Play Nice 2020 Pre-Season Training

[Scatter]

Great session to end the year. Loving JLo. Anyone thinking he might be a bit timid like in the media when coaching should get to a training session in the New Year.

Detailed report later.

Looking forward to it

 

[Superkoops]

Great session to end the year. Loving JLo. Anyone thinking he might be a bit timid like in the media when coaching should get to a training session in the New Year.

Detailed report later.

We Expect nothing short of another drive-by on Wed to give us all a report of whether Dardy is training the house down.

By the way appreciate your awesome training reports.

 

[dockerfemme]

I can’t entirely agree with wayToGo_ on the training session this morning.

I was horrified by the rehab group. I counted 12 players early on. That didn’t include Alex Pearce, Nathan Wilson (who was walking laps and looks a long way off) or Mundy. Sonny was in the rehab group then joined the main group for some goal kicking, then ran laps.

Others running laps at times were Hogan, looking fairly good, Meek, Sturt, Valente (I think), Blakely, Colyer, Cox. Rehab group included Dixon, Matera (I think), Frederick, Henry, Hogan.

Some in the rehab group might just be having a quiet session, or have something minor, but it seemed a huge number to me who aren’t in full training at the moment.

The training session started slowly, but built to some reasonably high intensity match sim. Some comments from my cynical footy companion were that skills don’t look much improved, Young’s kicking looked good, Fyfe looked fit and raring to go and Sean Darcy looked fitter.

I will add I thought Pina looked like he fitted in well, Tobe Watson played well, and I agree on Young’s kicking - seems comfortable and controlled on either foot.

Johnno and David Hale played in the match sim, with Hale rucking against Darcy. Fyfe played at full forward. Not sure where Cam played, but didn’t see him get the ball.

There was one drill before the match sim, with some of the players playing in a contested situation in the forward pocket and then one player getting a snap away. Good to see snapping under pressure being trained.

 

[Arcassius]

I do love the boundless optimism that skills will suddenly improve over the first few weeks of a new coach

Some players will stay shit - and be moved on in time

 

[Cesoir]

I can’t entirely agree with wayToGo_ on the training session this morning.

I was horrified by the rehab group. I counted 12 players early on. That didn’t include Alex Pearce, Nathan Wilson (who was walking laps and looks a long way off) or Mundy. Sonny was in the rehab group then joined the main group for some goal kicking, then ran laps.

Others running laps at times were Hogan, looking fairly good, Meek, Sturt, Valente (I think), Blakely, Colyer, Cox. Rehab group included Dixon, Matera (I think), Frederick, Henry, Hogan.

Some in the rehab group might just be having a quiet session, or have something minor, but it seemed a huge number to me who aren’t in full training at the moment.

The training session started slowly, but built to some reasonably high intensity match sim. Some comments from my cynical footy companion were that skills don’t look much improved, Young’s kicking looked good, Fyfe looked fit and raring to go and Sean Darcy looked fitter.

I will add I thought Pina looked like he fitted in well, Tobe Watson played well, and I agree on Young’s kicking - seems comfortable and controlled on either foot.

Johnno and David Hale played in the match sim, with Hale rucking against Darcy. Fyfe played at full forward. Not sure where Cam played, but didn’t see him get the ball.

There was one drill before the match sim, with some of the players playing in a contested situation in the forward pocket and then one player getting a snap away. Good to see snapping under pressure being trained.

Pretty much the way I saw it, although I think many in the "rehab" group are just on modified programmes for one reason or another. They seemed pretty upbeat and I'll only start worrying if we have that many not in full training come late January.

It may just be me, but I have been attending training regularly for about 10 years now and I don't see anything revolutionary about the training this season - it looks and feels just like every other year. I'd love to share some of the texts and messages from some other years about how good everyone looks in the preseason! This is a time of optimism and hope where we are on an even footing with every other team. The reality is we are the second youngest and the least experienced team in the AFL for next season, which means we will again be susceptible to injury leaving us having to play guys who are not AFL ready, so I am not expecting miracles.

I'm hanging out for the sessions where they start to move into full match simulation and we will see how, or how much, the game style differs from what we have seen. Hopefully JLo encourages the skilled guys to take more risks and play more instinctively, which ensuring that the less skilled "role players" know exactly what is expected of them. I know I will be criticised for "accepting mediocrity" but I will be happy if we get 8 - 12 wins next year providing we are seeing the genesis of a new game style and seeing some new stars of the future emerge.

 

[kim58]

Went to training this morning and thought it was a great sesssion.
Even saw them kicking for goal. Each group had a coach on the mark who was writing down if they kicked a goal or not. Puts a bit more pressure on.
There was a lot of players in the rehab group but surely some of them must be close, ie Sturt, Hogan, Henry. Hopefully after the break these players will be in the main group.
I thought Taberner looked great out there with many marks with outstretched arms. If he stays fit will surely kick a lot of goals, especially with the delivery of some of the newer players plus guys like Tucker.
Great to see so many coaches out there.
I think it was Traye Bennell training with them and surely he will get picked up in the mid season draft as he looks very classy and quick.
Going to be very hard to pick the team if we don't have many injuries.
Look forward to going to training after the break.

 

[yakka man]

Pretty much the way I saw it, although I think many in the "rehab" group are just on modified programmes for one reason or another. They seemed pretty upbeat and I'll only start worrying if we have that many not in full training come late January.

