Training Pre season training

[akaifu]

Random thoughts from today's training

‐‐----------------------------------------------------------

Tauru made a short appearance.
Big group. Only Stocker not in main group.
Would hate to try to move Boyd off the ball.
Henry out amd running with no knee strapping.
Ron and Hammer in fluro hats.
Jack Carroll running laps with Windy both in rehab, don't look injured. Maybe a nick somewhere.
Henry in rehab in good spirits. Separate program to the other two. Lots of work on knee bends and quads. Slow run through, gradually getting quicker, not labouring, gait looks good, obviously no direction changes. Some gentle kick to kick, followed by ground ball gets.
Main group, 50 metre sprints with a ball through obstacles. Jones, Pou powering with lots of talk.
Henry feeling his knee. More three quarter run throughs. Think it will be a while before he is fit. Running 66's in 11 seconds, improving it to 10. Henry looks OK for a second or third running session, time to look at match sim.
Two umpires just ran past, looks like sim of some kind.
Three groups, forward pocket Nepean Highway end practising close in tackling and evasion taken by bj.
Middle group half field non contact sim with umpires.
Far end ground ball gets then disposals.

Groups interchanging every 5 minutes. In sim Arie running hard. Dodson and Pou look good. Dodson looks like a footballer.
McLennon in fluro hat.
Good to see the umpires coach ( the one Hird didn't like) with the umpires, discussing positioning etc. They need to train as much as anyone else. Elini is back. Think she had a baby. Looks fit. Good to see her back, she is not a bad umpire.
Jack Steven at training speaking with Tony Brown. Looks pretty fit taken a bit of weight off.
Think Jack Voss is training.
You really know what Bolton wants.
Christ knows why we were so down on Travaglia during draft time, including me. Holy hell the kid is good, clean, great disposal. Wonderful mover, can see him debuting very early. Personally more impressed than I was with Wilson this time last year.
Lyon looking for width then through the corridor. Looking to stretch oppo zones.
Bolton and Lyon in deep discussion, something about Tim Tam's v Iced Vo Vo's. Got heated at times.
20 minute full field sim, no Max, Windy, Hammer. Boyd v Roh.
Boxshall with a nice mark and goal. Has a boot.
Heath forward looks involved.
Big pack mark from Boyd.Beast.
High intensity, Keeler, Sharman prominent. Arie off a HB. Heath with a big pack mark and play on. Definitely developing. Full contact, Boxhall gets a bloody mouth. Wilks on Keels good contest.
Trav fumbles in traffic, two steps recovers and kicks to advantage.
High pressure, Macrae nabs Pou with a strong tackle.
Carroll in the match sim so is obviously OK. No Hugo today.
Buts, Clark, Roh, Steele, Wood up the race not involved in last part of the match sim.
Macrae into the rooms with a trainer.
Younger blokes in green vests, shots at goal. Yellow bibs v red training tops, cross the field, back half transition
Young ones, Dodson, Travaglia and Boxshall look good. Heath and Keeler continue to trend upwards, Boyd is a beast and contrary to some reports can play.
Now red shirts v green bibs with yellows taking shots for goal. Brad Hill is evergreen.
Macrae grabs his runners and goes inside.
Running now so Adios amigos.

On SM-S908E using BigFooty.com mobile app

Training reports are great, but match sim reports are next level

Thanks Joff!

 

[beside the seaside]

Random thoughts from today's training

‐‐----------------------------------------------------------

Tauru made a short appearance.
Big group. Only Stocker not in main group.
Would hate to try to move Boyd off the ball.
Henry out amd running with no knee strapping.
Ron and Hammer in fluro hats.
Jack Carroll running laps with Windy both in rehab, don't look injured. Maybe a nick somewhere.
Henry in rehab in good spirits. Separate program to the other two. Lots of work on knee bends and quads. Slow run through, gradually getting quicker, not labouring, gait looks good, obviously no direction changes. Some gentle kick to kick, followed by ground ball gets.
Main group, 50 metre sprints with a ball through obstacles. Jones, Pou powering with lots of talk.
Henry feeling his knee. More three quarter run throughs. Think it will be a while before he is fit. Running 66's in 11 seconds, improving it to 10. Henry looks OK for a second or third running session, time to look at match sim.
Two umpires just ran past, looks like sim of some kind.
Three groups, forward pocket Nepean Highway end practising close in tackling and evasion taken by bj.
Middle group half field non contact sim with umpires.
Far end ground ball gets then disposals.

