Training Pre-Season 2023 (First game 18/3 v North)

[Keys]

I thought last preseason around this time and even closer to the start of the season we looked good, until the practice games when everyone got injured and then got struck down with covid.

We did.

I went back through last years preseason thread as an exercise and up until around late January things were going relatively well

Then the wheels started to fall off and the car was blown up in the first quarter of the unofficial preseason match against Freo

I’ll find the post later

 

[Keys]

We did.

I went back through last years preseason thread as an exercise and up until around late January things were going relatively well

Then the wheels started to fall off and the car was blown up in the first quarter of the unofficial preseason match against Freo

I’ll find the post later

Found it easier than I expected

I’m bumping this thread because there’s been a significant amount of commentary around players not turning up to preseason in shape and our inability to get players fit is at the core of our poor performance

Have a read through it

Pre-Christmas and in the 2–3 weeks after returning from the break, most of the commentary was positive

Redden was coming back from post season shoulder surgery, Duggan from late season knee surgery and Jamieson had a knee cleanup in December

A large group of senior players returned to training early

McGovern was in as good as shape as ever, Yeo was training well, Allen was flying, etc etc

Around January 20/21 it became apparent that Darling was to be exiled due to his covid stance

About a week later, Shuey did a calf at the start of a match sim. Then Cripps tore a pec

It then started to emerge that Yeo had backed off training a bit, but there was no need for concern

Then Allen’s foot injury

Then Cole did an ankle just before our first preseason game against Fremantle

Then that game. Ankle for Chesser. Ankle for Sheed. Leg injury for Yeo

Somewhere around all that Clark hurt his shoulder and went in for surgery after having been training well

Then the covid cases started to come before the official preseason game against Fremantle at Optus

By round 1, covid was ripping through a squad that was battling through a significant amount of injuries many of which were impact related.

We never recovered as players were brought back too soon as they were underdone and trying to regain fitness whilst playing matches under prepared

So next time anyone wants to paint a picture of a playing group that turned up to preseason unfit because they were lazy or whatever, have a read through this thread. It wasn’t an issue until late January when it went downhill

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

Was it in the lead up to this season that everyone was talking about a 6-0 start to the year, or was that last season?

Either way, good times.

 

[DanWCE]

Was it in the lead up to this season that everyone was talking about a 6-0 start to the year, or was that last season?

Either way, good times.

Think that was the season just gone. Nothing particularly challenging about the fixture without hindsight.

Suns and Kangas to open our account before Freo, Pies, Swans at home then Port at our second home.

Coupled with everything else that went wrong, Freo turned into a finals team (finally), Swans played in GF, Pies almost got through. 3 finalists amongst that lot in the first block.

I don't think we've beaten Swans at Optus yet

 

[Cornelius Roy]

In Adelaide I think I've seen the sun 3 times since July. Hopefully Perth has been similar and this will go a long way in softening MRP from the concrete base it was last year and we won't have so many lower leg injuries.

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

Think that was the season just gone. Nothing particularly challenging about the fixture without hindsight.

Suns and Kangas to open our account before Freo, Pies, Swans at home then Port at our second home.

Coupled with everything else that went wrong, Freo turned into a finals team (finally), Swans played in GF, Pies almost got through. 3 finalists amongst that lot in the first block.

I don't think we've beaten Swans at Optus yet

The post-bye 2021 form when we were by far the worst team in the competition, the mounting injury toll, and covid, were all swept under the carpet and replaced by 6-0! 6-0! 6-0!

It was quite remarkable.

 

[flamingEMBERS]

This is from the CBA
View attachment 1543991

Clubs can’t force players to attend the club during leave but they can provide them with training guidelines and players are required to return from leave in reasonable condition

Players are also allowed to use club facilities if they choose

There are also different requirements around injured players which would allow for Mark Finucane to be working with Naitanui for example

Yeah ok that clears it up a bit. I Was mostly curious around Finucane as I didn’t realise they would be allowed to use club staff.

 

[Nuffington Post]

The guys working for half of what they can get in the private sector? Good luck with finding anyone better.

Eagles have money and can pay the tax to go over the soft cap if needed. The Crows and Dees could afford Darren Burgess who came from EPL.


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[Rowan18]

Found it easier than I expected

Jesus, no wonder we were so shit this year.

 

[mentalgrind]

No sign of Trew or Winder at training yet. According to their instas, Trew is off 4 wheel driving and Winder is in Melbourne.

You would think that if they were fighting for a spot on the list that they would be there with the others.

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[Bleedblueandgold]

Pretty clear both are gone.

 

[dinnaz]

Eagles have money and can pay the tax to go over the soft cap if needed. The Crows and Dees could afford Darren Burgess who came from EPL.

Who previously came from Port. Probably lives in SA and has gone overseas for cash but settled back home now.

 

[flamingEMBERS]

If Winder is in Vic, I wonder if he’s going to play VFL or a train on for a club there

 

[PremiershipNo4]

Was it in the lead up to this season that everyone was talking about a 6-0 start to the year, or was that last season?

Either way, good times.

Personally I made around $3000 backing Gold Coast, because we had the injury list the length of Flemington straight and master coach Simmo.

 

[Nuffington Post]

Good to see they are building somewhat of a base during October. Feels like over the last few years they enjoy themselves up to the midway part of November and the go hard at it in December to work all the weight off ....then breakdown come Jan/Feb.

So far Darling, Shuey, Yeo, Culley, Witherdon, Nic Nat , Clarke, Chesser, Cole, West, Edwards, Sheed , Jammo, Jones, J Williams & Kelly have all returned early.

