Reckon we will bring in more post 2020
Splendid report @Deckham. Love to hear that we have a few boys upping the ante in training effort and pressure.
Attended as well; arriving right on 9 am.
Players came out and seemed in a good mood. They gathered around the wing boundary and someone did some talking briefly before there were claps and cheers. Hurley, in particular, seemed to be in a very good mood throughout. It is his birthday soon (29 December), so perhaps itâs related to that.
I counted 24 players in full training with firstly Fantasia & Draper running laps, then Shiel, then Ambrose late in the session. Heppell on the bike throughout, Redman on the sidelines doing handball drills on the sidelines. Saw McKernan walk out very late, very briefly.
I didnât sight Merrett, Hooker, Daniher or Stewart that I can recall. Nor the first year players, nor our two Irish recruits.
Regardless, all players I saw looked very lean and very fit. They all looked in very good nick. Mozzie, to me, looks like he has bulked up, not necessarily fat. Regardless, he was part of full training and didnât have any issue keeping up.
Not that training was that hard or intense - just very long. After some match sim, the players jogged off the ground (around 11 am) so I disappeared to go inside and check out the Bombershop. Came back out to go home and there were the 24 players on the Marvel sized oval doing some laps and then started doing some exercise drills involving a black beach ball. They were still going when I drove off at 1115.
With the players lean look, length of training and style of training the players seem to me that they are being prepared to be running machines, all of them.
Rutten and Caracella took training with Worsfold observing from the sidelines.
What I can remember about the drills:
- Just after warm-up the players broke into 3 groups. One, which included Hurley, was on the outer wing. He stood facing goal and in a âready-to-pounceâ stance. I noticed a coach creeping up behind him and then Hurley suddenly turn around to tackle him. It was a very sudden response. That group proceeded to do some contained circle work focussing on kicking quickly and sharply, under minimum pressure.
- The other two groups on the hanger wing had the players lying face down on the grass (about 5-6) in a circle. A coach would then blow a whistle and then immediately throw a ball to one of them, randomly. Players would immediately stand up, the player who had the ball thrown at him would immediately have to handball to another player in the group whilst another tackled him. Like the Hurley drill, it was about the players having a âtwitch responseâ to a sudden situation e.g. donât be caught flat-footed at a ball up, be ready to move.
- A little later the players did 2/3 ground mini match sim led by Caracella. Caracella would throw the ball to a 1:1 contest and the play would ensue. If the ball movement got going it was predominantly quick, a little lateral but then straight down the ground. McGrath looked quick but sometimes went a little too sideways. If the ball was spoilt and went over the boundary line, then Caracella would blow the whistle and the drill would restart.
- Finally, there was some match sim over nearly the whole ground. Again, emphasis was on ball movement and hard running, not so much about a contest although there were a couple of good tackles with Laverde and Zerk-Thatcher being tackled and getting slightly hurt (both re-joined training).
There were also a group of 3-4 players who must be players trying out for a place in the squad. One was KP position sized and a great build for a KP defender. The guy I was standing next to (with binoculars) and I couldnât decide if it was Cian McBride or not, but I donât think so. Another, very young looking player (about 185-188 cm, and lean) took part in some of the drills too - thought he might be Dustin Fletcherâs youngest son, Max. Fletch was there watching. But Iâm sure the other players were calling out âTomâ and âTommyâ to him whenever he had the ball. Would be very interested to know who both those players were, especially the KP sized one.
I think that covers it. In summary, we are planning to having a lean, fit running-machine line-up in 2020 based on how I saw them train today. More about intercept, move the ball rapidly up forward and do it pretty directly. How our contested game would look, I honestly couldnât tell you based on what I saw today.
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Thanks for the excellent report. About the ball movement, were the kicks high and loopy or more low and direct?
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Actually, quite low and direct. Only one really loopy kick I can recall.
Hopefully, our new game style translates onto the ground once the season starts. We will be putting opposition defences on the backfoot and not giving them time to set up.
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Thanks gorgo.
I agree that it is a focus and am glad that it is.
but I disagree that it is just a mind set thing. Tackling is a skill.
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Did he look Hird-like?
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Having Smith back is going to be a god send missed him big time.
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Certainly had the height and physique of a young James Hird. Barely looked 18 years old.
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Thatâs the big unknown. Real games are different to training, and the question is when the opposition puts their pressure on or they set up across the ground differently to how they see it at The Hanger, how do the players respond? Do they revert back to loopy high kicks?
Josh Treacy AFL Academy kid
Josh Eyre NGA Kid
Cody Brand NGA kid
Cian McBride Cat B
Max Fletcher looks like a Fletcher - pretty hard to misidentify youâd think.
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Isnât Tom Hird about 175cm and 60kg?
Thanks for posting this.
Iâd say the two players were Josh Treacy (KP sized) and Cody Brand.
I guess âtommyâ and âCodyâ could sound interchangeable over a distance.
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Yep, thatâs why I didnât think it was one of Hirdâs sons.
BTW, Iâm sure Josh Eyre was also there, but less involved.
I think Deckham might have a novel in him. ( Everyone is supposed to have one , its the second one thats the real test )
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