Training 2023 Preseason + training discussion

[Square Peg]

The melts on here when Ethan Hughes is lining up on the wing at Marvel in R1 while Nod, Johnson and Erasmus are down at Peel will be something to behold

I won't melt. if o'Driscoll is considered a depth player we won't lose a game all year

 

[Bigger]

Luke Jackson is the difference.

 

[King Huskii]

Training Report

This is my final report as I'll be back at work. I'm hung over and struggling a bit today. Self inflicted and definitely a reminder to myself that my mental health deserves better.

Today I thought the ball use early looked a little off. It was windy. After quarter time they has a really long kicking and handballing drill. From then on the ball use improved.

Fyfe looked good today. I could be wrong but he doesn't look as fit as the onballers. It's early days and the fact he's leaping at marks and providing strong leads is good to see.

As mentioned both Stubbs and Serong Jnr look like good additions and it's hard to know which way the club will go.

Without Brayshaw in the middle Brodie was the in and under for purple with both Serong Snr and JOM doing the heavy lifting. All look locks with Brayshaw to be starting mids.

Eurasmus is a gun. He was the driver for the other team. Will be next up and is starting to improve his kicking. Johnson was also impressive. NOD was excellent on the wing and looks to be a great link up player.

Amiss kicked goals in the first half but more so as a crmber not as a lead out and mark. Tracey was good too. Tabs ran up the ground with Tracey taking marks on the wing. It'll be hard to fit them all in with Fyfe forward too.

Switta and Walters are super creative. Switta at half forward with laser like kicks. Both very good decision makers.

I think our forward line is stronger than what the media like to paint. Just my opinion though.

Aish was really composed today.

Most players look ultra fit. It's hard to compare to other clubs so I'll keep a lid on it today.

On a final note Jackson loves being a target at half forward and IMO is showing why we went hard on drafting him.

Thank you for taking time to read my opinions. These are just opinions from a Freo fan who played a few hundred amateur games so please take it with a pinch of salt. I'm far from an expert.

Much luv KH

 

[arsesmart]

I also really liked the look of Noble. For a draftee of his size he's very neat with his skills. He could be a keeper.

 

[Boomer93]

Training Report

This is my final report as I'll be back at work. I'm hung over and struggling a bit today. Self inflicted and definitely a reminder to myself that my mental health deserves better.

Today I thought the ball use early looked a little off. It was windy. After quarter time they has a really long kicking and handballing drill. From then on the ball use improved.

Fyfe looked good today. I could be wrong but he doesn't look as fit as the onballers. It's early days and the fact he's leaping at marks and providing strong leads is good to see.

As mentioned both Stubbs and Serong Jnr look like good additions and it's hard to know which way the club will go.

Without Brayshaw in the middle Brodie was the in and under for purple with both Serong Snr and JOM doing the heavy lifting. All look locks with Brayshaw to be starting mids.

Eurasmus is a gun. He was the driver for the other team. Will be next up and is starting to improve his kicking. Johnson was also impressive. NOD was excellent on the wing and looks to be a great link up player.

Amiss kicked goals in the first half but more so as a crmber not as a lead out and mark. Tracey was good too. Tabs ran up the ground with Tracey taking marks on the wing. It'll be hard to fit them all in with Fyfe forward too.

Switta and Walters are super creative. Switta at half forward with laser like kicks. Both very good decision makers.

I think our forward line is stronger than what the media like to paint. Just my opinion though.

Aish was really composed today.

Most players look ultra fit. It's hard to compare to other clubs so I'll keep a lid on it today.

On a final note Jackson loves being a target at half forward and IMO is showing why we went hard on drafting him.

Thank you for taking time to read my opinions. These are just opinions from a Freo fan who played a few hundred amateur games so please take it with a pinch of salt. I'm far from an expert.

Much luv KH

Please don't feel the need to thank us for reading or the need to qualify your opinions, anyone who takes the time to watch training and do up a training report for us is a legend!

 

[Boomer93]

Training Report

This is my final report as I'll be back at work. I'm hung over and struggling a bit today. Self inflicted and definitely a reminder to myself that my mental health deserves better.

