2017 pre-season training thread

[Aprilbr]

2017 pre-season training thread

I'm glad that they got rid of the third man up. It undermines the skills of good tap ruckmen. Only positive with it was that it potentially allowed the third man up to clear the pack congestion through a well positioned long punch. Arguably a good ruckman should be able to achieve this anyway.


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[BigBarryRound25]

Does anyone else think that rule changes should occur before trade & draft periods?

I realise that would be far too forward thinking for the AFL, but clubs put a lot of work into list management, it would be nice to think they can makes plans based on reliable expectations pertaining to rules.

This change makes Richmond's pickup of a specialist ruckman like Nankervis extra valuable.

Not that I'm complaining, Naismith is the one we needed to keep.

[707]

........This change makes Richmond's pickup of a specialist ruckman like Nankervis extra valuable.

Not that I'm complaining, Naismith is the one we needed to keep.

Tippett and Naismith have both proved to be very good tap ruckmen and word is that Darcy Cameron will surprise as well.

Nankers is unlikely to reach great heights so think the decision to trade him was sound.

[Relive2005]

Hi guys, I'm new to the forum (but a long time reader). It was our last day in Sydney on Wednesday, so I decided to take the young one down to watch training. It was definitely very intense with non stop running then match simulation followed by more running - definitely not easing into the break.

Tippett was doing some ruck training with I assume Darcy Cameron (Tippett was outpointing him comfortably).

It was quite pleasing to see first hand how hard the boys were going and they were quite spent after a good solid hour - the endeavour was definitely there (hopefully a good sign for the upcoming year)?

I also found it interesting to hear first hand who the vocal lads are (who continuously spurred the others on and gave instructions on the ground) - including Dane Rampe, a very encouraging looking Sam Reid, Dan Hannebery and surprisingly young Zac Jones (good signs of future leadership potential).

I have some photos but unfortunately am not sure how to post them on my mobile device.

[dejavoodoo44]

Hi guys, I'm new to the forum (but a long time reader). It was our last day in Sydney on Wednesday, so I decided to take the young one down to watch training. It was definitely very intense with non stop running then match simulation followed by more running - definitely not easing into the break.

Tippett was doing some ruck training with I assume Darcy Cameron (Tippett was outpointing him comfortably).

It was quite pleasing to see first hand how hard the boys were going and they were quite spent after a good solid hour - the endeavour was definitely there (hopefully a good sign for the upcoming year)?

I also found it interesting to hear first hand who the vocal lads are (who continuously spurred the others on and gave instructions on the ground) - including Dane Rampe, a very encouraging looking Sam Reid, Dan Hannebery and surprisingly young Zac Jones (good signs of future leadership potential).

I have some photos but unfortunately am not sure how to post them on my mobile device.

Welcome to RWO. Hopefully the ruck contests that you saw, were more a case of Tippett being very good, rather than Cameron being mediocre. Though after more time with Steve Taubert, the ruck whisperer, Cameron is only going to improve.
And with the banning of the third man up, I think our ruckmen are going to be even more important this year. Barring a cruel run with injuries, I think that we have an advantage over most sides.

[rojo]

Hi guys, I'm new to the forum (but a long time reader). It was our last day in Sydney on Wednesday, so I decided to take the young one down to watch training. It was definitely very intense with non stop running then match simulation followed by more running - definitely not easing into the break.

Tippett was doing some ruck training with I assume Darcy Cameron (Tippett was outpointing him comfortably).

It was quite pleasing to see first hand how hard the boys were going and they were quite spent after a good solid hour - the endeavour was definitely there (hopefully a good sign for the upcoming year)?

I also found it interesting to hear first hand who the vocal lads are (who continuously spurred the others on and gave instructions on the ground) - including Dane Rampe, a very encouraging looking Sam Reid, Dan Hannebery and surprisingly young Zac Jones (good signs of future leadership potential).

I have some photos but unfortunately am not sure how to post them on my mobile device.

Good to hear someone went along to check them out. Thanks for sharing. I hope you are able to get the photos up sometime. Any other standouts? Did you see anything of Buddy or AJ?

[56-14]

Hi guys, I'm new to the forum (but a long time reader). It was our last day in Sydney on Wednesday, so I decided to take the young one down to watch training. It was definitely very intense with non stop running then match simulation followed by more running - definitely not easing into the break.

Tippett was doing some ruck training with I assume Darcy Cameron (Tippett was outpointing him comfortably).