It may just be me, but I have been attending training regularly for about 10 years now and I don't see anything revolutionary about the training this season - it looks and feels just like every other year. I'd love to share some of the texts and messages from some other years about how good everyone looks in the preseason! This is a time of optimism and hope where we are on an even footing with every other team. The reality is we are the second youngest and the least experienced team in the AFL for next season, which means we will again be susceptible to injury leaving us having to play guys who are not AFL ready, so I am not expecting miracles.

I'm hanging out for the sessions where they start to move into full match simulation and we will see how, or how much, the game style differs from what we have seen. Hopefully JLo encourages the skilled guys to take more risks and play more instinctively, which ensuring that the less skilled "role players" know exactly what is expected of them. I know I will be criticised for "accepting mediocrity" but I will be happy if we get 8 - 12 wins next year providing we are seeing the genesis of a new game style and seeing some new stars of the future emerge.

Certainly have to agree to disagree on that one. Each session this year seems to have different drills whereas under Ross it was literally the same drills every session. There seems to be a very different emphasis so far this pre-season. I don't feel flabbergasted watching them train, like I did in past pre-seasons. It's still early days though.

 

[Taylor]

I'd be giving it until the bye to make any calls on plans. So much planning will fall apart with one player unsure of their positioning

 

[mightymouse75]

I will get on the the enthusiastic train..save me a seat.

 

[wayToGo_]

I do agree with others that we have a rather large rehab group but (a) that is something we already knew before today's session; and (b) some of the guys in rehab are being deliberately held back until after the break. I thought most of the rehab guys (that were out there) didn't look far off it tbh (and some were itching to do more). I also saw Mundy in the lounge with crutches but he seemed in fine spirits. I think we'll get a better read of our 'true' rehab group after the break. If it's still huge then I think we might need to worry a bit but in the meantime I think it looks more like management (which maybe we just don't recognise from the past ).

I didn't have a huge problem with the skills today. I just think often our guys took way too long to pull the trigger. I also don't think the other watchers have explained exactly how much fatigue they are putting the players under during many of the drills. They are smashing them, leaving little time for rest, and the way are doing it seems more clever compared to what I've seen in the past.

The main reason I liked today's session is the drills. I liked all of them that I saw. There were heaps of coaches involved, JLo was far more vocal and instructive than I've seen in previous sessions. Toward the end of the session they were split into three teams (two in the drill at any time and then rotating) and the 'purple' team got a serve from JLo for not defending as a team. He tore them a new one shouting from the middle of the ground. Next time they were in they were on. Probably the best defensive effort I saw in that drill - the other team couldn't move the ball at all. That team defensive game plan of JLo's really started to reveal itself to me today.

I should also mention there were a few Peel boys at training plus Cam (helping) and one of the Peel coaches watching on the sidelines. And unlike last year they weren't just brought in for match sims - they participated fully in training during the time I was there.

I'm keen to talk about some of the drills, and stand out players when I have some more free time (in a future post). I've been really happy with what I've seen (from the coaching) given it's only December (and a brand new senior coach). Through January and February I'll be expecting a lot more from the players - and therefore be more critical.

Overall optimism, pessimism or somewhere in between is all a bit premature at this early stage imo.

 

[wayToGo_]

One note on the rehab group... Brayshaw and (I think) Serong came off hobbling late in the session and I don't think either came back out. Andy hobbling a bit more than Caleb, although neither looked too serious. I suppose if you are going to get a minor sprain, now wouldn't be the worst time.

 

[wayToGo_]

But on a more positive note... some pics are up...

Training gallery: Friday December 20

The official AFL website of the Fremantle Football Club

www.fremantlefc.com.au

 

[Cesoir]

Certainly have to agree to disagree on that one. Each session this year seems to have different drills whereas under Ross it was literally the same drills every session. There seems to be a very different emphasis so far this pre-season. I don't feel flabbergasted watching them train, like I did in past pre-seasons. It's still early days though.

I think I get where you're coming from yakka man - I thought the last couple of years the training has been a bit "same-old" too. However, I can also remember years where there were lots of different drills, different skills and different types of running patterns. I even remember early in the Lyon days (at Freo oval) where the guys used to regularly stop and have shots at goal, with pushups for the whole group when someone missed! Whether it is because there have been so many new recruits, or maybe Ross was just getting jaded, I agree the last couple of preseasons have been a little bland - a new coaching team will fix that every time.

The proof of the pudding will be when they actually get into tough match situations, until then I am enjoying the training sessions without getting too far ahead of myself in terms of where the team is at.

 

[kim58]

One note on the rehab group... Brayshaw and (I think) Serong came off hobbling late in the session and I don't think either came back out. Andy hobbling a bit more than Caleb, although neither looked too serious. I suppose if you are going to get a minor sprain, now wouldn't be the worst time.

Brayshaw and Serong ran into each other and both came off limping. Brayshaw came back on, but not Serong. Also S. Hill came off early and I think went to the medical staff and did not reappear. Hope nothing, as he is looking good.

 

[theGav56]

Brayshaw and Serong ran into each other and both came off limping. Brayshaw came back on, but not Serong. Also S. Hill came off early and I think went to the medical staff and did not reappear. Hope nothing, as he is looking good.

Brayshaw and Serong are going to batter some opposition players I reckon. Both seem to enjoy getting a crunch in whenever they can.

 

[Piggy Smalls]

I think I felt the collision between Brayshaw and Serong from my office in Malaga. Good to hear the two young bulls are going in hard.

 

[yyou]

Agreed if he’s not ready to train at 5am on Wednesday 1st Jan with a ripping 6-pack then he needs to be cut loose.

Kenny Loggins agrees.
He should kick off his Sunday shoes

 

[PurpleReign]

I can’t entirely agree with wayToGo_ on the training session this morning.

