Training Preseason 22-23

[Inside The Kennel]

workrate unquestionable. kicking and decision making needs a lot of work, but that is the 'only' thing what is stopping him from being a dangerous player. The worry is that a lot of his bad decisions and wonky kicks come after he has worked very hard to have the time and space where bad decisions and woinky kicks shouldnt be an issue.

He expends so much energy with his manic style that it is understandable that he sometimes doesn't hit them right. With hard work, experience and increased composure I am confident that the best of Baz is yet to come.

 

[Charlie Bucket]

The group stayed as a collective - Bevo addressed them. During play, the coaches were dotted on the boundary separately around the ground, offering constant feedback and instruction. Bevo and Lade were more mobile and constantly repositioning themselves, while Spangher and Rohan Smith were anchored at their respective ends and the loudest.

Thanks ITK. Love your work

 

[Maverick Dog]

The group stayed as a collective - Bevo addressed them. During play, the coaches were dotted on the boundary separately around the ground, offering constant feedback and instruction. Bevo and Lade were more mobile and constantly repositioning themselves, while Spangher and Rohan Smith were anchored at their respective ends and the loudest.

Appreciate the updates, encouraging Lade appears to be having some real input.

Good to see some depth in the back half. Keath in 2021 was one of the best key defenders in the league but fell of the cliff massively probably due to injuries and illness. If Keath can return close to 2021 form and Jones also our KPD depth is good with Gardner and Bruce either third tall or depth.

Fwd key position depth is crazy and English looks stronger again. If Tim can stay fit and concussion free this is the year he could become All Australian. Looks like pieces are falling into place and it’s amazing how we are not rated by the media. We obviously had many issues in 2022 including team disunity, a coach struggling mentally with a poor game plan and our best player injured.

 

[BrisDog]

J...F...C...

Timmy got big

Stephen Dank - soft cap

 

[BrisDog]

workrate unquestionable. kicking and decision making needs a lot of work, but that is the 'only' thing what is stopping him from being a dangerous player. The worry is that a lot of his bad decisions and wonky kicks come after he has worked very hard to have the time and space where bad decisions and woinky kicks shouldnt be an issue.

Not a great tackler and seems to hang ‘outside’ the clearance area (hopefully following instructions).

Only sign I have seen that he is a campaigner was that headbutt - which was a sliding door moment for us in my opinion. We would have beaten the cats that night.

 

[doggiesin08]

Appreciate the updates, encouraging Lade appears to be having some real input.

Good to see some depth in the back half. Keath in 2021 was one of the best key defenders in the league but fell of the cliff massively probably due to injuries and illness. If Keath can return close to 2021 form and Jones also our KPD depth is good with Gardner and Bruce either third tall or depth.

Fwd key position depth is crazy and English looks stronger again. If Tim can stay fit and concussion free this is the year he could become All Australian. Looks like pieces are falling into place and it’s amazing how we are not rated by the media. We obviously had many issues in 2022 including team disunity, a coach struggling mentally with a poor game plan and our best player injured.

If Keath can get even half way back to 2021 vs 2022 levels it will be huge. Agree he was was one of the best in the league and should have been in the AA squad.

 

[doggiesin08]

Today's Training Session Observations:
A spirited intra-club match at full tilt with umpires. The temperature was matched by the heat that our players brought, with slick movement, aggressive tackling and intense guarding of the mark. I have said it before during this pre-season, but this has been the best quality footy I have seen in my years of watching pre-Christmas footy.

*To see VIDEOS from training today, click the link at the bottom of the summary, which will take you to my Bulldog youtube channel. Be sure to click subscribe (PLEASE) so you can have ongoing free access and alerts:

