Training 2023 Preseason + training discussion

[Piggy Smalls]

The team is in ripping shape. I'm not sure what a premiership winning preseason looks like but we're making every post a winner. Still a long way to go so hope we can maintain the condition and this gives a base to only have to slightly fluctuate our training throughout the season.

I can’t agree with this more. Regardless of what happens it is indisputable that these young men are giving everything they have to deliver us what we’ve all waited so long for. I couldn’t be prouder of them.

 

[Stinky Lomax]

The team is in ripping shape. I'm not sure what a premiership winning preseason looks like but we're making every post a winner. Still a long way to go so hope we can maintain the condition and this gives a base to only have to slightly fluctuate our training throughout the season.

On premiership contention.
According to JLo we need cleaner ball through the middle which will help with our forward connection.
JLo was asked recently if he could take any player from any other club, who would he take? He said there’s 2 blokes running around in the Carlton forward line that he’d like one of. But did say, it doesn’t matter how good they are, if you can’t get it too them in good spots then your not getting full benefit from them.
He & Graham both went with, we need to get better at our mid-forward connection.

 

[King Huskii]

On premiership contention.
According to JLo we need cleaner ball through the middle which will help with our forward connection.
JLo was asked recently if he could take any player from any other club, who would he take? He said there’s 2 blokes running around in the Carlton forward line that he’d like one of. But did say, it doesn’t matter how good they are, if you can’t get it too them in good spots then your not getting full benefit from them.
He & Graham both went with, we need to get better at our mid-forward connection.

Hard to disagree with that

 

[Piggy Smalls]

On premiership contention.
According to JLo we need cleaner ball through the middle which will help with our forward connection.
JLo was asked recently if he could take any player from any other club, who would he take? He said there’s 2 blokes running around in the Carlton forward line that he’d like one of. But did say, it doesn’t matter how good they are, if you can’t get it too them in good spots then your not getting full benefit from them.
He & Graham both went with, we need to get better at our mid-forward connection.

I’m sure JL and Graham know a hell of a lot more than me but to mine our mids looking up and seeing a forward running at them would be a good place to start.

 

[King Huskii]

I’m sure JL and Graham know a hell of a lot more than me but to mine our mids looking up and seeing a forward running at them would be a good place to start.

Forwards with good leading patterns

 

[Piggy Smalls]

Forwards with good leading patterns

Definitely. But also forwards that work cohesively with one another, knowing when to block, when to create space and knowing when it’s their time to lead.
And mids that know which option to take. It’s definitely going to take time but when it clicks the other 17 teams better look out.

 

[King Huskii]

Definitely. But also forwards that work cohesively with one another, knowing when to block, when to create space and knowing when it’s their time to lead.
And mids that know which option to take. It’s definitely going to take time but when it clicks the other 17 teams better look out.

Yes well that's the complete package

All players need to peak at same time

I feel Freo are a few years off but not that far in terms of talent, just experience

 

[Piggy Smalls]

Yes well that's the complete package

All players need to peak at same time

I feel Freo are a few years off but not that far in terms of talent, just experience

Absolutely. Considering what we achieved last year we are ahead of the curve for our list demographic, with plenty of time up our sleeve to take the next steps. We have plenty of talent forward of Centre, we just need to stick to the process from here on in and I can’t see how we aren’t seriously contending from 2024 onwards.

 

[Stinky Lomax]

Forwards with good leading patterns

Definitely. But also forwards that work cohesively with one another, knowing when to block, when to create space and knowing when it’s their time to lead.
And mids that know which option to take. It’s definitely going to take time but when it clicks the other 17 teams better look out.

I think cohesion is a real key. We just didn’t have the same 3 so called tall forwards on the park together enough to get cohesion. Tabs missed a bit, Lobb played injured for some of it & we didn’t have a proper 3rd option for most of the year.
Theres a few more options this season, hopefully we find the right combination quickly as we can definitely be better up there, even with the players we have.

 

[masai tu]

A handy glow in the dark presence for night games.

For night games, Freddie on one flank, Davies on the other.

Be a bit like port & starboard lights at night, shows the best route forward.

 

[Piggy Smalls]

I think cohesion is a real key. We just didn’t have the same 3 so called tall forwards on the park together enough to get cohesion. Tabs missed a bit, Lobb played injured for some of it & we didn’t have a proper 3rd option for most of the year.
Theres a few more options this season, hopefully we find the right combination quickly as we can definitely be better up there, even with the players we have.

As far as talls go I’ve got Jackson and Amiss as locks. Tabs is good enough to be our key focal point but he’s not good for cohesion and continuity it he can’t stay on the park. I’m fascinated to see if Treacy moves ahead of him. Does Fyfe take the medium forward spot? Can Sturt finally deliver? Does Corbett work his way ahead of an incumbent? So many possible combinations. You are dead right though, the quicker we find the magic combination the better.

 

[Stinky Lomax]

As far as talls go I’ve got Jackson and Amiss as locks. Tabs is good enough to be our key focal point but he’s not good for cohesion and continuity it he can’t stay on the park. I’m fascinated to see if Treacy moves ahead of him. Does Fyfe take the medium forward spot? Can Sturt finally deliver? Does Corbett work his way ahead of an incumbent? So many possible combinations. You are dead right though, the quicker we find the magic combination the better.

I think Corbett has first crack. On paper he has the goods to play that role, size, running ability & marking, hopefully he just needs opportunity. There’s still a lot of concerns with Sturt.

 

[go_the_dockers]

He should be addressed as "2023 Doig Medalist Liam Henry" from now on.

In all seriousness, I don't know how anyone could fault his efforts this off-season? He's ticked all the boxes required.

He looks very strong.

I hope he spent as much time running, as I thought his fitness was holding him back more than his strength.

