Well, if we’re to believe Horse - & a fair number of gullible jurnos did - he only had to do have the first training session in Feb and he’ll have done more training than he did all last seasonOriginally Posted by Markwebbos
Well, if we’re to believe Horse - & a fair number of gullible jurnos did - he only had to do have the first training session in Feb and he’ll have done more training than he did all last season
I did hear that SEN interview with Charlie Gardner earlier this evening. He didn't sound as polished as Harley, but that will come. Here were his main points:
- As already highlighted above, Buddy not due to resume full training till late Jan/early Feb.
- Menzel not due to resume till late Feb. Club is hoping his groin op will give him increased manoeuvrability and longevity, as they were aware of his groin issues when they signed him up.
- Only a possibility (not definite) that Mills & Heeney will both play midfield next year. That decision will be made later in the pre-season. The club sees them playing various roles to further their development. They've both had strong pre-seasons thus far.
- Sam Reid has also put in a strong pre-season and are hoping a full season from him to help Buddy in the forward line.
- For the Swans to succeed next year the club will be relying on the young brigade coming through to take that next step.
I feel the interpretation of the Buddy situation (and whether it is "news" that he won't return to training until early February) depends on whether that means returning to "full training" (which generally means participating in all the match simulation and skills training that the squad does together), or returning to any training.
It's pretty common for players returning from injury to spend a solid 3-4 week block (maybe less, maybe more, depending on the severity and nature of the injury) regaining fitness on their own or in small groups. From my observations of prior year pre-season training, there are usually as many as ten or so players not participating with the main squad, but instead running around the boundary line at varying degrees of intensity. Presumably these players also do other fitness/endurance related activities away from the training oval, in swimming pools, the dungeon or the gym.
From the time his groin surgery was made public, we were led to believe that Franklin wouldn't do anything pre-Christmas, other than what he's got a lot of practice at recently - ie standing on the sidelines and watching. If he's back into some kind of running programme once the squad returns from its mandated three week Christmas break, that sounds to be like he's on schedule. On the other hand, if the latest reports indicate he won't start running until late Jan or early Feb, that is somewhat later than was previously indicated.
Looking at the recent pictures of Mills upper body I'd reckon that was a very intentional bulking up by the club whilst he was off his ankle with a view to moving him into the midfield in 2019, a changing of the guard season.
I heard that interview, too. I agree with KSAS both in the summary of the main points and in the assessment of Charlie Gardner; I thought he was from a legal background, and was expecting him to be more articulate. I'm not wanting to imply that his skills in responding weren't up to the mark, only that he's not yet what I'd describe as a consummate media performer.
Some of the questions put to him were quite closed in nature. For example, he was asked about Mills and Heeney in the midfield next year, rather than a more open-ended, 'Who might be under consideration for time in the midfield next season?' To my mind, that meant the questions weren't probing enough, so that all-in-all he said as much of substance as our best exponents of the art of the interview, i.e. pretty much nothing. So as far as the interview is concerned, Zak Jones and others may also be midfield possibilities.
I hoped he might be asked about Matt Ling, but no.
Heeney, Mills await big 2019 campaign - sydneyswans.com.au
This is the take of the Swans' website content-creating-brains-trust of that interview with Gardiner on SEN. If it's a truthful summary (and from posts above, it sounds like it is), the interview certainly had a high fluff quotient.
I hadn't seen that - I check RWO before looking at the club's website! "The Swans' website content-creating-brains-trust" wouldn't rate too highly on logical thinking, on the basis of some of that content:
I mean, "I think it’s certainly a possibility ..." and "I don’t know exactly where they’ll line up ..." = "Gardiner says there’s every chance ...". Really?Gardiner says there’s every chance forward Heeney and half-back Mills will play bigger roles in the midfield in the Swans’ 2019 campaign.
“I think it’s certainly a possibility that those two will make greater contributions to our midfield rotation in 2019,” Gardiner told SEN.
“Isaac and Callum are two of our emerging stars, and they’ve had strong openings to the pre-season and haven’t missed a beat.
“I don’t know exactly where they’ll line up at this point as we’re still pre-Christmas."
I suppose it give us fans something to dream about over the summer, but the report of the interview is no less in its fluff-quotient than was the original.
Yes, Charlie did not exhibit insight in a footballing sense beyond that of a reasonably casual observer (but performed a lot better than his woeful post draft interview with Swans TV).
The SEN interview is here, if anyone has a spare 8 mins while cleaning the kitchen or something: The Sporting Capital | 1116 SEN.
Interesting to see Fox winning the yoyo test today with Clarke in second place. I don't have Fox in my top 30 players but he really does seem to have put in the effort to give himself the best chance of playing next year. John Blakey also noted that JPK and Parker did PBs in the test.
Fox definitely has the ability physically but so do so many players in our squad
Mentally we will see this year how he fairs if given the opportunity
He averaged a stack of tackles in the vfl and I wondered whether he would be a next Nick Smith type player for us ?
I also see that as his most likely position moving forward.
I don't think it's surprising to see a fringe player like Fox excel athletically simply because if he didn't have excellent endurance (and decent speed) he wouldn't be on the list. In past years we've generally seen the likes of Foote, Robinson and Marsh similarly at, or near, the front of the running drills for the same reason.
Rose is probably a counter-example. He has the flair and skills to be a regular AFL player but has struggled to elevate his endurance to a level that enables him to deliver at the top level.
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