Bigman’s Training Reports

[Cromulant]

Any idea why he went so late?

Big doubts on whether he REALLY wants to play footy long term.

 

[eaglevision]

Big doubts on whether he REALLY wants to play footy long term.

Thought as much. A Vic based recruiter made the same comment.

 

[FR0GGY]

In afl per TOG without looking at stats closely presumed that Strachan would actually find ball more being a more natural footballer

But he’s just not afl fit and never will be so is a waste of a list spot

In truth we don’t want Rob finding the ball, like at all.
Unless it’s a mark and we all know how that’s panning out.

 

[WheresGroomgone]

This explains why Murphy was a shocking choice for a leadership position. he may well be a leader at training but how can players take his selection seriously let alone his leadership when he literally does the opposite of impacting games and goes missing at every crucial point in games. Or he tries to throw his body into a contest and injures his neck. Like whats the point of this guy.

Totally agree if you can’t inspire during a game you are not leadership material- having made that blunder I suspect that was why he was picked every week when he really shouldn’t have been.

 

[Jeffcrowe]

Cheers Jeff. He’s got no mongrel or aggression which makes it challenging in ruck. Has looked good with the switch at training but a long way to go, although has put on a stack of muscle this preseason. May have been a cautionary tale as to why Dodson went a fair bit later than expected.

Some great SA talent this year. Dyson looks superb and I’m expecting Cumming to rocket into the top 10. Both outstanding young prospects along with Schubert.

Big fan of Sam Cumming

Hope he lands at us

 

[Jeffcrowe]

In truth we don’t want Rob finding the ball, like at all.
Unless it’s a mark and we all know how that’s panning out.

I’m happy if ROB finds ball more ! Especially if he can mark

Means oppo isn’t

 

[eaglevision]

Big fan of Sam Cumming

Hope he lands at us

Me too. Very good all round game, high IQ, good kick, strong and exceptional overhead, particularly for his size. If he was Victorian he’d already be being spoken about as a top 10 pick.

 

[Big Dub]

I agree with what your are saying I just believe in the football field to get others to step up it's to set the standard for what is acceptable from a performance perspective.

Im sick of those so call leaders who are great cheer leaders and support for others, but when the games on the line perform woefully. This tells the others that it is ok to not perform in crucial moments as long as you're a good team mate and try hard. No, thats not the example and not the standard.

I'm football, your greatest leaders need to be the best and most consistent performers and be the ones that stand up when it matters most.

Agreed. You can only lead people in things that you can (or at least could) do really well.

So if it's about leading other players to win a game, you need to be good at both winning games AND leading people. I'd take someone who is really good at both over someone who is great at just one of these (but I'd take the leader over the star if I had to choose).

 

[jimvic]

The problem is Strachan can’t finish out a game and ends up on the pine injured or subbed

He’s just not conditioned to AFL football

There’s no way you can actually want Strachan playing ahead of ROB consistently without a smirk

Strachan struggled to play out a quarter, and was done by half time. Currently its ROB or bust

 

[bigman]

Blustery conditions meant today was a bit of a scrappy affair with plenty of missed kicks and fumbles, so not the most pristine viewing.

That being said, there was finally a bit more stoppage work which allowed some of the midfielders to shine instead of the typical half backs.

One of those was Draper who had his most complete session yet. He was only held off from one drill and looked to be really enjoying himself out there. Loves to put an immediate step on his opponent whenever he gets the ball and is exceptionally nippy and agile, one moment in particular stood out where he sidestepped two players in a row with ease. Kicking was very solid too on a day where many of his teammates were struggling. Been talk about him being eased in but that wasn’t the case today. Based on what he showed, he plays round one bar injury.

On the down side it would appear there were a few casualties today although to what extent I’m unsure.

Milera was the first to disappear - must admit I didn’t even see him go up the race and certainly didn’t see any incident which might have caused an injury. Perhaps it could be simply a case of management but given his history there has to be some cause for concern.

The other two were Cook and Nick Murray who both left the track a bit early. Neither looked particularly distressed but Murray did appear to have a slight limp walking up the race. Cook was in rehab a couple sessions ago so could be a reoccurrence of whatever issue he had. I did notice he wasn’t listed in the main drill so perhaps it’s just management.

