Training Preseason Training Thread - 2024/25
- Thread starter LittleFires
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LittleFires
All Australian
Couldn't find a thread for this yet, so thought why not start one...
1st-4th year players in non-finals teams report back for preseason tomorrow. 5th+ year players are required back two weeks later (Monday Nov 25) although we generally see most senior players come back a bit earlier than that.
From an injury standpoint, by my count here are the players who finished 2024 under an injury cloud and may have a delayed start to training:
...so in summary, I'm guessing at least Sheed, Hewett, Brockman, Long and Jamieson will be on separate programs to start. There will probably be more than that with the handful of injuries and surgeries that usually happen in the off-season, but we'll get a better idea on that in the next couple of weeks.
Importantly though, all of the players I've listed should be back in full training by post-Christmas.
There are usually also a couple of positional changes over the course of preseason - here are some players I'm particularly interested to see where they train, especially under a new coach in McQualter:
Open training has been scheduled for this Wednesday from 9:30-11:00 on Oval 1 (https://www.westcoasteagles.com.au/matches/open-training). This appears to be different to the last couple of years, where all pre-Christmas sessions have been on Oval 2 which is easily visible by the public, even for closed sessions.
I'm tipping there will be a closed training session tomorrow (Monday) where the 1st-4th year players will do their fitness test on return - last year it was the MAS 'beep test' style running test, and I'm assuming it'll be the same this year with Mat Inness still in charge as High Performance Manager. I'll try get down tomorrow and see how they go on the track, although if they're training on Oval 1 that will make it a bit harder to watch.
(Also just FYI - due to personal commitments this summer I am not going to be able to watch training nearly as much as I did last preseason, where I went to most training sessions, open and closed. Pre-Christmas I will be able to get down occasionally, but from January I will be out of the country (INB4 Whore Island comments) and unable to provide juicy training reports like last year. It shouldn't be an issue though as I'm sure the reliable Keys will be all over it this preseason).
1st-4th year players in non-finals teams report back for preseason tomorrow. 5th+ year players are required back two weeks later (Monday Nov 25) although we generally see most senior players come back a bit earlier than that.
From an injury standpoint, by my count here are the players who finished 2024 under an injury cloud and may have a delayed start to training:
- Dom Sheed - Underwent further foot surgery in mid-August. I'm tipping he'll be under a modified program to start with given the number of setbacks he's had in recent years.
- Elijah Hewett - Had the sesamoid issues the last couple of years and when he was on the brink of a football return in mid-July, scans revealed a hotspot in his foot. The West is reporting that he's ready for day 1 of preseason but I wouldn't be surprised if he's on a slightly different program to start given his lack of a fitness base.
- Tyler Brockman - Underwent surgery in mid-July after suffering a season-ending syndesmosis injury. Been almost four months since then though so he may be back into full training already.
- Noah Long - Injured his PCL in early May and underwent surgery. Has been 6 months since then so he's likely to be fairly advanced in his recovery. Started running again in early August.
- Brady Hough - Probably will be fine, but was subbed out of R24 with a knee injury. Fortunately scans at the time cleared him of any major damage, so I doubt it will limit him very much.
- Jeremy McGovern - Underwent season-ending thumb surgery after R23. Highly doubt this will still be affecting him.
- Callum Jamieson - Underwent double surgery in late July on both his ankle and knee. This sounded like a fairly significant setback at the time so I'd be surprised if he's back in full training already.
- Liam Ryan - elbow was often heavily strapped in the second half of the season
- Jayden Hunt - carried toe and knee issues throughout 2024 which seemed to impact his form. Did play the last 10 games of the season though.
- Jake Waterman - played through ITB soreness around his knee in the back half of 2024. Missed R19 due to the issue but then played the final 5 games of the season
- Harley Reid - Had some issues with his finger and potentially his ankle towards the back end of the season - both of which he was able to play through.
- Tim Kelly - Played through the season with bone stress and cartilage damage in his knee
- Oscar Allen - Was often wearing heavy strapping late in the season and sometimes seen icing his knee post-game. May have been precautionary given his injury history but wouldn't be surprised if he had some clean-up surgery post season.
