2017 pre-season training thread

[longmile]

Brutal !!!!

http://bpmultihlsvod5257.ngcdn.telst...0kbps_406p.mp4

NSFW tag next time please. My boss just walked in on me watching this

[Nico]

We just have to hope that Reid stays injury free.

[liz]

I stopped by and watched about 3/4s of today's training session. Most of it comprised match simulation drills, with a bit of running thrown in at the end. Not sure anyone particularly stood out as good (or bad) but those participating / not participating may be of interest to RWOers.

A number of players yet to be seen this pre-season (by me, at least) were running laps, mostly on their own - Parker, Cunningham and Rose. AJ and Sinclair, both of whom were running along the sidelines before Christmas, picked up where they left off. AJ didn't run for long but was running noticeably faster than Parker.

Newman was participating with the main group before Christmas, but today spent a short time running and then I didn't see him again. Maybe he's had a minor injury set-back across the break.

Buddy participated for most of the session with the main group. Maybe he has a clause in his contract that excuses him from doing hours of mindless solo lap running when he's on the injury comeback trail. He looked fit enough, though when they ramped up the intensity of the match-like drills he donned a fluorescent yellow cap (which I am guessing was a signal he was not to be tackled). He broke away from the main group before the end of the session and ran a few laps with Florent in tow. Laidler and COR were two others who left the main group early and ran laps for a while.

I didn't see McVeigh out on the track at all, although from the handful of photos published on the Swans' website, he may have spent the session watching from the shade. Gary Rohan didn't participate either, but he was out in the sun (with a cap on!), watching he drills from closer range.

Three players who I am pretty sure weren't out there at all - as each is quite physically noticeable - were Naismith, Aliir and Papley. None is a surprise in that we know they've been rehabbing but hopefully they'll get out on the track sooner rather than later. Despite being relatively inexperienced at senior level, they are each structurally quite important to the senior team. I imagine Longmire will be hoping they're all available for senior selection relatively early in the season.

I don't think Dawson or Hayward were out there today either, but I could have missed them. A few players were wearing caps, making those of average height/build difficult to identify.

At the start of the session, the squad was broken up into their forward, midfield and defensive groupings. Jack (of the K variety) was training with the forward group. Maybe this indicates a slight change of role for him for the upcoming season? Jones and Heeney trained with the midfield group. I think Mills was in there too, but he was one wearing a cap and thus harder to identify. The defensive group was working at the far end of the ground, too far away to identify individuals, so it wasn't possible to cross-check the mids and defenders to be sure which group Mills was in.

Leonardis, also with the forward group to start, seemed to be the player in focus for special encouragement. He didn't seem to train with the complete confidence he belonged, but every time he did something positive, there was plenty of vocal encouragement. At one point he was also bagged out by a team mate for a mistake - quite an innocuous mistake too. It seemed a bit unnecessary but was just a once off. Buddy then got around him after he did something good, gave him a rub on the head and had a bit of a chat. I liked what I saw from Tyrone at the end of last season. He'd developed some tenacity and tackling nous that wasn't evident at the start of the year. He's got some pace and skill, so hopefully he can put together a good start in the NEAFL and put his name forward for a wing/half forward role as the season progresses.

[707]

Thanks Liz, comprehensive as usual and much appreciated by us interstaters.

Jones with the mids - it's what I want to see, a different kind of mid for us and exciting to think what he may develop into.

[56-14]

Thanks Liz, comprehensive as usual and much appreciated by us interstaters.

+1

[rojo]

+1

Thanks Liz from me too!

[magic.merkin]

Thanks Liz!

[barracuda]

Generally only Academy players. The Academy top ups all train with the swans so they know the game plan come match day and are on the same wave length as the list players. That has helped us to two NEAFL GF's in a row.

- - - Updated - - -

Sam Reid is looking really fit and has built up his upper body incredibly. He is going to be very hard to shift in a contested marking contest now he has the upper body weight along with that beautiful spring. His hands, generally, have been good, except in front of his body at times, but with extended shoulder size he will allow less chance for defenders to spoil.

The players are the 2017 swans academy neafl development squad. They include Jake Brown etc. They missed out on the draft but remain with the swans as 19 year olds with potential. They train with the seniors, and are expected to play NEAFL and under 18s with the academy team. The swans have three years of drafting rights over academy players. All of last years NDS players, Reinhardt, Hebron etc were let go by the swans and most went to Sydney Uni Neafl, and remain on the swans radar. The swans still have drafting rights over these players.

[Auntie.Gerald]

Alright back from holidays and it feels a little quiet on the western front

I'm ready to watch footy now

More importantly the bloods !!!

[AnnieH]

Thanks Liz.
Were they wearing shirts?

[Mountain Man]

I managed 15 minutes this morning around 10.15. Only forwards were still training.

Reid and K Jack were together doing drills in front of goal. One that intrigued me was their attack through a series of "poles" which involved stepping left and right and then snapping on goal. Kizza did it at speed and Reid somewhat slower. So the report of Kizza as a regular forward might be on the money - leaving another vacancy in the midfield.

Papley and another 4 or 5 smalls/youngsters were being bombarded with kicks which they had to catch at short range; and a series of handball games which seemed to be also testing reflexes and reaction times. I didn't draw any conclusions from that - Kirk was leading their group so it was probably just assessment rather than game plan specific

Buddy and another 4 or 5 youngsters were up on a wing and kicking to the 50 arc from 25 or so meters out. It was very hot and Buddy looked fit but a bit bored. But, I took it that he might be planning more time on the wing and setting up others for the shot on goal.

Sometimes I wish I didn't live in the mountains so I could watch more often!

[Nico]

I would be interested in hearing how the whole list is travelling. Liz's post had players not on the scene. My hope is that the list is very close to full strength by the time of the first pre season game.

[Mountain Man]

Who was NOT on the scene this morning when I watched was Tippett

[Nico]

Who was NOT on the scene this morning when I watched was Tippett

Mmmm.... some people say he does his best work when no one is watching.

[Nico]

Is AA on the track?