Training 2019 Training Blog - *Training Reports only - NO DISCUSSION

[Aphrodite]

My thoughts on training:

Overall the hardest session I’ve ever seen. Group work...followed by full ground match sim (2 x 15 min quarters) followed by two groups (mids and forwards) splitting into specialised worked that was regularly punctuated with repeat 150s. They obviously wanted them practising skill under duress. And duress it was.

McGovern and Setters did the first part but not match sim or the later split training. McGovern did extra running.

Plowman a lot of running. Marchy and Kreuzer nothing.

Match sim:
Was clearly ‘ones Vs twos’. Ones included Phillips Fish Dow Kennedy Crippa on ball. Walsh wing. Weiters Simmo etc back. As mentioned Sos was on ball- in the twos team.

Thoughts by player-

Kennedy did extra running. Looks fit. Kept up with LOB in one 2
Minute run (they seem to do these a bit). Dropped off by about 20m in the second. He really is moving remarkably better than last year. He’s not ‘slow’ any more (Obvs will never be ‘quick’). A good session for him and he’s a lock for round 1.

Fish. Looks a bit stronger and has improved his running. Can’t keep up with the top shelf but not too far behind. Slippery and smart as always in match sim. Love him. Will get on ball time.

Dow. Accelerated out of the middle like he was Judd at one point in match sim. He otherwise just doesn’t seem to get as involved as I’d like. I’m not as high on him as others (such as SOAP). Time will tell. Still looks small in the upper body. Albeit not ‘as’ small. Is def fitter.

Walsh. Disappointingly for me, and perhaps a portent of things to come, Walsh didn’t play on ball at all. Came off the wing. Accumulated as usual. Didn’t quite break open play or impact as much as I’d like. But my standards are high. Sprayed a kick and admonished himself severely at one point. Seemed to struggle by the end of the session and had to sit out a 150 or two.

Ed C. Wow. Like wow. His running may even have gone to another level. I think he may have been challenged pre Xmas. He blew everyone off the park today. Every drill. Pounded everyone. In for his best year.

Murph. I think he’s quietly gotten himself into lifetime best shape and I think he will push for AA and the B+F.
Boom.

Weiters. I just didn’t notice him much. Sorry.

McGovern. Must be the sloppiest looking super athlete I’ve ever seen. How he can jump so high and run that fast with that body is beyond me. Is progressing. Will be fine for round 1.

LOB. Good in patches. Not sure he did the whole session. Looks stronger and more ready to go. Expect s full year in the ones. Was good on his wrong side today btw.

Newman. Seems a neat player. I would expect him to play a lot. Isn’t as slow as I thought.

Thomas. Seems in the best shape of his Carlton years. Didn’t skip a beat. Doesn’t seem like he’s being ‘managed’ at all? Duked it out with Ed for the last 150 of the day. Lost. But so did everyone who had a go at Ed.

Jack. Wow. Talk about a turnaround. His fitness is through the roof. I remember back to the embarrassing shape he was in a couple of preseason back. He’s clearly working overtime. Stop bagging him. He slaughtered himself today in the heat. Really hurt himself. Maybe only Ed had the better of him in the running drills as a whole (lob didn’t really join the group runs to be fair).

Ben. Didn’t notice him much but he’s as others have said- quicker and more athletic than we all thought.

SPS did some really nice stuff. Sure his running has improved but he still finishes at the back of the pack in the 150s. He’s fitter but will still need to mix his time on ball.

Crippa......seems even better. Is that possible? He seems quicker and more agile. God help everyone this year.

Casboult is in great shape. Did well in the ‘talls’ 150s. They trialled him down back as others have said. Ok idea I guess?

McKay. Wow. He’s just....too good. Too big. Too fast. Too agile. Great hands above head and below knees. Very exciting by him. Did he leave the track early?

CC was great. Seems to be slightly in second gear.

