Training 2024 Preseason reports and discussion

[phlogiston]

Well, this is the part where I would usually say something like, "Headed down to Waverley on a cool and overcast morning..."

However, I'm not going to say that because this post is to officially announce my retirement from preseason training. Back in January, we packed up and left Melbourne for good to relocate to my wife's hometown in the Riverina area of NSW. Yep, The_Axeman is now a country boy. I really should be changing my forum name to The_Chainsaw_Man because of the amount of time I now spend cutting wood for the heater... but I digress.

It was time for me to put away the training notepad/keyboard as 12 preseasons have taken a toll on the body. I'm in my late 40's and I just don't recover after each session as quickly as I used to. Over the last couple of preeasons there have been more and more watchers bringing high quality reports after each season. Are they as entertaining, thorough and well written as mine? Obviously not, don't be ridiculous, but they seem to temporarily quench the almost insatiable appetite for any morsel of training related info the rowdy mob here can get their hands on.

I must admit, I did contemplate continuing to write training reports after each session, completely made up, just to mess with all of you but I just can't be stuffed. I could go down and watch training at the local club here in my new hometown, then report back here but it just won't be the same. All the players will have names like 'Knackers', 'Wazza', 'Schmitty', 'Boofhead' etc. and they all have the same farm boy mullets. it will just get too difficult to tell who's who.

Anyway, I started doing this in late 2011 and haven't missed a preseason since. I've had a blast doing it and hopefully brought some joy and humour to your otherwise wretched, miserable lives. I've met some good people along the way and I will miss the camaraderie on those mornings down at Waverley. I like to think that I had a massive influence on the threepeat era, just by being there. My hope is that I may get to a session or two when I come down for work purposes in which case I will be sure to report back.

I also really want to thank my employer who, unbeknownst to them, allowed me to do this for 2 or 3 months of every year since 2011.

The_Axeman out.

Thanks The_Axeman for all of your devotion to attending and writing up those reports. You'll be missed, but you've done such a good job that there are people willing to step up and share as well.

It's people like you who make me proud to be a fan of this club, and who help make the fabric of the club. Enjoy the chainsaws.

 

[TylerDurden]

None of them are known for being good at applying pressure, this could be a issue for us again this season.

I don't think Hardwick is the answer to this problem in any way though. He's one of the best small defenders in the league. It's the epitome of robbing Peter to pay Paul. If we are going to move anyone then maybe Mitchell is an option, as he's very quick and is tenacious too.

Otherwise we just have to rely on Ginnivan, Watson, Butler and MacDonald improving their fitness and drive to apply defensive pressure.

You'll find outside of Kosi Pickett, not many teams have them.

The days of Cyril and Poppy are hard to replicate.

Luckily Wiz and Ginni are very young, and have time to build that into their game. Wiz is super fast, so it won't be too difficult for him.

 

[flinchfree]

Well, this is the part where I would usually say something like, "Headed down to Waverley on a cool and overcast morning..."

However, I'm not going to say that because this post is to officially announce my retirement from preseason training. Back in January, we packed up and left Melbourne for good to relocate to my wife's hometown in the Riverina area of NSW. Yep, The_Axeman is now a country boy. I really should be changing my forum name to The_Chainsaw_Man because of the amount of time I now spend cutting wood for the heater... but I digress.

It was time for me to put away the training notepad/keyboard as 12 preseasons have taken a toll on the body. I'm in my late 40's and I just don't recover after each session as quickly as I used to. Over the last couple of preeasons there have been more and more watchers bringing high quality reports after each season. Are they as entertaining, thorough and well written as mine? Obviously not, don't be ridiculous, but they seem to temporarily quench the almost insatiable appetite for any morsel of training related info the rowdy mob here can get their hands on.

I must admit, I did contemplate continuing to write training reports after each session, completely made up, just to mess with all of you but I just can't be stuffed. I could go down and watch training at the local club here in my new hometown, then report back here but it just won't be the same. All the players will have names like 'Knackers', 'Wazza', 'Schmitty', 'Boofhead' etc. and they all have the same farm boy mullets. it will just get too difficult to tell who's who.

