Training 2024 Preseason reports and discussion

[kazzooka]

Slick slick slick today.

Anyone thinking Mass is not a lock keep dreaming. Have not seen a better field kick for distance and punch since Guerra.

Gunners Mabior Amon and Noodles doing the running away from the group. All 4 will be back in full training first session after chrissy.

Evident- Frenchy Denver and Wardy have stepped things right up with noise and direction. All 3 are super fit.

CJ is looking really sharp.

McCabe when he fills out across his chest will be a monster but is already super competitive in the air against bigger opponents.

Hardwick Wiz Moorey and Ginni all playing inside 50. We could potentially have the smallest forward set up of all time this year in some games.

I was super impressed today. We looked very sharp.

Why would Massimo be a lock for us but wasn't at Essendon?

 

[DogDaySonny]

Mass won't be a lock unless the other areas of the game are up to scratch

 

[Baz_hawk]

Why would Massimo be a lock for us but wasn't at Essendon?

Probably because he pulled stunts like this:

Massimo D'Ambrosio | AFL

Follow Massimo D'Ambrosio's progress through AFL

www.essendonfc.com.au

 

[DogDaySonny]

Why would Massimo be a lock for us but wasn't at Essendon?

Moore cut, three seasons later is vice captain. Nash nearly cut, two seasons later midfield bull.


Some coaches and organisations are better than others. Facts. It’s why the good ones are hard to get and get paid the big bucks.

 

[Lickmesocks]

Where do you reckon Mass is going to line-up? I presume BP if Hardwick is now moving forward?

Ward and Frenchy looked to be in perfect condition. Ward looks bigger to me, whilst Frenchy has seemingly trimmed right down, he looks real lean and fit. Cannot wait to see them in action.

Mass will be back 50 and will become our go to man to kick the ball out after a behind.

I have been screaming this for years that having a designated kicker and tactics to break through a team press from a kick out will win a team a premiership, yet I don’t see any great advances.

During a game there is so many 50/50 contests that can be determined on the bounce of a ball, yet a kick out 10-15 times a game is the one time you own the footy and have 25 metres of space and time to make a decision. Unfortunately, I still see too much of stop, hold, wait for the ump to yell at the player to kick and then the player not even using the space he is allocated, kicks it to 55 out and a huge pack and a stoppage. Crazy stuff.

I hope Mass becomes our Guerra who can open things up for us by foot and turn defence into attack for us.

 

[Lickmesocks]

Thanks for the update!

Mass won't be a lock unless the other areas of the game are up to scratch, but it's a fantastic weapon to have if and when he gets his opportunity.
Considering how he was drafted he probably has oodles of development left in him, so his early form (likely at Box Hill) will be a close watch.

Round 1

 

[hawkinoz]

Hardwick Wiz Moorey and Ginni all playing inside 50. We could potentially have the smallest forward set up of all time this year in some games.

I was super impressed today. We looked very sharp.

Can't wait to see Wiz run into spaces like this

 

[cryptor]

Mass will be back 50 and will become our go to man to kick the ball out after a behind.

I have been screaming this for years that having a designated kicker and tactics to break through a team press from a kick out will win a team a premiership, yet I don’t see any great advances.

During a game there is so many 50/50 contests that can be determined on the bounce of a ball, yet a kick out 10-15 times a game is the one time you own the footy and have 25 metres of space and time to make a decision. Unfortunately, I still see too much of stop, hold, wait for the ump to yell at the player to kick and then the player not even using the space he is allocated, kicks it to 55 out and a huge pack and a stoppage. Crazy stuff.

I hope Mass becomes our Guerra who can open things up for us by foot and turn defence into attack for us.

Massimo and Amon playing off half back should go some way to freeing Sicily up. It became a bit of a no brainer decision to play a defensive forward on Sicily last season. He'll probably still be the first one opposition coaches look to shutdown given how well rounded and impactful his game is, but it shouldn't hinder our rebounding ability anywhere near as much with multiple other outlet options available.

 

[Topiary]

Mass will be back 50 and will become our go to man to kick the ball out after a behind.

I have been screaming this for years that having a designated kicker and tactics to break through a team press from a kick out will win a team a premiership, yet I don’t see any great advances.

During a game there is so many 50/50 contests that can be determined on the bounce of a ball, yet a kick out 10-15 times a game is the one time you own the footy and have 25 metres of space and time to make a decision. Unfortunately, I still see too much of stop, hold, wait for the ump to yell at the player to kick and then the player not even using the space he is allocated, kicks it to 55 out and a huge pack and a stoppage. Crazy stuff.

I hope Mass becomes our Guerra who can open things up for us by foot and turn defence into attack for us.

Sam wants to use the kicking of Mass to advantage. Don’t know where but I like what Lickmesocks is saying. I definitely like Dimma playing forward.