Stocker is confusing. At one point he fumbled, looked slow and generally like an out and out dud. At another point he did ok. Sometimes he looked slow. Then he pushed Ed in a 150. All I could make of it was “just wait and see”.

Polson was explosive and impressive in match sim. Was in the ‘ones’ and I have to say is probably in that side for round one right now. Keep it up son we need someone like you.

Cuningham - barely noticed him and think he didn’t do a full session.

Lebois. I bagged his fitness before Xmas. I’ll do it again. Not in afl shape. The end. He was torched in the 2
Minute runs. I’ve no time for him.

Setters was good for what he did. Look smooth. Didn’t participate in the match sim. Is getting there. Outside chance for round one.

Don’t think Bugg did much.

Happy to answer questions if I’ve missed anything.

Overall a super session. A lot to like. They are heaps fitter.

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[Aphrodite]

Was my first visit to Ikon Park in several years and my first training session ...

It was hot and blowing a wind.

When I arrived there were 4 groups ... one lot doing passes to the lead at the Heatley Stand end (or practicing goalkicking if facing the right way), a second group doing a handball drill with other players closing space / pressure, a third group in the middle was doing some sort of press / beat the press exercise. and the rehab group. Jones and McGovern in the rehab group are big units. Jones did a fair amount of agility work. Plowman was running a lot.

The second and third groups swapped. The skills were down a bit, I put it down to the rather extreme heat and the wind.

The players then moved to the Gardiner stand wing and did some more handball and pressure work. One or two other players were closer to where I was (sitting in the shade on the other side from the Gardiner Stand) attempting to do marking drills over a trainer with carrying the padding thing, the kicks were not great and the marks weren’t really happening.

O’Brien kicked a decent right footer in the press / beat the press exercise. TDK was serviceable in the ruck. He dropped a sitter at one point but put the pressure on his opponent and wrapped him up in a tackle. Polson looked to be breaking the lines. Charlie just looks so strong.

Walsh certainly drew my eye. Stocker was passing well in that drill near the Heatley Stand. Noticed both Ben and Jack.

I saw a bit of the match simulation but had to leave for work (via the Carlton Shop of course to get t-shirts for my 2 girls) and worked up a sweat just walking to the car ...

There were no parking spaces near the entrance and one has to park a hundred or so metres away on Royal Parade.

Yes icy poles were handed out. The last one in a box came to near where I was sitting, and both a young boy and a young man said they wanted it. Both walked up to the 2 young ladies offering it. They gave the icy pole to the young man. I am sure they came back later and gave one to the boy ...

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[Aphrodite]

Here's a short summary/observation of today's session. I understand there has been a few of these so feel free to skip over anything that's been said before. Keep in mind there's a lot going on so it's impossible to monitor everything. Also remember that players are at various fitness levels due to injuries/individualised programs which may reflect training intensity/performance.

Training:

- Stoppages at different areas of the ground
- Moving the ball from FB to FF along the wing
- Full ground match simulation (full contact)
- 400m sprints
- 100m sprints
- Half ground match simulation (full contact)
- Tackling
- Contested marking in F50 + roving

Players:

Jack Silvagni - Trained exclusively with the '1st' midfield group. Looked strong in the contest and performed well in the 400m sprints.

Paddy Dow - Went about his business, but looked a little sluggish (likely due to limited training before christmas).

Marc Murphy - Professional. Veteran. Super fit.

Lochie O'Brien - Has put on size and grown in confidence. Dominated in the match simulation. I expect him to breakout before Dow.

SPS - Performed well in the 400m sprints and was super clean in match simulation. Sublime in traffic. In for a huge year.

Kade Simpson - Professional. Veteran. Super fit.

Matthew Kennedy - Was matched up on Setterfield during match simulation and looked great. Has a unique running style which makes him seem slower than he is. Kicking was a little shaky.

Patrick Cripps - Nothing to say

Harry McKay - Destroyed Casboult in all drills. Still one or two pre-seasons away from fully growing into his frame. Scary prospect.

