i don’t think that’s an unpopular position , but , he finished high in a best and fairest so there will be some that criticise this. I think he’s limited and has got the best out of his abilities and for that ,he’s a good player in my eyes
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Christ jake is chunky
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4.32 times
So you are happy for Essendon to be a bunch of front running squibs?
Tackling has been an issue for over a decade
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Yes I am
Nino he is winding you up, don’t fall for his bait.
Alex has gone into troll mode, l don’t know why, nor do l care, but it is very obvious and he has chosen you as a target.
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Of course you’re going to get trolled when you turn a particular forum into a running archive of your stream of consciousness…
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Except that Alex has been having a go at a few different people in different threads.
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No i havent. Stop talking bullshit.
Maybe if Nino took an iota of time to think before he just dumps whatever transient emotion pops into his mind, he wouldnt be met with negative responses.
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Kinky.
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That is a handy definition of trolling, you do it for your own entertainment. As for BS, it fairly drips down your chin day and night. I don’t mind, it is just the smell when you open your mouth.
We all know Nino likes to shoot from the lip, but there is no need to bait him.
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wtf thats gross. block me if you find me so repugnant.
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Shut up.
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You can also block Nino if you hate his whinging.
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I dont hate it. Its stupid.
Anyway, its a training thread, sorry CJ had to post a creepy adult erotica fanfic about my mouth and derail everything.
I don’t believe those optimistic estimates the club gives on injuries anymore. I hope like hell they are right in the case of 2MP, but I don’t trust them.
Weideman was reported to have a slight calf injury. He’s still on the sidelines. Same applies to Jones. Reid was due to return to training in January. Cox was reported to be suffering a minor strain. Still not playing match simulation. Etc, etc.
I know they are very cautious with any niggle this time if the year but every year it’s the same and these niggles prove to be more than just ‘minor’ or ‘slight’.
I cannot fathom why our injuries are so bad every season at the start of the year. Invariably we are in the worst 2 to 4 clubs at the start and usually until the half way mark, after which the list improves. I don’t believe it’s bad luck, because luck eventually evens out. Looking at all the clubs, we would be the worst again at this stage, perhaps rivalled by Carlton.
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I’ll add my 2 cents. Sorry if I’m retreading well-worn ground. As others have noted, there were a lot of jumper changes but the black team was more or less the firsts team.
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McGrath (black) - Seems more confident and less hurried down back; more prepared to take on a tackler or take a few extra steps to give himself time to find an open teammate
rather than playing hot potato with the football as he tends to do in the midfield. If he remains injury free he’ll be good for us in defence this year. -
Draper (black) - He continues to develop as a footballer but from time to time you’re reminded of what a freak athlete he is when he leaps over a pack or takes the ball out of the ruck and streams forward (followed by a helicopter punt).
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Parish (red then black) - Parish was a little rusty but when he swapped to the black team he had a couple of quick handball combinations in the centre with Merrett which reminded me of how damaging the midfield combination was at stages in 2021.
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Langford (red) - Also a bit rusty but not too bad. I assume he was on the red team only because he is returning from injury.
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Tsatas. Unsighted. Harley Reid wore number 5 for red before changing to 6 for black and looks an impressive athlete.
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Caldwell (red then black?) - He’s not a standout player to me in match sim but if he’s going to play a defensive midfield role he doesn’t have to be. Kicked a nice goal towards the end.
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Merrett (black) - Probably best on ground, just doing what he does.
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Hobbs (red) - Lacks polish (he tends to hack the ball forward a bit out of packs (just something to work on)) but he’s such a competitor that he should turn in to a solid player
at worst. I was watching a drill they were doing after the match when the players were all knackered and he brought Kelly down in a tackle after three attempts that just demonstrated a real tenacity and unwillingness to be beaten. -
Shiel (black) - Looked a million dollars early and then probably took the foot off the accelerator a bit for the second half.
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Wiedeman - Modified group. Ran laps. Looks in good shape.
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Snelling (black) - Snelling didn’t stand out much but his kicking looked a lot neater than it did when he returned from injury last year and was spraying his kicks everywhere.
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Setterfield (red then black? - wearing number forty something) - He’s a big lad for a midfielder. Very good in close but could probably work a bit harder on the outside to find space.
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Cox - Modified group. Participated in handball drills then sat out and watched the game. No running.
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Ridley (black) - Typical sort of Ridley game (which is definitely not a criticism). I was pleased that he seemed to be slightly more aggressive in choosing targets with his kicking.
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Laverde (black) - Looked good. Not really troubled down back by the red team’s undersized forward line.
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Perkins (black then red) - Played more midfield time than he has in the past. He didn’t get a lot of it but what he did do was really impressive. Burst out of the centre square a couple of times and hit targets, lace out. Also kicked a lovely goal along the ground from the pocket in the last quarter. I’m excited about what he can do over the next year or two.
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Stewart - Modified group. Handball drills only.
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Hayes (red) - Unsurprisingly, struggled to contain Stringer but showed a bit. Despite being quite skinny he has the frame to fill out, doesn’t look ungainly and is a good kick for
his size. -
Hind - Modified group. Ran laps.
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Wright (black) - Injured early in the first quarter.