 

[Dockernut]

He looks very strong.

I hope he spent as much time running, as I thought his fitness was holding him back more than his strength.

Agreed he looks the goods, but it was his desire and intensity that looked below par in the WAFL last year.

 

[blue shark]

He looks very strong.

I hope he spent as much time running, as I thought his fitness was holding him back more than his strength.

People need to get a grip, he wasn’t the finished product when drafted.
Guys like Young, Serong were plug and play, Henry still had a boys body.
This is his first real preseason, and it looks like he is working his butt off.
Our team has changed from the past, you don’t just get gifted games anymore.
The rebuild is complete, so your going to have to force your way in with good
form at Peel. How can this be a bad thing for Freo?

 

[Dockernut]

People need to get a grip, he wasn’t the finished product when drafted.
Guys like Young, Serong were plug and play, Henry still had a boys body.
This is his first real preseason, and it looks like he is working his butt off.
Our team has changed from the past, you don’t just get gifted games anymore.
The rebuild is complete, so your going to have to force your way in with good
form at Peel. How can this be a bad thing for Freo?

Don’t know about that. He absolutely dominated his last Champs game to the point where Shifter Sheehan said he was best on ground and was singing his praises in his draft year. SHilly played to a high standard early on with a light frame.

 

[Taylor]

Henry came to the club with a nasty knee issue, he had dislocated his knee cap. He wasn't going to have the immediate impact of Young and Serong.

 

[blue shark]

Henry came to the club with a nasty knee issue, he had dislocated his knee cap. He wasn't going to have the immediate impact of Young and Serong.

Maturity in mind and body, those guys are like Brayshaw.
Only now is Henry showing that growth.
Regardless of his injury I don’t think he was ready for AFL straight away.
He was always going to to take a few years to find his feet, the club rated
him, and took the long term view.

 

[Taylor]

He was always going to to take a few years to find his feet, the club rated
him, and took the long term view.

I would expect that every Freo fan is hoping for a break out season from Henry followed by a contract extension and even greater heights the following year.

 

[blue shark]

Don’t know about that. He absolutely dominated his last Champs game to the point where Shifter Sheehan said he was best on ground and was singing his praises in his draft year. SHilly played to a high standard early on with a light frame.

S Hill showed immense courage, competitiveness for his size back then in his draft bio. Plus his elite speed meant he could get out of trouble,
But the team was also bottom 4 back then so he was fast tracked.
Sonny also won the Sheehan medal as best afield in the U16 champs, but his break out year was much later from his debut.
Before that he was getting by on his talent alone, Ross challenged him to do the work and we all saw the pay off in 2013.
I think we will see the same development in Henry.

 

[AstonSouffle]

You can give him "whipping boy 2023" award already; the fact he has been brought up so much on this forum since the end of the season highlights that there are posters out there already lining up to start ripping into him 1st WAFL/AFL game he plays in next year.

There were even posters who were complaining that he was going to turn up out of shape (ie. that he needed to put some muscle on) and that he has no dedication etc. etc. unlike all the other players who were out there training in the off season, and now that he has turned up to the new season looking in some okay looking shape they are claiming it is the wrong shape. Some of them were also the same posters who were blaming him for team losses during the year when he wasn't even in the side and just generally going at him all season at random times of the year and/or since he has been at the club, to the point where if you collated their posts on bigfooty, you could see that the majority of their negative posts for the year were about Liam Henry.

I hope some of the moderators actually watch out for this in 2023, because if you continually have a "go" at a player well above and beyond any other player expectations and often on the basis of no evidence surely that constitutes abusive behaviour, even if the player may/may not be able to read it? And I am certainly no SJW but surely that is not a place we want to be as a board of posters, particularly when said player has a particular background that is already considered marginalised and a victim of bias within the AFL?

I agree with everything you've said, but you should also consider that there was quite a bit of fanfare surrounding the bloke when he was drafted - I'm talking best-of-three fanfare. Obviously, he hasn't gotten anywhere close to that so that's worthwhile considering. Plus he's been in ads for Freo etc. The hype is there and he hasn't delivered so far.

I've gone off the boil with him, and this is coming from someone who bought his tied-to-culture ties, wore them to games, and was excited for him to debut and was ecstatic for the kid when he kicked his first goal against GWS. I'm unsure if he's going to make it, even if he jacks up and gets massive - if he keeps trying to thread kicks through a moving car window when there was another option completely open... he'll be gone unfortunately so we shall see.

 

[King Huskii]

Is training this Wednesday at Cockburn or Freo? It's the last training before the Christmas break

 

[theGav56]

As far as talls go I’ve got Jackson and Amiss as locks. Tabs is good enough to be our key focal point but he’s not good for cohesion and continuity it he can’t stay on the park. I’m fascinated to see if Treacy moves ahead of him. Does Fyfe take the medium forward spot? Can Sturt finally deliver? Does Corbett work his way ahead of an incumbent? So many possible combinations. You are dead right though, the quicker we find the magic combination the better.

Is Fyfe playing that role the best option, even if he is best available?

Surely we need one of Corbett, Sturt, Treacy, Banfield or Kuek to be our third medium-tall option, and that's before considering how Jackson, Erasmus and Johnson are going to fit into this side.

Sometimes our forward line looks like a jigsaw puzzle with too many pieces. Haven't had too many times where I've thought that.

 

[DragoDelph]

Beast mode

https://twitter.com/freodockers/status/1604699825085087745?s=46&t=TRLxDHlnquykHH0UwasdCQ

 

[DragoDelph]

Beast mode

https://twitter.com/freodockers/status/1604699825085087745?s=46&t=TRLxDHlnquykHH0UwasdCQ

Hmm.. the twitter embed isn’t working.