Groups interchanging every 5 minutes. In sim Arie running hard. Dodson and Pou look good. Dodson looks like a footballer.
McLennon in fluro hat.
Good to see the umpires coach ( the one Hird didn't like) with the umpires, discussing positioning etc. They need to train as much as anyone else. Elini is back. Think she had a baby. Looks fit. Good to see her back, she is not a bad umpire.
Jack Steven at training speaking with Tony Brown. Looks pretty fit taken a bit of weight off.
Think Jack Voss is training.
You really know what Bolton wants.
Christ knows why we were so down on Travaglia during draft time, including me. Holy hell the kid is good, clean, great disposal. Wonderful mover, can see him debuting very early. Personally more impressed than I was with Wilson this time last year.
Lyon looking for width then through the corridor. Looking to stretch oppo zones.
Bolton and Lyon in deep discussion, something about Tim Tam's v Iced Vo Vo's. Got heated at times.
20 minute full field sim, no Max, Windy, Hammer. Boyd v Roh.
Boxshall with a nice mark and goal. Has a boot.
Heath forward looks involved.
Big pack mark from Boyd.Beast.
High intensity, Keeler, Sharman prominent. Arie off a HB. Heath with a big pack mark and play on. Definitely developing. Full contact, Boxhall gets a bloody mouth. Wilks on Keels good contest.
Trav fumbles in traffic, two steps recovers and kicks to advantage.
High pressure, Macrae nabs Pou with a strong tackle.
Carroll in the match sim so is obviously OK. No Hugo today.
Buts, Clark, Roh, Steele, Wood up the race not involved in last part of the match sim.
Macrae into the rooms with a trainer.
Younger blokes in green vests, shots at goal. Yellow bibs v red training tops, cross the field, back half transition
Young ones, Dodson, Travaglia and Boxshall look good. Heath and Keeler continue to trend upwards, Boyd is a beast and contrary to some reports can play.
Now red shirts v green bibs with yellows taking shots for goal. Brad Hill is evergreen.
Macrae grabs his runners and goes inside.
Running now so Adios amigos.

On SM-S908E using BigFooty.com mobile app

Epic report Joffa, muchos appreciados thanks so much

 

[Armitage2Riewoldt]

Course McLobster goes his whole career injury free and then hurts himself first week of pre season here

Hopefully nothing serious.

Great write up thanks Joff. Henry updates seem positive.

 

[SaintSteele9]

Terrific Joffaboy thank you! I too was guilty of feeling a little underwhelmed with TT at draft, but these reports are quickly putting that to bed and I’m really keen to see him in intraclub/preseason matches. It’s always “training the house down” time of year but the positivity from a number of watchers is great to read, keep it up gents

 

[MordySaint]

I will put him down for 65 sausage rolls.

Are you talking about Sharman's goal haul next year?

 

[bwardi]

Is McLobster serious? Hopefully just a little niggle.

 

[jimmytigs]

As an interstate and now overseas travelling Saints tragic, I love the pre-season with the training, reports and development of our new and younger players. This is a time of hope, promise and success still to come. Pre-season is non existent to most of us without the track reports, wild speculation, outlandish claims and the hint of wonders to come. May the track watchers and their reports, be long admired and appreciated.

agree,im in thailand and have a schedule where i wipe myself out on the piss every other day & every 3 days i spend 3 hours at a sauna with swimming pool the works,so now and then up pops a day where im doing niether,tomorrow will be one,but ive got the st.kilda cc games to stream & gloriously right now they are playing their T20 games of the fixture,so 2 games in one day,essendon and prahran up tomorrow

but on a weekday with not much else going on i can just immerse myself in these training reports among other things,so much appreciated

 

[Joffaboy]

Is McLobster serious? Hopefully just a little niggle.

Can't tell, wasn't limping, might have pulled a fast one to get out of the running.
First day of contact, maybe just a knock, no need to go overboard just before Xmas.

Came back out and grabbed his runners, wasn't limping or anything.

On SM-S908E using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Circus]

Joffa my boy, you're a legend!!

 

[Hubnester]

Thanks for the reports.

Is something going on with Garcia? I could be mistaken but is this the 2nd or 3rd session he's missed?

 

[bwardi]

Can't tell, wasn't limping, might have pulled a fast one to get out of the running.
First day of contact, maybe just a knock, no need to go overboard just before Xmas.

Came back out and grabbed his runners, wasn't limping or anything.

On SM-S908E using BigFooty.com mobile app

Thanks for the write up/updates legend!

 

[Sully111]

Yes, but I think we were fairly well coached last season, and will be again this year. Though the coach refresh might be helpful, I just do not see that we will be significantly better costed in 2025 than we were in 2024.

Whereas our younger players, may well make a big difference if a number can ramp up.

A better run with injuries could also make a big difference.

I don't.

Not for some of it, anyway.

 

[Mr Platinum]

I don't.

Not for some of it, anyway.