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Heppell (red) - Not sure what to make of Heppell playing for the second team. It’s easy to read too much into these sort of things but it might be a sign that he won’t be an automatic
selection this year. In any case, he played pretty well on a wing despite a couple of floaty kicks. -
Durham (black) - Good to see Durham getting a run in the first team. I really like him. He works really hard to find space, has good skills, goes in hard, and should make a great combination with Martin on the other wing for the next decade.
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Jones - Modified group. Harry was running laps at a good speed and should be ready to go soon. He’s still slimmer than you’d like but has put on some size around the shoulders.
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Bryan (red) - He’s able to compete quite well with Draper in the hit outs now but still has a lot of work to do on his around-the-ground work.
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Stringer (black) - I’m hesitant to get too excited because this is usually the time of year when Stringer gets an injury that results in him starting the season looking overweight, but
he looks to be in quite good shape at the moment. He was probably the dominant forward on the ground, at least in the first half, and then I noticed him pushing his teammates in the
post-match running sessions which was encouraging. -
Baldwin (red) - I like Baldwin. He always works hard and when the red team was having trouble getting the ball forward he led up the wings and took a few good marks. My concern is that he may lack the height and speed to compete against top level AFL defenders. Hopefully his strength will give him the edge he needs.
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Redman (black then red) - Not much to report. Looked good and set for a big season.
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Lord (red) - He’s significantly bulked up but didn’t stand out in the match practice.
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Kelly (black) - Not the type of player that’s going to dazzle in these circumstances but solid as usual except for one mess up that resulted in an opposition goal.
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Zerk-Thatcher (black) - It looks like the coaches have settled on him as our first choice full back. He’s clearly taken the next step in his physical development but didn’t have much
work to do today down back for the black team. -
Reid - Modified group. Present but didn’t participate in any drills.
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Ryan Eyre (red) - Josh’s younger brother and part of the Hird Academy. Moved well and had a shot on goal (I couldn’t see if it went through) but is a couple of inches shorter than
his older brother so will have to develop some tricks to get drafted. Difficult to evaluate him playing as a 17 year old in a forward line then didn’t get much supply. -
A Davey (black then red) - Good to see Alwyn line up in the first team and he looked every bit the AFL player. He didn’t get a lot of the ball in a crowded forward line but when he did
he showed his compusure and skills. He also stood out to me during the handball drills where he was not afraid to draw an opponent and weave through traffic. I was pleasantly surprised by how fit he is. It was a solid 3 hour training session and he was still running hard in the drills after the practice match. -
Phillips (red) - Flip always competes and didn’t make it easy for Draper. We’re a bit lucky to have a player like him who is good enough to play at the top level but is also humble enough to accept that he will always be second or third ruckman on the list and is prepared to play VFL and help develop the younger players.
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Guelfi (black) - Not much to report. Kicked a nice goal and played a solid game.
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J Davey - Modified group. Jayden ran laps at a pace that was noticeably slower than the others. Unsurprisingly, he doesn’t yet have the physique of a professional athlete but I was
pleased to see him still running laps on his own after the others had finished. Looks like a hard worker. -
Martin (black) - It’s remarkable that this time last year this guy seemed only to be an outside chance to get a spot on an AFL list and now he looks like a ten year veteran showing everyone else how it’s done. It’s just as remarkable that one of the knocks on him was supposedly his endurance because he is now clearly the hardest running player at the club. He was playing on a wing against Tom Phillips (ex Hawthorn/Collingwood) but I don’t think Phillips got anywhere near him because Martin seemed to have the ball on a string at times. Probably second only to Merrett for best on ground.
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Montgomerie (red) - Looked shaky early with a couple of turnovers but improved as the game went on and took some nice high marks in the second half. The Kyle Hardingham comparisons are apt although I think he’s a better kick than Kyle.
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Voss (black) - I find this guy hard to judge. He’s a great size and looks like he’s added some muscle tone in the off season. I know it’s only his second season but he was a bit
anonymous today which is a little bit disappointing given he was playing CHF in the more dominant team. I’m pleased the coaches are prepared to back him in though. -
Wanganeen - Modified group. Ran laps with Jones and kept up with him pretty well before dropping off towards the end.
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McBride (red) - Sadly, I’m not sure if Cian is going to make it which is disappointing because we really need a big-bodied key position defender. Still plenty of time this year to
prove me wrong though. -
D’Ambrossio (red) - It’s a pity that the coaches don’t yet seem to rate Massimo in our top team because his kicking is such a weapon. He’ll still get his chances, no doubt.
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Tipungwuti (black) - Noticeably slimmer but perhaps still a little undercooked. I guess if he’s playing in the black team the coaches must think he’s a chance to be ready for round 1.
He certainly hasn’t lost any of his skills. -
Munkara - Modified group. Handball drills then ran some slow laps with a trainer.
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Menzie (red then black) - I’ve got to admit I didn’t really rate Menzie before today but I was somewhat impressed. He was consistently kicking goals in the VFL last year but only getting a half a dozen or so possessions. Today he seemed to be popping up all over the place and must have had about four shots on goal. I was also impressed by the sharpness of his kicking skills in the drills. Probably not best 22 yet but he’s not far off (especially if Walla or Davey aren’t ready).
Happy to answer questions if they haven’t already been covered.
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Id say from that report…our forward line is farked
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Hows Walla tracking looking good for rnd 1?
I grew up in the North and now live in the sand belt, the difference in ground firmness is huge.