 

[Blackhawk42]

Round 1

Plenty can change between now and then of course (injuries, form etc) but I don't personally see where he currently fits into our best side.

Felt like a Lachie Bramble replacement when we acquired him, but potentially with a much higher ceiling.

Likely one of Mackenzie, Watson, Jiath or Scrimshaw would need to be left out for Mass to play round 1, and for now I just don't see that happening.

 

[Slainte]

Can't wait to see Wiz run into spaces like this

Decent handball indeed - that was a sensational hand ball.

 

[Newmo89]

Last main training session of the pre Christmas period today with the players in tomorrow but a lighter session.
Huge running session to finish off, running 150's and needing to beat 20 seconds each time. Blanck, DGB and Tucker all worked hard in these but fell away as the running component continued
While the players finished off with the running, Weddle was doing some marking and kicking with Zane Littlejohn
Match simulation - Hardwick forward, CJ wing, Ward inside midfield minutes
Rehab group today were Reeves, Chol, Gunners, Karl and Shammy.
Morrison ran laps and did some work on the stationary bike.
Lots of match simulation throughout - Ratts said that Ward was quieter today but has had a ripping pre season and commented on the fitness of a group as a whole.
DGB in match simulation played both forward and back
Jai Serong looked good in the match simulations
Max Ramsden is an athletic freak and will be beating the door down for a spot in the starting 22
No Nick Watson today, he was sick
No Sam Mitchell as training, he is on a study holiday according to Hick
Ned Maginness trained with the team, his running power was a real highlight
Interviewed Butsy post training session for TH - said that competition for spots is pushing players and that this pre season it is more about building fitness and expectations as we want to be winning games rather than just developing.

 

[Fetnarr]

Mass will be back 50 and will become our go to man to kick the ball out after a behind.

I have been screaming this for years that having a designated kicker and tactics to break through a team press from a kick out will win a team a premiership, yet I don’t see any great advances.

During a game there is so many 50/50 contests that can be determined on the bounce of a ball, yet a kick out 10-15 times a game is the one time you own the footy and have 25 metres of space and time to make a decision. Unfortunately, I still see too much of stop, hold, wait for the ump to yell at the player to kick and then the player not even using the space he is allocated, kicks it to 55 out and a huge pack and a stoppage. Crazy stuff.

I hope Mass becomes our Guerra who can open things up for us by foot and turn defence into attack for us.

I remember Seamus took a kick in against GWS hit the short target, followed up received and hit the next on the wing/half forward. Absolutely opened them up. For the rest of the game Sic and Hardwick kicked in, each one was a 50-60 metre kick to a pack that came straight back in. I reckon it was Seamus first or second game and can’t remember him doing it again for the season.
I’m all for both Mass and Seamus getting their hands on the pill and slicing teams open


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

 

[Bee Dee 63]

Sam wants to use the kicking of Mass to advantage. Don’t know where but I like what Lickmesocks is saying. I definitely like Dimma playing forward.

Dimma up forward has almost been forgotten.
He is the one player I'm most excited about seeing next year, and I think he might be the 'recruit of the season' up forward.

He has so far been untried at AFL level, but was literally the most effective forward in his draft year by a mile.
It's not unreasonable to think that it could be his best position, but due to his success as a defender, the move was never made.

For sure he will bring defensive pressure to the forward line. He has the forward craft knowledge. I'm excited!

 

[Bugs1977]

Probably because he pulled stunts like this:

Massimo D'Ambrosio | AFL

Follow Massimo D'Ambrosio's progress through AFL

www.essendonfc.com.au

This cracked me up the fact that this made it to the the * home page

 

[TheFourPillars]

Last main training session of the pre Christmas period today with the players in tomorrow but a lighter session.
Huge running session to finish off, running 150's and needing to beat 20 seconds each time. Blanck, DGB and Tucker all worked hard in these but fell away as the running component continued
While the players finished off with the running, Weddle was doing some marking and kicking with Zane Littlejohn
Match simulation - Hardwick forward, CJ wing, Ward inside midfield minutes
Rehab group today were Reeves, Chol, Gunners, Karl and Shammy.
Morrison ran laps and did some work on the stationary bike.
Lots of match simulation throughout - Ratts said that Ward was quieter today but has had a ripping pre season and commented on the fitness of a group as a whole.
DGB in match simulation played both forward and back
Jai Serong looked good in the match simulations
Max Ramsden is an athletic freak and will be beating the door down for a spot in the starting 22
No Nick Watson today, he was sick
No Sam Mitchell as training, he is on a study holiday according to Hick
Ned Maginness trained with the team, his running power was a real highlight
Interviewed Butsy post training session for TH - said that competition for spots is pushing players and that this pre season it is more about building fitness and expectations as we want to be winning games rather than just developing.

