Training 2025 Pre-Season

[George Kramer]

No, the paunch has decreased. The running, however......

I agree, I think he looks in good shape considering where he’s come from

 

[Mr_Moogle]

Fog entering the strong man competition this year
View attachment 2204456

Darcy Byrne-Jones doesn't look into it.

 

[Mutineer]

 

[Mutineer]

I also went to the last 90 mins of training today and appreciate the thoughts of Wayne’s world and Bigman. Usually I pop down to a session this time of year to see how the lads are tracking. I agree it was very windy which really challenged the kicking skills of the players and combined with high pressure across the field, saw lots of turnovers by foot.

Here are a few of my random observations:

• Soligo looked good, drove his legs through traffic confidently and stuck tackles with conviction.
• Pedlar was prominant. Found the ball, moved confidently and took on the opposition in traffic with intent. Looks back to his best
• Draper has a dynamism that stands out in our squad matched only by Rankine. Exciting to see him live- looked clean with his hands, draws a crowd and flicks out handballs to others in space.
• Curtin trained with confidence. Beautiful kick, strength and size in the handball games was a weapon. Good progress from this time last season.
• Thilthorpe is a monster. Didn’t do too much that stood out with the footy but his presence out there really stands out. I think he left the track early probably just managed.

-Lachlan McAndrew if that’s his name (ruck from Sydney) didn’t look too bad out there. Very tall and with Strauchan currently rocking a moon boot, he wouldn’t be too far away from an opportunity if ROB got injured. He’s raw.
- Fog didn’t stand out but what I noticed was how confident and free he now is in his body compared to previous years.
-Rachele kicking the ball much better than this time last year. Worked hard today and in good shape.
- Nankervis and Laird trained exclusively as defenders.

Overall it was a hard day to stand out due to the wind but it seems like the squad has good depth now. A nice balance between young talent, middle band of players that have played their 75-150 games, veterans, star power with Dawson, Rankine, Tex (although nearly finished) and hopefully adding Thilthorpe, maybe even Curtin and Draper to this list in the near future.

Only problem with McAndrew he's not on our AFL list unless we get a long term injury vacancy.

And I'd hope we'd be having a very long and hard look at him in the SANFL before even thinking of commiting.

Lest we have Angus Graham, Luke Lowden. Ben Dowdell, James Craig etc type list cloggers again.

 

[George Kramer]

Only problem with McAndrew he's not on our AFL list unless we get a long term injury vacancy.

And I'd hope we'd be having a very long and hard look at him in the SANFL before even thinking of commiting.

Lest we have Angus Graham, Luke Lowden. Ben Dowdell, James Craig etc type list cloggers again.

Sounds like Norwood are still banking on him being their ruck

 

[bigman]

Am I correct in thinking that Draper and Welsh have swapped jumpers here?

You are atm

 

[Firewalker]

Dyson Sharp…

 

[WetCrow1991]

Unofficial Fun Facts

We were down in 14 games at 3/4 time in 2024 and won 1 (Dons at the Dome, down by 10pts at 3/4 time).

A winning strike rate of 7%

"4th quarter success in 2024"

 

[Floating Doughnut]

The Herald Sun’s prediction on the ladder after the first 6 rounds.

 

[1970crow]

Thanks for the update! Where has Milera been training? We all of a sudden have a glut of halfback/wing types and still have to see Oscar Ryan debut. I'd personally love to see Milera play forward, could see him being that X factor in the ilk of Callum Ah Chee for Brisbane last season.

Milera has had a crack up forward and apart from a 10 minute purple patch was totally lost. And I wouldn’t get too excited off a 2 hour training session.

 

[skam85]

Only problem with McAndrew he's not on our AFL list unless we get a long term injury vacancy.

Something we could easily do with Strachan tomorrow if we wanted to.

 

[Mutineer]

Something we could easily do with Strachan tomorrow if we wanted to.

Yeah but is McAndrew the answer?

I'd much sooner wait until the MSD and see if any rucks light up the radar among the 19 year Olds that missed the draft or state league level types.

IMO Brayden Crossley might be that guy for the back up role, still only 25, certainly more dominant in the VFL than McAndrew and way way more physical.

 

[AFC979810]

Yeah but is McAndrew the answer?

I'd much sooner wait until the MSD and see if any rucks light up the radar among the 19 year Olds that missed the draft or state league level types.

IMO Brayden Crossley might be that guy for the back up role, still only 25, certainly more dominant in the VFL than McAndrew and way way more physical.

Sounds like we have another 5 weeks to figure it out.

But on the surface McAndrew seems like an astute pickup. Joined the Swans academy in 2019. Picked up by them in the midseason draft in 2021. Seems like the Swans let him go due to their depth at the position rather than him not being any good.

 

[Golumless]

Only problem with McAndrew he's not on our AFL list unless we get a long term injury vacancy.

And I'd hope we'd be having a very long and hard look at him in the SANFL before even thinking of commiting.

Lest we have Angus Graham, Luke Lowden. Ben Dowdell, James Craig etc type list cloggers again.

A list clogger who be a body when needed is all you need for a second ruck. Anything more is just overcomplicating it.

If Strachan is injured long-term, just get McAndrews in for a one-year deal and assess end of, seeing we don't seem too interested in Murray as a 1R. We'll pick up another LTI somewhere in the first few months to allow us to reassess our stocks come mid-year.

 

[Mutineer]

A list clogger who be a body when needed is all you need for a second ruck. Anything more is just overcomplicating it.

If Strachan is injured long-term, just get McAndrews in for a one-year deal and assess end of, seeing we don't seem too interested in Murray as a 1R. We'll pick up another LTI somewhere in the first few months to allow us to reassess our stocks come mid-year.

