Training 2025 Off-Season & Preseason reports and discussion

[MazHawk]

Oh Impey seems like a total legend of a bloke. Can’t wait to see what he does post football. Actually yes I can. Impey for Norm Smith x 10

I've had the pleasure of talking to him a couple of times not about footy and he's the nicest young man you'd ever like to meet.

 

[LRobbo]

Impey is the nicest guy you’ll meet.

Was once in the barbershop at Waverley with my son asleep in the pram who would have been 4 months old.
Mid haircut he woke and started screaming, as I got up to the pram with half a fade on my head, Jars offered to rock the pram for me as I finished the haircut off.
He could have just sat there and kept to himself but he saw I was a little stressed and jumped in to help out.

I’ll never forget it

 

[matey]

Hawks star set to rejoin full training, goalsneak on the mend

Will Day's return from a complex collarbone injury is on track, while several other Hawks are building up from last season's setbacks

www.afl.com.au

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

“Hawthorn trained for more than two hours in 30-degree heat on Thursday, but one block stood out more than anything else. For more than five minutes, a full-ground drill was run in complete silence akin to a long tennis rally. When assistant coach David Hale blew the whistle, the same drill was run with the volume turned up. ”

Very interesting. Planning for gamestyle and plays to be first nature without communication or verbal direction.

 

[Roddy]

Hawks star set to rejoin full training, goalsneak on the mend

Will Day's return from a complex collarbone injury is on track, while several other Hawks are building up from last season's setbacks

www.afl.com.au

That's very close to a full pre-season he'll get. Set to explode, we've seen nowhere near his best so far.

 

[Argy]

“Hawthorn trained for more than two hours in 30-degree heat on Thursday, but one block stood out more than anything else. For more than five minutes, a full-ground drill was run in complete silence akin to a long tennis rally. When assistant coach David Hale blew the whistle, the same drill was run with the volume turned up. ”

Very interesting. Planning for gamestyle and plays to be first nature without communication or verbal direction.

I'm have a more optimistic take. Training for all those huge games we'll be in when the crowd makes it impossible to hear each other on the ground!

 

[Pinoy Hawk]

 

[Simon Crawshay]

I like the use of Weddle as a back up ruck. Reckon he'd be very good as a hybrid CHF / 2nd ruckman.

Boy our defense is going to be STACKED next year if Sicily plays most of the year down there with Battle and Barrass.

 

[Simon Crawshay]

Impey is the nicest guy you’ll meet.

Was once in the barbershop at Waverley with my son asleep in the pram who would have been 4 months old.
Mid haircut he woke and started screaming, as I got up to the pram with half a fade on my head, Jars offered to rock the pram for me as I finished the haircut off.
He could have just sat there and kept to himself but he saw I was a little stressed and jumped in to help out.

I’ll never forget it

Okay now I'm getting worried, Jars is just too nice!

What dark secret is he hiding

 

[Slainte]

I like the use of Weddle as a back up ruck. Reckon he'd be very good as a hybrid CHF / 2nd ruckman.

Boy our defense is going to be STACKED next year if Sicily plays most of the year down there with Battle and Barrass.

Weddle is listed at 191cm. Is that wrong? Seems about 5-8 cm undersized to play regular 2nd ruck. I know DonScott played 1st ruck at around Weddle's listed height but everyone was a lot shorter back then.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

I'm have a more optimistic take. Training for all those huge games we'll be in when the crowd makes it impossible to hear each other on the ground!

Its the same thing.

 

[Roddy]

I like the use of Weddle as a back up ruck. Reckon he'd be very good as a hybrid CHF / 2nd ruckman.

Boy our defense is going to be STACKED next year if Sicily plays most of the year down there with Battle and Barrass.

Impenetrable. I know what Sammy has said, and I hate to say it because I loved his 2024, but I can't help but think Frosty gets squeezed out. There is no imaginable way we can play Sic, Scrim, Barrass, Battle and Frosty in that same backline.

 

[perrdan86]

Weddle is listed at 191cm. Is that wrong? Seems about 5-8 cm undersized to play regular 2nd ruck. I know DonScott played 1st ruck at around Weddle's listed height but everyone was a lot shorter back then.

I don't think its such a big issue when he'd do most of his rucking vs the opposition back up ruck. Vs the oppo lead ruck might be a bit harder because of that height difference.

 

[perrdan86]

Impenetrable. I know what Sammy has said, and I hate to say it because I loved his 2024, but I can't help but think Frosty gets squeezed out. There is no imaginable way we can play Sic, Scrim, Barrass, Battle and Frosty in that same backline.

