Training 2025 Off-Season & Preseason reports and discussion

[Dewwwww]

Good to Hear Ward / MacKenzie (and Huss) are having good sessions so far.

Battle / Barrass will come in and shore up our defence.

However during our Semi Final our midfield just seemed to lack that class running through it. Day will fix this however I feel we need at least one of Ward / MacKenzie to turn into an A grader and play the role that Ashcroft plays at Brisbane

 

[SSSSSS]

Good to Hear Ward / MacKenzie (and Huss) are having good sessions so far.

Battle / Barrass will come in and shore up our defence.

However during our Semi Final our midfield just seemed to lack that class running through it. Day will fix this however I feel we need at least one of Ward / MacKenzie to turn into an A grader and play the role that Ashcroft plays at Brisbane

Croc looks like he is killing it.

Could see him rotating into the midfield more next year. I think Frenchy would be excellent as that high half forward. His delivery inside 50 is a difference maker.

 

[TheFourPillars]

One more thing i have noticed the commando style push ups are back if the players **** up. It can be the whole group or a group doing a particular drill

 

[matey]

If your house backs onto Bunjil Bagora, expect footballs in your garden.

If you trespass in people's back gardens, expect to get yelled at.

I regret nothing!

And for any of those residence directly behind goals …….. not very smart to leave glass bottles/cups etc on the outdoor table/furniture!

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

And for any of those residence directly behind goals …….. not very smart to leave glass bottles/cups etc on the outdoor table/furniture!

Or in the case of one of Battles checksides from the boundary, it’s not smart to leave your balcony sliding door open either….

 

[H00t]

Lets not forget HH's debut game.

15 disposals, 5 tackles and 2 goals Vs Melbourne shows the lad can play at the highest level.

His height is a factor that is to his advantage, as is his super quick hands.

Henry has a very bright AFL future - whether it is with us is another question.

Like Finn, Harry and Jai, they are too good to spend another year in the VFL - other clubs will be asking the question you'd think, regardless of contract status.

Young players will wait for an opportunity, but not for ever.

All 4 would be a lock in the bottom 3 sides.

His tackling and ball use was on show in that game. Which is something he does really well.

Problem is in all of his AFL games and at VFL level as well he doesn’t get enough of the ball and he can’t apply enough defensive pressure to make up for it.

Harry, Jai, Finn and Ward as well have definitely shown they are above VFL level when they not been in the AFL team. For mine Henry hasn’t done that. He hasn’t performed at a level where he is demanding to get picked.

For Henry if he wants to get games he needs to be dominating week in week out at VFL level. Otherwise we simply have too many players that will get picked ahead of him.

If he waits for an opportunity it will likely never come. He has to make it happen.

 

[becalm]

Can someone please give a report on Reeves? Has his training show improvement in his tank or the new ruck rule?

 

[daniel23]

I hope we persist with hustwaite he does so much right. Maybe playing a more outside role this pre season unlocks his ability to win more easy ball.

For track watchers how is seamus looking? Bit of a forgotten man , at his best I still think he's a weapon for us.

 

[parsons nose]

Hot day, session didn’t go a minute after 11am, but a few stayed out to do some extras.

Lots of full contact drills up one end, with plenty of voice, celebrations, yahooing and general good vibes. 3 groups, with 1 alternating between each pocket at all times and no real rest period for anyone. Ball ups, contests, snaps at goal, switch sides and go again.
A few little wrestling matches between players who didn’t like the contact so much, but nothing that was much more than a 5 second push and shove.

Pretty much everyone accounted for out on the park or watching on from upstairs apart from Frosty and Punk.

They did the silent disco drill again today. Hick blew a whistle, and then the three separate groups(pink, green, yellow) all working a ball each around in circle work style went completely mute and the play continued without a hitch.

Skills were very good again today, despite the windy conditions and heat which started to take hold by the second half of the session.

Players that took my eye today were Day, Frenchy, Ward, Jars, Hustwaite, Moorey and Wiz.