Joffa was there with his two phones, coffee etc like a far better version of Damo! And TheJackal I sat in yours and Jack's seat

 

[The Cobra]

Joffa - great summary.

My 5 cents:

Dodson - showed a bit - very small sample size but liked what I saw
Sharman - good size now & moving well
Hunter - to the naked eye does look fitter and running ok
Pou - in everything and really is an excellent kick
King - definitely filled out - very big man
Keeler - he looks so close to breaking out - let’s hope so!
Ari - moving well and definitely putting in (still worried about his speed but let’s see when the real stuff starts).
Henry - as noted above - doing some running which is a positive - but was sucking in the oxygen big time (to be expected)

The other thing that struck me was just maybe we finally have a decent number of guys who can kick the ball & hit a target and/or kick a goal under pressure (I’m sure I have missed a few): Sincs, Nas, Macrae, Ari, Wilks, Steele, Pou, Sharman - you can probably also add in Hill, Wood, Garcia and a few others.

 

[Mr Platinum]

Training reports are great, but match sim reports are next level

Thanks Joff!

Great summary Joffaboy, but we weren't all down on Travaglia, see attached. The other notable point that you may not have seen was that Chito defeated Boyd in the wrestling, which was worth the price of admission to see the cheering and genuine team spirit on display. I'll post the video shortly.

 

[Remboy]

Christ knows why we were so down on Travaglia during draft time, including me. Holy hell the kid is good, clean, great disposal. Wonderful mover, can see him debuting very early. Personally more impressed than I was with Wilson this time last year.


On SM-S908E using BigFooty.com mobile app

This kid's a jet. He'll be the rookie that plays every game this year. Could play anywhere. Will probably start between half back and wing but there's no reason he couldn't go into the middle or even half forward.
In a couple of years we'll be glad we didn't have pick 5&6 (thanks Higgo).

 

[Sully111]

Joffa - great summary.

My 5 cents:

Dodson - showed a bit - very small sample size but liked what I saw
Sharman - good size now & moving well
Hunter - to the naked eye does look fitter and running ok
Pou - in everything and really is an excellent kick
King - definitely filled out - very big man
Keeler - he looks so close to breaking out - let’s hope so!
Ari - moving well and definitely putting in (still worried about his speed but let’s see when the real stuff starts).
Henry - as noted above - doing some running which is a positive - but was sucking in the oxygen big time (to be expected)

The other thing that struck me was just maybe we finally have a decent number of guys who can kick the ball & hit a target and/or kick a goal under pressure (I’m sure I have missed a few): Sincs, Nas, Macrae, Ari, Wilks, Steele, Pou, Sharman - you can probably also add in Hill, Wood, Garcia and a few others.

Love the bolded. Area we desperately needed to improve.

 

[stfan]

He had a quiet patch midway through the year but finished the year very strong. IMO this was because Zones and Clark were finally fit and able to help out at the coalface. Both of them being healthy and in good form were a significant part of why we started winning games.

I pray both stay healthy, Windy completes a full season and Pou takes the leap we all think he can.

Yes agree....when we finally started to assemble a midfield group we as a team were much more competitive.

The first half the year the midfield was mainly band-aids rotating through. And mids lacking match practice and/or or fitness.

 

[stfan]

Random thoughts from today's training

‐‐----------------------------------------------------------

Tauru made a short appearance.
Big group. Only Stocker not in main group.
Would hate to try to move Boyd off the ball.
Henry out amd running with no knee strapping.
Roh and Hammer in fluro hats.
Jack Carroll running laps with Windy both in rehab, don't look injured. Maybe a nick somewhere.
Henry in rehab in good spirits. Separate program to the other two. Lots of work on knee bends and quads. Slow run through, gradually getting quicker, not labouring, gait looks good, obviously no direction changes. Some gentle kick to kick, followed by ground ball gets.
Main group, 50 metre sprints with a ball through obstacles. Jones, Pou powering with lots of talk.
Henry feeling his knee. More three quarter run throughs. Think it will be a while before he is fit. Running 66's in 11 seconds, improving it to 10. Henry looks OK for a second or third running session, time to look at match sim.
Two umpires just ran past, looks like sim of some kind.
Three groups, forward pocket Nepean Highway end practising close in tackling and evasion taken by bj.
Middle group half field non contact sim with umpires.
Far end ground ball gets then disposals.

