Training 11th of Dec. The Darcy Parish show

Football Discussion Dustin Fletcher Hangar
21

Truly awesome work gang, absolutely love these reports. A few quick questions, mostly re positional stuff:

  • Where is McKernan being played? Much ruck time at all or is he mostly up forward?

  • How have Ashby and Jerret been going so far this pre-season and where abouts are they being played? I feel as though they really need to step up next year if they’re to remain on the list.

  • Aside from Kommer, who would you be most concerned about re lack of work done so far? Seems as though Hocking, Cooney and Hibberd have spent a fair bit of time in the rehab group.

  • Are both Langord and Laverde being used primarily as mids? And if so, are we talking wingers who push forward or are they starting at the center bounce alongside Jobe, Hepp, etc?

Cheers again, you’re all sexy legends.

22

Yes I rocked up and watched with the Ant again today - our wives are gonna start to talk. Good to see the Ant actually arrive on time so his report was outstanding and full of credibitlty unlike last week. Thats a joke he did watch 80 percent of last weeks training.

I won’t add too much to all the above excellent reports except to give some brief thoughts

I’m not necessarily lid off when it comes to the playing group. I am however more lid off when it comes to the coaching staff, the training methods and the vibe. That is also not to say that I am lid on about the playing group but I think if we are all honest there are a lot of question marks, young guys, older guys and we need to see how this all plays out.

Case in point - the Ant pointed out the forward group “he is grouped with Jerrett, Yestin, Long, Kommsy, TIPPA and Morgan so all of sudden that HF role is super competitive”. I think the reality is that most opposition teams and supporters would hardly scream ‘fark now I’m worried’. Full of potential, lots of x factor but too little to show for me to be lid off

Having said that the club and its coaches are doing everything right and the bottom line is the players are being given every opportunity to be the best players they can be with ‘best practice’ drills and professional expectation everywhere.

That at the end of the day is all the club can do. The rest, like always, will be up to the players. So we need to keep doing what we are doing. Getting fitter, faster, stronger whilst keeping it interesting, keeping players fit etc. And the players need to find that last bit of the puzzle.

Overall the big difference between the two fridays sessions is that todays was less physical from a tackling perspective. Just seemed less brutal. Im guessing a few small injuries, tendonitis etc. Maybe they are keeping the brutal sessions to once per month. The drills were however at 100 pct speed, demanding perfection. Train like you play. Everything continues to reflect match type scenarios. One big getting to know each other sessions so that by round one players will have a sixth sense that will be translated under match day pressure.

Really looking forward to see how the new guys will perform under match conditions. A big question mark until praccy games come around.

The other thing that the Ant and I discussed was which of these guys training had the ability to change a game. If we assume all the clubs are professional and are doing cutting edge things, the difference will be who has the players that impact games. Zerrett, Hurley, Hooker, Jobe, Hibbs, Hepps, Howlett, Colyer, Joey can imo all do that. Out of the younger guys I reckon Langford has a turn of speed and an awesome side ways shuffle hat could be his thing. Edwards can do similar so I want these guys to step up. Laverde to me is an interesting one. Many are lid off with Lav but I’m still waiting to see what is ‘his thing’. Is he fast? Is he strong? Can he read the game? Is he super confident? Is he a great kick? Maybe he is just pretty good at all this things (like zaka) when we really need him to be awesome at one of those things…

Did I read someone that Heppel likes going on the ground before games and does visualisation? The younger guys could learn from this. Are the younger guys or some of the fringe players tapping into Trav Colyers experience. How did he turn it around? How did Jobe turn it aroud from a slow start to his career?

Agree with The Ant - Mitch Brown will be an asset but he does seem quite lean when he looks like he could get much bigger?

Smack - loving his intent. Body language chalk and cheese from last year. Love Kommers involvement. Joey angry.

Oh - Ive promised not to refer to Gach like he is a scientific experiment. He is fun to watch.

Otherwise exciting times and the new year will be interesting…

23

Smack - loving his intent. Body language chalk and cheese from last year.

Is this a comparison to his training at the same time last year?

and thanks for the report!

I know you’re not the biggest fan of Zaka, so your thoughts will be interesting. How did he look today, especially considering there were a few suggestions from Wednesday’s session that he might be carrying something?

24
How's the Irishman looking? With so much talk about the new recruits he seems to be slipping under the radar a bit. If he improves anywhere near the rate of last season he's a best 22 player by the years end. BULLISH

That is how I feel.

In the forward group he is grouped with Jerrett, Yestin, Long, Kommsy, TIPPA and Morgan so all of sudden that HF role is super competitive.
He looks composed enough with ball in hand and breaks the line. It will all come down to how they perform in the VFL.

But competition is good.