1. Libba was best on ground in our intra-club match. His clearance work was off the charts.
2. Bedendo played forward and was phenomenal. He took a mark of the year contender and another three contested marks in the 30 minute match simulation. He kicked two goals in that time and missed two others (narrowly) from within 15 metres out, which would have been the cherry on top of a first-class performance.
3. Richards' run and carry was again elite. Metres gained would have been the most on the field.
4. For the respective teams, the midfield for most centre bounces was: Sweet/Bontempelli/Daniel/Weightman Vs English/Liberatore/Macrael/Garcia
5. Our wings were Vandermeer and Baker Vs Bailey Smith and McNeil
6. Hannan's aerobic capacity is next level. He moved from contest to contest with intensity and strength. Rohan Smith could be heard repeatedly lauding his efforts.
7. We loaded up with our forwards on the "white team", with Naughton/Lobb/Ugle-Hagan directly matching up against what appears to be our preferred defensive structure of Jones/Bruce/Keath respectively. All six players had an impact and was an enthralling battle. Lobb covered more territory than one would expect and took a few lead-up marks. Ugle-Hagan looks more nimble and kicked a classy goal from deep in the pocket. Naughton was given a great workout on Jones, with Liam narrowly taking the chocolates. Keath found a lot of the footy and Bruce looks at home in defence.
8. Bont continued his silky form on the track, with an uncanny ability to control time and space, the highlight being a shimmy to evade three opponents and launch a long shot for goal, that narrowly missed.
9. Bailey Dale was vocal and some of his drilling passes were like precision darts.
10. Garcia was dominant and looked Libba-like
11. Khamis was again at full forward and took several marks. He reads the ball so well in the air and finished with a nice goal also.
12. Daniel looks like he is firming for a midfield role. One handball to Weightman in heavy traffic over his head was like Hunter to Picken in the 2016 GF. Bevo was applauding on the sidelines and seems like he loves CD.
13. Darcy, Treloar and Gardner did repeated run throughs again. Treloar then did some extended kicking and must be close to a return. West and Roarke sat out the session, while Busslinger and Gallagher ran slower laps.
14. Charlie Clarke was spirited and looks like a find.
15. McLean was in the thick of the action and rotated onto the wing. His hands were clean and composure elite. As good as a new recruit following his absence last season.
16. Tyler Brown kicked a goal and had a few involvements. Other noticable newcomers include Poulter (quiet) and Joel Garner (not the West Indian cricketer).
17. Matt Spangher was again our most vocal coach. He was urging the players to "stay in the moment" and was instructional and assertive throughout. Like what I've seen from him this year.
18. Sweet went head to head with English. Tim was again dominant around the ground, while Sweet's tapwork was impressive.
19. Bailey Smith and Vandermeer combined well. Laith feeding Smith on several occasions to allow Bailey to run and deliver deep to our dangerous talls.
20. Bevo was stalking the boundary like a hyena and looks like a man with his eye on the prize.
*We have over 31,000 members currently. If you're not one of them, buy yourself and a family member a Christmas membership to be part of what I predict will be our Premiership year!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM0H1em3LEnlDiEZVr0TqOw

Thanks ITK. A couple of questions on our forward setup:

• Who was playing around the feet of our 3 tall forwards if Weightman was starting in the guts?
• Is there any consistent “shape” with our 3 tall forwards? 2 up the ground, 1 deep? Is one of the 3 consistently/never the deepest?
• Are Bedendo/Buku/Raak essentially trying to replicate the 3 tall forwards at the other end, albeit undersized, to provide the structure for the mids to play to? Have you seen any match sim with our 3 main tall forwards plus any of those above on the same team?

 

[True Dog]

ITK you’re a Star.... Thanks for taking the time and effort to keep us posted and answering our questions. Truly appreciated

 

[doggies ftw]

Thanks ITK. A couple of questions on our forward setup:

• Who was playing around the feet of our 3 tall forwards if Weightman was starting in the guts?
• Is there any consistent “shape” with our 3 tall forwards? 2 up the ground, 1 deep? Is one of the 3 consistently/never the deepest?
• Are Bedendo/Buku/Raak essentially trying to replicate the 3 tall forwards at the other end, albeit undersized, to provide the structure for the mids to play to? Have you seen any match sim with our 3 main tall forwards plus any of those above on the same team?

In regards to your middle question I saw this on WOOF:

“Also liked the look of Naughton playing more of a CHF role with Lobb and Marra playing deeper. Thought Naughts got man handled a few times last year when stationary so allowing him more freedom to use his athleticism can only work in our favour.”

I really like this, whilst Naughty has been awesome as our focal point deep inside 50 I still think his best position is CHF where he can use his athleticism to work over defenders up the field and then work back hard to take marks from kicks that he’s not necessarily the target for - that’s when he’s at his chaotic best. Whilst I think Lobb & Marra compliment each other deep, Lobb for the high ball and Marra on a rapid lead which he’s really really smart with his leading patterns etc. Those two playing those roles well will have an enormous flow on effect to Naughtys game IMO.

Of course they’ll rotate a bit though as we saw with Marra hitting up the wings last year where he looked comfortable, and I actually really like Lobb roaming at CHF too - it’s going to be huge for us to have a bloke whose genuinely capable of kicking those long bomb 55+ goals on a regular basis. It really makes the defence think twice when they can’t just allow you to mark freely at the 50 because you make them pay, whereas with Naughty you’ll almost let him take them there because you know he won’t kick it. Having Lobbs range in the team should really help us spread the defence and cause more opportunity for the other two.

I think you’re right in that the 3 tall set up in the “2nd” team is trying to replicate this for the mids. I’m just bloody stoked we seem to be locked on to a 3 tall structure this year and there shouldn’t be as much chopping and changing. Will bring a lot more consistency to the way we enter the forward line. If Marras struggling or Naughty misses a week incomes Bruce or Buku etc and nothing changes too dramatically.

 

[ossie_21]

If Keath can get even half way back to 2021 vs 2022 levels it will be huge. Agree he was was one of the best in the league and should have been in the AA squad.

Also why Jones could be one of the recruits of the season, as Keath has always be seen as a better intercept mark than a lockdown defender. Early reports on Jones are that he looks like he’s barely missed a beat.

Some will need to be looked at week to week but I think the preferred mix we have will be Jones on the best forward, Gardner on 2nd tall/mobile forward & Keath playing a McGovern type role and playing off any resting ruck or third tall types. What might be more important is how they can adapt on the fly if the ball is turned over, but they can all be interchangeable in most situations as even Gardner’s marking improved a lot over last season.