Smith also had some treatment on his ankle but didn’t look too bothered, joining Tex and Fog for a chinwag with Fitzy who turned up to watch late in the session.

Cumming remains in rehab although he was being pushed pretty hard by the conditioning team so surely he’s not far away. If he’s not back on Friday I’m pretty confident he will rejoin the main group early next week.

One thing I noticed today was the competitive element has definitely been ramped up. Players are starting to really get physical with their tackling and body work, and more players are being left a little worse for wear after some big hits. Was interesting to watch them do some wrestling drills late in the session - poor Taylor was matched up against Curtin for much of it. Safe to say he was outmuscled.

The main drill was three groups of 13 facing off in ‘match sim’ across two thirds of the ground, with one of the teams doing light ball work in the other third before rotating in. The teams were as follows:

Backs: Nankervis Keane Michalanney Laird / Murray Hinge Worrell Edwards / Smith Bond Borlase Ryan

Mids: O’Brien Soligo Crouch Peating Jones / Mcandrew Sholl Dawson Berry Rankine / Burgess Dowling Draper Schoenberg Pedlar

Fwds: Fogarty Rachele Curtin Neal-Bullen / Welsh Keays Walker Murphy / Drury Murray Taylor Gallagher

Couple of small things to note with those teams, namely that Pedlar got some mid time, Burgess strangely considered a ruck over Toby Murray and Curtin definitely trending towards a mid/fwd role.

Both Dyson Sharp and Matt Leray both took part in most of the drills including stoppage work which good to see. As you’d expect Sharp was particularly good with his hands and tackling, without standing out. Will be good to see him again on Friday although it’ll probably be the last time we see him in Crows gear.

As for some other players:

Dawson - one of the standouts today, his ball use in particular was excellent despite the wind. Obviously a known quantity but he was dominant at times out there.

Walker - definitely seems in a better space now with his body. More lively and agile in his movements and looks fit as a fiddle which is unsurprising given all the running work he was doing in rehab.

Soligo - thought he was the best performer today. Appears to have timed his rise to full fitness well as he looks super sharp out there and is driving the legs at any opportunity.

Welsh - just a couple of moments but did some impressive stuff, including a ripping tackle on Keane that got big plaudits from the lads. Kicking was superb too, he just needs to get a bit more involved and is clearly being restricted by his running ability at present.

Schoenberg - similar to Soligo I thought Harry looked really dynamic and strong today. He probably looks the fittest I’ve seen him and a few times showed the pace he had pre-Achilles. Proof will be in the pudding come actual games but he’s having a sneaky good summer.

Smith - on the flip side I think Smithy is struggling a bit at present. Just a touch off with his ball handling and made a couple of strange errors today including one moment where he panicked and just hospital handballed to an unsuspecting teammate who was already under pressure. Love the bloke but it’s not quite happening for him at the moment.

Keane - had a great summer but a bit off today with his ball use and decision making. Was a bit too casual at times and even copped a bit of a bake from Crouch for going the blind long kick to the opposition instead of switching the play.

 

[StonesThrow]

Bigman strikes again

 

[Betts are off]

I'm interested to see if ROB's taps to advantage improves with a faster blend of midfielders. When Rankine was at stoppages in 2024, there were a few nice flashes where ROB hit him in stride, even some over the shoulder taps around at 50m arch that were sublime.

With Rankine, Peatling, Soligo, Draper and Rachele all gunning for more minutes, it will be interesting to see if ROB's traditionally high hitout numbers (#1 in AFL in 2024) could be converted better into team clearances (#10 in AFL in 2024).

 

[Betts are off]

Smith - on the flip side I think Smithy is struggling a bit at present. Just a touch off with his ball handling and made a couple of strange errors today including one moment where he panicked and just hospital handballed to an unsuspecting teammate who was already under pressure. Love the bloke but it’s not quite happening for him at the moment.

I love Smith too, but not this version of him. He looked devoid of confidence since round 1 last year. And if he's in mid January and still not sharpened up, then the writing is on the wall.

The sad thing is this version of Smith is not even a leader, and really that's why they gifted him the list spot.