Day streaming through the middle, sidestepping(wrong footing his oppo) and delivering to the leading forward, was something we missed in the last month of footy. He’s looking good.

Moorey does everything at 110%. Just the ultimate professional.

Frenchy and Wardy both looking like complete players. Very assured in the contest, great footskills and like Moorey both train like they play.

Hustwaite delivering bullet passes inside 50 to the chest of a forward after collecting the ball in the contest on the flank and shimmying around a couple was good to see, not once but twice.

Wiz only did half the session before taking a breather, but what he did do was typical wiz. Hit the ball at pace, whether it was coming above his head or at his feet. Electric player.

One last thing… I’m not sure I saw Battle or Barrass lose a one-on-one all session, and they just continued to be nuisances in the drills where the goal was to pinpoint a forward deep. Even when there was some drills up on the wing, where the object was to pinpoint a midfielder who had made space Barass was getting in the way and picking off the intercept.
That’s going to be fun to watch in 2025.

The skills and the general vibe of the group is up at the moment, that’s for sure.

Thanks for the report SYL. A lot on here have him (Barass) pegged as the reincarnation of Lake. I’ve gone back and had a look at some of his games for west coast and he’s more Gibson than Lake. He has that uncanny knack of floating across a pack to get a fist in and he works off his opponent.

 

[Roddy]

I feel like the one and only area of concern is key forwards. The backline is starting to resemble the Three Gorges Dam, the midfield has a ripping juxtaposition of class, run and grunt and has ever-growing depth as youngsters develop, and our small forwards are bountiful.

Which leaves tall forwards: Mitchy is half a season off, maybe slightly less, and is scarily injury-prone, Calsher’s going to be a superstar but is still a teenager, as I said elsewhere, I love Cholly but I feel he’s operating at somewhere close to capacity, and Scaife is a year or two off.

Reasonable summation?

 

[cryptor]

Thanks for the report SYL. A lot on here have him (Barass) pegged as the reincarnation of Lake. I’ve gone back and had a look at some of his games for west coast and he’s more Gibson than Lake. He has that uncanny knack of floating across a pack to get a fist in and he works off his opponent.

Gibson was a far better player than Lake during the threepeat anyway. The fact Lake won a Norm Smith and his tenure at Hawthorn matched perfectly with the three premierships I think skews the perception somewhat.

People tend to forget that Lake, as good as he was and could be, did spend a lot of time out injured and in the red vest, which sometimes worked in our favour given his propensity to give away braindead frees and audition for the MRP.

Gibson 2/3 PCMs in those threepeat years and probably could have gone 3/3 if it weren't for missing 8 games with injury in the middle of 2014. A highly underrated star that should be spoken about more tbh.

 

[Hawked Wings]

I still cant believe we have Barrass. If he had played 10 years at a vic club then he’d be spoken about so much more.
Gun

 

[hawkman]

One last thing… I’m not sure I saw Battle or Barrass lose a one-on-one all session, and they just continued to be nuisances in the drills where the goal was to pinpoint a forward deep. Even when there was some drills up on the wing, where the object was to pinpoint a midfielder who had made space Barass was getting in the way and picking off the intercept.

Who were they competing against?

 

[Simon Crawshay]

Gibson was a far better player than Lake during the threepeat anyway. The fact Lake won a Norm Smith and his tenure at Hawthorn matched perfectly with the three premierships I think skews the perception somewhat.

People tend to forget that Lake, as good as he was and could be, did spend a lot of time out injured and in the red vest, which sometimes worked in our favour given his propensity to give away braindead frees and audition for the MRP.

Gibson 2/3 PCMs in those threepeat years and probably could have gone 3/3 if it weren't for missing 8 games with injury in the middle of 2014. A highly underrated star that should be spoken about more tbh.

I have Gibbo up there with Sicily as the ultimate two way defensive / offensive mid sized backman. Those two are the only back men I've ever seen who are/were able to nullify the oppositions key forward whilst also getting 25+ possessions and 15 marks.

