2010/2011 Pre-Season Training

[Mismatched]

Although more as a 2nd ruck but I think McKernan has these attributes. Watching him in a ruck drill last week at training, once the ball hit the deck he would move more like a midfielder then a lumbering ruck. His speed and agility reallt shone in these contests which is exciting.

Watch our NAB cup match against Port last year again, especially the last quarter I think it was when McKernan went into the ruck. He wasn't there for long, but his 2nd efforts after the ball had hit the ground were excellent(Craig actually commented about it after the game), Corey like infact Unlike Hudson though, who was also great with the second efforts, I think he tends to keep his feet a bit more and thus can use his strength to kick the ball clear, rather than dish of by handball like Hudson used to.

NikkiNoo..i know Sellar has a background in Volleyball...just concerned he is still not mobile enough for Defence, forget about volleyball...Time will tell i guess.

His agility is acceptable for a genuine FB/CHB, but you probably wouldn't have him playing on the smaller forwards. His straight line speed is actually extremely good, ran down Luke Power in the Brisbane game late last year. If he doesn't make it as a KPD it won't be because of his agility/speed.

 

[Mad Fan of AFL]

Thanks James 37..i have read he has good speed in a straight line. You wouldn't want to put Sellar on the Nicky Riewoldt's of the competitions would you though?

 

[cmndstab]

Finally dragged myself down to preseason training today for the first time this off-season Of course, I would choose the rainy day to go I'll type up some thoughts as they come to me.

It was good to see the boys again! In the injured group today was Walker (who has some quad soreness but is otherwise alright), Knights (who hurt his quad on Saturday and is having a bit of light work), Craig, Schmidt, Van Bertouch and Riley. They were working closely with Matty Bode. Running laps was Mackay, while Young worked on his kicking. Milera was running alongside of Mackay despite not being injured, so I guess he's on a modified program. Vince was training indoors, didn't see him at all. He was due to start training again next week but that looks like proving to be an underestimate as he wasn't even out doing light work yet. Unless somebody has slipped my mind, everyone else was out there. Shaw only took part in about half of the session, I assume they're keeping him well rested to try to prevent further injuries.

Fairly lengthy session today, about three hours long, although the final hour or so was not at high intensity. The main group started off with stretches while the injured group ran their usual handball drills. Shortly after that they moved to competitive drills which were mostly of the form where half the team wears an orange vest and they line up against one another, and the defending teams kicks in and tries to work the ball up the ground. It started off a little scratchy with most of the balls heading very wide, but after a while the players seemed to get the hang of bringing it back into the centre. Several players were rotated through the kick-in role, including Doughty, Tambling, Johncock and Petrenko.

I'll nominate Petrenko as today's winner of my prestigious, world-famous Trainer Of The Session award To be honest it was a pretty even training session but he did some really nice things that stood out to me. He was often used as an avenue out of defence, which was nice to see because I think that's his role at AFL level. He would work hard to get to around 45m out from goal (at one point he was a bit sluggish getting back into spot and Rutten boomed at him "RUN PUP, RUN!!", so Petrenko pelted it, and sure enough was the recipient of the next disposal!) and generally made his disposal count. At one stage he received the ball out wide, and delivered it to the next player in line (I didn't catch who it was) who fumbled the ball, and a turnover resulted. Petrenko was straight into the opposition player that recovered the ball, laying a strong tackle and winning the ball back.

Of the new guys, Smith, Martyn and Callinan were in the midst, and I'm pretty sure Lyons was as well. Roach may have been but to be honest, I've got absolutely no idea what Roach looks like Martyn still looks like an athlete rather than a footballer, with skinny arms and not a lot of presence, but I guess that's the point of the rookie list. At one point in the session the players split up into groups of 3-5 players and did mid-paced laps around Max Basheer. Martyn was in the same group as VB who were side by side at the front of their group. I liked the 3-5 group thing, it seemed like being in a small group made it easier for the players to motivate one another. Brodie Martin in particular was talking away to his group members the whole time, urging them on. Nobody seemed to be lagging behind in any of the groups.

