Melbourne 2016 pre-season

[Purple 77]

Interesting he thinks Kennedy will play as a small forward. Seems like half the reason he left Collingwood was because he was playing out of position (works best as a midfielder)... Where do you guys see Kent playing? Could Kennedy end up on that wing and Kent play more in the forward half?

I could definitely see that happening. It's interesting you have them in the same sentence, because I was thinking at the time when we got Bennedy was that this guy is basically Dean Kent :P

But yeah, I like Kent more in that forward half role more than Bennedy. It's just a question if Bennedy is better than Kent as a midfielder... I haven't seen much of Bennedy, so naturally I like Kent more  ;)

[Barra13]

Was also there for a couple of hours. Here's a few random observations:

Garland, Harmes and Tmac are three of the most vocal/encouraging in the group.

Garlett was told to forget his left foot by Rawlings after a particularly bad attempt at goal.

Ben K. worked particularly hard, so much so that he had a chunder during one exercise. Garlo was there to put an arm around him.

Max Gawn is looking incredibly fit!

Dom Tyson's kicking was quite ordinary. Many helicopter kicks.

Jack Trengove looks ready to return to the action. Running at three quarter pace was solid.

Coaches were regularly riding Salem hard for not getting into position. Fitness/concentration seems an issue.

Pedo was looking dangerous up forward with a number of excellent marks.

Frost is quick but skills are ordinary.

Jack Viney is one single minded mudder effa! Works incredibly hard. When he yells out though his voice breaks like a pubescent teenager!

His father is quite garrulous these days!

Rawlings is an extremely positive influence around the group. Always encourages.

Dean Kent and Hogan look particularly sharp during the drills.

Tom Bugg looks like a mountain man. Then again he hails from Gembrook so no surprise!

[Purple 77]

Dom Tyson reports on his kicking have been numerous and concerning  :(

[Big Mac]

Dom Tyson reports on his kicking have been numerous and concerning  :(

yep, was going to say the same thing  :(

[Barra13]

From what I understood at the training session yesterday: Lumumba, Dawes, Terlich, Watts, Trengove, JKH, Max King, Weideman and Petracca are in the rehab group. All at various stages of their rehabilitation which I overheard is a A-D graded system. Oliver & Spencer also seemed to be on lighter duties.

Most interesting thing I overheard was when a fan came over to Lumumba and asked him how his rehab was tracking & whether he would be ready for NAB. Harry said he's not going to push himself to hard, but told the fan not to worry because he reckon's we'll be playing finals this year.

Now as much as I'm not a fan of old H, that's a whole new level of optimism!

[Barra13]

Boys started with some slick ball movements, running it from full back into the centre. Being checked closely by defenders, the message was to keep looking for your nearest man as support. Move it fast & clean. Quite impressed here. Standouts for me was Bernie, Salem, Brayshaw. Very few mistakes. Spence a bit clumsy. as expected.

Full ground drills now. 2 sets of Attackers vs Defenders .. One thing I'm noticing a lot are the low trajectory passing. Powerful, flat & accurate. Exciting to watch. The occasional mis-kick. But the ball is being transferred much quicker. So less hospital hand passes & kicks to hopefully keep guys like Pedo out of hospital.

I had a chat with Shannon Byrnes. He reckons petracca a chance for round 1. but won't be pushed. He has just been doing stationary ball work so far today. Looks very eager to get out there. Also asked if he received a call from Essendon.. He was surprised he didn't.

Trenners now roving a tap, and taking snap shots for goal using both feet. He's got a grin from ear to ear. I can't help but having one as well. Very exciting.

Blue vs White, mini match simulation until a score is registered. Then play is reset at different parts of the ground. Players are clearly tiring a bit.. resulting in a few missed hand passes & kicks. But follow up work has been good & still very vocal. Standouts for me have been Dean Kent, with his clean ball work in close, quick sidestep & immediate accelerate away from the pack.. a thing of beauty. Sam Frost took a brilliant contested mark. Looking the goods. Iv seen Ben Kennedy doing some impressive things in close. And just witnessed a graceful sidestep from jets & a lace out pass to a leading forward.

[Purple 77]

Trenners  :D

[Barra13]

The southerly wind at Casey in the winter is a sure recipe for a miserable day.  However, on a mild summer day in summer it just made the training session a sheer delight.

I won't go into the actual drills, as there is little point in describing them unless you are there, and the important thing is how they translate to match conditions.  So for those not there here are the observations:

* In the rebab group we have 8 players, and no Jack Watts to be seen today at all.  Not a good sign at this time of year for numbers.  However, Trengove we all know about.  Was really testing the foot with shuttle runs back and forward and lots of drills which put plenty of pressure on that left foot.  Despite what was told to others, he is NOT yet kicking on the left. 

