Training Preseason 22-23

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I'm just sacrificing lots of delicious pomegranates to the football gods for McLean to get a good run with injuries. The fact he can play high forward, wing or inside mid, can play defensively and can kick is just so important for us. Picked him on another site last last year to be a real trump card and this whole pre-season he's really looked the goods.

I'm not convinced our midfield is as good as some say as we do have elite ball winners but have concerns about our defensive side, McLean adds that on top of his versatility.
 
goodcop badcop said:
Didn't plan on doing it, but had a break down early yesterday morning and had plenty of time to drop into training before heading home so I thought I'd share my thoughts.

To explain the Mark Stevens stuff bit better, the initial starting backline was indeed Gardner, Jones and Darcy who were on the white team. The white team was clearly the better side with Bont, Libba, Macrae, Naughton, Weightman, English, Lobb, Jamarra, Richards, Dale, Daniel, McLean, Williams, Duryea, Vandermeer, Hannan, Scott, Baker in that side at least intially. But after two qtrs, Keath and Darcy switched sides as did quite a few others (like Bont) to even up the contest. It was Naughton, Lobb, Jamarra vs Jones, Gardner, Keath by the end of the game.

On to individual players

Defenders

Jones - He's fast going to become an important player for us. Gave Khamis a bit of a lesson and was good at providing support when necessary. I feel a bit more confident now when a high ball comes in

Keath - Looking a lot leaner as pointed out and a million times better compared to last year. I thought he was our 2nd best tall defender behind Jones on the day and spent a lot of his time on Naughton. He held him pretty well defensively particularly with the amount of ball coming into him being on the weaker team. Started to get into a few more attacking positions when partnered with Jones and Gardner and I thought the back line looked a bit more organised with him in it as both Jones and Keath were able to intercept.

Gardner - Solid overall, much the same from him. Wasn't the best with his disposal but did a good job on all his matchups.

Darcy - Didn't really have much impact in the back line and looked pretty lost when matched up on smaller opponents. Was switched into the forward line and in the ruck where he had much more of an impact.

Bruce - It's good to see him out there moving well and he's clearly slimmed down. He did a few nice things including reading the play and cutting off attacks. The main issue I see is his disposal where he had one pretty bad moment and another nervous moment. It also wasn't great seeing him outmarked a couple times as well. He was switched forward later in the game. The switch to the back line doesn't appear to be working out.

Richards - Picked up where he left off from last year and was one of our best players today. Won a lot of ball from intercepts and in general play.

Dale - Looking good and ready for a big year.

Cleary - Seems very much like a competitor and had a good battle against Jamarra for much of the game. Took some of the kick ins and it was a solid game from him overall without many mistakes. Still needs to fill out a lot more, but will be pushing for games this year.

Duryea - Poor performance. Wasn't paying close attention to him, but did come across as a tad slower to my eye.

Gallagher - Spent a bit of time on Weightman and struggled a bit. He was more of an attacking player at junior level, so I'd imagine they are trying to build a defensive side to his game.

Crozier - Appears to still be struggling form wise

Wings

Williams - Was matched up against Roarke Smith and Williams was too good for him. Far too strong for him in the air and was able to sneak forward. With Dunkley moving on, I'd expect us to target him a bit more as he is very strong overhead. I didn't think much of his disposal last year, thought it looked better today. Good signs of improvement.

R Smith - He struggled as mentioned above.

Scott - Was looking good until Smith slung him in a tackle. Seemed ok, as he was running around with some of the rehab guys. His long kicking can be a real asset.

McNeil - Like Smith, he really struggled. Was switched forward and I hardly noticed him

Baker - Played a bit as a forward as well as wing. His speed is noticeable and was involved in a fair bit of play. I expect him to play a fair bit.

Onballers

Bont - Looking in great shape and I like the beard. Kicked a couple goals and looks like the best player in the AFL again

Libba - Looks set for a big year.

Macrae - Took a good contested mark against Bruce and looked his usual self racking them up.

McLean - Spent a fair bit of time as a half forward as well as change up in the middle and was one of the better players on the day. His attack on the ball was very good and he's clearly moving a lot better compared to last year. Good to see.

