Thanks @nackers for your usual high standard report! Thanks also for your observations on Smith. Love to see him return to his best relentless tackling machine form.
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Ants
January 14, 2021, 6:02am
164
Eh, if we have VFL back Iām sure @theDJR will be back in contention to win it!
1 Like
Ants
January 14, 2021, 6:04am
165
He was fine at Christmas (Iām friends with his son and we caught up at the cricket).
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Nackers you are killing me.
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I think we will get to see the fruits of our labour this season.
Very exciting.
1 Like
theDJR
January 14, 2021, 6:26am
170
I have exclusive broadcast rights to the VFLW, but only about four people here care about that. 20 votes is not gonna get it done.
EDIT: and The Four still havenāt all turned up to this post.
6 Likes
theDJR
January 14, 2021, 6:27am
171
I saw The Langfordās shoulder was taped up; seems he is struggling with carrying the entire squad.
12 Likes
Every preseason Langers promises the same. And we all think it.
Please let it be true.
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handypoint:
And we all think it.
Yeah, there has always been a huge amount of support for Langers on here
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For training watchers. What sort of impact is Rutten having on training? Is he vocal? is he stopping them if he is seeing something he doesnāt like?
nackers:
Reid looks like he will be a ripper - one of if not the tallest players in the club but also great with groundballs and is just a beautiful kick, his action seems effortless but goes a huge distance. I would think he would already be the longest kick in the club. Heās still very much a beanpole but with his skills and height I wouldnāt be surprised if he plays a few games this year
Of the top 3 draftees I thought Reid looked like the pick of the bunch based on the limited footage that I saw of the 3. Based on Dodoroās comments from the draft night video I think the club has the same opinion, despite them taking the other two first.
He looks like a 200 gamer to me.
1 Like
Bully
January 14, 2021, 6:46am
176
One thing that worries me is again the lack of match simulation. I have managed to get to a few training sessions over the past few years and am always surprised at the lack of intensity and real match type situations being practiced. Itās mostly doing a few light runs, a few half intensity drills, a few laughs then back in. It might be what other clubs do too, but i was hoping rutten might lift the intensity a bit at training and have them match and gameplan hardened for once.
nackers:
My thoughts on todayās session, sorry if I repeat some of what others have already reported.
There was quite a large modified group today, nothing necessarily to worry about they may just be monitoring loads after a big session on Tuesday. Of the group:
Shiel - did a lot of running and some ball work on the second oval, looks close to joining the main group.
Misiti, Alex Hird and Moore completed the whole session, but in a group mostly of the younger and first year players. Tex Wanganeen was on the sidelines talking to Dodoro and others on crutches and in a moonboot. Probably the last we see of him this pre season.
Of these Moore looked very good again moving well and disposing neatly. Looks a very likely type. Misiti again impressed, I recall particularly and one occasion being trapped between two players and using strength to get out a handball to a teamate similar to what his father used to do. But his goalkicking was exceptional. All the players (who were mostly younger Iāll admit) were struggling kicking into the wind which also had a stronng cross breeze. From 40 out I reckon he only missed about 1 out of 15-20, with most straight through the middle perfectly weighted, some of the best goal kicking Iāve seen. Johnson was also excellent with his goalkcicking from a smaller sample.
The main training was generally split into 2 or more groups with one group on the main oval and the second on the docklands size ground. As @CJohns mentioned there still hasnāt been any sort of full ground length training, which seems a bit of a waste as they certainly had the number to do it. Instead there was more 1/2 to 3/4 length of the ground match simulation.
In this both Stewart and Hooker were playing as defenders.
Some of the highlights of the session for me:
At one stage Draper drifted forward and took a very strong contested mark which he then converted with a tricky wind.
Caldwell got caught under a hospital ball and was gang tackled by two players and I though he was gone for all money, but he managed to keep his feet, free his hands and get the handball off - very impressive. Overall there is an awful lot to like about him, he has very few weanesses that Iāve seen so far, will most likely become a crowd favourite.
Francis was corraled into a corner by the boundary at one stage, just when he looked like getting a disposal off Smith laid a huge tackle taking him to the ground, followed up by the obligatory rub of the hair when getting up, a welcome return of the Smith attitide.
Harrison Jones continues to improve, he has become a very good runner and glides across the surface. Very much in line for a round one debut.
Reid looks like he will be a ripper - one of if not the tallest players in the club but also great with groundballs and is just a beautiful kick, his action seems effortless but goes a huge distance. I would think he would already be the longest kick in the club. Heās still very much a beanpole but with his skills and height I wouldnāt be surprised if he plays a few games this year
Tippa seems to be taking a while to get back into it, is near the back in most running drills and is probably still building back up from his time in the hub, but Iām sure he has the dedication to get there.
Langford - what can I say that hasnāt already been said. I thought he had a breakout season last year but he looks at a whole diofferent level again. At one point he took the ball and ran weaving through a pack with confidence like you would expect from the best players in the comp. We may see something really special from him this year.
Draperās main weakness is his disposal, but that seemed a lot tidier today. I expect that to continue to improve condsidering the short amount of time he has been playing the game.
Hindās whole game seems to have improved since his time with us in the VFL. His disposal which I thought was his weakness looks a lot neater and more composed, he has a much stonger overall body shape but still has the blistering speed. I wouldnāt be at all surprised if he becomes a regular off half back particularly with the loss of Saad and McKenna.
Iām not quite sold on Cox yet, he looks a great athlete but I havenāt been overly impressed with his kicking just yet although he does also look very capable on the ground. When he was having goalkicking practice he completely shanked his first 2 shots out of bounds to the left, then changed to his left foot which wasnāt much better. Iām hoping it was just an off day as I havenāt seen that sort of thing before.
I think I now have a more reliable contact so hopefully will be able to give more accurate and timely training dates.
Just when I thought you had let us all down, you goā¦
6 Likes
Good thing we left Windy Hill so we could have a facility with ovals matching the dimensions of Docklands and the MCG!
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Last year at GC - yes, he does stop them and was meticulous about positioning/structures around a stoppage. We have no idea what he is saying - he could be discussing whatās for lunch. Caracella did more teaching from what I saw but Rutten is still very involved.
CJohns
January 14, 2021, 6:59am
180
Rutten can be vocal when need be. He is letting Caracella have quite a bit if control on ball movement drills.
He is coming on our podcast in the next few weeks so i am keen to ask him some questions and have a good chat. Happy to get some question ideas too.
55 Likes
jonovdp
January 14, 2021, 6:59am
181
We have Jones and Eyre coming through also, but could see us using Reid as a swing playing.
IMO you need to have KPP that can play either end, otherwise we have a situation like last yearā¦ where we have plenty of guys fighting for a Key Defender role and no one putting their hand up to play forward.
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