Fantastic report @Deckham, great detail. I agree completely about the intensity of the session, it was one of the hardest I have seen. This was their last session for the year so they no doubt worked much harder for today.
I got there after the Franga incident so can’t add anything to that. Hopefully as they now have a bit of a break it won’t be much of a setback.
Without repeating too much of Deckham’s excellent report here are a few of the things I noticed:
There was a brutal drill out on the wing with various groups of about 8 players. A player would take on another player in a wrestling drill which continued until 1 of the 2 was thrown to the ground. The first player would then have to wrestle each other player in the ground individually without a break before taking a rest. The player taking on the rest of the group was exhausted on each occasion when finished.
Dlarke was very good at this drill as was Houlihan, Guelfi and Long. Mossie was easily beaten on nearly every occasion, he will certainly have to work on his strength. Stewart wasn’t quite as dominant as I thought he would be given his advantage in size and weight.
At the far end of the ground Zlarke and Draper were having a one on one marking session which was being officiated by Glouftsis, paying free kicks if she thought it was warranted. Draper beat him comprehensibly on most occasions. A great initiative I think by the club to have the umpires there officiating, they get a much better idea of where the line is in contests. When she was leaving after training had finished I told her she would have to look after us this year for the extra work we were giving her. She smiled which I took as a firm yes. She certainly ended up better than the other umpire who pulled a calf muscle early and couldn’t continue.
Draper again was very good for the whole session until Smack and Zlarke swapped forward and in the ruck in the match simulation, where Smack completely outpointed him on 3 or 4 occasion in a row which was very surprising to see but great fro Smack.
I also saw the effort of Mossie that Deckham referred to. He went from contest to contest laying tackles and ended up reaching under the pack lying on his stomach to get the ball and get a handpass away. He was loudly congratulated for his effort.
In the match sim Jok was excellent as Deckham said. I don’t know why some have said there is a knock on his kicking, I have rarely seen him miss a target. On one occasion he kicked a beautiful lace out 40 metre pass to Smack in a crowded forward line… He also laid at least 3 perfect tackles where the player was pinned with the ball and couldn’t get off a kick or handpass. He starts off most sims on the outside, it looks like they may be grooming him for a wing.
Laverde again stood out to me with his size and strength. On a couple of occasions he was able to shrug off tackles much easier than he has in the past. Near the end of training he was running laps at an exceptionally fast pace. I have heard that in the past he has had issues with his confidence but is now really feeling like he can make it here, and after re signing he is extremely dedicated to repay the faith. I will be very surprised if he isn’t in the starting lineup this year.
McGrath is constantly improving. In a previous session some players yelled out encouraging him to use that 5kg, which I presume is an extra 5kg of muscle in the off season. He can now hold his ground much better in a contest, and what really stands out is his ability to make subtle changes of direction to buy extra time and get a more effective disposal.
Gown didn’t train much with the group today but spent a lot of time on the sidelines on the bikes and other machines.
While Begley has spent all pre season in the modified group he must still be one of the fittest in the club and I don’t think he will be behind anyone in general fitness when he rejoins the main group. Of the modified each session he seems to work harder and longer than the other players. He spent nearly the whole 3 hours today working, once he had finished on the second oval he had a long session on the bikes and ropes on the sidelines.
Our group commented on attitude of Redman. Even with his setback he constantly looks upbeat and with a smile, and in every session I have seen him in the sidelines encouraging his teammates. I imagine he would be very popular within the group.
I was told this is the last training session this year, with the group starting again on January 10th.
Geez, they look in good nick.
Better than I’ve seen us look in a preseason for a looooong time.
Oh, koala’s replying as well, I’m sure to say something similar…