I was horrified by the rehab group. I counted 12 players early on. That didn’t include Alex Pearce, Nathan Wilson (who was walking laps and looks a long way off) or Mundy. Sonny was in the rehab group then joined the main group for some goal kicking, then ran laps.

Others running laps at times were Hogan, looking fairly good, Meek, Sturt, Valente (I think), Blakely, Colyer, Cox. Rehab group included Dixon, Matera (I think), Frederick, Henry, Hogan.

Some in the rehab group might just be having a quiet session, or have something minor, but it seemed a huge number to me who aren’t in full training at the moment.

The training session started slowly, but built to some reasonably high intensity match sim. Some comments from my cynical footy companion were that skills don’t look much improved, Young’s kicking looked good, Fyfe looked fit and raring to go and Sean Darcy looked fitter.

I will add I thought Pina looked like he fitted in well, Tobe Watson played well, and I agree on Young’s kicking - seems comfortable and controlled on either foot.

Johnno and David Hale played in the match sim, with Hale rucking against Darcy. Fyfe played at full forward. Not sure where Cam played, but didn’t see him get the ball.

There was one drill before the match sim, with some of the players playing in a contested situation in the forward pocket and then one player getting a snap away. Good to see snapping under pressure being trained.

Just jokes dockerfemme I love your training reports

 

[wayToGo_]

Ok here goes...

I caught the last two thirds of training today, so I can't comment on the early drills. What I did get to see is a bunch of drills involving large numbers of players where the focusses seemed to mostly be skills under fatigue, team coordination and defensive structure/transition.

Starting with the last main drill I saw... Players were split into three groups - yellow, orange and purple. One of the teams (with 10 players on field) would start in attack from half back (after a tackle 'spillage' generally) and have to move the ball for a shot on goal against the other team (with 7 players on the field). Once the ball went through the goal posts (or even earlier as JLo often wanted), someone would immediately kick out (with another ball) and the attacking team were expected to transition into defence quickly and not allow the team (with less players) to move the ball. The few times they didn't defend well, JLo was 'less than happy'.

As I mentioned in a previous post the time the outnumbering purple team let the ball move freely through the corridor they got a brutal assessment from JLo. They responsed well the next time around by giving the other team no options, Hughes spoiled a marking attempt in the pocket, recovered the ball, ran and gave and go twice to teammates before kicking a goal to the applause of the coaches.

If there was a turnover they'd let play continue to a point. However once the whistle went, the attacking team would then run to the side of the field, and burst run along it before stopping to rest and hydrate. Meanwhile the resting team would come on to the field as the new defending team, and the 3 players added to the now rotated attacking team. This drill was run over and over and over again for quite a long time. Most of the players looked spent but they pushed through and responded well when the coaches asked them to. Some of the kicking really suffered, including Young kicking OOF (which looked impossible earlier on - his kicking off both feet really is sublime).

One of the highlights was Banfield marking in front of Sean Darcy on a wing, taking him on and Darcy managing to grab him with one hand, throw him to the ground and then kneel over the top of him to stop the play. The thing that impressed me most about Darcy was how he kept up throughout in what was a hard core endurance drill. I was impressed/surprised with his fitness level. Maybe the reason he has looked so spent in past sessions was because he'd been smashed by the coaches with various endurance exercises more than other players are getting?

Another drill they did, which we've seen plenty this Summer is the ball movement within a fairly confined corridor (half back to half forward with a coach at either end). A lot of it involved short passing to move the ball through the corridor. Unfortunately sometimes less than 15 which wasn't great. Fyfe was fairly vocal about them spreading and creating space for others to move into. The standout in this drill was Young for me. If he isn't playing round 1 I'd be a bit astonished. That kick, of his, is a weapon and his vision to find open players down field is exceptional. Luke Ryan is equally brilliant by foot and keeps the group enjoying themselves - I can't wait to watch the two of them play alongside each other.

The highlight though was Jarvis Pina getting himself into a bit of trouble with ball in hand in the middle of the field, managing to dodge his opponent and backing himself to take on and weave past three players to get forward of them. He was fixing his own mistake but it was a good sign that he didn't just give up and that the coaches and players seemed to appreciate what he did instinctively. Tbh I would have liked to see a bit more instinctive play in this drill - hopefully we will in the New Year.

They also did a full ground sim today with two teams of 22 on the field Peel players and coaches provided the extra numbers. It wasn't a proper 'match sim' as at times they'd just change who had possession of the ball so they could kep things moving freeely whilst exploring how players react etc. At one point JLo paused the game completely as he wasn't happy with how congested it was getting around the ball. Telling the mids to spread around the ball when it's being contested and the right distance so they can close and hit/tackle the opposition player if they come out with the ball - or be ready as an outlet if their own team wins. Cerra asked some follow up questions as he was the player that was most out of position at the time. What was great was seeing all the young mids listening intently and then all distancing/spreading themselves much better from that moment onward.

Fyfe was playing as a (full) forward (rather than a mid) today. Poor Duman had the job on him but did ok (Fyfe wasn't in full beast mode though). The highlight for me was when someone kicked the ball toward Fyfe in a 1-on-1 and it went over his head, he somehow managed to control it before it went out of bounds and did an incredible hand pass to O'Reilly running parallel. O'Reilly was instantly tackled but then also managed to get a great handball away to someone else (Tucker maybe?) who then got the ball back to Fyfe who kicked a goal. Fyfe is really in a class of his own but I was impressed by O'Reilly. It reminded me of a similar play he was involved in, when East Freo won the Colts GF a couple of years back. He's got good footy IQ and those hands are very good for a big guy. I'm expecting massive improvement from him at WAFL next year - very glad he was playing forward today again.