...so in summary, I'm guessing at least Sheed, Hewett, Brockman, Long and Jamieson will be on separate programs to start. There will probably be more than that with the handful of injuries and surgeries that usually happen in the off-season, but we'll get a better idea on that in the next couple of weeks.
Importantly though, all of the players I've listed should be back in full training by post-Christmas.
There are usually also a couple of positional changes over the course of preseason - here are some players I'm particularly interested to see where they train, especially under a new coach in McQualter:
- Campbell Chesser - A huge year coming up for Chess. Will the club experiment with playing him in the guts or at half back, or do we persist with playing him on the wing?
- Matt Flynn - Not a positional change per se, but how will Flynn present for day 1 of preseason? Injuries significantly stifled his football in 2024 and he often looked short of a gallop. Needs a big and uninterrupted summer to prove he's capable of being an AFL-level ruck.
- Clay Hall - Transitioned from inside mid to wing late in the season and it got him a few games at senior level to end the year. Will the club continue experimenting with him on the wing, or is it back to the engine room for Hall?
- Harry Barnett - After struggling all season as a ruck in the WAFL, Barnett finished the season playing full-back and showed some promising signs. The departure of Barrass and our subsequent lack of key back depth may see him trialled there throughout preseason.
- Bailey Williams - Someone I am very intrigued to see where he's used. Throughout the last few seasons it has seemed as though the club has seen him as a forward/ruck, who has been forced to play ruck out of necessity. In 2024 Bailey finally got a chance to play as that forward/ruck in the few games Flynn was available, but the combination really did not work as hoped. In fact, through the last 5-6 weeks of the season, Bailey was preferred as the main ruck despite Flynn being available to finish the season. Will McQualter redouble the efforts to play him as a forward, or will he primarily be competing with Flynn for the main ruck spot? Fascinating watch for mine.
- Ryan Maric - After starting his career as a forward, Maric showed promise later in the year on the wing and in defence with his skills. Will be interested to see where he trains over summer.
- Jack Hutchinson - Another interesting watch. After showing some potential in spurts as a forward, Hutchinson was thrown into the midfield in the second half of R24 and had 18-odd disposals in a half, looking at home in the engine room. Will the club look to continue exploring a midfield move for Hutch, or is it back to the forward line for him?
- Liam Baker - Where will the club look to settle him? Is capable of playing in all thirds of the ground.
Open training has been scheduled for this Wednesday from 9:30-11:00 on Oval 1 (https://www.westcoasteagles.com.au/matches/open-training). This appears to be different to the last couple of years, where all pre-Christmas sessions have been on Oval 2 which is easily visible by the public, even for closed sessions.
I'm tipping there will be a closed training session tomorrow (Monday) where the 1st-4th year players will do their fitness test on return - last year it was the MAS 'beep test' style running test, and I'm assuming it'll be the same this year with Mat Inness still in charge as High Performance Manager. I'll try get down tomorrow and see how they go on the track, although if they're training on Oval 1 that will make it a bit harder to watch.
(Also just FYI - due to personal commitments this summer I am not going to be able to watch training nearly as much as I did last preseason, where I went to most training sessions, open and closed. Pre-Christmas I will be able to get down occasionally, but from January I will be out of the country (INB4 Whore Island comments) and unable to provide juicy training reports like last year. It shouldn't be an issue though as I'm sure the reliable Keys will be all over it this preseason).
