Training 2025 Pre-Season

[Kane McGoodwin]

I think Crouch will have same role

Start on bench and play lowish TOG around 70%-75% but all midfield like last year

Short bursts at full energy seems to be how he plays best these days ,


got a feeling they like to keep him fresh until last quarter then he has a bit more time in rotation as a ‘fresh’ man as the game has slowed a bit , haven’t seen whether that’s true with stats but someone would know

I wonder whether on quicker decks like Marvel against quicker opposition midfields we look to rest him for a few games.

 

[1970crow]

Club has said Tex will be managed much more next season, particularly where we have longer travel.

I thought it was mentioned but then Tex contradicted that in a subsequent interview. And at 22 games short if 300, there'll be a groundswell of support for him to get there regardless of how his body is going.

 

[Jeffcrowe]

If we are fortunate enough like Brisbane to make the grand final, but lost ROB to injury in the preliminary final, what do we do?

Play Shaun Grigg in the ruck like Richmond did


Seriously though I’m hopeful we pick up a decent ruck in mid season draft if one shows good form , problem is we likely won’t be the only club looking for one

 

[Jeffcrowe]

I wonder whether on quicker decks like Marvel against quicker opposition midfields we look to rest him for a few games.

Possibly , but now that we won’t be a slow midfield ( finally ) it might not matter as much

all depends on Matt’s form

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

Play Shaun Grigg in the ruck like Richmond did


Seriously though I’m hopeful we pick up a decent ruck in mid season draft if one shows good form , problem is we likely won’t be the only club looking for one

I wonder if we could use Curtin as 2nd ruckman at times.

Would prefer Thilthorpe, T Murray & Curtin combo rather than giving Burgess anymore games.

Would likely lose most taps, but have the extra around the ball.

Hopefully we find a gem to replace Strachan.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

Possibly , but now that we won’t be a slow midfield ( finally ) it might not matter as much

all depends on Matt’s form

Imo we should be looking to manage most players for at least a couple of games to keep squad fresh. Horses for courses depending on the opposition. Obviously some exceptions like Dawson, Rankine, etc.

 

[Mutineer]

I wonder if we could use Curtin as 2nd ruckman at times.

Would prefer Thilthorpe, T Murray & Curtin combo rather than giving Burgess anymore games.

Would likely lose most taps, but have the extra around the ball.

Hopefully we find a gem to replace Strachan.

Please no with both Thilthorpe and Curtin, high end draft picks and supreme talents shouldn't be hacking around in the ruck....to valuable to our future hopes!

 

[WaynesWorld19]

Curtin sounds like he’s come back a different player this season , very exciting

He’s still learning how to use his body, and when …. a bit like Fogs

That said, Curtin’s come a long way in a short time …… he’s looking very confident in training …. and right up front in the runs

 

[WaynesWorld19]

I think Crouch will have same role

Start on bench and play lowish TOG around 70%-75% but all midfield like last year

Short bursts at full energy seems to be how he plays best these days ,


got a feeling they like to keep him fresh until last quarter then he has a bit more time in rotation as a ‘fresh’ man as the game has slowed a bit , haven’t seen whether that’s true with stats but someone would know

Crouch is in a Contract year ….. i think he’ll start the season …. I don’t think he’ll finish the season in the team

Maybe as a bench player or sub ….. will depend on injuries IMO

 

[cleanhands]

He’s still learning how to use his body, and when …. a bit like Fogs

That said, Curtin’s come a long way in a short time …… he’s looking very confident in training …. and right up front in the runs

As long as he gets that footwork up to scratch

 

[Gtowncrow]

I don't think so. We need someone post Tex and as much as I want Welsh to come good he needs to become a better athlete first.

2025 could be Walkers last season, and then we are left with needing to find a third tall.

If Tex goes down early this year, do we have one of Butts, Murray.N, Worrell or Keane who could go forward. As we seem to have one too many tall defenders just now, it's not an impossible notion.

But I reckon that Dan Curtin has his name written all over that spot eventually. Imagine a bid, fast and aerobic CHF.

 

[Gtowncrow]

I thought it was mentioned but then Tex contradicted that in a subsequent interview. And at 22 games short if 300, there'll be a groundswell of support for him to get there regardless of how his body is going.

