Training Preseason Training Thread - 2024/25

[Keys]

Players return to the club from their Christmas break on January 9

 

[Chris_6678]

https://archive.md/1BVmN

 

[Chris_6678]

Just quietly.... EH looks a tank now.

 

[Obeanie1]

Just quietly.... EH looks a tank now.

When he cleans up De Goey and puts him on his arse I'll be happy.

 

[Corn69]

When he cleans up De Goey and puts him on his arse I be happy.

I legitimately want him to end De Goeys career.

 

[Bender_]

I legitimately want him to end De Goeys career.

Better hope EH gets in quick, De Goey is one off season from doing that all by himself.

 

[Bender_]

Hough looking huge:



Ginbey looking like some sort of swol ginger wolfman:

 

[eaglevision]

Hough looking huge:

View attachment 2182907

Ginbey looking like some sort of swol ginger wolfman:

View attachment 2182908

The Joan Hough Arc to Hasselhough transformation is a modern medical marvel.

 

[ROO DOGG]

The Joan Hough Arc to Hasselhough transformation is a modern medical marvel.
View attachment 2182914
View attachment 2182925

Pity he changed his hair style

 

[Keys]

First time I’ve seen them ditch the singlets/t-shirts and train in jumpers this preseason

Best part about that is it means numbers on jumpers so it’ll be easier to identify players

Judging the from these short vids and the report from the West it seems like this might have coincided with a lift in intensity

 

[We_The_West]

The Joan Hough Arc to Hasselhough transformation is a modern medical marvel.
View attachment 2182914
View attachment 2182925

Hough is wasted as a lockdown defender.... needs to be further up the ground dropping kents... get him up on the wing

 

[WCE_phil]

Hough is wasted as a lockdown defender.... needs to be further up the ground dropping kents... get him up on the wing

I don't. Think he will become the best mid sized lockdown defender in the league who can beat out his man the other way as well as play both taller and smaller.

 

[Carbine Chaos]

I don't. Think he will become the best mid sized lockdown defender in the league who can beat out his man the other way as well as play both taller and smaller.

Agreed. He's one of the few guys on our side becoming elite in his role and some people want his role changed?

 

[We_The_West]

I don't. Think he will become the best mid sized lockdown defender in the league who can beat out his man the other way as well as play both taller and smaller.

He'd already be close with his defensive capabilities... definitely excited to see him grow his offensive game. Has a high ceiling IMO

 

[Kegs15]

Hough is wasted as a lockdown defender.... needs to be further up the ground dropping kents... get him up on the wing

I don't. Think he will become the best mid sized lockdown defender in the league who can beat out his man the other way as well as play both taller and smaller.

While I absolutely agree with Phil's comment generally (especially regarding his peak position), in a development year this year I do hope we lean some focus into offensiveness where we can.

Give him some more kickouts/a few more rebounding responsibilities and licence to push up when required, at least for now. Not starting on the wing necessarily but ending up in that area distributing when we're on the offensive.

Feel like he'll always be great at beating his man which will only improve naturally with age and strength, but later in his career reckon it'll be easier to reign in offensiveness when required than ask him to be more attacking.

Let this year be one where it's ok to make mistakes and he can get used to, when he is beating out his man the other way: how, when, and in what situational priority is the most effective way to do it.

 

[JackOutback]

I don't. Think he will become the best mid sized lockdown defender in the league who can beat out his man the other way as well as play both taller and smaller.

I think, on his current trajectory, he’ll be a title contender in the UFC’s heavyweight division.

 

[Byron_Clanger]

https://archive.md/1BVmN

Baker was noticeably vocal, displaying the leadership from Richmond where he was a vice-captain, while Owies and Graham were thriving on the physicality of the session.

Good....good...and why do I fear Reid's pre-season/first half of next year is gonna get wrecked by whatever the hell's wrong with his leg? We usually don't have the best of luck when it comes to 'light work for a while and see how it recovers naturally' kinda ailments, they always end up going in for a procedure.

And that note on Greggo getting in some extra work before the session started...I'm loving this kid more and more.

 

[dinnaz]

It’s a league wide thing

For whatever reason, clubs don’t have autonomous control over their official websites. They can choose what stories, videos, photos etc to put up but things like the team list are out of their control

Check any club and their playing list is out of date. Billion dollar industry and something as simple as a current playing list takes weeks/months to update because AFL

This isn’t on our social media team

They sold the rights to the AFL back in 2004 I think it was. Along with every other club besides Essendon and maybe 1 other. Part of the equalisation measures.

Also dumb short-sightedness of those running the joint back then (re the internet)

 

[Dylan82]

This repetitive mentioning of playing a fast chaos game with a real focus on small forwards, speed and pressure has got me excited to see how 2025 goes.

How many years have we said we are playing too many tall forwards and the ball just walks out of our forward 50 under little to no pressure.

High pressure and the likes of Owies, Cripps, Long, Dewar, Ryan and Hewett hunting the opposition sounds like a breath of fresh air. Champion replaces Cripps in a couple of seasons.

Even though we are advertising how we want to play opposition teams won't be used to the Eagles playing small and fast.

This is also what I'm most excited to see from the season ahead.

Pressure and pace setups work in all conditions and are far less fallible than other methods when additional scrutiny comes in finals.

Also the geometry of playing on an oval ground favours forward half pressing when it comes to scoring probability outcomes.