Gee
Keys
Looking for a cloud to yell at
- Moderator
- #3
Great summary LittleFires
I’d add Rhett Bazzo to your list of players to watch. Drafted in 2021 he hasn’t had a full preseason at the club
•2021/22 - first year at the club and as with all first year players had a modified initial first year program but performed well enough to play 9 games in his debut year, showing a fair bit of promise in the process
•2022/23 - we all know about the tragedy of his mother’s accidental death in January 2023 that disrupted his year. What gets forgotten is he was already having an interrupted preseason and even though he played 11 senior games in 2023 he never really got going to the same extent he did in 2022
•2023/24 - really struggled through preseason and was a regular non-participant who never appeared in full training until very late in the season. Managed to play the last game mainly due to lack of numbers rather than any particularly outstanding form in the handful of WAFL games he’d played
Media reports are that he travelled to Qatar (with Oscar Allen) to see the same specialist that helped McGovern, Yeo and Edwards last year
Hopefully he, and Allen, get the same benefits so he gets a full preseason under his belt that will help him realise his undoubted potential
I’d add Rhett Bazzo to your list of players to watch. Drafted in 2021 he hasn’t had a full preseason at the club
•2021/22 - first year at the club and as with all first year players had a modified initial first year program but performed well enough to play 9 games in his debut year, showing a fair bit of promise in the process
•2022/23 - we all know about the tragedy of his mother’s accidental death in January 2023 that disrupted his year. What gets forgotten is he was already having an interrupted preseason and even though he played 11 senior games in 2023 he never really got going to the same extent he did in 2022
•2023/24 - really struggled through preseason and was a regular non-participant who never appeared in full training until very late in the season. Managed to play the last game mainly due to lack of numbers rather than any particularly outstanding form in the handful of WAFL games he’d played
Media reports are that he travelled to Qatar (with Oscar Allen) to see the same specialist that helped McGovern, Yeo and Edwards last year
Hopefully he, and Allen, get the same benefits so he gets a full preseason under his belt that will help him realise his undoubted potential
Keys
Looking for a cloud to yell at
- Moderator
- #4
From an overall group perspective I hope to see Matt Innes and Gigi’s team build on the gains made last offseason
There was a significant change in the training program last year that saw a focus on contested/contact work in preference to simple running. The plan was to build durability into the playing group whilst getting the necessary running during contact drills rather than doing laps and/or repetitive sprints (These were done but less so than previous years)
Early in the year, that strategy seemed questionable as a number of players were pulled from training during preseason and are injury list remained in double digits. Pyke regularly defended the strategy stating more than once it was designed to get players through the season
I think it’s fair to say there was a clear improvement in player availability in 2024. There were fewer injuries, in particular soft tissue injuries and we were less prone to falling away late in games. Most of our big losses were the result of getting jumped early then scrambling to minimise the damage after half time
We even had come from behind wins against Gold Coast and North, whilst falling just short in other late charges against North and Essendon
So after recovering some lost ground ahead of 2024, the challenge is now to become even fitter and stronger for 2025. Do we retain the same focus on contested work or move to a more running based program given McQualter’s already stated desire to implement a game plan that’s reliant on running fast and often
There was a significant change in the training program last year that saw a focus on contested/contact work in preference to simple running. The plan was to build durability into the playing group whilst getting the necessary running during contact drills rather than doing laps and/or repetitive sprints (These were done but less so than previous years)
Early in the year, that strategy seemed questionable as a number of players were pulled from training during preseason and are injury list remained in double digits. Pyke regularly defended the strategy stating more than once it was designed to get players through the season
I think it’s fair to say there was a clear improvement in player availability in 2024. There were fewer injuries, in particular soft tissue injuries and we were less prone to falling away late in games. Most of our big losses were the result of getting jumped early then scrambling to minimise the damage after half time
We even had come from behind wins against Gold Coast and North, whilst falling just short in other late charges against North and Essendon
So after recovering some lost ground ahead of 2024, the challenge is now to become even fitter and stronger for 2025. Do we retain the same focus on contested work or move to a more running based program given McQualter’s already stated desire to implement a game plan that’s reliant on running fast and often
Whenever there is a training update my eyes immediately scan for lines like "pale as buggery" and "trundle". Excellent work LF!
What's the ****** score
- Sep 21, 2004
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Training the house down!
I hope McQualter doesn't just have that 1 game style of chaos ball it forward coz we pretty tall and unco still.
Be nice to have a coach with a plan B for once
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I hope McQualter doesn't just have that 1 game style of chaos ball it forward coz we pretty tall and unco still.
Be nice to have a coach with a plan B for once
Sent from my SM-S908E using BigFooty.com mobile app
- Sep 21, 2004
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- 30,074
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- West Coast
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- Norwood & Liverpool.
Train plays to "stop the bleeding/momentum"
Less runs of a million goals in a row.
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Less runs of a million goals in a row.
Sent from my SM-S908E using BigFooty.com mobile app
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With players having had pretty much all of September and October and first week of November off and given our recent performances I'd be hoping to see every player at the first training session regardless of how many years they've been at the club.
If you're injured turn up and support the boys in their fitness tests.