I made a point of watching Callinan closely today, and he did some very nice things, including laying a few beautiful tackles. He might not be the fastest guy on the park but he seems to read opposition players like a book and gets straight on top of them. If he's laying tackles like that, he could have a role as a small forward, though I still see him as a burrowing inside midfielder at AFL level. Another that impressed me with his tackling was Jaensch, who looked very sharp today. At one point Armstrong was streaming out of defence, and made an attempt to sidestep Jaensch who wheeled around and caught ahold of the guernsey, eventually bringing Armstrong to the ground. If he can add a couple of crunching tackles to his goal or two per game, he'll become a very dangerous player.

Not too many weak trainers today, although I still hold fears for Myke Cook. After several years in the system I had hoped his composure would improve, but he still makes some shocking kicking errors. It's such a pity - at one point the players were running 50m sprints in small staggered groups (presumably to aid with timing them accurately) and he just ran past the guy who started a second before him with no effort at all. He's got such a beautiful turn of pace, but I can't help but feel his disposal errors will be the end of him.

Speaking of disposal errors, Tambling was pretty good for the most part but had one kick in the back pocket (he kicked in to Petrenko, who had no options ahead so went back to Tambling) that went straight to an opposition forward. Fortunately I doubt it will be much of an issue since I see him playing a bit further up the ground than that.

For some reason, right as the timed sprint session started, Johncock and Tambling both left the training session - and almost to the second, returned to the ground as soon as the sprints were over! I had to laugh No idea what they left the ground for.

At one point Porplyzia was lining up for a set shot wide on the boundary line with Dangerfield nearby. Danger started talking to him in a high-pitched ghostlike voice "Jaaaaaason..... Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaason... don't miiiisss Jaaaaason!" Of course, Porplyzia missed, he looked like he was trying not to crack a smile. Karma hit Dangerfield though, who tried in vain about ten times to slot a snap from the boundary line. He then asked a trainer to help him, who came over, picked up the ball and slotted it first time Dangerfield couldn't believe it. He (Dangerfield) also worked with Will Young in the latter parts of the session, which was nice to see.

Some seriously big bodies out there these days. Not just tall, but stacked with muscles. Otten is looking a million bucks, as is Porplyzia, and Talia is just a big ball of muscle. Davis has put on some weight. Dangerfield is still slightly skinny in the midriff but is looking broader in the shoulders than ever before. Sellar looked a bit bigger as well. Actually pretty much all of the big guys looked big, except for McKernan who looked a touch smaller than last year, particularly in the legs. And speaking of McKernan (who had an otherwise indifferent session, I didn't notice him much at all), he was the very last person to leave the ground today. At the end of the session some of the usual suspects stayed late, Tippett, Douglas, Petrenko, Dangerfield, as well as Callinan, and as I mentioned, McKernan. He was practicing set shots and seemed to get pretty upset at himself when he missed them. At one point he slotted one after a few misses and yelled out "THAT'S BETTER!" Tippett on the other hand spent time practicing snaps for goal, which to be honest he was doing quite well. I couldn't help but think that he should be spending more time practicing set shots, but I guess there isn't really too much to be gained from kicking set shots from 15m out at training.

During drills, Jacobs was lining up in the forward line, whereas Moran was lining up down back. I thought Moran did a nice job down back with a couple of very nice spoils. Jacobs looked very good when leading towards the ball, but appeared less than natural marking overhead. Mind you, as was pointed out to me by Chief Crow, the point of the drill was not for the forwards to take the marks, but rather to let defense try to run it out, so he may not have gone full bore. Jacobs lined up on Maric in the ruck at one point, with the honours going to Jacobs. It's nice to have Jacobs at the club to replace Donnelly in the "even whiter than Dangerfield" role. Tippett lined up in the ruck on Moran, but gave the free away, so Moran won that round.

I had the opportunity to talk briefly with the father of Matthew Wright Seemed like a real quality bloke. He said that Matty's body was good this year and that it was the first preseason he's had at any level in five years. Wright's got a serious body on him for someone who hasn't been able to manage a preseason. I hope he does well

Anyway there's probably more but that's all that is coming to me at the moment. One of the better three hours spent huddling under a bus stop shelter for me so far this year

 

[WALL-e]

Finally it becomes a 'real' pre-season following a Satbreagous essay on training. Love em.

 

[dylan123]

Great report.