Thanks ant. Lots of options can only be a good thing. Can throw Shaunaye and Dempsey into that mix too.
Also pleasing to hear you mention Gleeson’s body size. Been a bit of a running joke around here but I had noticed a bit of development in recent photos too. Going to be some strong competition for that running back/wing role too so it’ll be a big year for Marty.

25

Oh yeh and with this new world of training methodology there is no fat, no wastage. Every drill has a purpose. Even moving from one drill to another has a purpose. There is no walking, no chatting just doing. There are no ‘moments’ where a player or a coach should not be concentrating, not giving 100 pct.

The main reasons for this IMO is for a few reasons. Good habits = good performance. Also means if players are efficient at training they need to train less. This is great for handling injuries and avoiding burnout. Training should be fun and competitive.

The less time a player spends on the training track actually gives them more time to be normal and do other things. Focus on the player as a person should also lead to better results. Thats the theory anyway. In most old school training situations a player may only touch a ball 20 times and be involved in a match situation 3 or 4 times. That won’t do these days.

26
Truly awesome work gang, absolutely love these reports. A few quick questions, mostly re positional stuff:

  • Where is McKernan being played? Much ruck time at all or is he mostly up forward?

  • How have Ashby and Jerret been going so far this pre-season and where abouts are they being played? I feel as though they really need to step up next year if they’re to remain on the list.

  • Aside from Kommer, who would you be most concerned about re lack of work done so far? Seems as though Hocking, Cooney and Hibberd have spent a fair bit of time in the rehab group.

  • Are both Langord and Laverde being used primarily as mids? And if so, are we talking wingers who push forward or are they starting at the center bounce alongside Jobe, Hepp, etc?

Cheers again, you’re all sexy legends.

Smack is in the midfield group. It’s hard to tell where everyone will end up as the groups are groups not really positions. In saying that as part of that setup Parish and co were setup in the back half and Smack was CHF. In the ‘practice game’ Smack was up froward. One time Daniher lead to the pocket and smack pulled him up and said ‘more central’.

Ashby was in the back group today. He looks good. Ben D reckons too good. He is going ok, does some class things. As with Jerrett it’s hard to see where they fit with all this new talent around that we are being dazzled with.

You have to be concerned about Hibberd and Hocking. Both are integral parts. Hocking had a limited year last year so a good pre season is important. Cooney looked lame. Seriously.

Langford and Laverde are being used in the mid group. I’m not sure if this is a permanent thing or just to build the tank. They are not doing centre bounce setup in the main drill so you don’t know where they will end up. The drill starts from full back kicking out.

Yes we are sexy legends.

27
Oh yeh and with this new world of training methodology there is no fat, no wastage. Every drill has a purpose. Even moving from one drill to another has a purpose. There is no walking, no chatting just doing. There are no 'moments' where a player or a coach should not be concentrating, not giving 100 pct.

The main reasons for this IMO is for a few reasons. Good habits = good performance. Also means if players are efficient at training they need to train less. This is great for handling injuries and avoiding burnout. Training should be fun and competitive.

The less time a player spends on the training track actually gives them more time to be normal and do other things. Focus on the player as a person should also lead to better results. Thats the theory anyway. In most old school training situations a player may only touch a ball 20 times and be involved in a match situation 3 or 4 times. That won’t do these days.

What else did the fitness coach say to Francis when he was bent over?
He said "Body language’ and something else.

I think Francis missed his time by 2 seconds whilst Morgan was 5 seconds ahead of his.

28

Smack - loving his intent. Body language chalk and cheese from last year.

Is this a comparison to his training at the same time last year?

and thanks for the report!

I know you’re not the biggest fan of Zaka, so your thoughts will be interesting. How did he look today, especially considering there were a few suggestions from Wednesday’s session that he might be carrying something?

Re Smack - I just remember when he arrived he looked a little timid. Not anymore. A force who always moves forward with his first step. Don’t get the guys way. I think he needed to help one or two people up after he gave them the don’t argue (didn’t say he wasn’t a nice guy).

I actually reckon we are too hard on Zaka. Too much expectation when really he might infect be getting to most out of his talent. Which although was never going to be A grade is still pretty good. That was my thoughts is that we all wanted him to be captain and a genuine a grader and this could have (and still is) unfair. I blame the coaches and that trip to Japan. Currently Im not sure he is carrying anything but hasn’t he come back from altitude training and doesn’t this take a little time to translate into normal fitness? I didn’t look to closely.

29
Oh yeh and with this new world of training methodology there is no fat, no wastage. Every drill has a purpose. Even moving from one drill to another has a purpose. There is no walking, no chatting just doing. There are no 'moments' where a player or a coach should not be concentrating, not giving 100 pct.

The main reasons for this IMO is for a few reasons. Good habits = good performance. Also means if players are efficient at training they need to train less. This is great for handling injuries and avoiding burnout. Training should be fun and competitive.

