Training 2024 training updates.

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Bloody blanket of grey clouds on yet another summer's day in Melbourne! I longed for a hot sunny summer all year. :(
Maybe next time.
The sun is shining now. Get outside and enjoy it.
 

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Agreed. That is the only slight on Leon - his performance in finals was sub-par by his standards.
I don't think that is quite right. He played a brilliant final against Port Adelaide in Adelaide one year which won us the match. Forward is the hardest position to play in finals because the pressure is so much greater. I think Leon was mostly a good finals player until his body started to give out in 2010. Then they turned him into a backline player.
 
From Side by Side another report but I am annoyed to hear about Covid hurting us again.

Think grey cloud clothed the sky and a moderately chilly wind saw the spectators drawing more from their winter wardrobe, though the majority of the spectators were clad in their black and white gear anyway. At least the distant buildings were visible, having been spectral figures in last Wednesday’s misty rain. Fortunately, towards the end of the session, the ground was bathed in sunshine The ground looked in immaculate condition and the track abutting it has dried out. Today the strong smell of liniment wafting from the rooms provoked sensory overload of the olfactory receptors.



The first to emerge from change-rooms was Josh Eyre at 9.38 and he practised kicking with a trainer until he was joined by a few others headlined by Moore and the rest of the SSP crew. David King was overseeing our training again today.



The roll call saw a few absentees today. Elliott, Crisp, Dean, Checkers and Kreuger did not grace the arena, though Brody and Jack were seen leaving headquarters as most of their teammates were beginning training. It seems that COVID has reared its ugly head again.

In terms of the infirmary, Josh Daicos was there along with Jakob Ryan. Josh came out and did some aggressive forward kicking and limbering up, while Ryan initially came out in casual gear, but later donned some training gear. He did not do anything too taxing today but as yet his niggle, or full-blown injury has not been ascertained. Maynard briefly joined those on lighter duties after all the main drills, but reconnected with his teammates for match simulation. Ditto Joe Richards who spent some time at the River End working with a trainer and shooting for goal but he later rejoined mainstream training. Eyre came to the boundary after his desultory kicking routine for some massaging by a trainer, primarily on his right shin.



Additionally, Murphy left the oval with a trainer at 10.28 albeit moving freely and returned after about twenty minutes and undertook some sprinting in the middle oval sandwiched between multiple activities. Thankfully he fully participated in match simulation later in the session. Similarly, Howe ran off, seemingly unhindered but later re-entered the fray looking in rude health.



As training began, McRae again made his way up the lengthy line thronging the pavilion side and obligingly signed autographs and posed for photographs. He asked the children questions regarding their schools and holidays. He amusingly quipped that he was “signing his wrinkly neck”, when a fan proffered a photo of some post-GF celebrations.

When training proper commenced it was a veritable palimpsest of previous warm-ups with the forming of three groups for some close-in skills, tacking drills fortified by the use of the bags, ground ball retrieval, with the players on the far side engaged in consolidating their limbering up routines through the high knee lifts and other sundry movements.



Thereafter four groups formed and around this time (10.01) McStay emerged to undertake some handballing and kicking for goal on his non-preferred foot with a trainer.

In these four stations, the vests came out to divide the players into two teams and judging by the vocal instructions from the coaches, to imbue them with a more competitive spirit. Tackling was heavily emphasised in three of the groups and there were clearly audible, some including “Stand closer to the man on the mark to make kicking harder!” There were mini-contests in each station and coaches would bark “Yellow is now offensive, yellow is now defensive” etc. This helped create the complexion of the contests between these mini-teams.

It was also interesting to hear a player called ‘soft’ when he couldn’t lay a tackle during one of those drills. Allan’s speed and elusiveness was impressive at times during these activities.



At one point at one of the stations, players were told to “Lift their voices” and sometimes various instructions differed as groups rotated through these stations. “Reset” was also part of the constant soundscape accompanying all these drills. Sometimes they were told “The shape looks good.”



Cox appeared to be bending more flexibly and with greater comfort today during the drills.



After a break to soothe the parched throats, Roughead addressed the group and outlined the next phase of today’s training.



Following this there were two main groups – one at the John Cain Arena end, with the other stationed on the outer side of the ground.