Mitch McGovern - Completed 90% of training and participated in full contact match simulation. Looked great moving across the ground, but is still a fair way behind with his fitness. Came dead last in the 400m sprints, but this will be rectified in a month or so. Will play round one.

Tom De Koning - Competed well, but still a couple of years away.

Liam Stocker - Looked great in stoppage drills. Sat mid-tier in the 400s. Trained with the '2nd' midfield group.

Liam Jones - Ran laps while his hand recovers, but looked in great shape.

Darcy Lang - Ran laps

Sam Walsh - Looked super. Sat on the outside of the contest during match simulation. Finished top 5 in all 400s. Will play round one on the wing.

Angus Schumacher - Trained hard, but struggled to get near it during match simulation. Still a fair way off IMO.

Lachie Plowman - Completed 90% of training. Sat out the 400s. Looked in 2nd best shape behind Cripps.

Jarrod Garlett - Didn't see much of him. He completed 200m sprints with LeBois towards the end of training.

Caleb Marchbank - In the rehab group with Williamson. Wasn't running laps. Highly doubt he'll be ready for round one.

Jacob Weitering - Intercepted beautifully during match simulation. Looked stronger than last year.

Nic Newman - Doesn't stand out, but he doesn't need to. Looking likely to play round one.

Zac Fisher - Gun. Faked Cripps out with a beautiful side step which all the boys got around.

Harrison Macreadie - Ran laps

Matthew Lobbe - Competed well against Phillips. Not sure who plays if Kreuzer misses.

David Cunningham - Ran laps. Looked frustrated.

Cameron Polson - Continually made the wrong decision at stoppages, but looked great roving at the feet of McKay during the contested marking drills. Likely to play round one as the pressure forward. Slightly ahead of Garlett IMO.

Charlie Curnow - Star. Came 3rd in the 400s behind Ed and Cottrell.

Tom Williamson - In the rehab group with Marchbank. Wasn't running laps. Highly doubt he'll be ready for round one.

Andrew Phillips - Competed well against Lobbe.

Ed Curnow - King of the 400s

Pat Kerr - Looked good in defence matched up against Charlie. Sneaky chance of playing round one if Marchbank/Jones don't get up.

Ben Silvagni - Long-term prospect. Natural footballer with long arms.

Finbar O'Dwyer - Very raw, but looked good matched up against Ben Silvagni.

Dale Thomas - Professional. Veteran. Daisy will almost certainly play round one.

Levi Casboult - Worked hard against Mckay, but was a class below.

Will Setterfield - Glides across the ground. Huge frame for a midfielder. Completed 95% of training included full contact match simulation. Performed well in the 400s. Will play round one.

Michael Gibbons - Looked good on both sides of the body. Very short, but goes in hard. I expect he will be signed, with a slim chance of playing round one as a small forward. Was practicing goal kicking by himself at the end of training.

Matt Cottrell - Super athlete. Pushed Ed in the 400s. Didn't get near the ball during match simulation.

Michael Owies - So far behind everyone else it's not funny.

Kym Lebois - See Owies

Tomas Bugg - Didn't see him

Hugh Goddard - Trained well. A nice signing given our injury prone defence. Looked more agile than Rowe was.


Kreuzer, Docherty, Fasolo, and Pickett were not at training.

Cheers!

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[Aphrodite]

Missed the start.

Saw a 400m with the whole group at good pace around the oval. Ed followed by Charlie followed by Jack Sosos. McGovern in the main group bringing up the rear with de K.

Saw a nice drill with the players doing multiple short kicks to a leading player then either a longer kick to a leading player or short handball to a player running past for a kick at goal. Seems sharp and I like the constant motion. I thought they should put a bit more pressure on to simulate match conditions but I guess they're putting the game plan in their heads.

Next they broke into two groups and played two lots of 6 a side handball through congestion. Again, was pretty sharp and it was good to see some heavy pressure on the ball carrier that broke up the forward movement of the ball.

Then came the full ground match sim.

