Training Pre Season ‘25

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"Jacob Koschitzke is looming as the defensive cover Richmond sorely requires in the wake of key absences that will stretch into the first portion of the season.
The positional switch-up from forward to defence has been in the works since before Christmas but the experiment could pay off early for the Tigers, with Koschitzke in full defensive mode at Punt Road on Wednesday morning as the team desperately looks to a key pillar in the absence of Noah Balta (suspended) and Josh Gibcus as he continues his recovery from an ACL injury.

Gibcus was on Tuesday ruled out of at least the early rounds of the season, while Balta will miss at least the first four games of the season after he was charged by police with assault earlier this month.

Koschitzke has played 62 games — including 48 for Hawthorn before joining Richmond at the end of 2023 — and kicked 66 goals but was originally drafted as a fullback.

As many as six untried Tigers could make the trip to Perth in a fortnight where the team will face West Coast on February 17.

Draftee Luke Trainor could line up alongside Koschitzke in defence, while Thomas Sims — who was taken at pick 28 — featured at full-forward in a number of drills at Punt Road on Wednesday morning, working in cohesion with premiership forward Tom Lynch who is at full fitness.

Big-bodied midfielder Sam Lalor remains firmly in the frame to play in Round 1 but completed some work indoors due to management with heavy match simulation sessions to bookend the week on Monday and Wednesday, while ballwinning counterpart Dion Prestia also completed only 45 minutes of the two-hour session on the ground before heading inside.

Fellow midfielder Josh Smillie suffered a minor hamstring injury earlier this week but could still face the Eagles, while initial fears that Jasper Alger had suffered a knee injury this week were allayed when it was discovered to be a hyperextension.

Forwards Jonty Faull and Harry Armstrong are also considered chances to feature in the coming weeks.

Former Tigers Jack Graham and Liam Baker are both now Eagles, though the latter was forced from the training track on Wednesday after appearing to injure his ankle in an awkward landing, leaving questions as to whether he will take on his former side.

Ruck Samson Ryan played as a key forward throughout Wednesday morning’s session, while Kamdyn McIntosh wore a “no contact” hat for the entire session."
 
Not a lot of the first-rounder boys in these preseason videos. They're not scratching the itch
I appreciate we're doing the longer format non-tiktok bs this year but theres an odd fixation on guys like broad and short and mere glimpses of guys like armstrong, lalor, etc. Are they just not participating in much in general?
 
I appreciate we're doing the longer format non-tiktok bs this year but theres an odd fixation on guys like broad and short and mere glimpses of guys like armstrong, lalor, etc. Are they just not participating in much in general?
Seen nothing of Trainor, feel like he has been participating. Lalor as the number one pick post Christmas, very little.

Hanging on to that one highlight of Smillie ragdolling Ralphsmith.

I reckon they’ll be pretty low tog in the West Coast game as we’re being very conservative. Collingwood praccy game the real test to see wheee they’re at
 

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I haven't got the time or inclination to go through how the team lined up at different stages last year, but what I do know that it was a full on train wreck.

Defence:

Lost Gibcus early, Young was sidelined, Grimes was done with his back, Blight as back up was throwing him to the wolves, Balta was forced to play forward cos no one else was available. Losing that lot and the continual changing of positions upset Millers game, he was tracking quite nicely for the first half of the season. The emergency play of getting Short to bomb it out to no one was a doomed strategy, more on that later.

Mids:

Prestia, Hopper, Taranto, Dusty (done), Bolton (meh), Ross and McAulliffe missing for large chunks necessitated the need to play Dow and others that really weren't up to it. It was very easy for oppos to sit on one of the better blokes (Taranto) if they were the only threat, completely negating any stoppage work or clearances.

Ruck:

Nank shouldered the load and did exceptionally well, can't expect him to do that again.

Forwards:

Lynch, Fawcett, Gray, Bauer and LeFau all sidelined along with a couple of flankers (Clarke) losing those meant playing Balta and Kosi as KPF's, neither was effective and Kosi was useless. That necessitated the playing of McIntosh and Brown as those forward targets, not ideal to say the least.

It's not surprising that we only had 2 wins for the season, but obviously exceptional circumstances. We've also lost 4 experienced players with one of them (maybe two) being elite in their positions. It's no wonder that oppos have us pegged as being the worst side in the comp.

Now let's look at a fit team and a change to the game plan.

Defence:

Losing Balta is a pain for 4 rounds, but I'll look at the mix from round 4. Balta, Vlastuin, Broad, Short (I know) and Miller should form the crux of a solid backline, throw in Brown, Trezise (probably depth), Banks and Kaleb Smith. Those guys, particularly with continuity of roles, are experienced enough and talented enough to match most backlines in the league. Depth is pretty solid with Trainor, Young, Gibcus, Kosi and Blight in the wings.

Mids:

Geez! A fit midline comprising of Taranto, Hopper, Prestia, Ross and McAulliffe isn't weak, throw in a couple of newbies in Lalor and Smillie as depth then we're at least competitive.

Ruck:

Not sure here, but Nank can't shoulder the load on his own. There's others who can chop out but Ryan looks good thus far. Sims and the other giants for depth.

Forwards:

A fit Lynch will be handy to say the least, maybe Ryan rotating (not keen) Bauer has been tearing it up, Gray is looking solid and then there's the plethora of KPF's taken in the draft. Mansell is doing all he can, MRJ is looking fit, Campbell is coming along nicely, Clarke looks like being available after round 4, LeFau could be a real weapon as a 3rd tall. Steely and Alger looking good too.

I'd think that comparing the two teams is like chalk and cheese. We all know that the comp is even and just a 10% drop in competitiveness means losses, look at the Blues, Pies and Freo late in the year as examples. I would say that we were 30% or more, less competitive.

Now to the game plan:

When transitioning from defence we were relying on Rioli for his run and carry but had no one to provide a marking target or even halve a contest, even if that contest was halved we had no one on the ground to win possession back. Worse was the emergency bail out when Short was given the ball just to bang it out of the defensive 50 in hope. I'm sure that we all cringed when it was in his hands. Both of those plays saw us losing possession and the ball being delivered back to oppo forwards easily considering our defence had pushed higher up the ground and were out of position and undermanned.

There has been a distinct emphasis on maintaining possession in transitional plays so far, maybe a short kick but then finding another player, preferably inside the corridor and working the ball forward, either by foot or hand. This relies on marking targets and Bauer has been a standout, there'll be others who can be effective but the key will be in halving those contests and having players who can win the ball back should it be a halved situation, a fit Taranto, Hopper, Prestia, Ross and McAulliffe are vital.

The hand wringers and woe is me types can't or won't see the differences, but I certainly can.
Fantastic appraisal. Might make the finals if zero injuries. What a dilemma!
 
Where was the Intel on draft night? 2 out of 27 correct IIRC
Not sure we should be hanging a bloke for that.

No one else bar Cal Twomey did much better.

Mock drafts are always elements of guess work.
 

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Training Pre Season ‘25


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