Training Pre season training

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Mitch is on the right.. is that Garcia on the left? looks much much stronger than last year
 
Collard is a really difficult guy to assess. I will say this much though. Did he take it easy? No. Did he slack off? No. Did he drop his shoulders and give bad body language? No.

He was the only one in the group at the end of the session who couldn't keep up with the times, so clearly still doesn't have the engine and may never. Again, very hard to assess because that's not his role. I will say he has definitely improved, ran out of petrol tickets in the end but I think he had a really positive session. He may not be the modern prototypical small forward but he definitely has something so it's very difficult to gauge with him.

Not sure what I'll remember from today but I'll write down some stuff and see where it goes. I'll try not to rehash too much of what's already been said.

I'll start with a pair of Max's. Max Heath, the difference between how he has presented back to the club is absolutely chalk and cheese when compared to last year. He looks significantly leaner, but not in a skinny way, if that makes sense. Kept up with Ro for 3/4 of the running, which is definitely an improvement. He was actually very clean with his skills today especiallyby foot. Main takeaway was that he started last year waaaay behind the 8 ball in terms of fitness, this year, he's not the finished product but he's definitely on the right track. I left today thinking there's a good chance he'll be a better option than any state league ruckman we can find.

Max Hall, today I got huge Darren Minchington vibes from Max, not sure how I never really saw it until now. He looks like a good depth player, I am somewhat unsure as to where he fits. I don't think he sneaks into our midfield, so is it the Butler type role that he will be aiming for?

Jack Macrae, his class was obvious within a few minutes of him picking up a ball today. I don't think he missed a target by foot during the entire session. With respect to Steeley, I think he is our best midfielder in 2025. I'm still not quite sure how anyone was critical of his recruitment to be honest.

I'll sound like a broken record this year I feel, because I feel like I'm going to say Mattaes, Darcy and Hugo were standouts more than once.

There is something about Phillipou, he is morphing into Bont before our eyes. I never stopped saying stick with him last year when some were having doubts, eventually it clicked. He is special, like, seriously special - I don't know how else to put it.

Pou's mate at the front of the sprinting groups was of course Wilson. Pou works hard to stay with Wilson, but Darce just glides. The kid sets serious standards with his fitness. Having said that, he was really clean and confident today with ball in hand.

Garcia, there's just something about him that scares me, terminator like. There is this epic intensity to the way he trains. I liked Seb and feel guilty speaking ill of him, but over the years I'd be so frustrated with him at training. He'd often lack training intensity, joke around after losses, etc. I bring it up because I feel it's hopefully a good comparison to what type of era we are moving into. With guys like Garcia, Phillipou, Wilson driving standards we can only be on the right track. Hugo isn't the finished product, but you'd have him in there and just accept that while you won't get perfection from him yet - you'll get a kid who will carry you over the line on his shoulders.

Irish, let's be honest, I've only nicknamed him Irish because I always forget if it's O'Donnell, O'Connell, McConnell, etc - so Irish it is. I'm sure he is taller than his listed height of 189cm. There is something about him, he has a spark, he's actually got a great natural footy brain and can pull off the weird lateral kicks that only a Gaelic footballer can do. I haven't seen him play enough competitive footy to truly understand his scope - but I'd not be shocked if he became the bolter for Battle's spot. Like Arie, he probably needs to improve his 1 on 1 game, I've not seen enough in games to know for sure.

As for Arie, I believe the kid was set a challenge in the off-season as to whether he really wants it and his condition is peak. Certainly looks the part, he was covering ground quite well today and we all know what he can do with his left boot.

Hastie, well last year I joked that he looked like he could've been on the set auditioning for the remake of the remake of Point Break. That demeanour hasn't really changed, but I'm not going to hang him out to dry for it. I hope he has the hunger to make it like the other recruits seem to have. He definitely has the talent.

Keels is possibly in a similar boat in that it may just be decided that he doesn't have the drive to make it. I personally think that's rubbish and that he would thrive if given the chance. His skills below his knees and by foot are simply too good to see him not make it. His fitness is quite good too, for a big guy, he's pretty athletically gifted.

Windy, Owens and Nas were just doing their thing all at a high standard. I actually think that its great for these 3 to just keep being pushed by the younger ones and not have the spotlight focussed on them. Mitchitos kicking for goal was superb, kudos to him for the work he put in last year.