Lake was pretty good for us though, brain fades and all. Brian had the best set of hands I think I've ever seen when it came to marking a high pack ball.

 

[Dewnior]

Outstanding

Agree, but I can't take kudos for it. I can't remember which poster originally introduced the new hand measure.

 

[Roger Rogerson]

Can someone please give a report on Reeves? Has his training show improvement in his tank or the new ruck rule?

He looks much stronger than last year. Clearly the back injury really impacted him and his mobility was significantly restricted. I was pleasantly surprised with how he looked. Super important player on our list if Meek goes down.

 

[Alite]

Thanks for the report SYL. A lot on here have him (Barass) pegged as the reincarnation of Lake. I’ve gone back and had a look at some of his games for west coast and he’s more Gibson than Lake. He has that uncanny knack of floating across a pack to get a fist in and he works off his opponent.

When asked what word Barrass likes the most, his response was "SPOIL". Very Gibson-esk

Let's hope he changers that favourite word to "Premiership".

I feel like the one and only area of concern is key forwards. The backline is starting to resemble the Three Gorges Dam, ...

I liked the post but there is evidence the Three Gorges Dam is buckling... so maybe we could choose Australians biggest Dam: the Warragamba Dam which supplies Sydney, as an analogy for our backline.

 

[Alite]

Gibson was a far better player than Lake during the threepeat anyway. The fact Lake won a Norm Smith and his tenure at Hawthorn matched perfectly with the three premierships I think skews the perception somewhat.

People tend to forget that Lake, as good as he was and could be, did spend a lot of time out injured and in the red vest, which sometimes worked in our favour given his propensity to give away braindead frees and audition for the MRP.

Gibson 2/3 PCMs in those threepeat years and probably could have gone 3/3 if it weren't for missing 8 games with injury in the middle of 2014. A highly underrated star that should be spoken about more tbh.

Gibson toweled-up Franklin in 2008... when Franklin kicked 113 goals in the year. GIbbo single handedly gave North the win in that game.
If not before, then from that day forward the Hawks targeted Gibbo as a high priority recruit. And while the Roos were not happy to lose Josh, the Hawks knew how valuable he was and pitched him the right money, the right length of contract, and the right dream of premierships.
Both the Hawthorn Football Club and Josh Gibson delivered on their promises.

And now we have Tom Barrass based in similar terms.

This year is going to be something. Gone will be the acceptance of improvements in losses to be replaced with expected wins.

Love it!

 

[CHUBBSS]

Wonder where the coaches have Ramsden, bit of a forgotten man but just keeps building. Looks in unreal condition for a huge year, fingers crossed

 

[tommyk72]

Gibson was a far better player than Lake during the threepeat anyway. The fact Lake won a Norm Smith and his tenure at Hawthorn matched perfectly with the three premierships I think skews the perception somewhat.

People tend to forget that Lake, as good as he was and could be, did spend a lot of time out injured and in the red vest, which sometimes worked in our favour given his propensity to give away braindead frees and audition for the MRP.

Gibson 2/3 PCMs in those threepeat years and probably could have gone 3/3 if it weren't for missing 8 games with injury in the middle of 2014. A highly underrated star that should be spoken about more tbh.

I have Gibbo up there with Sicily as the ultimate two way defensive / offensive mid sized backman. Those two are the only back men I've ever seen who are/were able to nullify the oppositions key forward whilst also getting 25+ possessions and 15 marks.

Lake was pretty good for us though, brain fades and all. Brian had the best set of hands I think I've ever seen when it came to marking a high pack ball.

Lake doing what Lake did allowed Gibson to do what Gibson did.

Unfortunately, Sic hasn't had his own version of Lake to rely on. While Frosty had a great 2024 (and his injury cost us a crack at the big dance IMO), 12 months ago I was arguing that his inconsistency and brain fades should result in him being dropped. With Barass/Battle now in the team, I'm truly excited to see Sic go to an even greater level, playing on the third best forward every week.