 

[Inside The Kennel]

Thanks ITK. A couple of questions on our forward setup:

• Who was playing around the feet of our 3 tall forwards if Weightman was starting in the guts?
• Is there any consistent “shape” with our 3 tall forwards? 2 up the ground, 1 deep? Is one of the 3 consistently/never the deepest?
• Are Bedendo/Buku/Raak essentially trying to replicate the 3 tall forwards at the other end, albeit undersized, to provide the structure for the mids to play to? Have you seen any match sim with our 3 main tall forwards plus any of those above on the same team?

Fab questions. Buku and Bedendo played as two-pronged forwards at the other end. Raak was on Buku. In the two match sims this week, Buku was lively and kicked three goals over the two hitouts (about one hour of match play) while Bedendo also kicked three over that period and should have had five (missed two absloute sitters). There is an argument to mount for selection in Round one, but you'd have to say that it is not structurally possible, give the firepower we have in Lobb/Naughton and Ugle-Hagan.

Speaking of that trio, they separated well and Spangher was heard instructing Lobb to push up the ground where I saw him collect a couple of marks around the wing. He looks ultra fit. Naughton and Jones covered a bit of ground and it was clear that the instrcution from Rohan Smith was for Jones to try to take him away from the goal mouth to see how he copes with that. As a result, there was a lot of repeat sprints from CHB to FF between the two and Naughton's threat was reduced. Ugle-Hagan is equally good below his knees and sometimes didn't fly, but was able to use his smarts at ground level.

At their feet, we had Arty Jones who was lively, but not a lot of the ball. Also Charlie Clarke who looked sharp and zippy but didn't hit the scoreboard. JJ was the dashing forward at the other end and was ace in match sim on Monday but quiet on Wednesday...I see the small forward specialist as our biggest concern, especially if Weightman goes down with injury.

 

[Libbaaaa]

Website posted a video of the boys mentioned their favourite Christmas movie, Bruce looks absolutely shredded!

 

[Northernsoul74]

Website posted a video of the boys mentioned their favourite Christmas movie, Bruce looks absolutely shredded!

Going by the rumour thread on the main board he’s been busy.

 

[Inside The Kennel]

Website posted a video of the boys mentioned their favourite Christmas movie, Bruce looks absolutely shredded!

I've spoken with him a couple of times over summer s he swims at the same swim centre as me. He's been to Bali to freshen up, has been surfing and high humidity running. He looks lean, mean and keen. He told me that playing in defence has him really excited and will suit him. He will have a ripping year from what I've seen on the track.

 

[Charlie Bucket]

I've spoken with him a couple of times over summer s he swims at the same swim centre as me. He's been to Bali to freshen up, has been surfing and high humidity running. He looks lean, mean and keen. He told me that playing in defence has him really excited and will suit him. He will have a ripping year from what I've seen on the track.

Even if at worst he pushes the other KPD to lift a level, without finding a spot himself, the defensive line will improve considerably.

Personally, I think it’s a big hill to climb for Bruce considering his age, recent injury setbacks and the fact he hasn’t played a defensive role for many years. So I’m a little sceptical. Saying that, it would be great to see him lockdown a spot down back and finish his career playing good footy at AFL level. Been a great servant to the club in his short time here. He deserves it.

 

[Charlie Bucket]

Website posted a video of the boys mentioned their favourite Christmas movie, Bruce looks absolutely shredded!

Those who voted for The Polar Express should be traded to North.

 

[doggies ftw]

Going by the rumour thread on the main board he’s been busy.

Not Brucey, he’s a family man

 

[X_box_X]

I don't know why I remember this, but 17 years ago today, Darcy went down at training with his second knee injury. It was the last training session before Christmas which probably explains why I remember it so vividly.

 

[HK_Bulldog]

I was a bit skeptical with Bruce going back and preferred it to be Naughton. But I get the logic, with his knee and age, Bruce might have lost his explosiveness off the mark and the strength to create separation. So going back helps mitigate some of that. Lots of forwards end their careers in the backline successfully. I’ll back Bruce in to do the same. I just love his attitude and the positive energy he brings to the club.

 

[weltschmerz]

 

[willofwest]

Great reports, ITK. Thank you

Thanks for the report. Very informative, great to get the information for those of us who can’t get to training.

 

[VitalDread]

The loss of Hunter has really opened up that spot for Caleb
Glad we are starting to shift him to a more damaging spot without the worry of miss matching defensive work

 

[House_of_Dahl]

Really hope Bruce does well in defence. Would be great to have a strong body on the Hawkins types

 

[Dogs_R_Us]

Fox showing our game v Norf , round 6 2004. We win by a point . Coach P Rohde, playing for us Sam Power, Brian Harris. Cooney all hair - his Brownlow year? D Laidley coaching Norf.
Winning goal scrambled through somehow, by Johnno, in the dying seconds.
The staging for frees by B Harvey is seared in my memory.

 

[dogwatch]

Cooney won his Brownlow in 2008.