Apparently last season WC saw Dogs and Dees training in Perth and saw how hard they went. Rumour is we then changed our approach to training which may have led to all our injuries. Wonder if they will take a different approach this off-season, particularly after hearing about Geelong’s approach to keeping their players at optimum fitness levels (especially experienced players) rather than flogging them in preseason. I think most of our issues with fitness were due to players being injured (eg Yeo, NicNat) rather than laziness or poor conditioning program.


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[The Passenger]

Eagles have money and can pay the tax to go over the soft cap if needed.

Yeah, but the soft cap is insanely expensive and will chew through those cash reserves pretty quickly.

I had no problems with the soft cap being introduced but I did not expect it to start at 75% and can get as high as 400% of your overspend.

When it was first mooted, in my mind it was going to start at about 25% and probably max out at about 75%.

Revealed: details of the AFL's new footy tax

Under the new tax, clubs that spend more than $500,000 over the cap on football spending would be slugged by a tax of 200 per cent for every dollar over that amount in the first year.

www.theage.com.au

 

[garlic munchers]

My boy Culley, I have very high hopes for the kid in 2023.
If, and its a big if, we can get him next to a healthy Yeo, there are going to be some opposition players getting put in the hurt locker from being crushed in tackles every week

Starting with Serong then Fyfe then Brayshaw then Jackson...................... in the 1st praccie match

 

[Nuffington Post]

Yeah, but the soft cap is insanely expensive and will chew through those cash reserves pretty quickly.

I had no problems with the soft cap being introduced but I did not expect it to start at 75% and can get as high as 400% of your overspend.

When it was first mooted, in my mind it was going to start at about 25% and probably max out at about 75%.

Revealed: details of the AFL's new footy tax

Under the new tax, clubs that spend more than $500,000 over the cap on football spending would be slugged by a tax of 200 per cent for every dollar over that amount in the first year.

www.theage.com.au

Wow I didn’t realize the tax was that big - that’s insane. I thought it was a flat 100%. Hopefully the soft cap and list sizes get back to what they were pre-Covid now the AFL has signed the new TV rights deal.


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[Keys]

The soft cap on football spending was reduced from $9.7m to $6.5m due to covid. It was the deepest cut to spending in the game

For next year it increases by $500k and another $250k in 2024 so at that rate it’s barely keeping up with inflation

No wonder it’s hard to keep/find staff

 

[Wooshaaaa]

Exactly.

To put in perceptive, most physios working for a club earn half what they can earn in the real world. Hence the quality is diluted with much less experienced staff who are willing to the work in order to gain the recognition on the CV.

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[Nuffington Post]

Exactly.

To put in perceptive, most physios working for a club earn half what they can earn in the real world. Hence the quality is diluted with much less experienced staff who are willing to the work in order to gain the recognition on the CV.

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It becomes a bit of work health and safety issue when footy clubs can’t even hire full time medical and welfare staff. I don’t understand the point of having such harsh soft caps? Are we trying to equalize with struggling clubs like Saints and North? If so sacrificing player performance and health seems a big price.


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[Rowan18]

The soft cap on football spending was reduced from $9.7m to $6.5m due to covid. It was the deepest cut to spending in the game

For next year it increases by $500k and another $250k in 2024 so at that rate it’s barely keeping up with inflation

No wonder it’s hard to keep/find staff

I find it bizzaire that the AFL has resisted increasing it so strongly. What outcome are they trying to drive? I can't believe it is to protect the broke clubs, because they have never shown to care that much in the past.

 

[Rowan18]

Yeah, but the soft cap is insanely expensive and will chew through those cash reserves pretty quickly.

I had no problems with the soft cap being introduced but I did not expect it to start at 75% and can get as high as 400% of your overspend.

When it was first mooted, in my mind it was going to start at about 25% and probably max out at about 75%.

Revealed: details of the AFL's new footy tax

Under the new tax, clubs that spend more than $500,000 over the cap on football spending would be slugged by a tax of 200 per cent for every dollar over that amount in the first year.

www.theage.com.au

This is eye opening and explains why West Coast can't throw its money around.

Typical AFL though, Hawthorn was set to exceed the soft cap in 2022 by around $500K due to paying out Clarko's last year (given they sacked him with one year worth $1M remaining on contract) and they went straight to the negotiating table to get some sort of exemption.

 

[Nuffington Post]

This is eye opening and explains why West Coast can't throw its money around.

Typical AFL though, Hawthorn was set to exceed the soft cap in 2022 by around $500K due to paying out Clarko's last year (given they sacked him with one year worth $1M remaining on contract) and they went straight to the negotiating table to get some sort of exemption.

Agenda item #1 for the new CEO should be restoring the soft cap and list sizes to pre-COVID levels. It’s even more important for the success of GWS and GC so they have the resources for player welfare and development. Only clubs it helps are North and Saints.


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[Schtinker]

Apparently last season WC saw Dogs and Dees training in Perth and saw how hard they went. Rumour is we then changed our approach to training which may have led to all our injuries. Wonder if they will take a different approach this off-season, particularly after hearing about Geelong’s approach to keeping their players at optimum fitness levels (especially experienced players) rather than flogging them in preseason. I think most of our issues with fitness were due to players being injured (eg Yeo, NicNat) rather than laziness or poor conditioning program.


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So what you're saying is we saw that we weren't training as hard as other teams, decided to up our intensity, couldn't handle the lift in intensity and got injured, but it had nothing to do with laziness or our poor conditioning program. Right.....