The less time a player spends on the training track actually gives them more time to be normal and do other things. Focus on the player as a person should also lead to better results. Thats the theory anyway. In most old school training situations a player may only touch a ball 20 times and be involved in a match situation 3 or 4 times. That won’t do these days.

What else did the fitness coach say to Francis when he was bent over?
He said "Body language’ and something else.

I think Francis missed his time by 2 seconds whilst Morgan was 5 seconds ahead of his.

Nice ■■■■?

30

Smack - loving his intent. Body language chalk and cheese from last year.

Is this a comparison to his training at the same time last year?

and thanks for the report!

I know you’re not the biggest fan of Zaka, so your thoughts will be interesting. How did he look today, especially considering there were a few suggestions from Wednesday’s session that he might be carrying something?

Re Smack - I just remember when he arrived he looked a little timid. Not anymore. A force who always moves forward with his first step. Don’t get the guys way. I think he needed to help one or two people up after he gave them the don’t argue (didn’t say he wasn’t a nice guy).

I actually reckon we are too hard on Zaka. Too much expectation when really he might infect be getting to most out of his talent. Which although was never going to be A grade is still pretty good. That was my thoughts is that we all wanted him to be captain and a genuine a grader and this could have (and still is) unfair. I blame the coaches and that trip to Japan. Currently Im not sure he is carrying anything but hasn’t he come back from altitude training and doesn’t this take a little time to translate into normal fitness? I didn’t look to closely.

Thanks for that. I’ve got no idea re the altitude training question.

Yep, I see Zaka as a good solid player, but I don’t think he’ll ever be a star. If he’s our 5th or 6th best mid and he’s fit, then we’ll be in good shape. If he needs to be one of our best 3 mids, then we’re probably in trouble.
I’d like us to be in a position where he primarily plays half-forward and occasionally rotates through midfield.

31
We thought Pears looked sharp but we were all just waiting until the mids got their turn and we could see Parish. Well it was worth the wait.

From half back he kicked 3x 40-50 meter passes that hit the target. One on the left and two on the right. Zerret also dominated this drill. These two together will dominate for years to come.

*drool

Both quick, clean and can go and get their own footy. If the same or similar is true about the bigger guys in Langford and Laverde Then what a middle we will have! That’s still not counting Heppell and a number of outside options including Colyer. And, if Francis can built this tank for some work in the middle and is going to be as big and tall as people are saying… I’m looking forward to the next few seasons.

32

Look out once Francis becomes fit, he has so much talent if he adds work rate and fitness look out.

Does anyone know if Francis is going to be trained as a forward?

33

Hard to tell seeing he’s just been running laps.

34
Hard to tell seeing he's just been running laps.

Any chance they are trying to beat the endurance workload into him from day one. They seem to have a real emphasis on building his tank from everybody’s reports.

For those that attended any comments on Morgan? I’m keen to see where they see him playing back/mid?

35

Thanks gents for the training updates - I legitimately check for these updates daily…

36

Loved your report Ben, but you’ve got to add Fantasia to the game changer club. He is going to be an absolute star imo.

37
Hard to tell seeing he's just been running laps.

Any chance they are trying to beat the endurance workload into him from day one. They seem to have a real emphasis on building his tank from everybody’s reports.

For those that attended any comments on Morgan? I’m keen to see where they see him playing back/mid?

He ran laps with Francis.

Ben D mentioned that possibly it was to to give Francis a running partner and someone to set pace for him.
So nothing to report on him.

I spotted the GC and Richmond scouts who were watching training. I knew the GC guy so I asked him why would Francis be running laps.
He said either he is coming off injury or simply his body isn’t up to AFL yet. I’m assuming no injury so perhaps it’s purely conditioning.

Redman, Parish, Gach and Yestin were the only new guys who did full training and this was only for the first hour or so.

38

Cheers for the reports.

Really enjoying them

39
Hard to tell seeing he's just been running laps.

Any chance they are trying to beat the endurance workload into him from day one. They seem to have a real emphasis on building his tank from everybody’s reports.

For those that attended any comments on Morgan? I’m keen to see where they see him playing back/mid?

He ran laps with Francis.

Ben D mentioned that possibly it was to to give Francis a running partner and someone to set pace for him.
So nothing to report on him.

I spotted the GC and Richmond scouts who were watching training. I knew the GC guy so I asked him why would Francis be running laps.
He said either he is coming off injury or simply his body isn’t up to AFL yet. I’m assuming no injury so perhaps it’s purely conditioning.

Redman, Parish, Gach and Yestin were the only new guys who did full training and this was only for the first hour or so.

Gold Coast bloke obviously just looking at our players for the inevitable O’Meara trade. Momentum

40

I actually asked him that. He said confident of retaining both Prestia and O’Meara.

At that point I disregarded any of his opinions.