Groups interchanging every 5 minutes. In sim Arie running hard. Dodson and Pou look good. Dodson looks like a footballer.
McLennon in fluro hat.
Good to see the umpires coach ( the one Hird didn't like) with the umpires, discussing positioning etc. They need to train as much as anyone else. Elini is back. Think she had a baby. Looks fit. Good to see her back, she is not a bad umpire.
Jack Steven at training speaking with Tony Brown. Looks pretty fit taken a bit of weight off.
Think Jack Voss is training.
You really know what Bolton wants.
Christ knows why we were so down on Travaglia during draft time, including me. Holy hell the kid is good, clean, great disposal. Wonderful mover, can see him debuting very early. Personally more impressed than I was with Wilson this time last year.
Lyon looking for width then through the corridor. Looking to stretch oppo zones.
Bolton and Lyon in deep discussion, something about Tim Tam's v Iced Vo Vo's. Got heated at times.
20 minute full field sim, no Max, Windy, Hammer. Boyd v Roh.
Boxshall with a nice mark and goal. Has a boot.
Heath forward looks involved.
Big pack mark from Boyd.Beast.
High intensity, Keeler, Sharman prominent. Arie off a HB. Heath with a big pack mark and play on. Definitely developing. Full contact, Boxhall gets a bloody mouth. Wilks on Keels good contest.
Trav fumbles in traffic, two steps recovers and kicks to advantage.
High pressure, Macrae nabs Pou with a strong tackle.
Carroll in the match sim so is obviously OK. No Hugo today.
Buts, Clark, Roh, Steele, Wood up the race not involved in last part of the match sim.
Macrae into the rooms with a trainer.
Younger blokes in green vests, shots at goal. Yellow bibs v red training tops, cross the field, back half transition
Young ones, Dodson, Travaglia and Boxshall look good. Heath and Keeler continue to trend upwards, Boyd is a beast and contrary to some reports can play.
Now red shirts v green bibs with yellows taking shots for goal. Brad Hill is evergreen.
Macrae grabs his runners and goes inside.
Running now so Adios amigos.

On SM-S908E using BigFooty.com mobile app

Great report. Thank you.

With TT, the angst was because we were all hoping for a gun mid. At our pic he was the best available, and I have a feeling that time will prove him to be a better player than some of the mids who went before him.



On Boyd, yes is a Beast. Yes he is short but the guy has mass and strength combined with ruck craft and with the new ruck rules that gives him a chance. Remember too that part of his role in the ruck is not just to try and win the tap, but to stop the opposition ruck from gaining clean directed taps. And to use his body to provide opportunities for our mids.

 

[stfan]

Joffa - great summary.

My 5 cents:


Sharman - good size now & moving well

Thanks for your report.

Just on Sharman. Do his arms look stronger?

My daughter made the comment last year that once he got stronger arms that he should be able to hold more of his marks.

He has no trouble get to the flight of the ball with his run, leap and timing...he just needs to hang on to a higher percentage of them.

 

[Sunshine Sainter]

agree,im in thailand and have a schedule where i wipe myself out on the piss every other day & every 3 days i spend 3 hours at a sauna with swimming pool the works,so now and then up pops a day where im doing niether,tomorrow will be one,but ive got the st.kilda cc games to stream & gloriously right now they are playing their T20 games of the fixture,so 2 games in one day,essendon and prahran up tomorrow

but on a weekday with not much else going on i can just immerse myself in these training reports among other things,so much appreciated

Jimmy sounds like a busy schedule. We are in Chiang Mai now and next off to Cambodia, then Laos. Glad to see the Thai Saints are so strong.

 

[11men1cup]

Everytime someone mentions how vocal, strong and good Mattaes is going in the training reports, I spontaneously combust, I grin and get giddy

I don't think I've ever been this excited for a kid to make it. Future Captain.


On Pixel 7 Pro using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[stfan]

Jimmy sounds like a busy schedule. We are in Chiang Mai now and next off to Cambodia, then Laos. Glad to see the Thai Saints are so strong.

It looks like there quite few Saints in this part of the world at present.

We are just at Natai Beach at present. We have been beach hopping for almost three weeks now.

Our highlight apart from reading the training reports was our three days snorkelling at Ko Surin off the coast in amazingly clear water. Lovely coral and abundant fish. Even got to swim with a venomous sea snake (So good training to keep me on my toes when posting here)!

 

[stfan]

Everytime someone mentions how vocal, strong and good Mattaes is going in the training reports, I spontaneously combust, I grin and get giddy

I don't think I've ever been this excited for a kid to make it. Future Captain.


On Pixel 7 Pro using BigFooty.com mobile app

I am hoping he will be a future star.

However I think he may be too much of an introvert to become our captain.

 

[The Cobra]

Thanks for your report.

Just on Sharman. Do his arms look stronger?

My daughter made the comment last year that once he got stronger arms that he should be able to hold more of his marks.

He has no trouble get to the flight of the ball with his run, leap and timing...he just needs to hang on to a higher percentage of them.

Not exactly sure but just looks athletic & mobile & according to the website 193cm & I’m guessing 90kg (?) - crazy they don’t detail the weight anymore but these are the PC times we now live in