Today I thought the ball use early looked a little off. It was windy. After quarter time they has a really long kicking and handballing drill. From then on the ball use improved.

Fyfe looked good today. I could be wrong but he doesn't look as fit as the onballers. It's early days and the fact he's leaping at marks and providing strong leads is good to see.

As mentioned both Stubbs and Serong Jnr look like good additions and it's hard to know which way the club will go.

Without Brayshaw in the middle Brodie was the in and under for purple with both Serong Snr and JOM doing the heavy lifting. All look locks with Brayshaw to be starting mids.

Eurasmus is a gun. He was the driver for the other team. Will be next up and is starting to improve his kicking. Johnson was also impressive. NOD was excellent on the wing and looks to be a great link up player.

Amiss kicked goals in the first half but more so as a crmber not as a lead out and mark. Tracey was good too. Tabs ran up the ground with Tracey taking marks on the wing. It'll be hard to fit them all in with Fyfe forward too.

Switta and Walters are super creative. Switta at half forward with laser like kicks. Both very good decision makers.

I think our forward line is stronger than what the media like to paint. Just my opinion though.

Aish was really composed today.

Most players look ultra fit. It's hard to compare to other clubs so I'll keep a lid on it today.

On a final note Jackson loves being a target at half forward and IMO is showing why we went hard on drafting him.

Thank you for taking time to read my opinions. These are just opinions from a Freo fan who played a few hundred amateur games so please take it with a pinch of salt. I'm far from an expert.

Much luv KH

Also I have problems with binge drinking at times, thanks for the lovely reminder before the weekend to keep a lid on it hope your all g mate, hangxiety is the worse as we get older and more mature

 

[Superkoops]

Training Report

This is my final report as I'll be back at work. I'm hung over and struggling a bit today. Self inflicted and definitely a reminder to myself that my mental health deserves better.

Today I thought the ball use early looked a little off. It was windy. After quarter time they has a really long kicking and handballing drill. From then on the ball use improved.

Fyfe looked good today. I could be wrong but he doesn't look as fit as the onballers. It's early days and the fact he's leaping at marks and providing strong leads is good to see.

As mentioned both Stubbs and Serong Jnr look like good additions and it's hard to know which way the club will go.

Without Brayshaw in the middle Brodie was the in and under for purple with both Serong Snr and JOM doing the heavy lifting. All look locks with Brayshaw to be starting mids.

Eurasmus is a gun. He was the driver for the other team. Will be next up and is starting to improve his kicking. Johnson was also impressive. NOD was excellent on the wing and looks to be a great link up player.

Amiss kicked goals in the first half but more so as a crmber not as a lead out and mark. Tracey was good too. Tabs ran up the ground with Tracey taking marks on the wing. It'll be hard to fit them all in with Fyfe forward too.

Switta and Walters are super creative. Switta at half forward with laser like kicks. Both very good decision makers.

I think our forward line is stronger than what the media like to paint. Just my opinion though.

Aish was really composed today.

Most players look ultra fit. It's hard to compare to other clubs so I'll keep a lid on it today.

On a final note Jackson loves being a target at half forward and IMO is showing why we went hard on drafting him.

Thank you for taking time to read my opinions. These are just opinions from a Freo fan who played a few hundred amateur games so please take it with a pinch of salt. I'm far from an expert.

Much luv KH

Love ya work. Get some berocca/paracetamol and hope you come good quickly.

Appreciate all the efforts made by posters to feedback their thoughts however accurate.

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

Should give us a cutting edge for sure.

Haha, knew I used the wrong one there

 

[Piggy Smalls]

My thoughts on what I saw today. I was at one end of the ground so it was hard to see what was going on at the other end.

Darcy running laps. Had his left knee bandaged but wasn’t kitted up for either team so he must have been carrying a niggle into the session. Benning and possibly Williams were running laps together. So were Worner and Brayshaw. Cox started the first drill but spoke to trainers instead of going into the main pre-sim huddle, and then left the track with what appeared to me to be a concern with the hand he’s been wearing the glove on. He ran laps with Darcy for the remainder of the time I was there. There were some boys smashing the ropes and pull downs but I didn’t pay enough attention to note who they were.