 

[Betts are off]

One of those was Draper who had his most complete session yet. He was only held off from one drill and looked to be really enjoying himself out there. Loves to put an immediate step on his opponent whenever he gets the ball and is exceptionally nippy and agile, one moment in particular stood out where he sidestepped two players in a row with ease. Kicking was very solid too on a day where many of his teammates were struggling. Been talk about him being eased in but that wasn’t the case today. Based on what he showed, he plays round one bar injury.

Draper is going to make certain midfielders in our rotation look like they're feet are stuck in concrete.

Kid has serious wheels and loves to show them off!

 

[StickerMan]

Draper is going to make certain midfielders in our rotation look like they're feet are stuck in concrete.

Kid has serious wheels and loves to show them off!

With him and Rankine this will transform our midfield instantly.

 

[Jarman3]

I love Smith too, but not this version of him. He looked devoid of confidence since round 1 last year. And if he's in mid January and still not sharpened up, then the writing is on the wall.

The sad thing is this version of Smith is not a leader, and really that's why they gifted him the list spot.

Yep, I love the player he used to be, but he hasn't been that for a number of years now. It's over, and he never should have been given another year. I think the club's hands may have been tied if he hit a trigger for the extension, but his form didn't warrant getting selected for enough games to hit the trigger.

This is what the club does... take a great player (Smith, Sloane, Jacobs, etc) and just keep on flogging them into the ground long after they're clearly no longer up to it, and by the time they do finally go you're just glad to see the back of them instead of sad at seeing them retire.

 

[Betts are off]

Yep, I love the player he used to be, but he hasn't been that for a number of years now. It's over, and he never should have been given another year. I think the club's hands may have been tied if he hit a trigger for the extension, but his form didn't warrant getting selected for enough games to hit the trigger.

This is what the club does... take a great player (Smith, Sloane, Jacobs, etc) and just keep on flogging them into the ground long after they're clearly no longer up to it, and by the time they do finally go you're just glad to see the back of them instead of sad at seeing them retire.

Maybe they might have held him for insurance for the first half of the season, with the idea of giving him a payout before the mid-season draft if the team deemed it the best list strategy.

Even then it was the wrong move, as the list spot was more valuable in last years draft than the insurance policy. Especially given the amount of (better) HBF options we already have at our disposal.

Could have had Dodson on the list for him, which is a switch i'd do in a heartbeat

 

[Betts are off]

With him and Rankine this will transform our midfield instantly.

Both Peatling and Soligo also have exceptionally fast feet and get on the move quickly as well.

There shouldn't be single stoppage in 2025 without at least one of those 4 players involved in my opinion. Instant speed injection.

Throw Pedlar in as a bonus if he can get his body right. His brand of explosion from stoppage is also very hard to stop

 

[Mutineer]

Strachan struggled to play out a quarter, and was done by half time. Currently its ROB or bust

Sadly that's the predicament list management has got us into, It's Justin Reid's biggest failure given the chances we've had to draft some decent prospective young rucks quite cheaply re the draft collateral required.

 

[spenze]

Both Peatling and Soligo also have exceptionally fast feet and get on the move quickly as well.

There shouldn't be single stoppage in 2025 without at least one of those 4 players involved in my opinion. Instant speed injection.

Throw Pedlar in as a bonus if he can get his body right. His brand of explosion from stoppage is also very hard to stop

Yep, something to be a little excited by as far as clearances go this year. You need pace because it gives you the time to steady and kick into the F50. We struggled too long without speed at clearances resulting in around the body kicks that make Tom Stewart look world class.

Eyes front, going forward, drill it at a forward on the move = success

 

[Slim258]

Fwds: Fogarty Rachele Curtin Neal-Bullen / Welsh Keays Walker Murphy / Drury Murray Taylor Gallagher

No Thilthorpe in the match sim?

 

[1970crow]

Strachan struggled to play out a quarter, and was done by half time. Currently its ROB or bust

Unbelievable given that the above is correct and Strachan is done by half time, he still gets as many possessions as ROB and has a much higher disposal efficiency. Says more about ROB than Strachan given the latter is a 7 game back up ruck on near league minimum contract.