Anyway, I started doing this in late 2011 and haven't missed a preseason since. I've had a blast doing it and hopefully brought some joy and humour to your otherwise wretched, miserable lives. I've met some good people along the way and I will miss the camaraderie on those mornings down at Waverley. I like to think that I had a massive influence on the threepeat era, just by being there. My hope is that I may get to a session or two when I come down for work purposes in which case I will be sure to report back.

I also really want to thank my employer who, unbeknownst to them, allowed me to do this for 2 or 3 months of every year since 2011.

The_Axeman out.

Not many write as engagingly as you have done......thank you for making my visits to bigfooty better.
I will toast you in Valhalla - or whatever podunk town you chose to live in when I next visit.

 

[Judd2Sewell]

If the Hardwick to the forward line move really does eventuate, it could also go hand-in-hand with the Amon to the HBF move.

 

[Judd2Sewell]

You'll find outside of Kosi Pickett, not many teams have them.

The days of Cyril and Poppy are hard to replicate.

Luckily Wiz and Ginni are very young, and have time to build that into their game. Wiz is super fast, so it won't be too difficult for him.

Yeah the F50 pressure generally comes down with the ball, that frontal pressure like Richmond and the Pies apply. It's not really coming from chase-down plays from behind. Last season we had neither though.

 

[TylerDurden]

Yeah the F50 pressure generally comes down with the ball, that frontal pressure like Richmond and the Pies apply. It's not really coming from chase-down plays from behind. Last season we had neither though.

I think we're better placed now.
Brocky never added to it either.

 

[I got the outside word]

YES!!

Can do. The Husqvarna is done for the year, but she'll be firing up again in autumn.

Don’t undo all the good you’ve done! Get yourself some Stihls, will change your life.

 

[flinchfree]

And we have so much of that??
What is wrong with the mark and kick style forward who knows how to defend. I don’t get it.

I reckon he looked lost and ineffectual the times we trialed him forward. Definitely did not have the toe to be damaging defensively.
Could things have changed? Maybe. He knows the game so much better he may be able to effect it in different ways.
Personally do not see the point.

 

[Judd2Sewell]

I think we're better placed now.
Brocky never added to it either.

All we need is for Lewis and Chol clunk most of their marks, and for the ones they don't Watson and Ginnivan will be front and centre. No need to apply forward pressure when you're just kicking goals.

 

[lyger]

You'll find outside of Kosi Pickett, not many teams have them.

The days of Cyril and Poppy are hard to replicate.

Luckily Wiz and Ginni are very young, and have time to build that into their game. Wiz is super fast, so it won't be too difficult for him.

And I think having two players (Wiz and Gianni) working tandem is helpful sharing the load and maintaining the pressure throughout.

 

[Big Booty]

Well, this is the part where I would usually say something like, "Headed down to Waverley on a cool and overcast morning..."

However, I'm not going to say that because this post is to officially announce my retirement from preseason training. Back in January, we packed up and left Melbourne for good to relocate to my wife's hometown in the Riverina area of NSW. Yep, The_Axeman is now a country boy. I really should be changing my forum name to The_Chainsaw_Man because of the amount of time I now spend cutting wood for the heater... but I digress.

It was time for me to put away the training notepad/keyboard as 12 preseasons have taken a toll on the body. I'm in my late 40's and I just don't recover after each session as quickly as I used to. Over the last couple of preeasons there have been more and more watchers bringing high quality reports after each season. Are they as entertaining, thorough and well written as mine? Obviously not, don't be ridiculous, but they seem to temporarily quench the almost insatiable appetite for any morsel of training related info the rowdy mob here can get their hands on.

I must admit, I did contemplate continuing to write training reports after each session, completely made up, just to mess with all of you but I just can't be stuffed. I could go down and watch training at the local club here in my new hometown, then report back here but it just won't be the same. All the players will have names like 'Knackers', 'Wazza', 'Schmitty', 'Boofhead' etc. and they all have the same farm boy mullets. it will just get too difficult to tell who's who.