Good to hear Porps has put on a bit of size and so far has got through the pre season uninjured (touch wood). I wonder how we plan on using him this year, last season wasn't his best as he missed a big chunk of the pre season and wasn't very fit and we even saw him in the backline at stages. How do you guys think we will use him? Deep in the forward as our 3rd target (Bickley mentioned him along with Tippett and Walker been our 'main' targets in the forwardline) or possibly see him push up the ground and maybe spend a little bit of time in the midfield (which was the hope last year for memory before going down injured). I don't know how many match simulated drills we have been doing but how have we been using Porps so far (if anyone has noticed)?


I hope Knight's quad isn't too bad, I'm guessing it's just a little tweak or something (fingers crossed).

For some reason, right as the timed sprint session started, Johncock and Tambling both left the training session - and almost to the second, returned to the ground as soon as the sprints were over! I had to laugh No idea what they left the ground for.

 

[beagle2]

. Karma hit Dangerfield though, who tried in vain about ten times to slot a snap from the boundary line. He then asked a trainer to help him, who came over, picked up the ball and slotted it first time Dangerfield couldn't believe it. :

That was Noble who kicked it

 

[cmndstab]

That was Noble who kicked it

Trainer, coach, same thing I'm so terrible at recognising our coaching staff.

dylan - my suspicion is that Porplyzia will rotate, but will spend the majority of time up forward.

 

[Crows88]

Stabby......Do you know if training tomorrow morning is still on even though today was an open session? 9AM again I'm guessing?

Would love for them to play a scratchy...

 

[cmndstab]

I don't know, sorry (though my understanding was the open sessions tend to be Tuesdays and Thursdays), but your best bet is to throw Phil Harper an email at pharper@afc.com.au - he's really good about responding to queries about training times/locations.


I even got a chance to chat with him today at training Really open guy, I appreciate that in an upper-management type.

 

[Swifty18]

Stabby......Do you know if training tomorrow morning is still on even though today was an open session? 9AM again I'm guessing?

Would love for them to play a scratchy...

They updated the website to include today's session so if they would have removed tomorrows session from the website if it was going to be closed (I'm hoping anyway since I'm planning to go tomorrow!) And Stabby, Thursdays sessions are usually closed (held at Richmond Oval), not sure why they moved it back to Max Basheer today

 

[macca23]

Finally it becomes a 'real' pre-season following a Satbreagous essay on training. Love em.

Agreed!!

Nothing beats a genuine A1 Stabby ramble and this training report is up there with his best rambles!!

Nice work Stabby!! Loved it!!

 

[Huntercrow]

Stabby you must type at 400 wpm!!

For me to write that much would take 2 dais...dase...daze....goddammit!

 

[cmndstab]

They updated the website to include today's session so if they would have removed tomorrows session from the website if it was going to be closed (I'm hoping anyway since I'm planning to go tomorrow!) And Stabby, Thursdays sessions are usually closed (held at Richmond Oval), not sure why they moved it back to Max Basheer today

Hahaha, good thing I came this thursday and not any other thursday then I'll remember that for next week! I hope they still train tomorrow for you mate. Throw an email to Phil, he might reply before you leave, which will save you some time if they're not training.

Glad you guys get a kick out of my stream of consciousness

 

[Slippery Pete]

Glad you guys get a kick out of my stream of consciousness

And your You Tube videos. Keep them up this season please

 

[Allefgib]

2nd this motion. Hopefully a very busy year for you stabby on the Walker vids

 

[cmndstab]

That will be up to Walker If he keeps kickin' them, I'll keep makin' them!!

 

[-CG-]

I made it down to training today on what must have been the dud day of the week to go There was not a lot of action with the playing group splitting into about four smaller groups and mainly doing conditioning work.

Each group came out from the Westpac centre, where I can imagine they were doing weight training, at different intervals and completed a variety of strength and technique exercises.

This was interesting to watch as each task was quite unique, I would say, to footy training. They would involve the players walking while holding a weight above their head, running on their toes while holding a stick and doing the same with their hands on their hips. Here there seemed to be a particular attention to how they ran and the placement of their feet on the ground. They began barefooted and then did it with their running shoes on. I also noticed that it seemed to be only the smaller players doing this drill. The taller guys were just doing some short sprints.

Some other tasks included the same sort of running with hands on hips but a player behind would pull down on a band attached to the running player. Another one would see players sprinting and dragging weights behind them.

After the first group had spent some time working on these exercises they moved onto the main oval and everybody sort of did their own thing. There were some structured drills going on with the assistant coaches and some players were goal kicking either from set shots or they would practice dribbled shots from the boundary.