Nah, unless McAndrew really shows something in the SANFL the smart thing would be to keep our options open and see who develops before the MSD.

In any case we need to seriously address our ruck stocks and pronto.

 

[Mutineer]

Sounds like we have another 5 weeks to figure it out.

But on the surface McAndrew seems like an astute pickup. Joined the Swans academy in 2019. Picked up by them in the midseason draft in 2021. Seems like the Swans let him go due to their depth at the position rather than him not being any good.

Swans also drafted a young development ruck Will Green with pick 16 in last year's draft with an eye to the future.
Brodie Grundy turns 31 early in season 2025, Peter Ladhams is way better back up than McAndrew and Hayden McLean played every game as forward chopping out in ruck.

Better management of their ruck stocks than the Crows, that's indisputable.

McAndrew had no interest from AFL clubs and I'm pretty sure the fact he was already in SA to play for Norwood was the major factor in grabbing him when Strachan's issues surfaced.

 

[Peter Doherty]

Curtin has shortened from $26 yesterday to $21 for rising star.

Unless someone else has had a crack, I may have moved that price

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

Curtin has shortened from $26 yesterday to $21 for rising star.

Unless someone else has had a crack, I may have moved that price

Depends on how much you put on him!

 

[Mostyn]

Swans also drafted a young development ruck Will Green with pick 16 in last year's draft with an eye to the future.
Brodie Grundy turns 31 early in season 2025, Peter Ladhams is way better back up than McAndrew and Hayden McLean played every game as forward chopping out in ruck.

Better management of their ruck stocks than the Crows, that's indisputable.

McAndrew had no interest from AFL clubs and I'm pretty sure the fact he was already in SA to play for Norwood was the major factor in grabbing him when Strachan's issues surfaced.

Is it better, though?

Stacking your list with players who can't play together and you only need one or two of at a time - I think any more than three rucks on a list is a mistake.

Swans were arguably wasting a spot when they had Grundy, Ladhams, McAndrew, Green, McLean and Buller all as potential rucks.

I know you'll fervently disagree, but I think too many rucks can be a genuine list issue too.

 

[GreyCrow]

Stacking your list with players who can't play together and you only need one or two of at a time - I think any more than three rucks on a list is a mistake.

I know you'll fervently disagree, but I think too many rucks can be a genuine list issue too.

Both these statements can be true and wrong at the same time

I think its a matter of understanding your need and the talent coming through

Im a believer in having 3 ruck prospects but knowing what stage of development they are

Senior ruck who will ruck most games most of the gametime

Back up ruck plays SANFL and is called upon for injury or form

And this is where I am looking to invest in the future and I do think this can be a unicorn spot where you either identify a possible long term talent like Dodson and let them develop or you look to develop your back up ruck on short term contracts

ie a young player who will eventually be your Number 1 ruck or a solid back up

A decent spread should look like (1) 28-30yr old , (2) 24-26yr old and a (3) 21yr old

 

[Mutineer]

Is it better, though?

Stacking your list with players who can't play together and you only need one or two of at a time - I think any more than three rucks on a list is a mistake.

Swans were arguably wasting a spot when they had Grundy, Ladhams, McAndrew, Green, McLean and Buller all as potential rucks.

I know you'll fervently disagree, but I think too many rucks can be a genuine list issue too.

Stephen Wells disagrees with this..

 

[Peter Doherty]

Depends on how much you put on him!

Have him as last leg of an all up, which is paying $107, all other legs are home.

 

[AFC979810]

Stephen Wells disagrees with this..

But the premiership winning Brisbane Lions agree with it. As do the Sydney Swans who have made 2 grand finals in the past 3 years.

Swans were arguably wasting a spot when they had Grundy, Ladhams, McAndrew, Green, McLean and Buller all as potential rucks.

I know you'll fervently disagree, but I think too many rucks can be a genuine list issue too.

The Swans were smart.

In their 2022 Grand Final team they had Hickey, Naismith, Ladhams and rookie McAndrew.

In 2023 they lost Naismith and rookied Cameron Owen.

Then Hickey Retired and they replaced him with Grundy. Grundy had played 18 games across the previous two seasons and there were question marks about his durability so they used a high pick on Green.

They along with Brisbane have an established Ruckman and are very similar to our ruck setup.

1st choice Ruckman - (Oscar, Grundy, O'Brien)
Mature Backup that can get cover the job (Fort, Ladhams, Strachan)
Developing Ruckman (Smith, Green, Murray).

Hard to be too upset with that particular decision when the two grand finalists are making the same decision.

 

[Mutineer]

But the premiership winning Brisbane Lions agree with it. As do the Sydney Swans who have made 2 grand finals in the past 3 years.



The Swans were smart.

In their 2022 Grand Final team they had Hickey, Naismith, Ladhams and rookie McAndrew.

In 2023 they lost Naismith and rookied Cameron Owen.

Then Hickey Retired and they replaced him with Grundy. Grundy had played 18 games across the previous two seasons and there were question marks about his durability so they used a high pick on Green.

They along with Brisbane have an established Ruckman and are very similar to our ruck setup.

1st choice Ruckman - (Oscar, Grundy, O'Brien)
Mature Backup that can get cover the job (Fort, Ladhams, Strachan)
Developing Ruckman (Smith, Green, Murray).

Hard to be too upset with that particular decision when the two grand finalists are making the same decision.

You'll let me know when the Crows list Murray as a developing ruck won't you?

From the Crows website...

 

[BRL121]

You'll let me know when the Crows list Murray as a developing ruck won't you?

From the Crows website...

View attachment 2205027

In his interview after the Draft, an irritated Reid, when questioned on rucks, mentioned Toby as one of our ruck-capable options.