 

[Dipper]

Agree, but I can't take kudos for it. I can't remember which poster originally introduced the new hand measure.

It was Ned Ryerson.

I think the official measurement is a Pittonet-hand.

Counterintuitively not often used to measure hand size but instead typically used to measure the height of the Wiz (4 Pittonets) and how much Serong has grown in the off-season (3Pittonets).

 

[Simon Crawshay]

Lake doing what Lake did allowed Gibson to do what Gibson did.

Unfortunately, Sic hasn't had his own version of Lake to rely on. While Frosty had a great 2024 (and his injury cost us a crack at the big dance IMO), 12 months ago I was arguing that his inconsistency and brain fades should result in him being dropped. With Barass/Battle now in the team, I'm truly excited to see Sic go to an even greater level, playing on the third best forward every week.

Sic will absolutely destroy the third best forward.

Id even give the third best forward to Scrimmers and give Sic the fourth best forward, he will go to a new level I reckon if that is plan for The Blonde Prince.

 

[matey]

Son pestering me again over the weekend ….. twisted my arm so made it to training. Love seeing all the training reports that come through from other Hawk BF faithful thank you . Hot. Hard to watch everything going on but what stood out for me:

Our group absolutely love and thrive hard work. At one stage all the assistant coaches were standing in the middle of the ground while the players were gathered on the statue wing side. Hale yells out ‘gonna be a fun day today!”. All the boys still in a tight huddle chatting for another 30 seconds or so then broke away running off yelling and howling out loud like bring it on …….. while the rest of us were looking for shade. They attacked the session with plenty of vigour from start to finish. Well done boys was a tough day at the office

As discussed with another die hard Hawthorn person I met for the first time which I will bring up later but we are training to have a good start to the season. It will be challenging as other sides will be doing the same but we covered running/fitness, strength, quick ball movement, agility, contested/congestion work, tackling, contested marking, forward line delivery/entries, goal kicking and probably other stuff I didn’t pick up. Really enjoyed watching the ball movement drill over the entire ground. Assistant coaches yelling “protect the ball”, “protect the player”……. just got a sense that it was expected that a player marking the ball or receiving a handball had to have another player running past at high speed for a quick release/option, ie. teaching teammates to read the ball flight to get the correct timing of being an option to receive the ball at high speed then moving it on quickly to the next player down the field. Anyone a bit flat footed or slow would be ignored but everyone was trying to create an option whenever possible. With the number of hard running endurance players we have over the ground ….. when we pull the trigger we will be one of the quickest moving the ball.

There were a couple different congested drills. One was like three on three looking for the best/most open/cleanest exit and another where there was many players in a small area with little or no openings for an exit …….. reckon this one was more about body contact and pressure with a bit of pushing and shoving going on boys will be boys. Ward and Frenchie two young bucks playing on each other closely blocking bumping each other was fun to watch. Frenchie geez when he first gets the ball and holds the ball up high in front while taking off looking at options is so Mitchell like it ain’t funny.

Some individual player observations:

Reeves is looking really good having a crack participating in all the drills ….. but watching Meek today up close what a huge man with good athleticism. Just got the body to hit in against other big men week in week out. Don’t think we can play both unfortunately but another example of competition for spots is high.

Once again want to highlight Finn’s kicking you can tell he’s worked hard on improving his deficiencies even nailed a couple of good passes on his left while running at good pace. Couple of years ago don’t remember him having a left.

The Wiz. There was a drill where players would look over the shoulder while running one direction then had to stop/quickly sprint off in the opposite direction. Coaches yelling to be active with the arms to take off/power off. Watching the Wiz his agility with his footwork is unbelievable. Those first one or two steps in stopping/changing direction are the quickest you’ll see. If he was a boxer he would float like a butterfly. When leading for a mark he also likes to jump early has a good spring. Would have to have a lot of fast twitch muscle fibres you would think.