Dawes had a knee strapped, but that has been the case while he has been at Melbourne.  Nothing on the calf.  He, Weidemann, Trengove, Mitch King, Petracca and Lamumba  ran a series of sprints with timing over the middle 50m ( my guess).  Most were recording mid 4 sec times, but Dawes topped them all with a 3.6.  One can assume he is not too far from being back to the main group.  Newton managed to run a few laps before disappearing into the rooms.

* Garland has changed his running and kicking style,  I had trouble recognising him until later.

* There is a real emphasis on moving the ball quickly, and other running to receive downfield.  The mobility of Gawn is simply breathtaking for such a big man, and his first real pre-season should see him really break-out in the coming year. His strength is also incredible as he rag-dolled a couple of forwards in marking contests, who thought they had position.

* Spencer still can't mark overhead or kick the ball properly after all this time on the list.  However, he has learnt to jump off the ground in ruck contests, instead of aiming at the opposition ruck.  The result was that he got his hand to the ball nearly every time against Gawn in the ruck contests.  Some hope there....

* Neville Jetta is a seriously hard defender to beat one-on-one.  He was pitted against Hogan and then Gawn and managed to stifle their opportunities, when it should have been only a one way contest. Still a bit slow off the mark, which can give the opponent space.

* Vandenberg is still a beast although a much trimmer version.  Bad news for the opposition is that he has replaced body fat with muscle, so he is even stronger than before.  He simply ripped a pack apart in the match simulation.

* Frost will be another welcome addition to the backline this year, but he is NOT a ruck option in defense.  He simply doesn't have the body to grapple against some of the gorillas.  However, he reads the play beautifully and took an absolute scorcher of a pack mark during the match simulation.

* Hunt, Hulett, Harmes, Kennedy, ANB and JKH all did what they had to do when required, and will get their opportunities as required during the season. It is nice to have all these options in the side now. JKH has spent a lot of time in the gym, and will be able to hold his own much more in the coming season, as some considered him to be too small and light for AFL.  Not now!

* Oliver still has a lot of work to do.  His skills and endurance seem to be OK, but needs a lot more work on his upper body.  That will come, as one can see he has the frame that will respond to AFL level training in a big way.

* Don't let Jeff Garlett a yard spare, because he cuts defenders to pieces if they do.  I guess we all know that already, but he is simply lethal around goal.

* Hogan was simply a presence on the field.  He demands the ball wherever he is, in front of goal or up the field.  Pity the backman this year, because he was simply too mobile and strong for any of ours today.

* Bugg is like a blow-fly in the middle.  Is very, very capable in and close, so hopefully his addition will make a serious improvement to the mids.  I only hope his size doesn't limit him, as I was reminded a lot of James Magner. Hope I'm wrong.

* Good to have Kent back and running.  His input was truly missed last season, and todays efforts were matching his best from last season.  His acceleration opens up space and if the game plan is based on spread and speed, then he is the man.

That's enough of the good news.  Now that there is more physical contact in the sessions, then the injuries start to happen.  I would love to put a lot of them in cotton wool until season opener, but that is not practical.

So we saw Jones leave the track very early.  Brayshaw came off and had his knee bandaged with what looked like a knock.  No ice, and then he went for a run and took the bandage off.  However, he too left early. Vince followed, but returned to run some laps.  Then Oliver came off.

Nothing looked too serious and I think all were just bruises, but the heart finishes up in the mouth when half the mid-field is forced off the track!

[Big Mac]

Dawes had a knee strapped, but that has been the case while he has been at Melbourne.  Nothing on the calf.  He, Weidemann, Trengove, Mitch King, Petracca and Lamumba  ran a series of sprints with timing over the middle 50m ( my guess).  Most were recording mid 4 sec times, but Dawes topped them all with a 3.6.  One can assume he is not too far from being back to the main group.  Newton managed to run a few laps before disappearing into the rooms.

Lol  ;D

Sounds like Dawesy chose the wrong sport! If he's running 50m in 3.6 that is  :P

[Barra13]

The wind was very strong (cap close to blowing off) and not conducive to precision skills.

Rehab group Dawes, Lumumba, Max King, Trengove, Petracca, Weideman, Newton â€" no Watts.

Uncontested ball movement drill starting in deep defence and using wing flanks before hitting a target leading from the goal square.  Then broken into 2 groups for ground ball drills - one v one short marking with designated marker, plus long marking with hard lead after pushing/feigning, then doubling back marking/spoil with the same opponent.  Neville Jetta doing well negating taller opponents; including Hogan.

Four groups in orange (8), pink (9), white (8) and blue (8).  Taking turns in working it out of defence through either the corridor or wing.  Quick ball movement the theme.  It’s a full ground drill that finishes with a score.  Oliver and Hulett do a couple of nice things.  I like the look of Hulett.  His body is ready and he’s only slightly smaller than Hogan.

The match simulation starts with a couple of AFL umpires, but Goodwin dictates where play starts (no sign of Roos â€" although others might have spotted him).  The umpires depart, but simulation keeps going for another 20 minutes with Goodwin in charge.