One area set up had the players practicing their tackling. I overhead one coach saying that they were doing better than yesterday. Also I thought there was a focus on not only tackling the player but making sure that the ball was grabbed too.

In terms of player absence I think just about everyone was out by the end however I didn't see Vince or Mackay. James Craig was inside on a treadmill and Walker and Knights ran a few laps.

I'll upload some photos soon

 

[cmndstab]

Really appreciate it CG I'd be really fascinated to hear the science behind the weight running thing.

The tackling was on yesterday but was a fair way away from where I was standing and in the rain I didn't bother to move closer Do you recall who was involved?


One thing that came to my mind from yesterday's session, when players were practicing moving the ball from defense there was one incident where Sellar (on the attacking side) managed to spoil the ball as it was coming out of defense and get it out of bounds. Craig gave him a big rev, yelling out "that's fantastic attitude, Jim!"

 

[WALL-e]

I made it down to training today on what must have been the dud day of the week to go There was not a lot of action with the playing group splitting into about four smaller groups and mainly doing conditioning work.

Each group came out from the Westpac centre, where I can imagine they were doing weight training, at different intervals and completed a variety of strength and technique exercises.

This was interesting to watch as each task was quite unique, I would say, to footy training. They would involve the players walking while holding a weight above their head, running on their toes while holding a stick and doing the same with their hands on their hips. Here there seemed to be a particular attention to how they ran and the placement of their feet on the ground. They began barefooted and then did it with their running shoes on. I also noticed that it seemed to be only the smaller players doing this drill. The taller guys were just doing some short sprints.

Some other tasks included the same sort of running with hands on hips but a player behind would pull down on a band attached to the running player. Another one would see players sprinting and dragging weights behind them.

After the first group had spent some time working on these exercises they moved onto the main oval and everybody sort of did their own thing. There were some structured drills going on with the assistant coaches and some players were goal kicking either from set shots or they would practice dribbled shots from the boundary.

One area set up had the players practicing their tackling. I overhead one coach saying that they were doing better than yesterday. Also I thought there was a focus on not only tackling the player but making sure that the ball was grabbed too.

In terms of player absence I think just about everyone was out by the end however I didn't see Vince or Mackay. James Craig was inside on a treadmill and Walker and Knights ran a few laps.

I'll upload some photos soon

Thanks CG, appreciated.

The weight running and the hands on hips are done to increase balance and core strength with a specific goal of increasing the ability to break a tackle with the footy.

Quads and stabalizer muscles get a work out.

 

[-CG-]

Really appreciate it CG I'd be really fascinated to hear the science behind the weight running thing.

The tackling was on yesterday but was a fair way away from where I was standing and in the rain I didn't bother to move closer Do you recall who was involved?

Not particularly as it was on the other side of the oval. There were a lot of positive comments for all the various groups that went through and did that particular tackling activity.

 

[KingJames23]

I also headed out to training so I might repeat a few things that CG mentioned but here is my overview.

The groups came out in stages. The first group had 11 guys, including Porps, Tippet, Seller, Doughty, Reily and Calinan. It seems to be very much a technique-type session. Guys would run with sticks and weights above their head. Sometimes, they would run 5 mtrs, then run with their hands on their hips. Schwerty and a few other guys (I’m assuming it was the running coach) spent time showing guys the right technique, always encouraging them to use their arms for power, keep their head still, and their bodies relaxed. The players also had to sprint and drag weights along behind them, and I thought Talia and Petrenko were quite good in this area. Milera and the other skinnier boys struggled a bit. Stiffy looked slow in the sprints, which is odd because on the football field, he looks so damn fast.

Schmidt spent time just working on reflexes. He had a big strap on his knee, so didnt do much at all. Tabling was also out there doing very light work. Just some jogging and stretching but didn’t get involved in the heavy stuff.

Once the next group came out the change rooms, the running group moved onto the next oval to do some kicking at goals, marking. As with the running, the next station again was all about technique and strategy. Ben Hart and Jonas took this group, and stevens, seller and davis were on a flank while Doughty, Thompson and Johncock did the kickouts. Coaches were talking to the big guys about not pushing when the ball is outside 5 metres.