The other thing was they punctuated the activities with 400m sprints. Punishing and some of the players looking spent. Saw one where Walsh worked to the front, was challenged by Charlie then broke away to finish first. Crowd applauded!

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[Aphrodite]

A few observations from today:

A lot of boring drills early. Resistance running, agility drills, quickstepping etc.

Stocker stood out to me in the quicksteps, very light on his feet.

Some simple ball movement stuff. 4 groups at the corners of a square. One man in the middle. Kick from one side to the man in the middle, who then had to turn and quickly kick to one of the groups on the other side. Basically just "receive, turn and kick" in quick succession. Repeat a couple of times then handball off to a runner before rotating through. LoB stood out more through his voice than anything else, was very vocal. Levi's kicking was atrocious. Can't be trusted to hit a short target under no pressure, not sure how he can be played at full back. Phillips impressed with his disposal though, looked very neat.

Others have covered the 400m runs. Feel like Ed could have blitzed them all, but let Charlie and Walshy take one each to give the crowd something to cheer about.

Fisher looked sharp. In one transition drill, he was receiving a centering kick. Ball dropped a metre short of him and he was under immediate pressure from another player. Paddled it to his advantage, collected it cleanly, sidestepped out of the contest and was off towards the forward 50. In for a big year.

Kicking for goal in all the open play drills looked a bit ordinary. Jack curled one through nicely from the pocket at one stage and got a nice cheer.

Forward 50 entry drill showed up the lack of natural small forwards. Teague stopped mid-drill to point out that nobody had led up to the 50m arc to draw a defender. Restarted the drill and we ended up with three blokes leading into the same hole. Messy. That's where blokes like Fasolo would be a huge help - natural footballers who get to the right spots because they understand the game, rather than guys going "I have to lead to here because the coach said so".

Still optimistic about this year, but it was clear from this session that there is still a fair bit of ground for us to make up.

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[ferrisb]

As anyone that's been to a training session knows it's incredibly difficult to follow multiple players at once, at one point I counted 37 involved in drills across the ground forward,backs and mids. Rest would've been rehab plus whoever sat out. Pretty healthy

400m lap of ikon park ground (Please note each run was done after quite a lot of skills and other repeat sprints and agility training in between meaning each run was harder and harder where the true elite endurance players showed their resilience

Round 1 top 5 in order
Ed curnow
Lachie O
Charlie curnow
Jsos
Blanket the rest

Round 2 top 6 in order
Charlie curnow
Ed curnow
Lachie O
SPS
Jsos
Murphy/simo


Round 3 top 6 in order
Ed curnow
Cottrell
Charlie curnow
Sammy walsh
Lachie O
Jsos
Blanket the rest

Round 4 top 6 in order
Sammy walsh
Charlie curnow
Ed curnow
Cottrell
SPS
Finbar
Blanket the rest

Round 5 top 6 in order
Ed curnow
Cottrell
Lachie O
Sammy walsh
Charlie curnow
SPS
Blanket the rest

Most of the session was pretty stock standard stuff looks like they're just trying to get as much running in as possible and overall agility not too much to report for the overall except that the biggest difference I noticed was the coaches were much more vocal and much more demanding, it didn't have that laid-back feel that I got from late malthouse years onwards. No more jokes and half-assed efforts because there's literally nowhere or no time to hide everything's very streamlined and if you stuff up your on notice.

Here are some random notes from things I observed today, feel free to ask questions or for me to elaborate as I may have seen things that weren't of much value to me that you may be interested in.

At one point in some agility testing by chance Charlie and fisher went at the course at the exact same time. Charlie won, amazing considering fishers size and known agility strength.

Hugh Goddard is a unit his upper body is probably the biggest at the club. Interested to know if any draft watchers are able to tell me if he had the speed to match his strength or if he's just another Watson?

Harry has really developed and is a presence now, someone with more time should put together a before and after after photo using a pic from the 2015 draft and 1 from today's session.