Skills difficult due to wind and there are numerous turnovers from missed kicks or errant handballs.  Ball movement is far quicker than we’re used to.

Players that stood out to me:

He made the odd error, but Tyson was the most prolific closely followed by Bugg, who also made skill errors.  But he will be handy.

Kent was terrific.  Speed, evasion and penetration in his kicking.

vandenBerg looks like a shiny colt that has been trained to the minute.  He’ll make a difference this year.

In fact all those that you’ve heard have had a great preseason look like they’ve had a great preseason, including Gawn.  Jetta looks in great form.

Mitch White took a couple of nice intercept marks and Stretch also impressed.

Harmes was quite noticeable with his involvement.  I'm not sure his kicking is overly damaging, but he's lively and we all know he can mark.

Hogan looks fantastic and got a few touches, but it wasn’t a day for talls.  In quick handball congestion drills he also excels like a mid.

Brayshaw, Oliver, Vince, Salem, and Jones didn’t take part in the match simulation.

Brayshaw with left knee twinge that got bandaged - goes for some running along boundary.  Later jogging laps with bandage gone.  Doesn’t look in too much discomfort.  Points to the inside of his knee as the area of concern.

Oscar McDonald hurt his right knee.  Had a pronounced limp with a bandage just above the knee.

Salem also was getting hamstring worked on along the boundary and failed to take part in the intra.

Not a bad session, but the wind made it hard to hit targets.  Good energy levels and a far more attacking game style.  Getting the balance right will be the key.

[Barra13]

Nice job on the training reports guys....  in fact too good!!   Left me with nothing other than to confirm it was pretty much what I had to report.

I will say Trenners is moving very well, Hogan has bulked up, his upper thighs are coming along nicely, that should help his kicking distance.

As a whole the group no longer has skinny runts that will be easliy pushed off the ball. (Apart from the tall new guys,they'll take more time to develop)

What impressed me most was the ball movement all over the ground in the Match Sim. Did NOT see one hospital handball, players were making space and running forward (finally)

Still some sloppy disposals that missed their target, until that improves more, we will kill momemtum when we have the ball. More times than not, they got it correct. I left feeling confident with what I seen. Its been awhile since I was able to attend a training session. Previously left feeling a bit more than peeved in what I watched. But not today, if they can carry that into a real game, we are going to put the wind up a few good teams that we have had trouble beating in the past. That is the key, doing it under pressure.

They have stopped running the guys into the ground with repeated running, its so good to see them moving the ball around by hand and foot.

Kinda reminded me of the late 80's when we played like a football team.

Jonesy didnt look good, I doubt it was serious, but he walked off to the boundry and had his leg / knee worked on, he gave a yelp,when behind his knee was worked on. Only a guess on my behalf, but maybe a sore tendon behind the knee. He walked around for 10 mins then went inside.

Brayshaw looks like he may also have a knee complaint. He was sprinting hard, then stopped dead, Heard him say its a bit sore. Again a guess, when he loaded up the  knee to stop, it was a bit uncomfortable. Then had it strapped, did some sprints for about 20 mins then off came the strapping.

So perhaps nothing more than a niggle.

I got a close look at Petracca. I will only say, if I had the ball and I seen him barrelling towards me, I would be wanting to get rid of it pretty quick.

He's built like the brick outhouse.

[Ricochet]

* Bugg is like a blow-fly in the middle.  Is very, very capable in and close, so hopefully his addition will make a serious improvement to the mids.  I only hope his size doesn't limit him, as I was reminded a lot of James Magner. Hope I'm wrong.

Was hoping for this :D
Do you boys think Bugg will have a bit more freedom in the middle or play as a lock down type?

[Purple 77]

* Bugg is like a blow-fly in the middle.  Is very, very capable in and close, so hopefully his addition will make a serious improvement to the mids.  I only hope his size doesn't limit him, as I was reminded a lot of James Magner. Hope I'm wrong.

Was hoping for this :D
Do you boys think Bugg will have a bit more freedom in the middle or play as a lock down type?

Roos brought him in with the view that the tagger is coming back with the new interchange restrictions. I'd expect him to be a lock down player, that when the opportunity presents, will also try to win the ball.

Similar to Daniel Cross last year even.

[Ricochet]

* Bugg is like a blow-fly in the middle.  Is very, very capable in and close, so hopefully his addition will make a serious improvement to the mids.  I only hope his size doesn't limit him, as I was reminded a lot of James Magner. Hope I'm wrong.

Was hoping for this :D
Do you boys think Bugg will have a bit more freedom in the middle or play as a lock down type?

Roos brought him in with the view that the tagger is coming back with the new interchange restrictions. I'd expect him to be a lock down player, that when the opportunity presents, will also try to win the ball.

Similar to Daniel Cross last year even.

I'll take a 90ave from Cross 2.0! :P

[Barra13]

I'm hoping now that Bugg is there that it might let Viney off the leash. I think he could really up his average this season.