Anyway, I started doing this in late 2011 and haven't missed a preseason since. I've had a blast doing it and hopefully brought some joy and humour to your otherwise wretched, miserable lives. I've met some good people along the way and I will miss the camaraderie on those mornings down at Waverley. I like to think that I had a massive influence on the threepeat era, just by being there. My hope is that I may get to a session or two when I come down for work purposes in which case I will be sure to report back.

I also really want to thank my employer who, unbeknownst to them, allowed me to do this for 2 or 3 months of every year since 2011.

The_Axeman o

Thanks for all you have done mate. Happy retirement!

 

[cs61]

We'll be in a better position to judge forward pressure this year with an actual forward structure. When the opposition's defence has a competitive advantage in the air, it is almost impossible to apply pressure. Those games we played tallest we put the most pressure on defences with our pressure, as we saw against Brisbane and Collingwood. That wasn't because Ryan, Lewis and Kosi were elite pressure forwards (Lewis isn't bad for a big guy mind you), but because since defence was put into awkward positions it was easier to follow up with collective pressure because they were having to defend. Darcy Moore

30

Darcy Moore

Age

28

Ht

203cm

Wt

100kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

11.1

3star

K

7.0

3star

HB

4.1

3star

M

4.8

5star

T

1.6

4star

MG

169.1

3star

D

13.9

3star

K

7.3

3star

HB

6.6

4star

M

4.9

5star

T

0.7

1star

MG

182.0

3star

D

6.8

2star

K

4.2

2star

HB

2.6

3star

M

2.6

3star

T

1.8

4star

MG

87.4

2star

had one of his worst games against us and wasn't because we were lacking in forward intensity.

We will rock Lewis, Chol, Gunston, and then occasionally Reeves and Ramsden to cause a mismatch, and then with Moore, CMac, Watson, Ginnivan at the feet both making them defend first and also with a focus on collective defence, I have no doubt we will cause more issues for opposition's defences compared to last year.

 

[TylerDurden]

We'll be in a better position to judge forward pressure this year with an actual forward structure. When the opposition's defence has a competitive advantage in the air, it is almost impossible to apply pressure. Those games we played tallest we put the most pressure on defences with our pressure, as we saw against Brisbane and Collingwood. That wasn't because Ryan, Lewis and Kosi were elite pressure forwards (Lewis isn't bad for a big guy mind you), but because since defence was put into awkward positions it was easier to follow up with collective pressure because they were having to defend. Darcy Moore had one of his worst games against us and wasn't because we were lacking in forward intensity.

We will rock Lewis, Chol, Gunston, and then occasionally Reeves and Ramsden to cause a mismatch, and then with Moore, CMac, Watson, Ginnivan at the feet both making them defend first and also with a focus on collective defence, I have no doubt we will cause more issues for opposition's defences compared to last year.

Correct. Plus we're more of a goal scoring threat, which makes defenders accountable.
Previously, they paid us no respect, and were off to the races predicting the turnover.

 

[dermott]

Players who are versatile enough to play multiple roles are valuable to coaches. Hardwick training with the right forwards may be just to familiarise him with the forward set up should Sam swing him forward.
He was moved forward a couple of times last year for short periods I recall.

 

[ViperV10]

Well, this is the part where I would usually say something like, "Headed down to Waverley on a cool and overcast morning..."

However, I'm not going to say that because this post is to officially announce my retirement from preseason training. Back in January, we packed up and left Melbourne for good to relocate to my wife's hometown in the Riverina area of NSW. Yep, The_Axeman is now a country boy. I really should be changing my forum name to The_Chainsaw_Man because of the amount of time I now spend cutting wood for the heater... but I digress.

It was time for me to put away the training notepad/keyboard as 12 preseasons have taken a toll on the body. I'm in my late 40's and I just don't recover after each session as quickly as I used to. Over the last couple of preeasons there have been more and more watchers bringing high quality reports after each season. Are they as entertaining, thorough and well written as mine? Obviously not, don't be ridiculous, but they seem to temporarily quench the almost insatiable appetite for any morsel of training related info the rowdy mob here can get their hands on.

I must admit, I did contemplate continuing to write training reports after each session, completely made up, just to mess with all of you but I just can't be stuffed. I could go down and watch training at the local club here in my new hometown, then report back here but it just won't be the same. All the players will have names like 'Knackers', 'Wazza', 'Schmitty', 'Boofhead' etc. and they all have the same farm boy mullets. it will just get too difficult to tell who's who.

