Here's my observations of today. I'm a very irregular training observer so some observations may be in contrast of what some of our more esteemed posters may think. Here goes:Training in sunny, mild conditions.
Doesn’t feel the same being here minus Fletch…
Competitive drills are pretty intense. It was at the other side of the ground so may have it a little mixed up but seemed to be 2 on 3 in the 50m zone. The 2 being the pressure & 3 the attackers. I guess focus of which is for the 3 to protect ball carrier & 2 to put as much pressure on as possible. Attacking team to finish with a goal.
Emphasis in full ground drill seemed to be using the right option from the stoppage & clearing the congestion with the first possession then clearing to the flank before coming into the corridor through the centre or forward of the centre circle to forwards leading in multiple directions. Really good flow too, not much static movement, it seemed there was a 3-4 second limit to move the ball on, rarely did someone hold the ball & go back over the mark after mark or free.
Clearance work was good from both a defensive & attaching perspective. Good pressure around the ball but the attackers eventually worked their way through. Heavy emphasis on pushing up to be man on the mark, slowing down the attack at every opportunity. Jobe & Goddard big at driving standards on both standards. If pressure wasn’t up to standard they let the boys know in no uncertain terms. Ditto on the attacking end.
The rest in the full ground drill was a 3 minute “tempo” period. Object was to clear the D50 & maintain possession through the centre while trying to advance the ball. IMO this was done relatively poorly. Players kicked to poor options or tried to move the ball while stationery or still moving backwards. Fundamental really.
Match simulation. Hooker forward (matched on Hurley), Brown back, Ambrose back. Parish came into his own. Will be a jet this kid, a bit like Mercuri that he doesn’t seem lightning quick but always has time and uses it superbly. Is a dead set competitor. Team rule was no backwards kicking to a stationary target in D50, player to receive ball from a backwards kick must be moving and in space otherwise directive was to wait for an option further afield & if none presented, long down the line to a contest for a stoppage.
Woosha is big on discipline. A few times had a crack at Joe for poor defensive effort or for giving up front spot in the marking contest. “Gotta be better than that Joe”, “that’s two dumb mistakes now Joe” & “you’ve let the opposition off the hook Joe”. He was equally harsh on others making similar discipline errors.Drills focus on quick ball movement, decision making & skill execution.
Hooker, Daniher, Bellchambers, Pears, Redman, Eades as leading targets. All took majority set shots when marking on the lead.
A few thoughts on players:A lot of our guys looked leaner through the body & slightly bigger up top around the shoulders & chest. Colyer & Cooney in particular.
Dempsey boxing, bike, rowing & doing laps
Wallis laps.
Hibberd, Heppell, Hocking, Colyer & Bird laps & interval work. Perhaps management of workload (as they’re all mids)? Baguley & Goddard also did some of this while full ground drill was on. Cooney jogged laps late & looked to be limping… Kommer joined this group just before match simulation. He seems miles away from it for mine.
Langford looks terrific! Added some size in the upper body. Set for a big year. Could be a big improver.
Z Merrett is silk. Hardly missed a target & made it look so easy.
Fantasia looks set for a big year. Looks really comfortable & no doubt feels like he belongs.
Zaharakis looks great right now! Supremely fit & assured with ball in hand.
Francis looks a classy player. A natural. Reads it well in flight & doesn’t waste the ball. It’s precision & to the right target. Will play straight away IMO.
Laverde looking the goods too. Very clean handler & good decision maker.
Eades is a livewire. Always on the move & a nice burst of pace.
Redman leads well at the ball, hits it hard, perhaps not quite as hard as Hurley when he played forward but certainly meets it at pace with assured hands.
Edwards I love what he can bring to the table and this may sound a tad harsh but he looks good when he’s got the ball but doesn’t seem interested otherwise. May be unfair but doesn’t seem engaged when he’s not actively involved. Others like Fantasia, Z Merrett, Kommer, Zaharakis, Stanton are always engaged & vocal when not actively involved. I think Edwards needs to take a leaf out of these guys book and involve himself more even if it may not necessarily be in his make up as a person. Big upside though.
Luenberger looks really athletic. Was on the move most of the session. Could no doubt ruck majority of a game. Will be interesting to see if the club plays both he and Bellchambers in the same team.
The club were happy with the turnout and plan on putting on another session on Wednesday January 13 at Windy Hill at 4pm. I understand this will be communicated soon. Overall the mood was very positive and the boys seem up and about. I’m very optimistic about our future with a very exciting young core. Hopefully the above report is of value to some of you and I haven’t disgraced myself in writing it… Cheers
Terrific report! Thanks!