As SYL mentioned in his report after a couple preseasons now Ward and Frenchie are ripe and ready.

Barrass and Battle both highly regarded at WC and Saints can understand why. They are seasoned AFL players that will both step in seamlessly. Battle went in to tackle CJ I think nailed it but copped a don’t argue elbow on the chin …… just went to the back of line and gave it a little rub.

Dimma is a rock using his body in contests so grounded uses his nous ….. honest as they come.

Day is flying. As tall as Weds I reckon. Did everything except the tackling stuff towards the end. When he runs with that stride he covers ground like a gazelle.

Lewis and Blanck looking fit. Most defined I’ve seen Mitch what a unit.

Dear and Mass just watched from the sides, Ginni in recovery group, no Frost, no Bruest. Croc was absent in some drills but did a lot of laps. I’m sure with all the weight sessions, with soreness etc players have their schedules altered this time of year.

Codey looked sore pacing himself at times. Tough for a kid starting coming into a high performance environment at AFL level.

Serong is looking like a mature footballer these days he’s a competitor. BH will be stacked and those that step into the seniors will do the job.

Ramma looks more athletic defined and great runner for his size. Will be interesting to see if he gets a game in the ones during the season.

Skaife let a drop punt rip at goal …… massive kick on him!

Looking at all the players out there our depth is pretty special.

Son also made a big call driving home. Massive Hawks fan (taught him well ) reckons our next captain will be Newk by the way he lead the side off the ground a couple times. Newk is a player that clearly leads by his actions …… a come follow me boys type! but love Siss more than happy with his captaincy for a few more years as he’s doing a great job.

Also recall walking past the two marquees and noticed not tide down to the fence or pegged down ……… and later as the wind picked up they both went up like kites and saw Dear hanging onto one of the posts hoping he wasn’t going to do a Dorothy from the Wizard of oz impersonation but seriously guys!

Highlight of the day was bumping into Mark Williams. What a fantastic human …… so genuine, so humble. Spoke about his son who was at training, 08 GF, this years goal celebrations by the boys (leading question his reaction was gold when I asked him “what do you think about our goal celebrations this year?”), our list, how we will go this year ……. could write another couple pages but will leave it at that very memorable and hope to bump into him again at a game or training one day. Big Hawks man and loved seeing him at the club

 

[Alite]

Wonder where the coaches have Ramsden, bit of a forgotten man but just keeps building. Looks in unreal condition for a huge year, fingers crossed

Needs to become a new version of Hale = A fwd marking threat and a capable ruck.
Ramsden will run all other players off their feet. He just needs to take the mark.

 

[Sixpence]

Son pestering me again over the weekend ….. twisted my arm so made it to training. Love seeing all the training reports that come through from other Hawk BF faithful thank you . Hot. Hard to watch everything going on but what stood out for me:

Our group absolutely love and thrive hard work. At one stage all the assistant coaches were standing in the middle of the ground while the players were gathered on the statue wing side. Hale yells out ‘gonna be a fun day today!”. All the boys still in a tight huddle chatting for another 30 seconds or so then broke away running off yelling and howling out loud like bring it on …….. while the rest of us were looking for shade. They attacked the session with plenty of vigour from start to finish. Well done boys was a tough day at the office

As discussed with another die hard Hawthorn person I met for the first time which I will bring up later but we are training to have a good start to the season. It will be challenging as other sides will be doing the same but we covered running/fitness, strength, quick ball movement, agility, contested/congestion work, tackling, contested marking, forward line delivery/entries, goal kicking and probably other stuff I didn’t pick up. Really enjoyed watching the ball movement drill over the entire ground. Assistant coaches yelling “protect the ball”, “protect the player”……. just got a sense that it was expected that a player marking the ball or receiving a handball had to have another player running past at high speed for a quick release/option, ie. teaching teammates to read the ball flight to get the correct timing of being an option to receive the ball at high speed then moving it on quickly to the next player down the field. Anyone a bit flat footed or slow would be ignored but everyone was trying to create an option whenever possible. With the number of hard running endurance players we have over the ground ….. when we pull the trigger we will be one of the quickest moving the ball.