It was quite pleasing to see first hand how hard the boys were going and they were quite spent after a good solid hour - the endeavour was definitely there (hopefully a good sign for the upcoming year)?

I also found it interesting to hear first hand who the vocal lads are (who continuously spurred the others on and gave instructions on the ground) - including Dane Rampe, a very encouraging looking Sam Reid, Dan Hannebery and surprisingly young Zac Jones (good signs of future leadership potential).

I have some photos but unfortunately am not sure how to post them on my mobile device.

Great + post.
Hope when you go back to Sydney to visit, you take the young to watch training AND post your observations on RWO.
Merry Xmas.

[Relive2005]

Good to hear someone went along to check them out. Thanks for sharing. I hope you are able to get the photos up sometime. Any other standouts? Did you see anything of Buddy or AJ?

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone.

Some other points of interest:
- McVeigh was only running laps
- Sinclair only running laps
- Will Hayward was running laps (great runner and looks fast).
- Did not see Buddy

Lastly, Jeremy Laidler took time to have a good chat to me over the fence (we're both from around the Essendon area here in Melbourne) - he's looking really fit - seems like a really good bloke.

Have a Merry Christmas and wishing you all the happiest of holidays.

[bloodspirit]

Thanks for the great post, Relive, great to have your input.

I passed by briefly today and noted the same things. Macca and Sinkers just running laps (as was Naismith). Hayward doing some hard running with a trainer. Although he was running fast I interpreted this more to mean that we are trying to build his running capacity than he is a fast runner. Naismith was jogging by far the slowest - waaaayyy slower than Sinclair. Not sure why. Surely there can't be that much difference in their capacity!?

AJ was there and training separately to the main group. He looked agile and capable on his knee but is obviously doing stuff to keep increasing its strength and dependability. I couldn't help feeling excited. The day he plays again in the seniors will be just so special.

There was some match simulation going on with two balls at the same time. There were some top-ups which made it harder to identify the new recruits. Had no trouble identifying Edwards and Ronke, Florent and Hayward. Pretty sure I saw Cameron, less sure I picked out Maibaum. Did not recognise Fox or Fisher. No sign of Parker, Aliir, Rose or Buddy. The boys were all pretty vocal. I saw a moment where Rampe was looking absolutely spent, couldn't stand up straight, but was still giving great feedback to someone else while he was on his haunches panting. I love that guy! Didn't observe anything more meaningful than that.

[Nico]

One thing people are missing regards the 3rd man up: we were the clearance kings before the advent of this tactic. It was used by clubs to try to get a clearance well away from the stoppage to annul the work of the better clearance players. Geelong have never been good close in at contests and Hawthorn have really only had Lewis in later years, as Mitchell and Hodge have played different roles. No wonder Dangerfield is whinging, his outside style may be dented somewhat.

[Nico]

Does anyone else think that rule changes should occur before trade & draft periods?

I realise that would be far too forward thinking for the AFL, but clubs put a lot of work into list management, it would be nice to think they can makes plans based on reliable expectations pertaining to rules.

This change makes Richmond's pickup of a specialist ruckman like Nankervis extra valuable.

Not that I'm complaining, Naismith is the one we needed to keep.

Yep, very sad to see Nankervis go. I expect him to go on to be a very good player.

[liz]

I went along and watched training (all but the first 15 minutes or so) yesterday, and also dropped by for an hour or so on Monday.

Both sessions were quite similar - lots of emphasis on moving the ball quickly, with an emphasis on moving it by hand. The pressure on the ball carrier was much less than you'd see in a real game so hard to know what to take out of it, but I presume the emphasis was on making quick decisions and on players running on to provide an option.

Edwards was very vocal and seemed very much like part of the group already. I daresay he's decided that, at his third club, there's no point sitting back and acting like the new guy.

During the Monday session, they broke off the play simulation drills for some running for a select group, around 20 of them. Some players who were participating in the drills didn't participate in the running. The ruck men broke off and did some tap work practice, Kieren Jack did some sprinting on his own, while others (eg Heeney) loitered on the other side of the ground and I didn't pay much attention to what they got up to. The running comprised three sets of two laps around the Bus Stop Oval, however far that is. They got a couple of minutes rest between each set and then were off again. They were split into three groups of 6 or 7 players, with a short time allowed to lapse before the second, and then the third, group set off. I think there was an element of seeding in the selection of the groups, with the stronger runners starting first. Hanners and Foote led the first group, and on each lap it took very little time for them to put some distance between themselves the rest of their group. They both looked very comfortable all the way through. Newman was consistently 3rd in that first group and he, too, looked comfortable. Rampe was also in the first group but it looked like it was a lot tougher for him out there than for the rest of his group.