Match sim certainly looked to be stacked in favour of team purple. At the opening bounce at the end I was positioned it was Pearce, Hamling, Ryan, Young, Walker and Clark vs Amiss, Kuek, Sturt, Serong jnr, Banfield and Stubbs. Sturt was deepest forward with Ryan manning him and Amiss was roaming more with Pearce next to him. At the other end Fyfe was deepest forward.

Tabs took a mark and had the first shot on goal but went the snap from a 45 degree angle and made poor contact. Purple ended up with their first from a Fyfe mark on the lead and set shot conversion.

Grey were getting a lot of the footy and had some good moments. There was one play where Ras won a loose ball about 45m from goal and bullocked his way past two defenders to get a clear shot at goal but he didn’t quite make the distance into a reasonably strong wind.

As covered considerably already, Amiss had four goals to half time and had quite a few A grade opponents man him up at various times although Pearce was his main opponent. I spent a lot of time watching these two in the second quarter which is why I’m very vague on match details, including which midfielders played well. Jye positioned himself in dangerous places as the deepest forward and liked to stay goal side of Pearce. Grey were moving the ball forward quickly and Jye’s speed and ability to read the play was clearly evident. He got reward today for putting himself in the right places at the right times which is exactly what a smart forward can do. He is a beautiful kick for goal, really nice to watch.

Stubbs was really surprising. He’s quite stocky and strong through the hips. Knows where to run, presents well and is clean with the footy. Kicked at least one goal and was involved in some link up play. Seemed to have a bit of synergy with Amiss too as they stayed out of each other’s way and both benefited from the space it created. I believe Stubbs would be worthy of the final list spot based on today’s showing. I must say overall for a clearly second choice forward line there was a lot of cohesion for team Grey.

Apart from that, Fyfe looked promising as a lead up forward, Jackson presented well, Young was prolific and Henry did some nice things. Probably the most notable thing however was just the competitiveness of the grey side against their more established opponent. The depth in the squad is really promising without that huge drop off we’ve had for quite a few years now. Really exciting times to be on the Freo wagon for sure!

 

[Van_Dyke]

My thoughts on what I saw today. I was at one end of the ground so it was hard to see what was going on at the other end.

Darcy running laps. Had his left knee bandaged but wasn’t kitted up for either team so he must have been carrying a niggle into the session. Benning and possibly Williams were running laps together. So were Worner and Brayshaw. Cox started the first drill but spoke to trainers instead of going into the main pre-sim huddle, and then left the track with what appeared to me to be a concern with the hand he’s been wearing the glove on. He ran laps with Darcy for the remainder of the time I was there. There were some boys smashing the ropes and pull downs but I didn’t pay enough attention to note who they were.

Match sim certainly looked to be stacked in favour of team purple. At the opening bounce at the end I was positioned it was Pearce, Hamling, Ryan, Young, Walker and Clark vs Amiss, Kuek, Sturt, Serong jnr, Banfield and Stubbs. Sturt was deepest forward with Ryan manning him and Amiss was roaming more with Pearce next to him. At the other end Fyfe was deepest forward.

Tabs took a mark and had the first shot on goal but went the snap from a 45 degree angle and made poor contact. Purple ended up with their first from a Fyfe mark on the lead and set shot conversion.

Grey were getting a lot of the footy and had some good moments. There was one play where Ras won a loose ball about 45m from goal and bullocked his way past two defenders to get a clear shot at goal but he didn’t quite make the distance into a reasonably strong wind.

As covered considerably already, Amiss had four goals to half time and had quite a few A grade opponents man him up at various times although Pearce was his main opponent. I spent a lot of time watching these two in the second quarter which is why I’m very vague on match details, including which midfielders played well. Jye positioned himself in dangerous places as the deepest forward and liked to stay goal side of Pearce. Grey were moving the ball forward quickly and Jye’s speed and ability to read the play was clearly evident. He got reward today for putting himself in the right places at the right times which is exactly what a smart forward can do. He is a beautiful kick for goal, really nice to watch.

