Wollongong camp mini-report

[undy]

I was in Melbourne all last week... and its true what we say about the place, very cold & wet....

to cheer me up (nameless*) was SMSing and calling me from the training camp - he now lives within a NOG kick of the training ground. Nothing startling to report. Briefly:

Schenider looked fitter.
Saddo looked buf
Nicky D looked as though he had enjoyed the break
Goodes and MOL not training with the main group
Matthews and the midfield group all looking bloody fit.

Looking forward to Friday night for our turn.

Anyone who actually went can post more useful detail - maybe (nameless) can break his lurker cover and reveal more (this is a shameless attempt by me to discover what handle he has been using for the last few years).

[swansrock4eva]

There will be a more detailed report up sometime this week. I just have to get around to it! For a nice relaxing 4 days away, I'm feeling damn tired!

[LittleSchneider]

How was the dinner?? Did anyone go? Eirenn?
Im so excited - Im going to the game this week! Finally - Feburary and the smell of the Footy season is in the air...

[OldE]

While we?re waiting for the wonderful article on the Wollongong camp (and blame me entirely. I?ve had technical difficulties so I haven?t been able to send SR4E a file she needs), here?s my musing on the week. Sorry, I won?t be able to tell you much, just what my untrained eye noticed.

On Tuesday, we arrived in time to catch the last half an hour of the BBQ at Stuart Park. There were quite a few people there (I really have no idea exactly how many, though I?d guess about 500). They ran a clinic for the local elite youth team, and some of the players signed autographs for kids (and far more frequently, for their parents). After it concluded, we decided to go for a walk on the beach before the forums and v. embarrassingly saw the players there. I feared I looked as though I was a bit of a creepy stalker-girl, but I swear it was accidental.

That evening we went to the forums at the Illawarra Master Builders Club. I attended the oaching forum, and was one of only 3 females in the room (I think). It was really, really interesting to hear the coaching staff speak. The things that struck me most was that 1) offensive to defensive (and vice versa) transitions are key and 2)the only consistent statistic from the last 10 premiership sides was being in the top 2 for effective kicking (urgh, I think that was it. Stats gurus, help me out).

Wednesday we went to training in the morning. I remember thinking that LRT looked really good, and that Nick Davis didn?t look quite as good. But we?ve a while before the season really starts, so I?m reserving judgement. By this point the blood was pumping and I started to get really, really excited that, in just over a week, I?d be watching footy again.

The rest of Wednesday was uninteresting, though I did manage to pick up a REALLY cute skirt at Myer for a very good price.

Thursday were school visits. The young people I know in the area who reported back to me (after much nagging on my behalf) said they enjoyed them immensely, and that the players were really nice.

After much stressing over what to wear, and a ridiculously large amount of time in the bathroom spent preening (am I supposed to admit that???), I went to the dinner. Actually, we went to the dinner, but I didn?t want to implicate my friend in the preening. Anyway, we arrived, and it turned out we were on a fantastic table. It was pretty much what I?d expected- polite chatter, lots of fund raising for the local football team (GO THE MIGHTY LIONS), and we went home. It was, however, very, very enjoyable.

On Friday morning at 9:30, we picked up my 4 year old cousin (who has been a leaguie since birth) and went to training again. While others watched the training, my cousin and I started to play footy. I taught him to kick and handball. He was having a blast. After training, he wanted to get autographs (including saying to Barry Hall ??scuse me, can you please have my autograph?. I?m sure it happens lots, but it was v. amusing for us.) The boys were very, very accommodating, and my cousin was very happy.

Then my cousin decided he wanted to have a kick at the posts. Which was fine, until he decided to make ME have a kick, in front of the posts, in full view of the players. Granted they probably weren?t watching, but I?ve rarely felt so self conscious- a bit like I was showing my primary school etchings to Picasso. Thankfully, I kicked my meagre goal from 15m out.

Anyway, we dropped my cousin off, and he was completely enamoured with football. I think I even convinced my grandfather to enrol him in Auskick next year. One leaguie converted: I think we had a pretty successful week.

That?s my collection of relatively dull anecdotes. Stay tuned for a far more professional and football-related article later.