Taberner was playing as a forward as well and nobody could stop him marking the ball. But often he was still way too slow to move the ball on and ended up having to kick to a contest (with no advantage). Typical best and worst of Tabs but in fairness he was far more good than bad from what I saw today. Tucker on the other hand was classy af in every drill (stood out without Fyfe, Mundy or Walters playing in the middle). He rarely missed a target, the best kick i50 and on top of that he was almost always the catalyst for his team to transition the ball effectively down field. I really liked what I saw from Acres as well today. Got involved a lot, presented well as a target, helped get the ball moving towards his end and I can't remember any glaring mistakes at all. Brayshaw did some good things including out-marking two taller opponents at one point somehow?!? MJ still has it as well btw - sold the dummy beautifully on a back flank at one stage and then delivered lace out to a teammate up field.

I think overall some of the decision making was poor and often too slow but I'm struggling to single out anyone in particular as being terrible today. For most there was more good than bad, and even guys like North and Schultz, who I don't really rate, did some really good things. It's too early to judge anyone imo. I still think the main thing that will help the team perform better is coordination as a team and with a new game plan that's going to take time. I'll be ecstatic if we start seeing it come together in January. But even if we don't, I really like the intent with training. It's not so much that drills in past years didn't address skills or endurance or fatigue or whatever. I just think JLo and his coaching team have implemented new drills that bring together multiple aspects at once and perhaps simulate real game scenarios/needs better. The proof will be in the next year or two but in past years I was optimistic about the players individually at this point of pre-season (eg who'd come back in great shape/TTHD awards). So far this pre-season that optimism has been far more about the "team" and the respective coaching (eg game style, interactions, drills, coordination). Maybe it is recency bias but it feels (good) different to me.

BTW Colyer looks cut. I know we joke but he's put in some hard yards in recent months. Hopefully it pays off on field.

 

[Bring back Drum]

Ok here goes...

I caught the last two thirds of training today, so I can't comment on the early drills. What I did get to see is a bunch of drills involving large numbers of players where the focusses seemed to mostly be skills under fatigue, team coordination and defensive structure/transition.

Starting with the last main drill I saw... Players were split into three groups - yellow, orange and purple. One of the teams (with 10 players on field) would start in attack from half back (after a tackle 'spillage' generally) and have to move the ball for a shot on goal against the other team (with 7 players on the field). Once the ball went through the goal posts (or even earlier as JLo often wanted), someone would immediately kick out (with another ball) and the attacking team were expected to transition into defence quickly and not allow the team (with less players) to move the ball. The few times they didn't defend well, JLo was 'less than happy'.

As I mentioned in a previous post the time the outnumbering purple team let the ball move freely through the corridor they got a brutal assessment from JLo. They responsed well the next time around by giving the other team no options, Hughes spoiled a marking attempt in the pocket, recovered the ball, ran and gave and go twice to teammates before kicking a goal to the applause of the coaches.

If there was a turnover they'd let play continue to a point. However once the whistle went, the attacking team would then run to the side of the field, and burst run along it before stopping to rest and hydrate. Meanwhile the resting team would come on to the field as the new defending team, and the 3 players added to the now rotated attacking team. This drill was run over and over and over again for quite a long time. Most of the players looked spent but they pushed through and responded well when the coaches asked them to. Some of the kicking really suffered, including Young kicking OOF (which looked impossible earlier on - his kicking off both feet really is sublime).

One of the highlights was Banfield marking in front of Sean Darcy on a wing, taking him on and Darcy managing to grab him with one hand, throw him to the ground and then kneel over the top of him to stop the play. The thing that impressed me most about Darcy was how he kept up throughout in what was a hard core endurance drill. I was impressed/surprised with his fitness level. Maybe the reason he has looked so spent in past sessions was because he'd been smashed by the coaches with various endurance exercises more than other players are getting?

Another drill they did, which we've seen plenty this Summer is the ball movement within a fairly confined corridor (half back to half forward with a coach at either end). A lot of it involved short passing to move the ball through the corridor. Unfortunately sometimes less than 15 which wasn't great. Fyfe was fairly vocal about them spreading and creating space for others to move into. The standout in this drill was Young for me. If he isn't playing round 1 I'd be a bit astonished. That kick, of his, is a weapon and his vision to find open players down field is exceptional. Luke Ryan is equally brilliant by foot and keeps the group enjoying themselves - I can't wait to watch the two of them play alongside each other.

The highlight though was Jarvis Pina getting himself into a bit of trouble with ball in hand in the middle of the field, managing to dodge his opponent and backing himself to take on and weave past three players to get forward of them. He was fixing his own mistake but it was a good sign that he didn't just give up and that the coaches and players seemed to appreciate what he did instinctively. Tbh I would have liked to see a bit more instinctive play in this drill - hopefully we will in the New Year.

They also did a full ground sim today with two teams of 22 on the field Peel players and coaches provided the extra numbers. It wasn't a proper 'match sim' as at times they'd just change who had possession of the ball so they could kep things moving freeely whilst exploring how players react etc. At one point JLo paused the game completely as he wasn't happy with how congested it was getting around the ball. Telling the mids to spread around the ball when it's being contested and the right distance so they can close and hit/tackle the opposition player if they come out with the ball - or be ready as an outlet if their own team wins. Cerra asked some follow up questions as he was the player that was most out of position at the time. What was great was seeing all the young mids listening intently and then all distancing/spreading themselves much better from that moment onward.