We all know this peripheral force will trump selection integrity.
I hope he has a good year and this conversation ceases. But...

 

[Mutineer]

If Tex goes down early this year, do we have one of Butts, Murray.N, Worrell or Keane who could go forward. As we seem to have one too many tall defenders just now, it's not an impossible notion.

But I reckon that Dan Curtin has his name written all over that spot eventually. Imagine a bid, fast and aerobic CHF.

Butts played plenty of forward at NAB League so he could possibly, Worrell played mostly defence CHB for the Sandy Dragons but did well at the Nationals playing forward, Murray played almost all of his footy as a defender so not sure about him and Keane who knows?

 

[Mr MysteryGuest]

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

He listed him along side Thilthorpe , the club doesn’t see either of them as main ruckman

 

[CrowTownRoad]

I don't think so. We need someone post Tex and as much as I want Welsh to come good he needs to become a better athlete first.

2025 could be Walkers last season, and then we are left with needing to find a third tall.

If/when Tex retires at the end of the year and assuming Burgess gets delisted, we are very thin on KPF.

I wouldn’t mind seeing us throw one of our third rounders at Harry Lemmey this off-season. Could be a good option for a cheap back-up with some potential. Apparently having a good preseason according to the Carlton board

 

[Crow till I die]

Please no with both Thilthorpe and Curtin, high end draft picks and supreme talents shouldn't be hacking around in the ruck....to valuable to our future hopes!

Please Drugs Are Bad Mackay? Can you pin this comment by mutineer to the top of the page and threadban anyone that disagrees

 

[I Wouldnt But Greenwood]

Fog entering the strong man competition this year
View attachment 2204456

Fogarty is a mountain of a bloke

 

[Binuk]

Popped down to see some of the crows training today at the parade- was pretty good as they played a couple of quarters of match sim. Showed a lot re positions and where everyone fits. They had the starting mids and fwds in the one team and the starting defence in the opposition team. A few of my observations:
-Tex and Rankine dominated. Rankine roughly 60/40 mid/fwd mix. Plenty of CBAs.
-CBA allocation in order of most to least in the probables
Crouch main man, Peatling, Rankine, Dawson, Soligo and a little of Rachele.
-Laird exclusively in defence no CBAs, Milera too in def with the usuals.
-Neale-Bullen is a bloody good footballer. Immediately in our best 5-10 players. Classier then most on our list and will surprise with his impact I think.
-Peatling looked good lock him in the mids. Fast and competitive. A few clean stoppage exits.
-Curtin and Draper starting mids for the 2nd team. Looked fine and Curtin used the ball well. Wouldn’t call either a lock for round 1 but the potential is obvious.
-Thilthorpe is massive big year ahead for him. Should be dominant.
-When interviewed Nicks claimed Rachele has had one of the best off/pre seasons he has seen anyone have. Big call. He looks fit and he outmarked Hinge at one point so good signs.
-Tex was way too good for our best backline but had lots of delivery from a dominant midfield.
-Of the 2nd team Shoenberg stood out as a mid. Good signs also from Dowling and Pedlar (sore shoulder late in the session- hopefully nothing)
-Cumming rehabbing from his hammy doing run throughs but if he was a stallion at the horse sales you’d buy him. Looks impressive athletically and a great kick.
-Nank looked good but will be on the edge of selection with a few new recruits and Milera back in the mix.
-Keane looking strong and confident.
-Apart from Cumming, Berry and Nick Murray didn’t complete the match sim. Admittedly I missed the start of the session. Looked to my eye that Muzz had a slight limp but hope it’s nothing.
-Dawson kicked a few goals- rolls Royce just cruised around

 

[ABAB]

