Play Nice 2020 Pre-Season Training

[Dale147]

Large articles in this mornings rag.

 

[Arcassius]

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"

Yeah been a consistent issue with our guys getting sucked into contests then being killed on the spread. Glad it's a focus

 

[arsesmart]

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've been along to a couple of sessions this preseason, although each time I've not been able to stick around for too long. I gotta say for the time that I have been there the drills seemed awfully similar to drills I saw in last year's preseason. Maybe there was a different feel, could be my perception on that though.

Fyfe has also been pretty firm that there's nothing too different from what they've done in the past.

 

[Silversurfer]

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.

Epic report

 

[Taylor]

If Brett Rechichi is here, great work on the preseason show. Really enjoying this insight.

 

[ShredBot]

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.

Awesome report!! its really appreciated! I am based overseas and wont ever attend training session so its great to read about the team!
thanks to all the training reporters here!
keep up the good work guys!

 

[theGav56]

I've been along to a couple of sessions this preseason, although each time I've not been able to stick around for too long. I gotta say for the time that I have been there the drills seemed awfully similar to drills I saw in last year's preseason. Maybe there was a different feel, could be my perception on that though.

Fyfe has also been pretty firm that there's nothing too different from what they've done in the past.

Everything needs work at this stage, but surely the greatest impact on the team skills will come when Henry, Young, Sturt and Valente saddle up.

 

[DeanS]

[QUOTE="theGav56, post: 63961545, member: 14670............
when Henry, Young, Sturt and Valente saddle up.
[/QUOTE]
That is such an exciting thought. Can’t wait to see those blokes playing for us.

 

[ImperialPurple]

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

My question too. Awesome report btw - other than wondering how Aish is travelling, I couldn't ask for more. Bloody amazing wayToGo_ !

 

[Wabjub]

Large articles in this mornings rag.

I'm all for good media for Freo finally...but it smells like they're jumping on the "what if fremantle kick ass and all we did was publish rubbish against them" train.

We never get two pages in the rag.. let alone one... generally a half pager saying how were in ruins. And I reckon they've used their entire seasons quota of purple colouring on these two pages.

Times are changing....

 

[Scham]

I'm all for good media for Freo finally...but it smells like they're jumping on the "what if fremantle kick ass and all we did was publish rubbish against them" train.

We never get two pages in the rag.. let alone one... generally a half pager saying how were in ruins. And I reckon they've used their entire seasons quota of purple colouring on these two pages.

Times are changing....

There seems a genuine liking of JLo among the WA media.

Also, I think there’s a breathe of fresh air gone through our club and everyone including the media are feeling it and enjoying it.

 

[Wabjub]

There seems a genuine liking of JLo among the WA media.

Also, I think there’s a breathe of fresh air gone through our club and everyone including the media are feeling it and enjoying it.

Don't get me wrong it's great. It's just so unusual. No matter the event it was always the mob down the road who got the big media spread.

I hope it continues this way and maybe give us more media attention when it's due and not publish about nicnats scooter training or someone visiting rioli.

 

[Scham]

Don't get me wrong it's great. It's just so unusual. No matter the event it was always the mob down the road who got the big media spread.

I hope it continues this way and maybe give us more media attention when it's due and not publish about nicnats scooter training or someone visiting rioli.

The Rioli and NicNat stuff and all of the hype and fluff around the WC players will always happen, they’re catering to a mass market, nothing you can do about that except accept it.

But as you say, it’s nice that for possibly the first time ever, we’re getting a fair run.

 

[Fred Ziffel]

I have a theory on this non negative media coverage .

I think that RSole of an editor who was responsible for that putrid coverage of Nat Fyfe’s Brownlow achievement has been read the riot act by his employer.

The public backlash and the subsequent fallout from his embarrassing attempt to justify it on a well known am radio talkback station, I believe, is the catalyst for what we are seeing now.

Whatever tone the coverage takes from this point, I can never accept anything from our ol’ mate Kim. He is history in my eyes.

Having said all this, I cannot bring myself to financially support Eaglewest media ...... ever again.

The damage is done.

 

[Fred Ziffel]

I hope we see a change in our handballs out of congestion.
If Justin is focussing on positional spread around stoppages I hope we see an end to handballing to the feet of players.