Anyway, I started doing this in late 2011 and haven't missed a preseason since. I've had a blast doing it and hopefully brought some joy and humour to your otherwise wretched, miserable lives. I've met some good people along the way and I will miss the camaraderie on those mornings down at Waverley. I like to think that I had a massive influence on the threepeat era, just by being there. My hope is that I may get to a session or two when I come down for work purposes in which case I will be sure to report back.

I also really want to thank my employer who, unbeknownst to them, allowed me to do this for 2 or 3 months of every year since 2011.

The_Axeman out.

Thank you so much for the many insights you passed on. You're a true loss to those of us who cannot get to training.

Having grown up in the Riverina I wish you all the best. But not in a negative "The Riverina is a cesspool" way...it's just more Swans-focused than any sane person would dare want. I recall having to sit in the car and tune the radio to the only station covering our games (Magic) to pick-up many a Hawks game - because so often the Swans got precedence on the TV, and in the late 90s we always seemed to play on Sundays at the same time as them. That said, there are rarely matches on at the same time nowadays, and, well...there's always Kayo (in all its glitchy, frustratingly unreliable glory).

Go well, The_Axeman .

 

[The Spirit of Cricket]

Yeah the F50 pressure generally comes down with the ball, that frontal pressure like Richmond and the Pies apply. It's not really coming from chase-down plays from behind. Last season we had neither though.

You can also do it through just having excellent structure behind the ball so when their HBs look to transition there's no obvious first option, they slow down and pressure is created

 

[barbster]

If the Hardwick to the forward line move really does eventuate, it could also go hand-in-hand with the Amon to the HBF move.

Doesn’t make much sense. I was all for Hardwick to be trialled as a forward last year, and he did show a bit when thrown up there in the first game against Essendon, but then the move was abandoned. Now that we have recruited a plethora of forwards there is really no need for him to reinvent himself as a forward. He is a premium back pocket player and should remain that for the rest of his career. The same goes with Amon, he is a premium wing and we are in dire need of good wings, so don’t understand the idea of him playing HBF when we already have so many options.

 

[CaptainWorpedo]

Off season sucked as it was, even more so with out the axe man

 

[Slainte]

I reckon he looked lost and ineffectual the times we trialed him forward. Definitely did not have the toe to be damaging defensively.
Could things have changed? Maybe. He knows the game so much better he may be able to effect it in different ways.
Personally do not see the point.

Sam values versatility. I think it most likely that Hardwick is training with the forwards to sharpen up his skills so that if he is swung forward he does not look lost and ineffectual. I expect his default position to remain the back pocket.

 

[Topiary]

All we need is for Lewis and Chol clunk most of their marks, and for the ones they don't Watson and Ginnivan will be front and centre. No need to apply forward pressure when you're just kicking goals.

We know it does not work like that.

 

[threesixpio]

Off season sucked as it was, even more so with out the axe man

FPs does alright

 

[Mr Meeseeks]

I can’t wait to see Ginni and the Wiz carve it up, but the fact that after this he chose to wear riding silks to mad Monday shows he probably needs to mature a bit.

Well yeah, no shit, hes 20!

Sent from my SM-G990E using Tapatalk

 

[badgrill]

I would never call him slow.

well not to his face!

 

[HawthornHawk]

Blanck looking massive

 

[cs61]

Think the Hardwick training forward stuff is indicative of the fact Sam going to have a lot of players training dual positions. Hardwick already was moved further up the ground last year when he didn't have a lockdown job, and he looked dangerous with his field kicking, but still we called on him to completely shut down players as well.

The half backs will become so flexible we will find it hard to figure out who our wings are a lot of the time. Impey, Amon, Jiath, Weddle, Mitchell (and BMac as per the T4P might be a darkhorse)... I can see them being all being thrown further up the ground at times on the wing, with high rotations between half back.

I expect our point of difference to other sides is our hard running ability, and also depth in the midfield and half backs, and to exploit that we'll develop a really flexible, unpredictable 23.