Stubbs was really surprising. He’s quite stocky and strong through the hips. Knows where to run, presents well and is clean with the footy. Kicked at least one goal and was involved in some link up play. Seemed to have a bit of synergy with Amiss too as they stayed out of each other’s way and both benefited from the space it created. I believe Stubbs would be worthy of the final list spot based on today’s showing. I must say overall for a clearly second choice forward line there was a lot of cohesion for team Grey.

Apart from that, Fyfe looked promising as a lead up forward, Jackson presented well, Young was prolific and Henry did some nice things. Probably the most notable thing however was just the competitiveness of the grey side against their more established opponent. The depth in the squad is really promising without that huge drop off we’ve had for quite a few years now. Really exciting times to be on the Freo wagon for sure!

vossy would be pleased with this

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

To be honest, if Amiss kicked 4 goals in general play rather than mark / kick, that's even more exciting to me. The key forwards that can do both are the golden ticket and from the three games, we basically know he's going to be a terrific mark / goal forward.

 

[King Huskii]

My thoughts on what I saw today. I was at one end of the ground so it was hard to see what was going on at the other end.

Darcy running laps. Had his left knee bandaged but wasn’t kitted up for either team so he must have been carrying a niggle into the session. Benning and possibly Williams were running laps together. So were Worner and Brayshaw. Cox started the first drill but spoke to trainers instead of going into the main pre-sim huddle, and then left the track with what appeared to me to be a concern with the hand he’s been wearing the glove on. He ran laps with Darcy for the remainder of the time I was there. There were some boys smashing the ropes and pull downs but I didn’t pay enough attention to note who they were.

Match sim certainly looked to be stacked in favour of team purple. At the opening bounce at the end I was positioned it was Pearce, Hamling, Ryan, Young, Walker and Clark vs Amiss, Kuek, Sturt, Serong jnr, Banfield and Stubbs. Sturt was deepest forward with Ryan manning him and Amiss was roaming more with Pearce next to him. At the other end Fyfe was deepest forward.

Tabs took a mark and had the first shot on goal but went the snap from a 45 degree angle and made poor contact. Purple ended up with their first from a Fyfe mark on the lead and set shot conversion.

Grey were getting a lot of the footy and had some good moments. There was one play where Ras won a loose ball about 45m from goal and bullocked his way past two defenders to get a clear shot at goal but he didn’t quite make the distance into a reasonably strong wind.

As covered considerably already, Amiss had four goals to half time and had quite a few A grade opponents man him up at various times although Pearce was his main opponent. I spent a lot of time watching these two in the second quarter which is why I’m very vague on match details, including which midfielders played well. Jye positioned himself in dangerous places as the deepest forward and liked to stay goal side of Pearce. Grey were moving the ball forward quickly and Jye’s speed and ability to read the play was clearly evident. He got reward today for putting himself in the right places at the right times which is exactly what a smart forward can do. He is a beautiful kick for goal, really nice to watch.

Stubbs was really surprising. He’s quite stocky and strong through the hips. Knows where to run, presents well and is clean with the footy. Kicked at least one goal and was involved in some link up play. Seemed to have a bit of synergy with Amiss too as they stayed out of each other’s way and both benefited from the space it created. I believe Stubbs would be worthy of the final list spot based on today’s showing. I must say overall for a clearly second choice forward line there was a lot of cohesion for team Grey.

Apart from that, Fyfe looked promising as a lead up forward, Jackson presented well, Young was prolific and Henry did some nice things. Probably the most notable thing however was just the competitiveness of the grey side against their more established opponent. The depth in the squad is really promising without that huge drop off we’ve had for quite a few years now. Really exciting times to be on the Freo wagon for sure!

Thanks heaps for the report mate

I'd love to know your opinion on Ras and Johnson. IMO both look ready to play 22 but it's a tight squeeze with so many mids.

Do you think either will be best 22 round 1 or they will have to wait as we have AB JOM Serong and Brodie as best 22?