Caminiti was getting smaaaaaaashed with fitness stuff in his rehab session. I actually thought he was going to collapse at the end of his running, working incredibly hard.

Watching today, and it's early days with no pressure, but our kicking looked really sharp. The inclusion of Macrae will be huge, his delivery into the F50 is just amazing. Our recruitment from the last few years has been top notch, the recruitment focus on speed and kicking was on display today.

The positive thing about our list is that noone really looks like they are making up the numbers. We won't be challenging for the 2025 premiership, but the signs are there that they have the skill and temperament to build into a premiership contending list in the coming years.
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Very enjoyable read that
 

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McLennan looking a lot thinner in a couple of snaps!? Is his body having a rebuild? Bit of a fan and hope he has a breakout game or two.


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com
 
The Preseason “Lemme See What We’ve Got Here” XX.

B: Stocker - Cordy - McLennan
HB: Schoenmaker - Caminiti - Hastie
C: O’Connell - Clark - Wilson
HF: Phillipou - Keeler - Carroll
F: Collard - Owens - Hall
Foll: Heath - Garcia - Dow

Int: Byrnes Jones
 
Is Max King still slated to do a full preseason? Haven't seen him mentioned yet
 
What is Liam Henry's injury status? I thought he was hugely important in the games he played so can't wait to hear how he's progressing
Believe in the post season injury report he was slated to start training post xmas.
 

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The Hammer looks like he could cook a decent battered king salmon with half a serve of chips and a kabana.
 
Training report 15/11/24 New
Pre-Season Training 15/11/2024


Rehab:

Caminiti, Stocker, Windhager (Pool).


Not Training:

King, Wood, Sinclair, Windy, Higgins, Butler, Steele, Dougs, Henry, Marshall, Webster,

Wilson has put on some size. Same as Keeler.

O’Connell looks good. Good size and nice skills. Fantastic runner (kept up with Darcy Wilson)

Macrae very good skills. It’s nice to have left footers who can actually kick (sorry Seb!)

Max Hall - solid unit. Built like the proverbial brick you-know-what! I feel that others will be ahead of him as he doesn’t really have any standout strengths.

Byrnes continues to be one of our best runners. I reckon Ross loves him.

Mitchito moving his opponents around with ease. Very powerful boy.

Collard good skills but very lackadaisical. His fitness is shocking, and his demeanour in general is not great. Looks disinterested but maybe that’s just his vibe.

Cordy runs like he’s got a shoe full of pebbles. It’s a worry if we go into the season with him in our starting 22.

Jack Carroll nice skill set. Will be a good depth player. A definite upgrade on Seb. Younger and better skills.

Keeler trained as a forward. Looks good. Surely he debuts in 2025. As mentioned, he looks to have put on some size and is starting to 'clunk' marks. Last year during pre-season I noticed he was double grabbing his marks, so perhaps his confidence is growing?

Hugo. Very involved. Good skills and decision making. Looks to have put on some size as well, and a very good runner.

Arie looks to have lost his baby fat body. More muscle definition. I’m going to watch his fitness over this pre season as last year his fitness was very poor. He’s the most skillful on the list but if he’s going to make it, he needs to improve his fitness in order to be able to run out games. A few times last year he couldn't keep up with his opponent particularly late in games.

Pou and Mitch practiced goal kicking at pretty much every drinks break. Mitch really needs to perfect his goal kicking as this is the only thing holding him back from really making his mark on the competition. He is a beast and will cause chaos for defenders with his aggression. Pou just loves the ball in his hands. Both of these lads are very committed and professional. They are the future leaders of this club.

Running drill at the end. Two groups. Darcy Wilson clearly the best runner, just glides across the ground. Hugo & O’Connell not far behind. We all know Hill is a great runner, so my observation/comment is based solely around the younger brigade.

Collard in the second group. Back of the group. I’d be surprised if we see a lot of him this year. Maybe as a sub? Just has this look of being disinterested which I’m sure he’s not. Just a very chilled character. He’s the type that won’t touch the ball for three quarters and then do something absolutely breathtaking.

That’s all for now. I’ll try to pop in regularly and provide updates.
 

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Training Pre season training

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