It was across the other side of the ground but in a mini match sim it looked like finbar took an absolute great pack mark over a few.

Lachie plowman didn't do the full session looked to be a bit more
Cunners running laps most of the day no obvious strapping
Harrison Macreadie rehab group, looks the same as in his draft year, very light on compared to the other backs.

For mine fisher was the man of the training session, was sublime all day didn't miss a target ran both ways and as mentioned before his play near the 50 was the highlight:
*Terrible ball kicked to his ankles, collected off the ground surrounded by 3 opposition players, spun out of trouble turned on the afterburners broke away inside 50 and kicked across his body to hit up a player on the opposite side about 40 out. Class,speed,vision.

Kym lebois and gartlett running laps. Gartlett destoryed him, was no contest. Gartlett looked like he hardly tried as well.

Another word on fisher towards the back end of the session he was training with the forwards, make of that what you will, potentially looking to be a half forward role this year?

On a less positive note I still think we need one more cleanout. I don't want to be too negative from a training session but some players just aren't at the same level as the majority of the group and i think it's really obvious to see. For example levis field kicking is just atrocious and wayyyy too slow to the point that I feel I could've made it to smother his kicks from the stands. Lebois fitness is just not there. Phillips for me is a bit too uncoordinated which leads to a few breakdowns of play and chains. There's a few more as well but those stoof out to me the most although it's still early and I'm more than happy to be proven wrong and I'm sure they're all well aware of the things they need to work on and they'll do their best to be the best they can be.

Gibbons was in the main group corrtell was with the first year players.

Murphy hurt his arm in a marking contest about halfway through the session but looked to be fine 5-10 minutes after wouldn't give it too much thought but something to keep an eye on.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

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[Aphrodite]

Didn't see much of the backline drills, the coupe of times I attempted the walk to the other end, they called it in. Hardly saw Cuners until the token public interaction, so assuming he was with them. Kerr and BSOS did all of their work back. They were always at the far end, so perhaps some work on the modified kick in rules out of sight.

Kerr pushed up for some goalkicking near the end and didn't miss. While there was plenty of work being done, I would hazard a guess that the drills were down a notch in intensity. With the exception of one forward drill, I sort of received the message that the pubic session was in lesser regard than others. The messenging from staff was largely very general, lacking in "bite". The conditioning work was, however, driven.

We don't play backs v forwards as such. Watched two teams of forwards alternating as attackers and defenders. To me this was when the intensity rose. Strong emphasis on blocking and working structures for maximum benefit. Big H. got a decent serve for lack of application when his turn to defend came around.

The other intense drill involved the mids with some close quarters handball on the far pocket/flank. The boys were pretty impressive through this. The running drills were certainly individually tailored and a couple of "grey shirts" ensured the application, with occasional checks from Russell. The rehab boys had some time on the other oval doing resistance work, power exercises and some boxing. Can't fault the commitment of Lang in this or his running. Pickett was involved, but low intensity. In fairness, was walking ok on flat, but when leaving the drill at one stage, laboured very much up the incline, struggling with normal flexion. Was not bandaged. As mentioned earlier Fasolo upbeat and doing the work, he wont take too long coming back.

Jack did exclusively running for most of the session with heavy bandaging on his knee. This was later removed when he wandered out among some of the active drills, didn't see him kick. I have nothing but queries on Marchbank too, relatively lo intensity running and just stood with folded arms when journeyed on to ground. Macreadie did little, and his muscle tone did not seem to fit the norm ????

While the main mids were elsewhere, the forwards did a light alternating session, alternating passing to a leading player coming out of the square. The standard left a lot to be desired, with many passes sailing out of reach of the intended target. Big Harry and to a slightly lesser extent Charlie were the exception, great disposal. Have to add, during this drill saw the worst attempted overhead marking I have witnessed since junior days. Prompting some on the run instruction about getting his thumbs behind. Missed at least 4 on the trot before holding one to significant "encouragement"....Polson.(it was a bit damp, but......)

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