And it will just be fun to see the team actually move the ball with purpose for a change. There's a very capable forward line that has been long-starved for opportunity through a combination of slow movement and a lack of pressure. Simply getting possession forward quicker will result in more one-on-one situations for those forwards; backing that up with a greater application of pressure will provide more chances to capitalise on opposition mistakes.


Over the last four seasons (2021-2024), West Coast has failed to score more than 10 goals in more than half of matches played (53%).

You have to go back to Round 7, 2021 to find the last time the club scored 20 goals in a game - if that seems a long time ago, consider that Gaff, Sheed and Redden combined for 94 disposals during that match...


Over those same four seasons, the Eagles rank for scores from turnovers has been 12th, 17th, 18th, 18th.

Similarly, the Eagles rank for forward half scores from those seasons has been 8th, 18th, 18th, 17th.


When you consider that 58% of all scores in the competition during that time period were from turnover (as opposed to 38% from stoppage and 4% from kick ins), and 50% of all scores in the competition originated from the forward half of the ground (as opposed to 37% from defensive half and 13% from centre bounce), it's very clear that tactically, the last years of the Simpson era were ones of total failure.


A new system that aligns with the practical reality of how football is being played will improve the performance of the squad as a whole. After that, organic growth and development will appear to have returned suddenly to the club as trust and buy-in increases and positive feedback loops develop.


I expect to see West Coast as a far more offensively damaging team next year, with scoreboard productivity jumping by more than most will anticipate as a result.

 

[Avalor]

This is also what I'm most excited to see from the season ahead.

Pressure and pace setups work in all conditions and are far less fallible than other methods when additional scrutiny comes in finals.

Also the geometry of playing on an oval ground favours forward half pressing when it comes to scoring probability outcomes.


And it will just be fun to see the team actually move the ball with purpose for a change. There's a very capable forward line that has been long-starved for opportunity through a combination of slow movement and a lack of pressure. Simply getting possession forward quicker will result in more one-on-one situations for those forwards; backing that up with a greater application of pressure will provide more chances to capitalise on opposition mistakes.


Over the last four seasons (2021-2024), West Coast has failed to score more than 10 goals in more than half of matches played (53%).

You have to go back to Round 7, 2021 to find the last time the club scored 20 goals in a game - if that seems a long time ago, consider that Gaff, Sheed and Redden combined for 94 disposals during that match...


Over those same four seasons, the Eagles rank for scores from turnovers has been 12th, 17th, 18th, 18th.

Similarly, the Eagles rank for forward half scores from those seasons has been 8th, 18th, 18th, 17th.


When you consider that 58% of all scores in the competition during that time period were from turnover (as opposed to 38% from stoppage and 4% from kick ins), and 50% of all scores in the competition originated from the forward half of the ground (as opposed to 37% from defensive half and 13% from centre bounce), it's very clear that tactically, the last years of the Simpson era were ones of total failure.


A new system that aligns with the practical reality of how football is being played will improve the performance of the squad as a whole. After that, organic growth and development will appear to have returned suddenly to the club as trust and buy-in increases and positive feedback loops develop.


I expect to see West Coast as a far more offensively damaging team next year, with scoreboard productivity jumping by more than most will anticipate as a result.

Sound analysis backed up with data, excellent.

 

[Astro7]

A new system that aligns with the practical reality of how football is being played will improve the performance of the squad as a whole. After that, organic growth and development will appear to have returned suddenly to the club as trust and buy-in increases and positive feedback loops develop.

I enjoyed reading this part...and skipped all the number crunching.

 

[Obeanie1]

Hough looking huge:

View attachment 2182907

Ginbey looking like some sort of swol ginger wolfman:

Who is that in the middle?

 

[bzparkes]

Who is that in the middle?

Oscar Allen.

 

[WAFClatfd]

The Joan Hough Arc to Hasselhough transformation is a modern medical marvel.
View attachment 2182914
View attachment 2182925

No its not!!

 

[Byron_Clanger]

I enjoyed reading this part...and skipped all the number crunching.

I've been a bit of a numbers merchant recently. Seeing as we've either been dead last or bottom three in disposals the last few seasons I went to FootyWire to see how we fared in 2018 and we literally finished third last in disposals per game but we averaged 101 marks per game as opposed to 84 this year...so under Simmo we never really were a high possession team but good retainers of it (Brisbane averaged 110 marks this year, jeepers.)

 

[Astro7]

I've been a bit of a numbers merchant recently. Seeing as we've either been dead last or bottom three in disposals the last few seasons I went to FootyWire to see how we fared in 2018 and we literally finished third last in disposals per game but we averaged 101 marks per game as opposed to 84 this year...so under Simmo we never really were a high possession team but good retainers of it (Brisbane averaged 110 marks this year, jeepers.)

I'm not anti-stats (or Dylan's well researched post) and enjoyed Moneyball way back, just a lazy reader sometimes, skimming through BF. Under Simmo we played 'keepy-offs' basically. That last passage of play leading to Sheed's goal defined it perfectly. Not easy to swing a team around to play almost the opposite style. I'm certainly no expert, but it seems like Brisbane we need a blend of speed and skill (which we seem to be developing).You wouldn't think Brisbane would have such high mark stats? I need to rewatch the GF and refresh myself on the trending game style. We didn't do too badly with a patched up team and and a stand-in coach, to lose by 13 points against Brissy at Optus?