There were a couple different congested drills. One was like three on three looking for the best/most open/cleanest exit and another where there was many players in a small area with little or no openings for an exit …….. reckon this one was more about body contact and pressure with a bit of pushing and shoving going on boys will be boys. Ward and Frenchie two young bucks playing on each other closely blocking bumping each other was fun to watch. Frenchie geez when he first gets the ball and holds the ball up high in front while taking off looking at options is so Mitchell like it ain’t funny.

Some individual player observations:

Reeves is looking really good having a crack participating in all the drills ….. but watching Meek today up close what a huge man with good athleticism. Just got the body to hit in against other big men week in week out. Don’t think we can play both unfortunately but another example of competition for spots is high.

Once again want to highlight Finn’s kicking you can tell he’s worked hard on improving his deficiencies even nailed a couple of good passes on his left while running at good pace. Couple of years ago don’t remember him having a left.

The Wiz. There was a drill where players would look over the shoulder while running one direction then had to stop/quickly sprint off in the opposite direction. Coaches yelling to be active with the arms to take off/power off. Watching the Wiz his agility with his footwork is unbelievable. Those first one or two steps in stopping/changing direction are the quickest you’ll see. If he was a boxer he would float like a butterfly. When leading for a mark he also likes to jump early has a good spring. Would have to have a lot of fast twitch muscle fibres you would think.

As SYL mentioned in his report after a couple preseasons now Ward and Frenchie are ripe and ready.

Barrass and Battle both highly regarded at WC and Saints can understand why. They are seasoned AFL players that will both step in seamlessly. Battle went in to tackle CJ I think nailed it but copped a don’t argue elbow on the chin …… just went to the back of line and gave it a little rub.

Dimma is a rock using his body in contests so grounded uses his nous ….. honest as they come.

Day is flying. As tall as Weds I reckon. Did everything except the tackling stuff towards the end. When he runs with that stride he covers ground like a gazelle.

Lewis and Blanck looking fit. Most defined I’ve seen Mitch what a unit.

Dear and Mass just watched from the sides, Ginni in recovery group, no Frost, no Bruest. Croc was absent in some drills but did a lot of laps. I’m sure with all the weight sessions, with soreness etc players have their schedules altered this time of year.

Codey looked sore pacing himself at times. Tough for a kid starting coming into a high performance environment at AFL level.

Serong is looking like a mature footballer these days he’s a competitor. BH will be stacked and those that step into the seniors will do the job.

Ramma looks more athletic defined and great runner for his size. Will be interesting to see if he gets a game in the ones during the season.

Skaife let a drop punt rip at goal …… massive kick on him!

Looking at all the players out there our depth is pretty special.

Son also made a big call driving home. Massive Hawks fan (taught him well ) reckons our next captain will be Newk by the way he lead the side off the ground a couple times. Newk is a player that clearly leads by his actions …… a come follow me boys type! but love Siss more than happy with his captaincy for a few more years as he’s doing a great job.

Also recall walking past the two marquees and noticed not tide down to the fence or pegged down ……… and later as the wind picked up they both went up like kites and saw Dear hanging onto one of the posts hoping he wasn’t going to do a Dorothy from the Wizard of oz impersonation but seriously guys!

Highlight of the day was bumping into Mark Williams. What a fantastic human …… so genuine, so humble. Spoke about his son who was at training, 08 GF, this years goal celebrations by the boys (leading question his reaction was gold when I asked him “what do you think about our goal celebrations this year?”), our list, how we will go this year ……. could write another couple pages but will leave it at that very memorable and hope to bump into him again at a game or training one day. Big Hawks man and loved seeing him at the club

Great write-up.

Did Mark say anything about Kobe joining as a F/S?