Fyfe was playing as a (full) forward (rather than a mid) today. Poor Duman had the job on him but did ok (Fyfe wasn't in full beast mode though). The highlight for me was when someone kicked the ball toward Fyfe in a 1-on-1 and it went over his head, he somehow managed to control it before it went out of bounds and did an incredible hand pass to O'Reilly running parallel. O'Reilly was instantly tackled but then also managed to get a great handball away to someone else (Tucker maybe?) who then got the ball back to Fyfe who kicked a goal. Fyfe is really in a class of his own but I was impressed by O'Reilly. It reminded me of a similar play he was involved in, when East Freo won the Colts GF a couple of years back. He's got good footy IQ and those hands are very good for a big guy. I'm expecting massive improvement from him at WAFL next year - very glad he was playing forward today again.

Taberner was playing as a forward as well and nobody could stop him marking the ball. But often he was still way too slow to move the ball on and ended up having to kick to a contest (with no advantage). Typical best and worst of Tabs but in fairness he was far more good than bad from what I saw today. Tucker on the other hand was classy af in every drill (stood out without Fyfe, Mundy or Walters playing in the middle). He rarely missed a target, the best kick i50 and on top of that he was almost always the catalyst for his team to transition the ball effectively down field. I really liked what I saw from Acres as well today. Got involved a lot, presented well as a target, helped get the ball moving towards his end and I can't remember any glaring mistakes at all. Brayshaw did some good things including out-marking two taller opponents at one point somehow?!? MJ still has it as well btw - sold the dummy beautifully on a back flank at one stage and then delivered lace out to a teammate up field.

I think overall some of the decision making was poor and often too slow but I'm struggling to single out anyone in particular as being terrible today. For most there was more good than bad, and even guys like North and Schultz, who I don't really rate, did some really good things. It's too early to judge anyone imo. I still think the main thing that will help the team perform better is coordination as a team and with a new game plan that's going to take time. I'll be ecstatic if we start seeing it come together in January. But even if we don't, I really like the intent with training. It's not so much that drills in past years didn't address skills or endurance or fatigue or whatever. I just think JLo and his coaching team have implemented new drills that bring together multiple aspects at once and perhaps simulate real game scenarios/needs better. The proof will be in the next year or two but in past years I was optimistic about the players individually at this point of pre-season (eg who'd come back in great shape/TTHD awards). So far this pre-season that optimism has been far more about the "team" and the respective coaching (eg game style, interactions, drills, coordination). Maybe it is recency bias but it feels (good) different to me.

BTW Colyer looks cut. I know we joke but he's put in some hard yards in recent months. Hopefully it pays off on field.

Thanks for the comprehensive review. One question, how is James Aish travelling & what sort of role does it appear he is training for?

 

[SHill Shall]

Ok here goes...

I caught the last two thirds of training today, so I can't comment on the early drills. What I did get to see is a bunch of drills involving large numbers of players where the focusses seemed to mostly be skills under fatigue, team coordination and defensive structure/transition.

Starting with the last main drill I saw... Players were split into three groups - yellow, orange and purple. One of the teams (with 10 players on field) would start in attack from half back (after a tackle 'spillage' generally) and have to move the ball for a shot on goal against the other team (with 7 players on the field). Once the ball went through the goal posts (or even earlier as JLo often wanted), someone would immediately kick out (with another ball) and the attacking team were expected to transition into defence quickly and not allow the team (with less players) to move the ball. The few times they didn't defend well, JLo was 'less than happy'.

As I mentioned in a previous post the time the outnumbering purple team let the ball move freely through the corridor they got a brutal assessment from JLo. They responsed well the next time around by giving the other team no options, Hughes spoiled a marking attempt in the pocket, recovered the ball, ran and gave and go twice to teammates before kicking a goal to the applause of the coaches.

If there was a turnover they'd let play continue to a point. However once the whistle went, the attacking team would then run to the side of the field, and burst run along it before stopping to rest and hydrate. Meanwhile the resting team would come on to the field as the new defending team, and the 3 players added to the now rotated attacking team. This drill was run over and over and over again for quite a long time. Most of the players looked spent but they pushed through and responded well when the coaches asked them to. Some of the kicking really suffered, including Young kicking OOF (which looked impossible earlier on - his kicking off both feet really is sublime).

One of the highlights was Banfield marking in front of Sean Darcy on a wing, taking him on and Darcy managing to grab him with one hand, throw him to the ground and then kneel over the top of him to stop the play. The thing that impressed me most about Darcy was how he kept up throughout in what was a hard core endurance drill. I was impressed/surprised with his fitness level. Maybe the reason he has looked so spent in past sessions was because he'd been smashed by the coaches with various endurance exercises more than other players are getting?

Another drill they did, which we've seen plenty this Summer is the ball movement within a fairly confined corridor (half back to half forward with a coach at either end). A lot of it involved short passing to move the ball through the corridor. Unfortunately sometimes less than 15 which wasn't great. Fyfe was fairly vocal about them spreading and creating space for others to move into. The standout in this drill was Young for me. If he isn't playing round 1 I'd be a bit astonished. That kick, of his, is a weapon and his vision to find open players down field is exceptional. Luke Ryan is equally brilliant by foot and keeps the group enjoying themselves - I can't wait to watch the two of them play alongside each other.

The highlight though was Jarvis Pina getting himself into a bit of trouble with ball in hand in the middle of the field, managing to dodge his opponent and backing himself to take on and weave past three players to get forward of them. He was fixing his own mistake but it was a good sign that he didn't just give up and that the coaches and players seemed to appreciate what he did instinctively. Tbh I would have liked to see a bit more instinctive play in this drill - hopefully we will in the New Year.

