pretty excited. He doesnāt have the greyhound physique that seems common to most players and the ramifications of this were discussed in the telecast of the intra club match.
It would be fair to say Francis has a great deal of ground to make up in terms of fitness. But that doesnāt mean he isnāt improving. I dont think he has the same problem as Neagle, for instance. I also got the feeling from the JLT2 match post presser that he would have been playing if he hadnāt been ill. I notice that another two players (Bird and Mutch) had come down with an illness.
Francis started his pre-season early in late September, with almost no break after the 2016 season ended. Even so, his condition after about 5 months of interrupted pre-season is pretty much an unknown ( outside the club). There has been some improvement in muscle definition based on casual observation but there were no reports of him "tearing up the training track" , setting personal bests, starring in intraclubs, yada yada.
We will just have to wait until we see him in a game, any game, to judge what improvement there has been.
Aside from the rolled ankle in the intraclub a few weeks back, what other interruptions has he had? You would have to think it slightly concerning if his physical endurance hasnāt improved markedly with 5 months of pre season in such an elite environment.
Francis started his pre-season early in late September, with almost no break after the 2016 season ended. Even so, his condition after about 5 months of interrupted pre-season is pretty much an unknown ( outside the club). There has been some improvement in muscle definition based on casual observation but there were no reports of him ātearing up the training trackā , setting personal bests, starring in intraclubs, yada yada.
We will just have to wait until we see him in a game, any game, to judge what improvement there has been.
So many blitzers with accurate inside info on the exact level of fitness of the lad.
I love how the assumption from last year is the basis for his fitness level. He has lost kgs and had a preseason, he will already be better than last year, which puts him closer.
I've never been so excited about watching a players career unfold like I do for Francis.
His under 18s carnival is the best I've seen, so powerful and huge impact.
Oh shut up ā¦ I mean that in a good way. Francis is the one I wanted most in his draft and itās killing me waiting to see him play consistently week in week out. Your post just makes it a tougher wait cos it reminds me how good he could be.
Btw ā¦ my man crush is now being shared by Parish ā¦ how the hell did we get them both