The guys moved to goal kicking. This was a fun session and the boys enjoyed it a lot more. Don’t think VB will get a forward pocket position any time soon! The guys were dribbling kicks from the boundary, taking the handball and snapping, checksides etc. VB strayed a number of them. Symes and Reily were quite good. Sloane also looked sharp. In one sequence, players had to take a handball, fake one way, turn the other and kick. VB did it and just sprayed it. A few were laughing and he responded by saying "Im not a faker".

I was waiting for Jonas to cop a hit from a footy. In the space of about 2 mins, symes and another player were mucking around with a snap at goal and both came within a metre of hitting Jonas in the back of the head!

In other kicking drills, Porps, Gunston and Callinan were taking shots from the boundary and at about 45 degrees from around 40 mtrs out. Porps was the stand out. Callinan tends to stab at his kicks and he slotted a couple, but also missed a few, with the coaches telling him not to try and steer it so much and just kick through it. Callinan seems to have earned the nickname "anan". Porps was fantastic in his kicking. I only saw him miss one and looking really sharp. Gunston was ok. Kicked a few nice ones, but missed a few.

Tackling was an interesting session. The players were heavily padded on the hips and again, technique was preached over and over. Players were told that when they tackle, they need to get down lower, drop the shoulder and wrap the shoulder and upper arm around the player waist. I guess with all your strength in this area, its easier to make tackles stick. Reily was the best at it, and earned the praise from the coaches as he was given "tackle of the day". Seller was also good - has great closing speed.

Craigy didn’t do much. The session was all about the assistant coaches. Craig would pop in every now and then with some words but took a back seat role for most of the day.

I don’t think Brodie Smith will be playing AFL this year. Hope I’m wrong, but he really didn’t have a good session and looks to have a lot of work to get to AFL standard. He got told off a few times, not really for making mistakes, but more the fact they are pushing him to play at a higher standard. During the tackling session, one of the coaches told him off for lack of aggression and made him do the drill again. They obviously see a lot of talent in him and are pushing him hard, but I’m sure it will build a bit of character and toughness in him. I spent a bit of time under the bus shelter taking photos and I was standing by myself. Craigy was talking one on one with Smith. They started walking over towards me and Craig says to me "Do you want to play AFL footy?". I wasn’t sure why he was asking but I jokingly said "Might need a couple preseasons first...". Then he says "Yes but would you want to play AFL footy?". I then caught on with what was happening. I said "Yeah of course, Id give my right arm to play AFL." He then turned to Smith and said "You see?". Obviously trying to teach the kid that there are many people out there that wish they could play AFL but cant, and he needs to appreciate the position he's in. Neil came back past me and said "thanks". Now when Smith becomes a star, I’m going to tell everyone that I played a critical role in his development!!

As CG said, not much excitement today. Players then did a bit of kick-to-kick, then a bit of kickout strategy, leading techniques etc. Knights and walker just jogged. Didn’t see Vince or Mackay. Rutten didn’t seem to do much work but didn’t look injured. Maybe just having a lighter session. Douglas and Martin are looking super fit. The Aboriginal boys seem to get along really well. Armstrong, Pets, Tambling, Milera... all seem to be good mates. Smack looks no bigger than he did same time last year. Sloane puts in 100% every time and also looks really solid and strong. I thought Lyons did well today. Did some nice things and looks well built.

Anyway, that’s about it. Not an exciting session. No scratch matches or anything (although I left a little early) but yes, session was all technique, strategy and game plays. I have a bunch of photos ill upload soon.

 

[-CG-]

A lesson on feet

The lesson continues...

Matthew Wright

Reilly, Wright, and Lyons

Ivan Maric's 90s boy band inspired haircut

Symes selling a dummy before turning around to snap at goal

Reilly having a snap

Symes

 

[-CG-]

Ian Callinan sporting this summer's hotest fashion trends. Crop tops and bunny ears.

Porplyzia

Gunston

Callinan

Maric tackles Reilly

Wright bringing down van Berlo

Special J looking in fine form

I hope Danger has some sunscreen on... and don't they look funny without shoes?

 

[Truck Rutten]

Symes

Good to see Brad honing his checkside That's akin to a pianist working on Rachmaninoff's 3rd before nailing Chopsticks.

 

[AFC979810]

Great work CJ and KingJames....

Also - anyone else thinks Callinan looks like Lloyd Christmas?