They also did a full ground sim today with two teams of 22 on the field Peel players and coaches provided the extra numbers. It wasn't a proper 'match sim' as at times they'd just change who had possession of the ball so they could kep things moving freeely whilst exploring how players react etc. At one point JLo paused the game completely as he wasn't happy with how congested it was getting around the ball. Telling the mids to spread around the ball when it's being contested and the right distance so they can close and hit/tackle the opposition player if they come out with the ball - or be ready as an outlet if their own team wins. Cerra asked some follow up questions as he was the player that was most out of position at the time. What was great was seeing all the young mids listening intently and then all distancing/spreading themselves much better from that moment onward.

Fyfe was playing as a (full) forward (rather than a mid) today. Poor Duman had the job on him but did ok (Fyfe wasn't in full beast mode though). The highlight for me was when someone kicked the ball toward Fyfe in a 1-on-1 and it went over his head, he somehow managed to control it before it went out of bounds and did an incredible hand pass to O'Reilly running parallel. O'Reilly was instantly tackled but then also managed to get a great handball away to someone else (Tucker maybe?) who then got the ball back to Fyfe who kicked a goal. Fyfe is really in a class of his own but I was impressed by O'Reilly. It reminded me of a similar play he was involved in, when East Freo won the Colts GF a couple of years back. He's got good footy IQ and those hands are very good for a big guy. I'm expecting massive improvement from him at WAFL next year - very glad he was playing forward today again.

Taberner was playing as a forward as well and nobody could stop him marking the ball. But often he was still way too slow to move the ball on and ended up having to kick to a contest (with no advantage). Typical best and worst of Tabs but in fairness he was far more good than bad from what I saw today. Tucker on the other hand was classy af in every drill (stood out without Fyfe, Mundy or Walters playing in the middle). He rarely missed a target, the best kick i50 and on top of that he was almost always the catalyst for his team to transition the ball effectively down field. I really liked what I saw from Acres as well today. Got involved a lot, presented well as a target, helped get the ball moving towards his end and I can't remember any glaring mistakes at all. Brayshaw did some good things including out-marking two taller opponents at one point somehow?!? MJ still has it as well btw - sold the dummy beautifully on a back flank at one stage and then delivered lace out to a teammate up field.

I think overall some of the decision making was poor and often too slow but I'm struggling to single out anyone in particular as being terrible today. For most there was more good than bad, and even guys like North and Schultz, who I don't really rate, did some really good things. It's too early to judge anyone imo. I still think the main thing that will help the team perform better is coordination as a team and with a new game plan that's going to take time. I'll be ecstatic if we start seeing it come together in January. But even if we don't, I really like the intent with training. It's not so much that drills in past years didn't address skills or endurance or fatigue or whatever. I just think JLo and his coaching team have implemented new drills that bring together multiple aspects at once and perhaps simulate real game scenarios/needs better. The proof will be in the next year or two but in past years I was optimistic about the players individually at this point of pre-season (eg who'd come back in great shape/TTHD awards). So far this pre-season that optimism has been far more about the "team" and the respective coaching (eg game style, interactions, drills, coordination). Maybe it is recency bias but it feels (good) different to me.

BTW Colyer looks cut. I know we joke but he's put in some hard yards in recent months. Hopefully it pays off on field.

Thanks for the Christmas gift. That would have taken quite some time to write - very much appreciate it.

I particularly liked hearing about the introduction of a new ‘system’. Keeping the right distance from the contest both with and without the ball. Sounds a little like the start of a zone system such as the Weagles web or Hawthorn cluster. JLo has definitely accessed some fine intellectual capital over his assistant coaching career.

 

[heypenny]

Merry Christmas to all the training watchers! You’re all god damn heroes!

I have so much love for the time and effort you put in.

 

[mustlovepurple]

Thanks to all the training reporters for all the efforts they make through the year .
I can't say ..'thank you'..enough..I really mean this from the bottom of my heart.
Cheers

On Nokia 7.1 using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Scham]

Ok here goes...

I caught the last two thirds of training today, so I can't comment on the early drills. What I did get to see is a bunch of drills involving large numbers of players where the focusses seemed to mostly be skills under fatigue, team coordination and defensive structure/transition.

Starting with the last main drill I saw... Players were split into three groups - yellow, orange and purple. One of the teams (with 10 players on field) would start in attack from half back (after a tackle 'spillage' generally) and have to move the ball for a shot on goal against the other team (with 7 players on the field). Once the ball went through the goal posts (or even earlier as JLo often wanted), someone would immediately kick out (with another ball) and the attacking team were expected to transition into defence quickly and not allow the team (with less players) to move the ball. The few times they didn't defend well, JLo was 'less than happy'.

As I mentioned in a previous post the time the outnumbering purple team let the ball move freely through the corridor they got a brutal assessment from JLo. They responsed well the next time around by giving the other team no options, Hughes spoiled a marking attempt in the pocket, recovered the ball, ran and gave and go twice to teammates before kicking a goal to the applause of the coaches.

If there was a turnover they'd let play continue to a point. However once the whistle went, the attacking team would then run to the side of the field, and burst run along it before stopping to rest and hydrate. Meanwhile the resting team would come on to the field as the new defending team, and the 3 players added to the now rotated attacking team. This drill was run over and over and over again for quite a long time. Most of the players looked spent but they pushed through and responded well when the coaches asked them to. Some of the kicking really suffered, including Young kicking OOF (which looked impossible earlier on - his kicking off both feet really is sublime).