Frosty can play on smalls. Pretty sure he's had the Charlie Cameron job a couple of times. But, yeah, when you look at that line up it is quite tall.

 

[Blackhawk42]

“Hawthorn trained for more than two hours in 30-degree heat on Thursday, but one block stood out more than anything else. For more than five minutes, a full-ground drill was run in complete silence akin to a long tennis rally. When assistant coach David Hale blew the whistle, the same drill was run with the volume turned up. ”

Very interesting. Planning for gamestyle and plays to be first nature without communication or verbal direction.

We've done this at my footy club in pretty standard skills drills. It's incredibly strange, amd everybody automatically starts clapping at the ball carrier when they are the next ready to receive, even when we're told not to do that either.

Requires so much focus. Anybody nor switched on either breaks the rules or misreads the next chain.

 

[Simon Crawshay]

Weddle is listed at 191cm. Is that wrong? Seems about 5-8 cm undersized to play regular 2nd ruck. I know DonScott played 1st ruck at around Weddle's listed height but everyone was a lot shorter back then.

I think he's closer to 193cm these days. I think he could make it work in short stints in the ruck.

Tell you what though he'd absolutely run the opposition ruck into the ground.

 

[VandoHawk]

Weddle is listed at 191cm. Is that wrong? Seems about 5-8 cm undersized to play regular 2nd ruck. I know DonScott played 1st ruck at around Weddle's listed height but everyone was a lot shorter back then.

Weddle has a really good vertical which means he isn’t a pushover in the ruck.

I remember the game vs GWS where he was against Briggs because Reeves was injured. Briggs won more hitouts but wasn’t that clean due to Weddle competing. Weddle also absolutely torched him in general playing, running off him to link up and hit the scoreboard. Was specifically called out by Kingsley as a factor they couldn’t stop.

With a full preseason under Hale he could be a very damaging and unique ruck backup that rests at half-forward.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

The apparent breaking news from Herald Sun that Josh Weddle is doing some back up ruck drills is quite perplexing, considering that we saw him do this in multiple games in 2024.

 

[hawkman]

I like the use of Weddle as a back up ruck. Reckon he'd be very good as a hybrid CHF / 2nd ruckman.

Boy our defense is going to be STACKED next year if Sicily plays most of the year down there with Battle and Barrass.

Depends on the other ruck. Darcy monstered him a few times in the EF which forced Nash back into doing it in the 2nd half

 

[kazzooka]

I like the use of Weddle as a back up ruck. Reckon he'd be very good as a hybrid CHF / 2nd ruckman.

Boy our defense is going to be STACKED next year if Sicily plays most of the year down there with Battle and Barrass.

There was a moment against the dogs in the final when he was next to English at a boundary throw in on the back flank and then was able to just run freely after the stoppage and take a few bounces as English was 2 meters behind him after 1 step and the gap just got bigger. All the other dogs mids had other players to look after.

 

[SJT76]

Chol can take centre bounces. Nash and Weddle around the ground: Nash if we need the mature body, and Weddle in the 4th in particular

 

[TONYC3163]

I thought this was CJ until I checked closer.

 

[The Jet From Poowong]

I thought this was CJ until I checked closer.

What is it with the head accessories?
Is this a new gen craze or just designed to keep the hair out of the way like the shoe lace for soccer players.

 

[bigmaxi]

Weddle is listed at 191cm. Is that wrong? Seems about 5-8 cm undersized to play regular 2nd ruck. I know DonScott played 1st ruck at around Weddle's listed height but everyone was a lot shorter back then.

He has great standing leap on him and is a competitive beast. When he plays against oppo's second ruck he'll make a fist of it. I think Sam's plan is to have loads of options to swing around, eg: ruck as a back up we have Chol, Nash and Weddle. Hence the practice, will be fun to watch him at bounces/throw ins as a ruck/rover and sprint out of the pack ball in hand and burn up the grass.

 

[Newmo89]

Depends on the other ruck. Darcy monstered him a few times in the EF which forced Nash back into doing it in the 2nd half

Weddle last year was thrown into playing ruck against the Giants in Tassie when Reeves had back issues and Nash was playing on Green. All the work he did last year in the ruck was with minimal training - a few sessions here or there with Storm learning the basics.

It is fantastic that the club are putting extra time and effort into him becoming more accustomed with this role, especially if it is something we will see happening more and more throughout 2025.

Leaving nothing to chance with development is a massive tick for the coaching philosophy being employed.