Garcia - Spent a lot time as one of the main onballers on the weaker side and didn't have a lot of impact. Think he would benefit from having a few more bigger bodies on his side as he does look a bit too small matching up against guys like Bont.

B Smith - Sounds like he's missed a fair bit of footy after being in rehab and it showed as he looked pretty puffed by the end of the game. Was used mostly as a main onballer and was still pretty decent. He was certainly running pretty hard and running well. He did have his work cut out for him being on the weaker side.

West - Looked very good around the contest and matched it against Bont, Libba etc. Just not completely convinced on his outside game once it moves away from the contest. Will be interesting to see how he progresses and how the coaches play this. Even with Dunkley gone, it looks awfully hard to break into this midfield.

McComb - Wasn't paying a lot of attention to him, but seemed to be playing as a half forward and onballer for the weaker team. Didn't notice him much.

Rucks

English - Looks a bit bigger and got his hands to more of the taps then normal. Seemed to get a fair bit of it around the grounds, but wasn't dominant.

Sweet - Got a bit more of the ball then what I've normally seen. Possibly got himself a bit fitter? English had the better of him, but not by a whole heap. Snuck forward and kicked a goal even. Looks to have improved.

Forwards

Naughton - He was beaten in the air and only really had one good mark that I can think of which probably tells you more about the improvement in our key backs. Looked more dangerous at ground level with his agility and was moving really well.

Lobb - Kicked two goals, including one from outside 50. Was able to find space well with smart timing of his leads. Switched into the ruck for a bit.

Jamarra - Got himself very fit over the summer as he was working up the ground and was pushing back into the forward line very hard. Apart from one easy chest mark drop, his marking was very good including a good contested mark opposed to Bruce. He really should have ended up with a couple goals but fluffed them. He's getting plenty of the ball just needs to polish it up a bit.

Weightman - Was the best forward on the day plus he had a few stints on ball where he looked ok. Looks set for a big year

Vandermeer - Started forward on the white team where his defensive pressure was good, but didn't have a lot of impact apart from that. Moved to defence on Weightman who was killing it and he shut him down. His disposal continues to be a problem though and he probably needs to keep it very simple.

Hannan - Like Vandermeer he was on the stronger white team. Kicked a goal, but nothing really significant to report.

Khamis - Was often used deep forward and didn't really do much. Was tough for him as he didn't see a lot of good ball come into him being on the weaker team.

Raak - Showing a bit more improvement and kicked a goal today. Still looks very skinny and a fair war off AFL footy though at the moment.

A Jones - Improved a lot from where I last saw him in the VFL. Was pretty clean with his ball handling which was pretty shocking at times last year. Moved through traffic pretty well at times and made some smart decisions. Still has along way to got still, but there's much better signs.

Daniel - Mostly played around half forward, pushing up skirting the packs playing as an extra midfielder. He was very damaging at times in this role and kicked a goal. Spent some time back as well.

Busslinger, Clarke, Bedendo, O'Brien and Treloar look to be in the rehab group. Don't think JJ was there at all.

Don't think I've missed anyone.

Happy to answer any other questions.
Click to expand...
Are the reports on Bedendo accurate?
I hear he has been doing well in the match sims...
 

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doggies ftw said:
Tightness is the key word, all preseason on skinner any concern whatsoever it’s day over. It’s fine
Click to expand...
Agreed. Might have not been feeling 100% when warming up, spoke to the medical staff and decided there’s literally zero point pushing through a session if there’s any slight risk.
 
Doggy said:
Current Clubs Injury List:
9 - Brisbane
7 - North Melbourne
5 - CARLTON, Essendon, West Coast
4 - Adelaide, Collingwood, Gold Coast, Port Adelaide, Richmond, St. Kilda
3 - Fremantle, Geelong, Hawthorn, Sydney, Western Bulldogs
2 - GWS
1 - Melbourne
Click to expand...
I think cumulative # weeks and the some adjustment for quality of player is needed. 1 gun player out for an extended period is worse than some draftees being “tests”.
 

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Training Preseason 22-23

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