[ROK Lobster]

Originally posted by eirinn
I remember thinking that LRT looked really good, and that Nick Davis didn?t look quite as good. But we?ve a while before the season really starts, so I?m reserving judgement.

But you just did pass judgment. If you wanted to reserve judgment you would not have said anything. Can you tall us what exactly about Nick did not look so good because I would pick Nick Davis in a wheelchair before I picked LRT at 198cm, 95 kilos, running sub-10s 100 metres, and sub-2hr marathons, bench pressing 180k and swimming under water from Syd to Auckland because one has football ability oozing from each and every pore and the other is a battler who may indeed knock out a decent AFL career for himself but will never be a match winner. Was LRT looking better practicing snap-shots from impossible angles or goals on the run from 55 or do you simply mean he looked better without a shirt on...

[swansrock4eva]

No ROK, it was more that Nick didn't appear to participate in anything other than warm up and stretches with the team on the Wednesday, and very little time in the team fitness and conditioning drills on Friday - he was taken away from them very quickly after he was spotted lagging a fair way behind. He spent the majority of his training on both days on his own or one on one with various guys from the conditioning side of the crew, doing laps, and pretty slow ones at that, when compared with the likes of Saddington, Goodes, Sundqvist etc, who were also seen undertaking lapwork. He also doesn't look as fit as many of the others in terms of physique - although I am by no means an expert, it did appear that he was carrying a little extra weight, a-la Schneides last year.

Having said that, in my notes, I also have things like "Heath looking little unfit - huffing" "Schaubs looks little underdone" so by all means Nick is not the only one who didn't look in top form at training, and as Erin said, it's still a long way til season proper.

And while it occurs to me, why exactly, ROK, does it seem so impossible to you that females can actually watch an all-male football team training, and draw judgement on the FACTS they see, without drooling over the fact that the players are flashing some pecs and abs over the course of their training session?

[stellation]

Latest Injury List from 17/1/5

Player:Nick Davis
Injury:In conditioning phase following ankle & foot problems end of '04 season
Status:Return to training in mid February

I have started to type a number of smart arse comments to go with this, but instead I will just leave it with "Well, DERRR he doesn't look as fit!".

[Whitefox]

Originally posted by ROK Lobster
But you just did pass judgment. If you wanted to reserve judgment you would not have said anything. Can you tall us what exactly about Nick did not look so good because I would pick Nick Davis in a wheelchair before I picked LRT at 198cm, 95 kilos, running sub-10s 100 metres, and sub-2hr marathons, bench pressing 180k and swimming under water from Syd to Auckland because one has football ability oozing from each and every pore and the other is a battler who may indeed knock out a decent AFL career for himself but will never be a match winner. Was LRT looking better practicing snap-shots from impossible angles or goals on the run from 55 or do you simply mean he looked better without a shirt on...

absolute gold!

Shame the bloke you were talking to last night is still worried about LRT.

[OldE]

Sorry, I just realised that I completely missed the connotation that Davis wasn't looking as good as LRT- I got lost in the sound of the words and forgot what they were actually saying.

All I meant was that Davis didn't look quite as good as he has in previous years- but that there's time yet for him to get back to his best. Separate of this fact, LRT looks as though he's bulked up a bit and may be ready to be the KPP we need him to be.

Sorry, that all got muddled in my poor, exercise-addled brain (I went for a 6 hour hike today). Hope that clarifies what I actually meant.

And it has nothing to do with how they look with their shirts off. I reserve that for posting on shirtlessafl.com

[ROK Lobster]

Originally posted by ROK Lobster
But you just did pass judgment. If you wanted to reserve judgment you would not have said anything. Can you tall us what exactly about Nick did not look so good because I would pick Nick Davis in a wheelchair before I picked LRT at 198cm, 95 kilos, running sub-10s 100 metres, and sub-2hr marathons, bench pressing 180k and swimming under water from Syd to Auckland because one has football ability oozing from each and every pore and the other is a battler who may indeed knock out a decent AFL career for himself but will never be a match winner. Was LRT looking better practicing snap-shots from impossible angles or goals on the run from 55 or do you simply mean he looked better without a shirt on...

Yep.