Popped down to see some of the crows training today at the parade- was pretty good as they played a couple of quarters of match sim. Showed a lot re positions and where everyone fits. They had the starting mids and fwds in the one team and the starting defence in the opposition team. A few of my observations:
-Tex and Rankine dominated. Rankine roughly 60/40 mid/fwd mix. Plenty of CBAs.
-CBA allocation in order of most to least in the probables
Crouch main man, Peatling, Rankine, Dawson, Soligo and a little of Rachele.
-Laird exclusively in defence no CBAs, Milera too in def with the usuals.
-Neale-Bullen is a bloody good footballer. Immediately in our best 5-10 players. Classier then most on our list and will surprise with his impact I think.
-Peatling looked good lock him in the mids. Fast and competitive. A few clean stoppage exits.
-Curtin and Draper starting mids for the 2nd team. Looked fine and Curtin used the ball well. Wouldn’t call either a lock for round 1 but the potential is obvious.
-Thilthorpe is massive big year ahead for him. Should be dominant.
-When interviewed Nicks claimed Rachele has had one of the best off/pre seasons he has seen anyone have. Big call. He looks fit and he outmarked Hinge at one point so good signs.
-Tex was way too good for our best backline but had lots of delivery from a dominant midfield.
-Of the 2nd team Shoenberg stood out as a mid. Good signs also from Dowling and Pedlar (sore shoulder late in the session- hopefully nothing)
-Cumming rehabbing from his hammy doing run throughs but if he was a stallion at the horse sales you’d buy him. Looks impressive athletically and a great kick.
-Nank looked good but will be on the edge of selection with a few new recruits and Milera back in the mix.
-Keane looking strong and confident.
-Apart from Cumming, Berry and Nick Murray didn’t complete the match sim. Admittedly I missed the start of the session. Looked to my eye that Muzz had a slight limp but hope it’s nothing.
-Dawson kicked a few goals- rolls Royce just cruised around

I guess they knew how to handle Rachele internally despite what others thought externally for now, we will need to wait if he request for a trade when his contract end.....

 

[AFC979810]

If we are fortunate enough like Brisbane to make the grand final, but lost ROB to injury in the preliminary final, what do we do?

Good question. No team has ever overcome losing their #1 ruck for the grand final and won.

Luckily Nathan Vardy in 2018, Mason Cox in 2022 and Darcy Fort in 2024 were all brilliant backup ruckman and carried their teams to the flag.

Which just shows how important ruckman are. Because in the recent years the inferior ruckman hasn't won on grand final day!

In 2016 Jordan Roughead's ruck dominance was vital in the Dogs flag.
In 2017 Richmond beat us because Nankervis was better than Sauce.
In 2018 Nathan Vardy was the difference against Grundy.
In 2019 Nankervis and Soldo were the difference against Mumford
In 2020 it was Nankervis beating Stanley and Blicavs that decided it.
In 2022 it was Mason Cox smoking Big O.
In 2023 it was Stanley smashing Hickey that led to the flag.
In 2024 it was Fort smashing Grundy that won that flag.

When will people learn. If you dont have a superstar ruck you can't win a flag!

And further to this. On this board we all love and reference Blight and our back to back flags. In 1997 we played Aaron Keatinge and won. In 1998 we played Ben Marsh and won.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

These training reports have me giddy with excitement. Curtin! Rankine! Rachele! I haven't felt this optimistic about our chances since 12 months ago

 

[Truck25]

Good question. No team has ever overcome losing their #1 ruck for the grand final and won.

Luckily Nathan Vardy in 2018, Mason Cox in 2022 and Darcy Fort in 2024 were all brilliant backup ruckman and carried their teams to the flag.

Which just shows how important ruckman are. Because in the recent years the inferior ruckman hasn't won on grand final day!

In 2016 Jordan Roughead's ruck dominance was vital in the Dogs flag.
In 2017 Richmond beat us because Nankervis was better than Sauce.
In 2018 Nathan Vardy was the difference against Grundy.
In 2019 Nankervis and Soldo were the difference against Mumford
In 2020 it was Nankervis beating Stanley and Blicavs that decided it.
In 2022 it was Mason Cox smoking Big O.
In 2023 it was Stanley smashing Hickey that led to the flag.
In 2024 it was Fort smashing Grundy that won that flag.

When will people learn. If you dont have a superstar ruck you can't win a flag!

And further to this. On this board we all love and reference Blight and our back to back flags. In 1997 we played Aaron Keatinge and won. In 1998 we played Ben Marsh and won.

Ummm... how do you reconcile these 2 statements

 

[Ham]

Just stumbled on this

 

[AFC979810]

Ummm... how do you reconcile these 2 statements

Ruckman dont matter.

Play a good one, play a shit one, play 3 of them, play one of them. Ruckman very very very very rarely decide premierships.

 

[1990crow]

Just stumbled on this

I'm annoyed already watching ROB struggle against a D grade ruck that isn't on an AFL list.