Bloods05, you can still attend training without any obstruction in Sydney. [At least I can't think of what obstruction you might have in mind. There is a fence around the oval?]
Bloods05, you can still attend training without any obstruction in Sydney. [At least I can't think of what obstruction you might have in mind. There is a fence around the oval?]
All opinions are not equal. Some are a very great deal more robust, sophisticated, and well supported in logic and argument than others. -Douglas Adams, author (11 Mar 1952-2001)
That's only during pre-season. Once they relocate inside the SCG during the season, you can no longer go and watch.
I remember back at the very start of the century they used to just through the main Driver Avenue doors open and anyone could just wander in to watch training. Then, when the world became far more security conscious after a handful of planes crashed into US buildings, you had to enter through the stadium admin office situated in the carpark and you had to sign in.
I'm not sure when access was cut-off entirely as I lost my free time shortly afterwards and so didn't contemplate going to watch. But I realised it was no longer an option during later brief periods of leisure.
I don't know if this belongs here or not.
I think we need to rethink the way we play into our forwards. I have been watching the Reserve and the reason Amartey kicks so many goals is that he gets used as FF not as a pocket big marking target all the time. He leads, he competes in contested situation (but this is not all the time as Sinclair or McLean take the contest) and he gets lots of ground ball as well. Like this idea of him and Mcdonald taking turns leading to the ball. The long kicks are for quick entry only. They catch the defence off guard.
In the seniors we will hold the ball in for long periods then bang it in long to a set defence. We rarely honour the lead unless it is Buddy. When Bud does not play Amartey or Mcdonald get to lead. But when Bud plays Mcdonald is the decoy and either McLean or Amartey are there to take the pack mark. Don't get me wrong, both are very capable of that but I think to just use Amartey this way is totally wasting a really huge talent. Using Mcdonald as basically a decoy is also devaluing a 1st round draft pick.
If Bud is to be in the team this year, and he will be, there needs to be a forward set up that does not rely too much on him. The forward duties need to be shared. Our players upfield need to pick the best option, not just Bud. That will make us far more unpredictable. Cats sat on Bud & McLean because they knew exactly what we were going to do. They put a player in front of Bud so he had no room to lead. They sat 2 on McLean to nullify him. We just did what thry wanted and their backs just cleaned up.
I also watched Will Gould. In the reserves he plays FB. But he came to us as an intercept defender. He has beaten nearly every VFL FF this year. His kicking is superb. He also manages to get free and provide run, taking his player out of their comfort zone. I think he could be invaluable.
As for the mids. Matty Roberts is developing nicely. He provides overlap run, good marking skills and is tough in the contest. His contested marking is excellent. I will comment on Gus later but he impressed me by his follow up work and huge tank. He is also a real terrier. Once in a pack he is like a Rabid dog. He will fight until he gets ball out. These two blokes will improve our midfield hugely. You want a small forward, then look to Luke Parker. The guy is a sensational Mark, is a great cumber, is agile, knows how to kick a Sausage. Was getting killed in the midfield in a game last year, I think it was GWS, went forward and kicked 5. I think he can do that every second week because he is a very hard match up. You have to put a player who can out mark him but also match him at ground level. Good luck with that.
I hope we practice the leading patterns this year in Pre-season. I think with the right patterns we could really spank sides. I also hope we practice moving the ball at hard pace.
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I see the Franklins bought a mansion on the Gold Coast for the entirety of his 9 year contract, and are selling their apartment in Sydney. I guess Buddy has checked out for the 2023 season.
i heard Bud has joined Burleigh Heads SLSC and will train there once a week (beach sprinting) and commute to Sydney for a little dash around Lakeside on the Thursday prior to game day lol 😂
Bud would like to compete in the over 35s beach sprinting relay world champs............
"be tough, only when it gets tough"
Today was the younger players first day back on the track! That of course means - TIME TRIAL! Such an exciting day, with the draft still to come.
There were a smattering of senior players who joined in for training but they didn't do the time trial. (Mills, Fox, Papley, Clarke, Hickey, Ladhams, Amartey). Melican and Hayward showed up but didn't train at all and were dressed in civvies.
All the coaching staff and Tom Harley and Charlie Gardiner put in appearances. I wonder if any of them will fly to Melbourne for the draft?
The time trial featured strong performances by the usual suspects. Dyl Stephens finished first, followed by Errol Gulden and an impressive Corey Warner came in third. I think next was Lachie Rankin, then James Rowbottom and a bit further back was Chad. Chad was looking leaner than he did in his very first pre-season I thought. Lachie McAndrew came last by far but he was pretty pleased because he ran a PB!
Justin McInerney did train but didn't time trial because he had a recent bout of illness. The most underwhelming performance was Matty Roberts. He was a lot slower than the others (only McAndrew was slower) and looked gassed. I don't know if there are some mitigating factors or if he's just come back a bit out of shape. Campbell was also disappointed in his performance.
Aaron Francis (aka Frang or Frank) had his first day of training. He seemed happy enough to be at the club. He said he didn't have any existing mates at the club but knew Cal Mills from the Academy and some of the other SA boys (because he's also from SA).
Tom Hickey didn't do the time trial but did run well I thought.
In terms of what else they did, it was just the usual sort of stuff: a little bit of running and kicking. Some slightly game play type scenarios (interesting to see that from day 1 of pre-season). They were my take-aways.
Last edited by Meg; 28th November 2022 at 01:40 PM. Reason: All the paragraphs disappeared! Re-inserted para breaks.
All opinions are not equal. Some are a very great deal more robust, sophisticated, and well supported in logic and argument than others. -Douglas Adams, author (11 Mar 1952-2001)
Thanks Meg!
All opinions are not equal. Some are a very great deal more robust, sophisticated, and well supported in logic and argument than others. -Douglas Adams, author (11 Mar 1952-2001)
Thanks for the report bloodspirit, much appreciated.
Corey Warner third is nice, endurance to go with his speed. Winger of the future
Last edited by 707; 28th November 2022 at 06:10 PM.
New VFL coaches there?
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