One of the highlights was Banfield marking in front of Sean Darcy on a wing, taking him on and Darcy managing to grab him with one hand, throw him to the ground and then kneel over the top of him to stop the play. The thing that impressed me most about Darcy was how he kept up throughout in what was a hard core endurance drill. I was impressed/surprised with his fitness level. Maybe the reason he has looked so spent in past sessions was because he'd been smashed by the coaches with various endurance exercises more than other players are getting?

Another drill they did, which we've seen plenty this Summer is the ball movement within a fairly confined corridor (half back to half forward with a coach at either end). A lot of it involved short passing to move the ball through the corridor. Unfortunately sometimes less than 15 which wasn't great. Fyfe was fairly vocal about them spreading and creating space for others to move into. The standout in this drill was Young for me. If he isn't playing round 1 I'd be a bit astonished. That kick, of his, is a weapon and his vision to find open players down field is exceptional. Luke Ryan is equally brilliant by foot and keeps the group enjoying themselves - I can't wait to watch the two of them play alongside each other.

The highlight though was Jarvis Pina getting himself into a bit of trouble with ball in hand in the middle of the field, managing to dodge his opponent and backing himself to take on and weave past three players to get forward of them. He was fixing his own mistake but it was a good sign that he didn't just give up and that the coaches and players seemed to appreciate what he did instinctively. Tbh I would have liked to see a bit more instinctive play in this drill - hopefully we will in the New Year.

They also did a full ground sim today with two teams of 22 on the field Peel players and coaches provided the extra numbers. It wasn't a proper 'match sim' as at times they'd just change who had possession of the ball so they could kep things moving freeely whilst exploring how players react etc. At one point JLo paused the game completely as he wasn't happy with how congested it was getting around the ball. Telling the mids to spread around the ball when it's being contested and the right distance so they can close and hit/tackle the opposition player if they come out with the ball - or be ready as an outlet if their own team wins. Cerra asked some follow up questions as he was the player that was most out of position at the time. What was great was seeing all the young mids listening intently and then all distancing/spreading themselves much better from that moment onward.

Fyfe was playing as a (full) forward (rather than a mid) today. Poor Duman had the job on him but did ok (Fyfe wasn't in full beast mode though). The highlight for me was when someone kicked the ball toward Fyfe in a 1-on-1 and it went over his head, he somehow managed to control it before it went out of bounds and did an incredible hand pass to O'Reilly running parallel. O'Reilly was instantly tackled but then also managed to get a great handball away to someone else (Tucker maybe?) who then got the ball back to Fyfe who kicked a goal. Fyfe is really in a class of his own but I was impressed by O'Reilly. It reminded me of a similar play he was involved in, when East Freo won the Colts GF a couple of years back. He's got good footy IQ and those hands are very good for a big guy. I'm expecting massive improvement from him at WAFL next year - very glad he was playing forward today again.

Taberner was playing as a forward as well and nobody could stop him marking the ball. But often he was still way too slow to move the ball on and ended up having to kick to a contest (with no advantage). Typical best and worst of Tabs but in fairness he was far more good than bad from what I saw today. Tucker on the other hand was classy af in every drill (stood out without Fyfe, Mundy or Walters playing in the middle). He rarely missed a target, the best kick i50 and on top of that he was almost always the catalyst for his team to transition the ball effectively down field. I really liked what I saw from Acres as well today. Got involved a lot, presented well as a target, helped get the ball moving towards his end and I can't remember any glaring mistakes at all. Brayshaw did some good things including out-marking two taller opponents at one point somehow?!? MJ still has it as well btw - sold the dummy beautifully on a back flank at one stage and then delivered lace out to a teammate up field.

I think overall some of the decision making was poor and often too slow but I'm struggling to single out anyone in particular as being terrible today. For most there was more good than bad, and even guys like North and Schultz, who I don't really rate, did some really good things. It's too early to judge anyone imo. I still think the main thing that will help the team perform better is coordination as a team and with a new game plan that's going to take time. I'll be ecstatic if we start seeing it come together in January. But even if we don't, I really like the intent with training. It's not so much that drills in past years didn't address skills or endurance or fatigue or whatever. I just think JLo and his coaching team have implemented new drills that bring together multiple aspects at once and perhaps simulate real game scenarios/needs better. The proof will be in the next year or two but in past years I was optimistic about the players individually at this point of pre-season (eg who'd come back in great shape/TTHD awards). So far this pre-season that optimism has been far more about the "team" and the respective coaching (eg game style, interactions, drills, coordination). Maybe it is recency bias but it feels (good) different to me.

BTW Colyer looks cut. I know we joke but he's put in some hard yards in recent months. Hopefully it pays off on field.

Well that beats reading the paper with Saturday morning breakie! What a bloody good read WTG. Great stuff thanks.

 

[apuchar]

Ok here goes...

I caught the last two thirds of training today, so I can't comment on the early drills. What I did get to see is a bunch of drills involving large numbers of players where the focusses seemed to mostly be skills under fatigue, team coordination and defensive structure/transition.

Starting with the last main drill I saw... Players were split into three groups - yellow, orange and purple. One of the teams (with 10 players on field) would start in attack from half back (after a tackle 'spillage' generally) and have to move the ball for a shot on goal against the other team (with 7 players on the field). Once the ball went through the goal posts (or even earlier as JLo often wanted), someone would immediately kick out (with another ball) and the attacking team were expected to transition into defence quickly and not allow the team (with less players) to move the ball. The few times they didn't defend well, JLo was 'less than happy'.

