The pre season begins !!!!

[Conor_Dillon]

Tippett 108
Franklin 107
Grundy 106

Would be interesting to see these again in the week before round 1! You'd expect them all to be a fair bit lighter.

[Scottee]

Naismith now 108kg. Has he finally stopped growing?

[Mel_C]

Over the last few weeks it has been reported that players such as Cloke, Petrie, Riewoldt etc have all lost weight over the break to help with the interchange restrictions. Seems to mostly be forwards. I wonder if any of our players have the same strategy.

[Auntie.Gerald]

it could be the return of the 190cm power forwards

[Bloods05]

Now let's get back to the pre-season.

Strong family bloodline emerges at Sydney Swans through rookie Tom Papley

Talia up for the fight - sydneyswans.com.au

Pre-season report: Christmas break - sydneyswans.com.au

[Conor_Dillon]

Coming back as early as January 3 seems a bit rough...is this always the case?

[Mountain Man]

The Swans 2016 will have the following with more Goals then Games

Franklin 706 in 221
Tippett 301 in 152
McGlynn 171 in 153
Heeney 16 in 14
Rose 3 in 2

[RogueSwan]

Okay, lets keep things on topic and if you want to define what the Sydney Swans are please use an appropriate forum.

[wolftone57]

Naismith now 108kg. Has he finally stopped growing?

I bet his mother hopes so but the bed maker? No chance. Big Sam is indeed big. Imagine feeding that boy. Typical shopping day at the Naismith butchers; I'll have a side of Beef, a side of Lamb, make that Hoggett Fred Lamb's a bit expensive since 2013, a side of Goat, a dozen Chickens, a tub of Mince, a side of Pork, 400 rashers of Bacon. I think that'll do Fred.

The Swans site has him at 206cm but his local paper has him at 208. Would love to get a proper measurement from the club because he has been 206 even before he grew a little in the local rag.

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it could be the return of the 190cm power forwards

a good thing too. I loved Modra and Capper. They got up there but they also led to the ball and were able to make space. Bombing to huge KF is really boring.

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Coming back as early as January 3 seems a bit rough...is this always the case?

after last season I'd say we need all the practice we can get. I might even get down to have a look after week one.

[Melbourne_Blood]

Interesting to read the article on AFL website with Talia. He suggested the swans are a lot fitter as a group than the Doggies. Apparently Callum Simclair and Talia have been adjusting to the heavy running loads at swans pre season training . Doesn't seem to tie in with our habit of getting run over the top of quite a bit last year but perhaps that isn't solely about fitness.

[Auntie.Gerald]

Great to hear we are a cut above re fitness

But

more time on the skill training one becomes more skilful ?

less training at the skill work........?

[WauchopeAnalyst]

No Christmas presents for the Swans. No contract for Parker and no photo for Talia on player profiles. Also just stock photos for Mills and others. Have hard is that!

[graemed]

Only managed to get to the one training run prior to Xmas break but am happy to report that they all look super fit.
Was confused when I first saw Tyrone Leonardis thought he looked very pale and perhaps was the Irish recruit O'Riordan. He looked to be quite heavy legged and was running laps so maybe his fitness needs to improve.
Sam Reid was running with Talia and they looked very alike buildwise.
McGlynn, Heeney and Zac Jones were also doing running so I assume they're recovering from various procedures.
Naismith was doing work on the sidelines while Tippett and Sinclair were doing rucking drills. Franklin was the most obvious omission.
There may have been some others on the injured list but the remainder of the squad plus some supplementary players trained for a couple of hours doing a variety of sprint work, kicking drills, a variation on circle work and some simulated match conditions.
Rampe is clearly being prepared as the soft clearance player, at least from the drills I saw. Brandon Jack looks to have bulked up considerably and Mills was prominent in the contested midfield plays. Hannabery, Parker, Josh, Kieran Jack and McViegh continue to lead around the contested balls but I thought Mitchell was the most impressive, his ability to find space and time amaze me.
Once again our back line looks troubled; Smith, Ted and Reg look good but those aside there wasn't too much happening from any of the others, Laidler included. Early days lets hope Talia and Zac Jones can step up.
Towers, Cunningham, LLoyd and Robinson were very mobile and active in the drill work and looked capable up forward. Would like to see more from Nankervis this year.
Finally can report with the addition of Will Gowers, from the Swans Academy, to the training squad, this makes a total of three Newington Old Boys in the squad.

[Auntie.Gerald]

Thanks GM

Is Will Gowers a KPP or a midfielder ?

[Nico]

Coming back as early as January 3 seems a bit rough...is this always the case?

Cameron Mooney on SEN yesterday explained how pre season works these days.

In days not too long ago clubs had the theory that you get your fitness base and don't touch the footy until new year. This explains why teams were rusty for a few games. Nowadays you do a pre season before you do the full pre season. That is; players during their break are expected to keep up a reasonable level of fitness so when they come back can get straight into full fitness work.

He said the footies come out and they are quickly into team work, strategies, ruck work and even match simulation. So leading up to Xmas it is full on
and pre season is in full swing. The reason they come back so early(Jan 3) is because that is the player agreements these days and clubs now seriously build to round 1. He said it is now so micro professional that any let up means the competitive edge is lost. He said an example is; a player misses a couple of sessions, maybe even one, and all of a sudden they are struggling to keep up with their mates. It is that much of a fine line.

He finished by saying they no longer need a pre season comp to get their touch. hence the CUP concept has disappeared. He reckons you only need 2 preseason games to get your rhythm.