Am sure others will do this better this arvo but thought i'd pass on some thoughts from today's session.
There seems to be be either quite a few sore boys or just a lot of resting/player management going on.
First, the good news.
Zaka moved freely, no hint of any problems with that knee he hurt late on Friday night.
Joe trained with the main group and marked with his hands slightly above his shoulders but I don't think I saw him reach for the sky and fully stretch out.
Jobe moved really well, he looks very fit. But still didn't kick with his right foot.
Hams trained on the other oval but looks very close to joining in the main drills.
Hibberd also trained near Hams and looks close this week but my guess is he'll definitely play against West Coast.
Those absent were Bellchambers, Carlisle, Fletcher, Ambrose.
Those who were on light duties were Goodard, NOB and Hurley. Paddy didn't do many of the drills but instead did some intensive ruck training.
There was a big emphasis on drills to move the ball quickly and effectivey from deep in the backline. The players were encouraged to make decisions "on the turn" and look for a teammate forward of the ball, not sideways. They were told to be attacking.
Joe struggled here, he has these awful dinky little passes that often miss the mark. You'd think they would try and him to kick lower and faster. He was clearly angry with himself after missing the target 3 out of 4 times.
Overall the session was fairly clean and the players seemed to be quite focussed.
Watson and Daniher both joined in full training and went well although Watson is hand balling much more than kicking but towards the end of training he did some specific kicking drills with his right foot as well as the left that he had used during the main session. He looks well on the road to recovery and did his fair share of coaching today as well.
The performance today can be broken into two parts - close in skills work which was good and full field match play which was lack lustre. There was a lot of emphasis in the first part of training on close in contested skills work with plenty of handball and short precision kicking.
A good example of this was carried out at the airport end where small goalposts were set up across the ground restricting the area available for play. The idea was to move the ball out of the back line mainly using handball to set up a shot at goal while of course the defenders had to try and lock the ball in. The coach was continually teaching what he wanted e.g. To Dell “Don’t all run forward of the ball come back for the handball.” Bomber emphasised Running in packs with quick handball overlap trying to get players to run ahead of the ball at a 45 degree angle.
A big emphasis was on providing the correct options - good options going forward instead of going sideways and an emphasis on spreading well. I’m sure we would all agree with this. This was emphasised when Bomber said “Don’t just stand there thinking you’re in a good spot - keep moving.”
This session was followed by twenty players having match play (without rucking) on the MCCracken Oval. This meant that there was plenty of space for open running play but this part of the session was far from impressive with fumbling, poor kicks and poor options. e.g. “That’s fu.king bullshit the last three possessions you’ve kicked it to guys standing still.” Bomber showed what he wanted when he praised a good passage of play “That was good because one of our defenders kicked the ball and got involved in the play again - we got an overlap.”
To finish on a lighter note you can choose between the spy car parked in Melrose Drive that turned out to be a speed camera or the compliment Hurley received when he did a good smother “Well done Big Horse” is this telling us something about Hurls?
Training in cool, overcast conditions on the McCracken Oval, Tullamarine.
I watched with Karma Bomber and Muriel Street Bomber today.
Notable absentees Fletcher, Carlisle, Bellchambers.
Watson and Daniher both joined in full training and went well although Watson is hand balling much more than kicking but towards the end of training he did some specific kicking drills with his right foot as well as the left that he had used during the main session. He looks well on the road to recovery and did his fair share of coaching today as well.
The performance today can be broken into two parts - close in skills work which was good and full field match play which was lack lustre. There was a lot of emphasis in the first part of training on close in contested skills work with plenty of handball and short precision kicking.
A good example of this was carried out at the airport end where small goalposts were set up across the ground restricting the area available for play. The idea was to move the ball out of the back line mainly using handball to set up a shot at goal while of course the defenders had to try and lock the ball in. The coach was continually teaching what he wanted e.g. To Dell "Don't all run forward of the ball come back for the handball." Bomber emphasised Running in packs with quick handball overlap trying to get players to run ahead of the ball at a 45 degree angle.
A big emphasis was on providing the correct options - good options going forward instead of going sideways and an emphasis on spreading well. I'm sure we would all agree with this. This was emphasised when Bomber said "Don't just stand there thinking you're in a good spot - keep moving."
This session was followed by twenty players having match play (without rucking) on the MCCracken Oval. This meant that there was plenty of space for open running play but this part of the session was far from impressive with fumbling, poor kicks and poor options. e.g. "That's fu.king bullshit the last three possessions you've kicked it to guys standing still." Bomber showed what he wanted when he praised a good passage of play "That was good because one of our defenders kicked the ball and got involved in the play again - we got an overlap."
To finish on a lighter note you can choose between the spy car parked in Melrose Drive that turned out to be a speed camera or the compliment Hurley received when he did a good smother "Well done Big Horse" is this telling us something about Hurls?
Training in cool, overcast conditions on the McCracken Oval, Tullamarine.
I watched with Karma Bomber and Muriel Street Bomber today.
Notable absentees Fletcher, Carlisle, Bellchambers.
Watson and Daniher both joined in full training and went well although Watson is hand balling much more than kicking but towards the end of training he did some specific kicking drills with his right foot as well as the left that he had used during the main session. He looks well on the road to recovery and did his fair share of coaching today as well.
The performance today can be broken into two parts - close in skills work which was good and full field match play which was lack lustre. There was a lot of emphasis in the first part of training on close in contested skills work with plenty of handball and short precision kicking.
A good example of this was carried out at the airport end where small goalposts were set up across the ground restricting the area available for play. The idea was to move the ball out of the back line mainly using handball to set up a shot at goal while of course the defenders had to try and lock the ball in. The coach was continually teaching what he wanted e.g. To Dell "Don't all run forward of the ball come back for the handball." Bomber emphasised Running in packs with quick handball overlap trying to get players to run ahead of the ball at a 45 degree angle.
A big emphasis was on providing the correct options - good options going forward instead of going sideways and an emphasis on spreading well. I'm sure we would all agree with this. This was emphasised when Bomber said "Don't just stand there thinking you're in a good spot - keep moving."
This session was followed by twenty players having match play (without rucking) on the MCCracken Oval. This meant that there was plenty of space for open running play but this part of the session was far from impressive with fumbling, poor kicks and poor options. e.g. "That's fu.king bullshit the last three possessions you've kicked it to guys standing still." Bomber showed what he wanted when he praised a good passage of play "That was good because one of our defenders kicked the ball and got involved in the play again - we got an overlap."
To finish on a lighter note you can choose between the spy car parked in Melrose Drive that turned out to be a speed camera or the compliment Hurley received when he did a good smother "Well done Big Horse" is this telling us something about Hurls?
Bomber sounds like an Essendon supporter. This frustrates me. This lack of movement where we just stop and wait for the ball to be kicked to us when there is lots of space to run to. Rather they run and create a lead than just stand and wrestle for the mark.
Regarding Daniher, you mentioned he joined in full training. Was it full contact as well as sometimes when they join in full training they are usually wearing a vest that indicates they can't be tackled (technically it wouldn't be full training then would it, but you know what I mean)