It's tough for team balance.

 

[Bastyy]

vossy would be pleased with this

Will Piggy get banned when Carlton steal Stubbs from under our nose?

 

[Dockeroo]

Something I’ve noticed over the years in the AFL is the mad rush by many fans to turf players aged 29-30 or more on the scrapheap after any dip in form or injury issue. “Oh he’s cooked”. “Best days are behind him” etc etc. However if we have learned anything in recent years it’s that this is a foolish perspective to take. The old dogs are always there in the thick of it when big finals are decided in recent seasons. Dangerfield. Sidebottom. Pendlebury. Isaac Smith. Hawkins. The list goes on.
When it comes down to the business end in 2023, Fyfe, Walters and Tabs are going to be critical if we are to achieve anything beyond what we did last season.
As good and all as our kids are, most of them were shown to be still a long way off it in the most recent game we played.
To win the flag in 2023 we will need Fyfe and Walters to be in norm smith medal form in the finals series.
33 is the new 30.

 

[Alfonz]

Thanks heaps for the report mate

I'd love to know your opinion on Ras and Johnson. IMO both look ready to play 22 but it's a tight squeeze with so many mids.

Do you think either will be best 22 round 1 or they will have to wait as we have AB JOM Serong and Brodie as best 22?

It's tough for team balance.

What makes it tough for team balance is persisting with 4 x small forwards. Geelong is the highest with 3, and most other sides are 1 or 2.

If you make the hard decision to take out 2 of Walters, Switta, Schultz, Freddy, then there is obviously more room for others (be it mids or medium forwards) and we would have a much better balanced side.

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

What makes it tough for team balance is persisting with 4 x small forwards. Geelong is the highest with 3, and most other sides are 1 or 2.

If you make the hard decision to take out 2 of Walters, Switta, Schultz, Freddy, then there is obviously more room for others (be it mids or medium forwards) and we would have a much better balanced side.

Im going to have to do some research but I'd be stunned if there is any side playing only 1 small forward, at least, not in the context of calling Freddy a small forward.

Edit: On research - you were right, but they are going for a threepeat of spoons for a reason

 

[theGav56]

I also really liked the look of Noble. For a draftee of his size he's very neat with his skills. He could be a keeper.

What roles did he/can he play?

Hoping for a future forward/ruck.

 

[King Huskii]

What roles did he/can he play?

Hoping for a future forward/ruck.

He rucked in the centre and around the ground

Looks promising

 

[Piggy Smalls]

Thanks heaps for the report mate

I'd love to know your opinion on Ras and Johnson. IMO both look ready to play 22 but it's a tight squeeze with so many mids.

Do you think either will be best 22 round 1 or they will have to wait as we have AB JOM Serong and Brodie as best 22?

It's tough for team balance.

Thanks mate. Likewise, your reports have been awesome over the past couple of weeks.

It’s an interesting question. It’s probably a case of whether there is a R1 spot available more than whether they deserve one (which they both clearly do). If you look at who has left and who has come in you could probably say that JOM replaces Mundy, Jackson replaces Lobb and Fyfe replaces Logue. I believe Acres’ wing spot is still up for grabs and Erasmus would be eyeing that off as his most likely ticket back in. MJ probably takes the mantle of next mid in from Tucker at this point. I could see he, Banfield or Treacy being the sub though.

 

[Van_Dyke]

Will Piggy get banned when Carlton steal Stubbs from under our nose?

a fierce bricking would be delivered

 

[King Huskii]

Thanks mate. Likewise, your reports have been awesome over the past couple of weeks.

It’s an interesting question. It’s probably a case of whether there is a R1 spot available more than whether they deserve one (which they both clearly do). If you look at who has left and who has come in you could probably say that JOM replaces Mundy, Jackson replaces Lobb and Fyfe replaces Logue. I believe Acres’ wing spot is still up for grabs and Erasmus would be eyeing that off as his most likely ticket back in. MJ probably takes the mantle of next mid in from Tucker at this point. I could see he, Banfield or Treacy being the sub though.