If we drill to have our outsiders at the right distance from the contest let’s start firing the handball straight to them and give opponents less time to tackle.

 

[Scham]

I hope we see a change in our handballs out of congestion.
If Justin is focussing on positional spread around stoppages I hope we see an end to handballing to the feet of players.

If we drill to have our outsiders at the right distance from the contest let’s start firing the handball straight to them and give opponents less time to tackle.

Agree that was extremely frustrating in the past but the extra skill sessions will fix that imo.

 

[malpaso]

I have a theory on this non negative media coverage .

I think that RSole of an editor who was responsible for that putrid coverage of Nat Fyfe’s Brownlow achievement has been read the riot act by his employer.

The public backlash and the subsequent fallout from his embarrassing attempt to justify it on a well known am radio talkback station, I believe, is the catalyst for what we are seeing now.

Whatever tone the coverage takes from this point, I can never accept anything from our ol’ mate Kim. He is history in my eyes.

Having said all this, I cannot bring myself to financially support Eaglewest media ...... ever again.

The damage is done.

They recently changed the Sports Editor didn't they?

 

[wayToGo_]

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

Yeah Aish looked good from what I saw. I like the word 'neat' to describe him. He's composed, seems to make good decisions, has quick hands, and executes short to medium passes well. He doesn't really seem to have a weapon but he's also not going to make mistakes either. Given Hill has been saying he'll be mostly at half back I'm assuming we'll see Aish rotating on the wing with Bewley and Acres. But as we know things can change quickly. I see Aish as the Conca pick of this year - a classy seasoned role player who will be good for standards around the club, and someone you can rely on out on the field in whatever role you put him in.

 

[Megalon]

I hope we see a change in our handballs out of congestion.
If Justin is focussing on positional spread around stoppages I hope we see an end to handballing to the feet of players.

If we drill to have our outsiders at the right distance from the contest let’s start firing the handball straight to them and give opponents less time to tackle.

Great comment and I 100% agree, want to see an end to the 1m handpasses to a player about to be tackled. If there is literally no option, hopefully we train them to handball/tap the ball forward into space so it becomes a 50/50 instead of holding the ball (something Richmond seem to do so well).

 

[freoextra]

For those who are interested, the new WC facility looks fantastic with bbq facilities directly behind the goals and stunning walkways around the ground.
Sorry but Freos home ground looks like a dunny in the dessert in comparison with no facilities and viewing areas for the public.
I know, they have unlimited funds but the difference is massive.

 

[Dockernut]

Haha, the sapling trees pic is poignant.

 

[Dale147]

We have water slides.

 

[Megalon]

Bit of an oversight in the master plan for the whole facility at Cockburn. They obviously spent alot of money on the building and equipment itself, but didn't think about activating the surrounds around the training ground. BBQs, playground, nice lawns, native gardens, shade sails and gazebos would have been great. From what freoextra and training reporters have said, the surrounds are full sun, weed filled and built on a garbage dump sand pit?

It doesn't cost much to plant trees, as Councils have tree-planting events with volunteers. If anyone sees our new CEO in person, please ask him to lobby the City of Cockburn to make tree planting and more happen.

 

[freoextra]

Bit of an oversight in the master plan for the whole facility at Cockburn. They obviously spent alot of money on the building and equipment itself, but didn't think about activating the surrounds around the training ground. BBQs, playground, nice lawns, native gardens, shade sails and gazebos would have been great. From what freoextra and training reporters have said, the surrounds are full sun, weed filled and built on a garbage dump sand pit?

It doesn't cost much to plant trees, as Councils have tree-planting events with volunteers. If anyone sees our new CEO in person, please ask him to lobby the City of Cockburn to make tree planting and more happen.

Cheers, you have put my point perfectly and I am certainly not having a go at what the players have been provided with.

What a pity more thought and effort has not been put into the facilities for the spectators, or even completing the banks of the oval instead of barren sand still!!!

 

[arsesmart]

Everything needs work at this stage, but surely the greatest impact on the team skills will come when Henry, Young, Sturt and Valente saddle up.

If they come into a fairly mature team that's playing in sync, it'll be huge. Even just Henry and Young could make seismic differences. Think Rioli in '08, Stephenson in '18 or Morabito & Fyfe in '10.

Otherwise though it maybe a bit more of the rollercoaster for a little while longer.