I'm old and been out of the game for a while now but still get updates from my old ammos club playing the level below SANFL here in Adelaide. Those kids are out doing bi-weekly group running sessions off their own back and not getting paid simply because they love the sport.
If you're injured turn up and support the boys in their fitness tests.
I'm old and been out of the game for a while now but still get updates from my old ammos club playing the level below SANFL here in Adelaide. Those kids are out doing bi-weekly group running sessions off their own back and not getting paid simply because they love the sport.
ToastieBoy18
Team Captain
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Gov's wedding Down South on the weekend in which a large number of the older crew were in attendance. Gov defintely won't be there, but others also, may be still making their way back to the city as they are not required back yet.
The boys are back in town, the boys are back in town
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That would be why I saw rotham in Margaret River on Saturday
- Sep 21, 2004
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- Norwood & Liverpool.
Yeah I reckon when you've had 3 years of total crap we've served up EVERY player should be rocking up day 1 and training together.
Has the coach even arrived in WA yet? lol
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Has the coach even arrived in WA yet? lol
Sent from my SM-S908E using BigFooty.com mobile app
Hope they have their shovels ready. It’s re-turfing time
Has the yellow always been THAT bright? God damn
In the absence of Keys I went down for a trundle this morning to check them out on return. Just a few random notes I took down...
Will upload pics later if I have time. Let me know if you have any questions!
- A lot of running work again, clearly a focus even in the heat.
- Duggan looked on and was hitting targets left and right. Set for a huge 2021.
- Giles went up against Vardy in the ruck contests and I'd say that Giles has the inside running at the moment.
- Mitchell looked a class above the other midfielders bar Priddis. Just knew how to find the footy and wouldn't miss a target all session. Shuey was very quiet and seemed to be taking direction from Mitchell. Doesn't bode well for his captaincy credentials, maybe he doesn't want the gig?
- Won't say too much about it in case I was just reading too much into it, but Rioli looked as though he'd enjoyed the Christmas break a bit too much. A few of the coaches pulled him aside and they were having quite an animated conversation before Rioli was sent to do laps for the rest of the session. Good news for Le Cras, I suppose.
- Sheed kicked on his right foot for 80% of the session, I reckon. Nice to see players working on their non-preferred so readily.
- Petrie looked like he was doing a great job 'coaching' the younger forwards in between the drills. Darling in particular seemed to be following him around.
- Gee Venables has some skills. He mainly jogged laps before spending the last half hour or so on set shots - curled a few beauties from behind the boundary line at the end for a bit of fun. Hardly saw him miss a kick.
- What interested me the most was that McGovern split his time between the defenders and the forwards, could be seeing a swingman role in 2017. He was his usual dominant self down back in some match simulation drills before going head-to-head with Mackenzie in a forward role.
- Bayok is very fast - Cripps was in most of the drills with him and couldn't keep up.
- Nelson is pale as buggery and still doesn't really have the body shape you'd expect of an AFL player.
- There was a big bloke who pulled up next to me and I could have sworn it was Suma, but I'm sure I was wrong...
- Masto was the player picked to kick the goal at the end today and nailed it. Celebrations were huge.
- No sign of Cole, Parto or Hill. Couldn't tell you why.
Will upload pics later if I have time. Let me know if you have any questions!
I apologise for nothing
Anna Hay
@AnnaHay1
·
7s
The
@WestCoastEagles
1-4 year players have hit the track for the first day of pre-season -
New coach Andrew McQualter is out there -
Elijah Hewett is training -
Handful of senior players here, including co-captains, also Cripps, Waterman, Yeo. @7NewsPerth
@AnnaHay1
·
7s
The
@WestCoastEagles
1-4 year players have hit the track for the first day of pre-season -
New coach Andrew McQualter is out there -
Elijah Hewett is training -
Handful of senior players here, including co-captains, also Cripps, Waterman, Yeo. @7NewsPerth
LittleFires
All Australian
- Thread starter
- #22
Unfortunately I woke up feeling like death today so I couldn’t come down… but nice to see some senior players on track. And Hewett training
New kit. Im on the fence if I like it or not
Its a no for me. Just looks like a training top from Temu.
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I dont mind some of the older guys not being there. As long as they are keeping fit on their own time. If they rock up massively unfit or overweight then that's another story.