As I mentioned in a previous post the time the outnumbering purple team let the ball move freely through the corridor they got a brutal assessment from JLo. They responsed well the next time around by giving the other team no options, Hughes spoiled a marking attempt in the pocket, recovered the ball, ran and gave and go twice to teammates before kicking a goal to the applause of the coaches.

If there was a turnover they'd let play continue to a point. However once the whistle went, the attacking team would then run to the side of the field, and burst run along it before stopping to rest and hydrate. Meanwhile the resting team would come on to the field as the new defending team, and the 3 players added to the now rotated attacking team. This drill was run over and over and over again for quite a long time. Most of the players looked spent but they pushed through and responded well when the coaches asked them to. Some of the kicking really suffered, including Young kicking OOF (which looked impossible earlier on - his kicking off both feet really is sublime).

One of the highlights was Banfield marking in front of Sean Darcy on a wing, taking him on and Darcy managing to grab him with one hand, throw him to the ground and then kneel over the top of him to stop the play. The thing that impressed me most about Darcy was how he kept up throughout in what was a hard core endurance drill. I was impressed/surprised with his fitness level. Maybe the reason he has looked so spent in past sessions was because he'd been smashed by the coaches with various endurance exercises more than other players are getting?

Another drill they did, which we've seen plenty this Summer is the ball movement within a fairly confined corridor (half back to half forward with a coach at either end). A lot of it involved short passing to move the ball through the corridor. Unfortunately sometimes less than 15 which wasn't great. Fyfe was fairly vocal about them spreading and creating space for others to move into. The standout in this drill was Young for me. If he isn't playing round 1 I'd be a bit astonished. That kick, of his, is a weapon and his vision to find open players down field is exceptional. Luke Ryan is equally brilliant by foot and keeps the group enjoying themselves - I can't wait to watch the two of them play alongside each other.

The highlight though was Jarvis Pina getting himself into a bit of trouble with ball in hand in the middle of the field, managing to dodge his opponent and backing himself to take on and weave past three players to get forward of them. He was fixing his own mistake but it was a good sign that he didn't just give up and that the coaches and players seemed to appreciate what he did instinctively. Tbh I would have liked to see a bit more instinctive play in this drill - hopefully we will in the New Year.

They also did a full ground sim today with two teams of 22 on the field Peel players and coaches provided the extra numbers. It wasn't a proper 'match sim' as at times they'd just change who had possession of the ball so they could kep things moving freeely whilst exploring how players react etc. At one point JLo paused the game completely as he wasn't happy with how congested it was getting around the ball. Telling the mids to spread around the ball when it's being contested and the right distance so they can close and hit/tackle the opposition player if they come out with the ball - or be ready as an outlet if their own team wins. Cerra asked some follow up questions as he was the player that was most out of position at the time. What was great was seeing all the young mids listening intently and then all distancing/spreading themselves much better from that moment onward.

Fyfe was playing as a (full) forward (rather than a mid) today. Poor Duman had the job on him but did ok (Fyfe wasn't in full beast mode though). The highlight for me was when someone kicked the ball toward Fyfe in a 1-on-1 and it went over his head, he somehow managed to control it before it went out of bounds and did an incredible hand pass to O'Reilly running parallel. O'Reilly was instantly tackled but then also managed to get a great handball away to someone else (Tucker maybe?) who then got the ball back to Fyfe who kicked a goal. Fyfe is really in a class of his own but I was impressed by O'Reilly. It reminded me of a similar play he was involved in, when East Freo won the Colts GF a couple of years back. He's got good footy IQ and those hands are very good for a big guy. I'm expecting massive improvement from him at WAFL next year - very glad he was playing forward today again.

Taberner was playing as a forward as well and nobody could stop him marking the ball. But often he was still way too slow to move the ball on and ended up having to kick to a contest (with no advantage). Typical best and worst of Tabs but in fairness he was far more good than bad from what I saw today. Tucker on the other hand was classy af in every drill (stood out without Fyfe, Mundy or Walters playing in the middle). He rarely missed a target, the best kick i50 and on top of that he was almost always the catalyst for his team to transition the ball effectively down field. I really liked what I saw from Acres as well today. Got involved a lot, presented well as a target, helped get the ball moving towards his end and I can't remember any glaring mistakes at all. Brayshaw did some good things including out-marking two taller opponents at one point somehow?!? MJ still has it as well btw - sold the dummy beautifully on a back flank at one stage and then delivered lace out to a teammate up field.

I think overall some of the decision making was poor and often too slow but I'm struggling to single out anyone in particular as being terrible today. For most there was more good than bad, and even guys like North and Schultz, who I don't really rate, did some really good things. It's too early to judge anyone imo. I still think the main thing that will help the team perform better is coordination as a team and with a new game plan that's going to take time. I'll be ecstatic if we start seeing it come together in January. But even if we don't, I really like the intent with training. It's not so much that drills in past years didn't address skills or endurance or fatigue or whatever. I just think JLo and his coaching team have implemented new drills that bring together multiple aspects at once and perhaps simulate real game scenarios/needs better. The proof will be in the next year or two but in past years I was optimistic about the players individually at this point of pre-season (eg who'd come back in great shape/TTHD awards). So far this pre-season that optimism has been far more about the "team" and the respective coaching (eg game style, interactions, drills, coordination). Maybe it is recency bias but it feels (good) different to me.

BTW Colyer looks cut. I know we joke but he's put in some hard yards in recent months. Hopefully it pays off on field.

Finally

" At one point JLo paused the game completely as he wasn't happy with how congested it was getting around the ball. Telling the mids to spread around the ball when it's being contested and the right distance so they can close and hit/tackle the opposition player if they come out with the ball - or be ready as an outlet if their own team wins"