Ronke was in the second group and looked like he was doing it tough but there was lots of shouted encouragement from the coaches, including "best run yet, Ben".

Shaw joined in with the final group and you could hear him geeing the boys up. On one set, as they started on the second lap, he was screaming out "all you've got to do Fish is beat me. That's your only job. Presumably he was talking to the young player lagging at the back of that group (presumably, again, which was Fisher).

During yesterday's session they broke off for some goal kicking practice - 20+ players all kicking for goal at one end of the ground made for some mayhem. The instruction was "kick 3 goals in 2 minutes". The drill went for a bit more than 2 minutes and there was varied success. At the end, the boys were pulled back into a group and asked who kicked 2 goals? A smattering of hands went up. Three goals? A few more hands. Anyone kick 4? I think a couple of players owned up to this. Anyone manage 5? A lone hand went up and there were lots of cheers for Ollie.

Hayward spent both sessions intently running around the oval, sometimes on his own, other times with someone who may have been Dawson (was wearing a cap so I wasn't 100% sure), and on Friday with one of the trainers. On Monday, Florent spent the session running with AJ but then kept going for a while on his own when AJ had had enough. By Friday Ollie was training with the main group.

I sighted Buddy on Monday but he wasn't doing a whole lot - just some lone sprinting on the far side of the ground. AA, Papley, Parker are known to be in rehab so weren't expected to be seen. I have no idea about Rose, who I think was missing on both days. Don't think I saw COR yesterday (probably given an early leave pass to get on a plane back to Ireland) but he was certainly there on Monday.

Reg put in a brief appearance on Monday, not participating in the main skills sessions but leading a small pack of four in a lap or two of the oval while the three larger groups were completing their running session. Reg's group comprised Smith, Laidler and Hewitt - of whom at least two had been participating in the main group so not sure why they got to do their running on their own. The first three looked untroubled by the running but it took it looked like hard work for Hewitt, who struggled to stay with the other three. I don't recall seeing Reg on Friday but he might have been there.

As one would expect, the senior guys all trained well - Hanners, in particular, looked ultra professional out there, while Joey was barking out instructions to anyone who'd listen. Jones was a standout in the play simulation - fast, clean and intent. Heeney is hard to miss with his hair and physique. He made everything look pretty easy and nailed a couple of full-on tackles in one of the drills. Ronke was lively and the target of lots of encouragement (not just for his running), while there was also much lauding of some one-on-one defensive work by a youngster who I think was probably Maibaum.

[707]

Thanks Liz, comprehensive. Did you watch any of the ruck work? I'm hopeful that Darcy Cameron is an upgrade on Nankervis.

At this time of year I wish I lived in Sydney as I'd certainly be there for a session every week.

We've grabbed an exciting group of draftees and rookies, be interesting to see if any of them can grab an early spot given there are places up for grabs.

[aguy]

I think nankervis was developing into a good ruckman and I suspect he will be Richmond's No 1 ruckman this year, although it will be interesting to see how the no third man up rule will affect ruck contests. Will it favour the taller rucks suck as Naismith or the shorter more physical ones such as nankevevis.

I'm hoping the taller ruckman are going to do better now with tap skills increasing in value. That would make Cameron a good pickup

[wolftone57]

Liz Said

'Hayward spent both sessions intently running around the oval, sometimes on his own, other times with someone who may have been Dawson (was wearing a cap so I wasn't 100% sure), and on Friday with one of the trainers. On Monday, Florent spent the session running with AJ but then kept going for a while on his own when AJ had had enough. By Friday Ollie was training with the main group.'

When our recruiting staff and some of the coaching staff met young Hayward mid last year, the one thing they asked him to do was build his tank. The kid took that onboard and hired a personal trainer. The thing the club obviously wants to do with this kid, is turn him into a Bruest style player, who can kick plenty of goals as a forward but can also be thrown into the mids. He has an incredible build, he might look skinny but it is all hard muscle, and I don't think we would have a problem playing him in the seniors if he showed the early season form. What I think is happening now, is they are still trying to build that tank with lots of running. When they think he has built the tank to the level they want, he will be in amongst the main group. I don't think that will be too long. The fitness staff trainer was getting him to do sprints in the middle of the laps to build aerobic endurance.