It was instructive to listen to Selwood urging his troops on at the former activity. It was extremely competitive which Scott was aiding and abetting. The players were in two teams and he was coaxing them to display the bravura which has stood us in good stead over the past two seasons. As one team passed around their teammates to find the optimal targets, Selwood would scream “Finish” when the ball got in the hands of someone close to goal. Once Beau, defied this instruction and shovelled off to Reef who converted truly. As soon as a score occurred, the ball had to move swiftly out of defence to begin the chain again.



The players than indulged in a more casual version of whole ground movement but like Friday, there was an emphasis on taller players punching the ball clear to roaming smaller, speedier types who were meant to pounce on the ball taking it forward with celerity.



Then all convened in the middle, a board was held aloft and match simulation begun. It certainly looked sparser today with the reduced numbers. It was blacks versus whites, sans the usual bench of resting players. It was quite willing at times, ragged at others, but this aspect of training is gradually being ramped up.

Thereafter there was some more drill work with the vests returning to help differentiate the players.



And just to round off the menu there were three groups – blacks, whites and yellow and in order to strengthen our endurance as well as honing our skills and competitive instincts, the three rotated through two activities. One was another match simulation which only took place between the wings in a narrow area with two poles at either end constituting the goals; the other was more sprinting between cones with this group then polishing their goal-kicking skills. It was another longish session.



Random observations of players:



Reef is shaping up very well. He was noteworthy in both the drills and match simulation for his attack on the ball, his speed which verified his draft camp results, and marking prowess. If he stays fit he has to be the frontrunner for Dan’s spot.

Sofrinidis was not quite the wallflower of erstwhile sessions, involving himself more in the match simulation over the whole ground and the truncated model. He was part of handball chains and spoiled but he seemed to incur the wrath of Moore when he looked as if he ducked his head during a contest when the aforementioned effected a spoil. The conversation went on for a few minutes.



Ash was notable in the second simulation, making position well and dobbing some majors. He is moving well and looks very fit.



Steene did some good things, taking some marks and kicking a goal and he impresses as big man depth.



Beau looks in mint condition and his speed at times is breathtaking. He’s been reading the play well from spillages and is running on to the pill, collecting and leaving others in his wake. He has chalked up a number of goals.


. Eyre’s left foot is such a weapon. The ball just sizzles with a flat trajectory off his boot and his marking remains solid.



Harry is fitting in well, using his speed to advantage at times and developing in confidence as he feels more cemented within the group.

Cameron’s sticky hands were in evidence again as he clunked a mark in a vice like grip and duly converted in match simulation.



Nick and Mitch continue running tirelessly, linking up with skill and showcasing their nous in nailing decisions by hand and foot.



The other SSP candidates competed in match simulation and Teakle looked good at times. Today’s match play was a bit lower key due to the number of absentees.



JDG continues to impress, especially with his brute strength, while another ball of muscle – Schultz, nicknamed Shooter, weaved between traffic at times and he keeps running.



Hill’s body of work is elite. It is amazing the way he can compete for a mark and then follow up with speed to the next contest. He loves the match play more than the arduous running sessions
 

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Can't get an accurate weather forecast for a week out, but a climate model for the next 50 years is absolutely 'solid' when justifying billions of doallrs of policy on!? Make it make sense....
I've been saying for years - don't buy a house as you can't get an accurate prediction of what it'll be worth in 50 years...
 
The training reports to date suggest that this is the year of the M(a)c’s.

Macrae, McInnes & McCreery. Lookout.


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com
All graduates from our Scottish draft (2020) - only Mc from that draft who didn't play AFL is McMahon
 
Annabelle never fails to impress with her obscure use of the English language,the latest example being palimpsest.What the hell is that?🤔But otherwise her training reports are very informative..
English teachers for you haha Makes us learn a bit more.
 
I’d love for Fin to take a huge step forward this year, really love the look of him as a player and feel he could be the Pendles mid replacement moving forward. We go from Gooey, Nicky D and Pendles to Gooey, Nicky D and Pendles-lite would be a fine mid core transition.
 
I appreciate the effort Annabelle makes to give us something outside the usual restricted vocabulary of football reports. It is not easy to express the same old ideas in a different way. Palimpsest is a bit of a strain though. It is a document with new text written over a previous, usually unrelated, document. (as in a biblical text from the middle ages written over a work from classical Greece - there is a great book about called the Archimedes Palimpsest).I struggled to apply it to the report. Even though her use of words can be a bit forced, the whole exercise is one that I think is very worthwhile, and I hope she can find the will to continue for a long while yet.
 
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