Karl and Shammy did most of the drills and played the intras as well. Shammy did come to the tent for some attention but went back

 

[peetoo]

This cracked me up the fact that this made it to the the * home page

View attachment 1874177

Same for cooper Stephens

 

[burner1]

Last main training session of the pre Christmas period today with the players in tomorrow but a lighter session.
Huge running session to finish off, running 150's and needing to beat 20 seconds each time. Blanck, DGB and Tucker all worked hard in these but fell away as the running component continued
While the players finished off with the running, Weddle was doing some marking and kicking with Zane Littlejohn
Match simulation - Hardwick forward, CJ wing, Ward inside midfield minutes
Rehab group today were Reeves, Chol, Gunners, Karl and Shammy.
Morrison ran laps and did some work on the stationary bike.
Lots of match simulation throughout - Ratts said that Ward was quieter today but has had a ripping pre season and commented on the fitness of a group as a whole.
DGB in match simulation played both forward and back
Jai Serong looked good in the match simulations
Max Ramsden is an athletic freak and will be beating the door down for a spot in the starting 22
No Nick Watson today, he was sick
No Sam Mitchell as training, he is on a study holiday according to Hick
Ned Maginness trained with the team, his running power was a real highlight
Interviewed Butsy post training session for TH - said that competition for spots is pushing players and that this pre season it is more about building fitness and expectations as we want to be winning games rather than just developing.

Thanks for the report.
What sort of role is Serong playing? Has he bulked up at all?
And Ramsden? (Fwd or ruck?)

 

[brad sue well]

Hardwick is severely underrated and think should be aiming for years of AA if a defender. Improving his set up play kicking only? Not that it’s bad. I think we have had decent small defenders for years so forget how good he has been and important the role is.

Still excited to see him forward as a lead up forward pocket is what he was at under 18.

Flexibility from he and Sicily if it comes off would be pretty amazing. A bit like that WC player 20 years ago when thrown forward in big games, Adam Hunter

Adam Hunter

Age

43

Ht

190cm

Wt

90kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

14.4

4star

K

7.2

3star

HB

7.2

4star

M

5.1

5star

T

2.0

4star

No current season stats available

D

8.0

2star

K

3.8

2star

HB

4.2

4star

M

1.8

2star

T

2.6

4star

.

 

[burner1]

Dimma up forward has almost been forgotten.
He is the one player I'm most excited about seeing next year, and I think he might be the 'recruit of the season' up forward.

He has so far been untried at AFL level, but was literally the most effective forward in his draft year by a mile.
It's not unreasonable to think that it could be his best position, but due to his success as a defender, the move was never made.

For sure he will bring defensive pressure to the forward line. He has the forward craft knowledge. I'm excited!

The pies did well having a mix of small forward types - Elliot (marking), mccreery (pressure, size) Hill (speed) + ginnivan.

Hardwick up forward gives us something we don’t have. A genuine small/mid sized marking target. He’s a beast 1:1 in a marking contest.

 

[Newmo89]

Karl and Shammy did most of the drills and played the intras as well. Shammy did come to the tent for some attention but went back

Shammy also spent a fair portion of the time doing running and watched on during the 150s at the end

 

[Newmo89]

Thanks for the report.
What sort of role is Serong playing? Has he bulked up at all?
And Ramsden? (Fwd or ruck?)

Ramsden was competing against Meek/Tucker during match simulation. Serong was playing as a key back

 

[smish]

Ramsden was competing against Meek/Tucker during match simulation. Serong was playing as a key back

Who was Serong playing on? Was he a 2nd tall?

 

[Newmo89]

Who was Serong playing on? Was he a 2nd tall?

At one stage Serong was lining up on DGB in the match simulation.

 

[Judd2Sewell]

Mass will be back 50 and will become our go to man to kick the ball out after a behind.

I have been screaming this for years that having a designated kicker and tactics to break through a team press from a kick out will win a team a premiership, yet I don’t see any great advances.

During a game there is so many 50/50 contests that can be determined on the bounce of a ball, yet a kick out 10-15 times a game is the one time you own the footy and have 25 metres of space and time to make a decision. Unfortunately, I still see too much of stop, hold, wait for the ump to yell at the player to kick and then the player not even using the space he is allocated, kicks it to 55 out and a huge pack and a stoppage. Crazy stuff.

I hope Mass becomes our Guerra who can open things up for us by foot and turn defence into attack for us.

I reckon Mass has to become a viable defender defensively before he's given the keys to be a defensive playmaker.

Sounds like Amon may be moved to the HBF, which to me suggests he's going to be given a licence to run. Add Mitchell and Weddle (and CJ too if he's not moved into a wing?) to that and we have multiple defenders who are going to be aggressive offensively. Not sure where the balance lies with Sicily and potentially Scrimshaw in the line-up too.

Though if we do find that balance we may end up with (probably) the most skilful kicking side in the league - Mackenzie, Sicily, Mass, Moore, Ward, Scrimshaw, Newcombe, Day, Amon, Watson are all very good to elite level kicks.