Looks like we are literally burning up the track this pre-season
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Did Santa arrive baring gifts?
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If so, I sincerely hope no kids were around to witness itā¦
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Tatye pears?
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Was a report of a fire sparking up but was just Francis & Philips wrestling together 
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- Durham.
Now thatās my kind of training report!
Training Fri 3rd Dec
Was a nice morning to watch the boys train. Quite a number of guys were in modified group but you can sense many of those will begin full training when January sessions start. Langford confirmed to me he will start full training after Christmas. Stringer came out in runners and just casual gear on. I sense something minor was upā¦maybe some tightness to manage. He looked happy and just watching the boys on. Laverde also just some cycling workā¦looks like he had shoulder surgery and just waiting for it to fully healā¦he looks fit though. Jones, Guelfi, Lord, Wright (though joined full group for last 40 mins) , Hurley (did a few drills), Reid and Eyre. Baldwin we saw arrive by car but didnt see him on the trackā¦missed Wednesday too. Not to alarm but i did notice some light strapping on his knee Monday but did complete all of normal training that day saying that. Maybe cautious approach this week.
It was a pure development type session today by all the line coaches. Defenders all went to one ovalā¦Mids to the otherā¦forwards did sessions in front of goals.
There was a bit more forward craft development than i have seen in the past. One drill was simply a small forward crumbing drill. Just repetitive front and centre work for Smith, Hird, Walla, Francis(interestingly) and Waterman.
There was moments too where Tudor took Hobbs and Voss for further on hands teaching and development.
They then had a great drill where the defenders came over and joined the forwards and it was a forward entry comp. Kelly was easily the stand out for me. Smith could not lose him and Kelly just blocked everything that came his way. It was actually super impressive to watch. His natural defensive instincts are elite. Stewart was the other standout. He won nearly all of his one on oneās and often retained the footy to kick forward. Was a good sign. Francis is so much slimmer that i sense they want him to be as quick and mobile as possible up forward. One good note is Wright took some really nice contested marks in this drill by using his body to advantage.
Was limited match play drills on the new guys. Hobbs did join in a match play handball drillā¦ he got the ball once and side stepped two players which was pretty damn impressiveā¦ i didnāt know that was something he had up his sleeve. His kicking technique looks alright to the eye so far.
Lord is a very young guy. I will say thisā¦ he actually came up to us just to say hi. You could not find a nicer kidā¦ lol he actually did seriously remind me of the curly head kid from Stranger Things with his smile and positivity. Players already love him.
Voss is quite a specimen to see up close. Thats a huge kid!!! One thing that impressed me was all 4 new guys are very fit. McDonagh could run all dayā¦ he has high endurance. Yet to see him in real match practice as yet. He has been with the defensive group so far and Hepps has been talking a lot to himā¦ probably similar roles.
Club would be thrilled with McGrath and Shiel. Both are looking great on the track and look to have a point to prove to me. Parish is now doing full training also.
Walla did run a touch better today. Key thing was he was much more talkative and joking with the boys. Players are really behind him and its very evident.
Sam Durham is a pleasure to watch. He does every drill like its his last. I love guys that want to get every bit out of their careerā¦ he is having a super pre season for me and i have him in my side. Perkins also doing a lot of running both ways in mid match sim drills. Covering the ground so much better.
Boys were in good spirits overall. The session came to a bit of a sudden halt with a fire drill. I donāt sense that was planned but no danger also. All the soccer players and EFC staff ended up just chatting and at least it was after 2 hours of good training was in.
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tell us about the real fire truck and not grantās firetruck
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Great report mate, cheers! So good hearing that Hurley has joined in on some of the drills again.
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Finally! That big-bodied small forward weāve been crying out for!
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Blazers, what a dumpster fire.
Who looked to be glowing, who looked to be smoking and who was on fire? It ignites spirits and warms the hearth seeing a side having a match put under them kindling a flicker, a glow and then a flare in the team.
They say whereās thereās smoke, thereās fire. Letās hope thereās a slow burn, a smouldering that builds to an incandescence, a conflagration of luminosity in team brilliance. Not just a spark mind, a pyre that incinerates the opposition reducing them to ash.
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Rutten: āCara, you going to run the drill this morning?ā
āā¦no, not that kind of drill!ā
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2MP training with Rance can only be a good thing.
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@CJohns great report - thanks. So many positives & great to hear theyāre really honing in on specific skills during drills. Seems we have at last developed a great coaching team along with a great team of players.
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He wonāt play on a better defender throughout the year, which is pretty funny.
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IMO 2MPs main weakness has always been in a wrestle, going back to early days at the Suns. Good to see him taking on Rance in that sort of exercise. If he can fix that, his one on one win percentage will improve a lot.
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