That's a really practical way if looking at it. I agree with your logic.

Tracey will be bloody unlucky if so. He will have clubs circling him. I can't split him and Amiss currently.

 

[Piggy Smalls]

That's a really practical way if looking at it. I agree with your logic.

Tracey will be bloody unlucky if so. He will have clubs circling him. I can't splut him and Amiss currently.

I’m confident the club have a well communicated long-term plan for Treacy. He’s a raw talent rookie pick with massive upside who has already shown a bit at senior level. He just needs to take his opportunity when it presents. We saw last year how far JL will go to reward form when he kept Tabs out of both finals in favour of Amiss. Whether as a sub or next man in I have no doubt Treacy will get an opportunity early.

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

What makes it tough for team balance is persisting with 4 x small forwards. Geelong is the highest with 3, and most other sides are 1 or 2.

If you make the hard decision to take out 2 of Walters, Switta, Schultz, Freddy, then there is obviously more room for others (be it mids or medium forwards) and we would have a much better balanced side.

Using this (Your club's best 22 in 2023: Who's in, who's out, who's new) for the time being
Adelaide: 3 (Rachele, McAdam, Rankine)
Brisbane: 3 (Zorko, Bailey, Cameron)
Carlton: 4 (Durdin, Fisher, Owies, Motlop)
Collingwood: 3 (Ginnivan, Elliot, McCreery)
Essendon: 2 (Guefi, Caldwell) - I'd argue the fact they have only 2 small forwards in their best 22 and one is a mid is a pretty gigantic list ****-up
Geelong: 3 (Stengle, Close, Miers)
Gold Coast: 2 (Berry, Ainsworth) - I'd personally be stunned if Rosas isnt best 22 with Rankine leaving but what do I know
GWS: 3 (Bedford, Greene, Daniels) - Green plays both tall and small
Hawthorne: 3 (Wingard, Breust, Moore)
Melbourne: 2 (Pickett, ANB) - the close to 1 but I'd disagree Spargo is missing out anyway
North Melbourne: 1 (Curtis) - I dont think the worst team in the comp playing 1 small forward is a very good argument...
Port Adelaide: 3 (Rioli, Butters, SPP)
Richmond: 3 (Baker, Rioli, Bolton)
Saint Kilda: 3 (Owens, Gresham, Butler)
Sydney: 2 (Gulden, Papley)
West Coast: 1-3 (Ryan, Cripps, Petrucelle) probs various opinions on which of these, if any are small forwards. Think if we include Freddy, all three are "smalls"
Western Bulldogs: 3-4 (West, Weightman, Vandermeer, Duryea) Duryea plays both sides of the ground so dont know where you'd put him.

Overall, I think every good team bar Sydney play at least 3 smalls in some shape or form (though I'd argue you could include Hayward here) but only Carlton definitively play 4. You're probably have a point we play one small too many but I think it's a bit crazy to suggest dropping two of the names you mentioned in a forwardline that would have Jackson/Darcy, Fyfe, Amiss/Treacy and Tabs if you dropped just one small - that's plenty tall enough.

 

[pK75]

What makes it tough for team balance is persisting with 4 x small forwards. Geelong is the highest with 3, and most other sides are 1 or 2.

If you make the hard decision to take out 2 of Walters, Switta, Schultz, Freddy, then there is obviously more room for others (be it mids or medium forwards) and we would have a much better balanced side.

If you move Switta to a midfield role and Frederick to the HHF/3rd wing role Colyer played last year, you free up space for a 3rd tall forward.

 

[DragoDelph]

Back: young, walker, Pearce, Clark, Ryan & Cox
Mid: Darcy, Brodie, O’Meara, serong, Aish & nod
Fwd: Fyfe, Jackson, Taberner, walters, Fred, Schultz.
Interchange: amiss, brayshaw, switta, Chapman.

Missing: Treacy, Erasmus, Johnson, banfield

Next up; Wilson, Hughes, Wagner

No idea what the round 1 squad is going to look like, and no matter which way you slice it, there’ll be some unlucky players.