Training - Monday 18 January

[cityslick1]

A pretty brutal session in the heat today I must say. Again, lots of match simulation, which was good to see. & again a big emphasis on handballing. Finished off with sprint work for the backs and forwards, mixed in with wrestling, and 200m boundary runs for the mids. V little rest in between drills, with gunnery sergeants Davoren pushing the players all the way, and Bucks adding support and encouragement. Blowy conditions again make it hard for the players to hone their kicking skills, with the exposed position of the training ground the only criticism of it.

Treloar still resigned to jogging slow half laps, walking the boundary and a couple of short kicking drills. DeGoey slow run throughs and a bit of walking. No Howe, goldy, broomhead, Elliott, or Langdon, and aish came late to run laps again. Reid did the full session.
Overall, disposal was v good today, despite the wind, and there were a lot of goals kicked, as a result of the disposal efficiency and transition working well.

Two standouts for me were Crisp and Sidey. Followed by Pendles. Brodie did well up forward, and mason did well around the ground. Levi picked up a lot of possessions, and Darcy and Trav chipped in with goals. Varcoe v quick, racked up a few touches, whilst Marley was quick and involved, and Ramsey also good.

Crisp is an absolute beast on the track, giving 100% with every drill. V competitive, whilst disposal, link up play and running were first class. Set for a big one. Sidey was also in everything, and disposal v good. He's a solid boy these days, as are Treloar & DeGoey.

Pendles was also in a lot of the play, always in the right spot, and disposal first class. Retains possession so well and gives that extra option that players often take up.

Got out muscled again in the ruck, but Mason was prob the most impressive ruck around the ground today. Often in the right spot to pick up possession and fire off quick handballs. Got a lot of the ball and his link up play was v good, whilst his handballs were quick and precise. Witts didn't do much around the ground or up forward, and I still think he struggles to read the play, and/or is slow to get into the right positions. Swan also quiet, and disappeared halfway through... maybe needed to nip to the local newsagents, whilst Frost was also reasonably quiet.

Brodie played quite a bit up forward, kicking 3 goals in 10 mins at one stage. One after a high flying contested mark, which was quite exciting to see. Another was a banana from boundary that produced a fist pump from the big fella. Nice delivery by Cloke from just outside the 50 in lead up to the pack mark.

Oxley did well on the backline and Levi and Adams again brought a lot of grunt work, inside possession and clearance work. Think we will be an even better clearance team this year, so just need that delivery into the forwards and conversion to improve.

Brown also looked fit and Reid was again involved off the backline.

Goal kicking practice again in between drills, which I think is showing through. Players looking more comfortable with set shots these days... from all angles.

Josh smith also did some nice things, and Darcy was again v mobile in the forward line. He's like a 200cm marking mid playing up forward...

The players are all looking v fit, and when ready, Treloar, Aish, DeGoey, Langdon and Elliott should provide the finishing touches to make us a strong proposition across the whole ground.

Cafe is now open, but reserved for Aus open members, which was a bit of a letdown. It's prob a good little earner for the club to be fair, and they did have a makeshift coffee and cake stand out the front to look after the faithful.

On exposed form and fitness, my starting team for a game tomorrow would look something like this...

Marsh Brown Williams
Ramsey Reid Oxley
Varcoe Pendles Crisp
Sidey Cloke Swan
Fasolo Moore White

Grundy Adams Levi

Blair Toovey Cox Phillips

Hoping to have those injured players back asap, as they'll provide the finishing touches to our best 22... especially in the midfield.




[/list]

[Dave The Man]

Thanks Again Mate.

Good to Hear Treloar doing some Kicking Drills. Sounds like he is starting to work into Main Training.

Good to Hear they are Using Grundy as a Forward

[Lazza]

[69 years a MAGPIE]

Great article and thanks because here in Hong Kong information is limited. Maybe it is me but there doesn't seem to have been a great deal of press about our preseason, even before the Essendon fiasco. I understand from threads here that we are coming along ok and the late starters are beginning to get into things. Hopefully 2016 will be a good year - am confident of the 8 and optimistic about top 4. So many factors and so many teams but I think we stack up pretty well against most. Swans and Tigs to start the year will give us a good idea.

Thanks again mate.

[cityslick1]

Yep, happy to respond to that...

Up close and in the flesh, White's athleticism stands out, which along with his height and experience, places him ahead of Witts and Gault, who have been v quiet. Add in Howe, who has not been sighted yet. With him and Darcy, our forward line would be v mobile, and with both good below their knees, hopefully not too top heavy. Elliott and Howe returning could change this, but it gives up plenty of options in the ruck as well.

Blair also did some nice things today, and again his experience shows out, along with showing a bit of zip today. Think he has lost a kg or two. He's still not in my best 22 when Treloar, DeGoey, Aish, Elliott and even Broomhead return, but without them, there are holes in the midfield and small forward department.

Ramsey I've mentioned a couple of times, and continues to look reliable and consistent. Prominent in a lot of passages of play, so would not be surprised to see him start round 1. Throw a blanket over the rest, but Phillips looks fit, strong and keen, and Smith also didn't look lost out there. Goodyear got a bit of it today, but did a bit of circle work once in possession. Also lively and quick though.

It's v hard to get a gauge on where we are versus other teams, but we do look more cohesive, fitter and more skilful as a group, stronger and more experienced than last year. We need the absentees to come back and get involved quickly though, as they are missing valuable match type fitness ops and the chance to gel with their new teammates.

Maybe Maynard should be in there before the rookies, to release Ramsey or Marley into the midfield set up, but whilst he does a lot of the kickins, and is involved down back, he isn't exactly an imposing figure for his size. Needs to build his confidence and presence, as he's a solid unit and should be an enforcer.

Golds, Crocker and Sier have been out there, but not prominent, though they are hard to pick with hats on, so I could've easily missed something good from them.

I think this team could be v dangerous with all at peak fitness during the reg season..

Langdon Brown Williams
Ramsey Reid Pendles Crisp
Varcoe Treloar Sidebottom
Fasolo Cloke Howe
Moore Elliott

Grundy Adams Greenwood

Degoey Aish Oxley Swan

[MightyMagpie]

Thanks cityslick.

Maynard doing a lot of the kick ins ... anyone else?

[stui magpie]

Thanks again mate, good write up.

Based on what you've seen could we play Brodie as a key forward with Witts/Cox playing first ruck?

Not advocating that, just curious.

[MatthewBoydFanClub]

[Neil Appleby]

Thanks for your reports CitySlick. It's a big job to make your way there and then to write it all up when you get home, but as you can see from the postings from Collingwood people everywhere, this is a job we are all appreciating. Keep it up. Great that we can be on holidays and still feel connected to the goings on at Collingwood.

The only negative from your report today is the closure of the Glasshouse Cafe for Collingwood people. I think this is outrageous. If tennis people want/need yet another food/drink outlet then let them share it with Collingwood people.

[Neil Appleby]

Maynard doesn't make your team. He was looking pretty impressive before Christmas. Ramsay must be doing very well indeed!

[Dave The Man]

Get more info here then you will get from the Club

[Dave The Man]

[mgh3536]

did cloke look stiff?

just asking ....

[Albert Parker]

Thanks Cityslick

Would be nice to see a few more of the younger mids out there training.

AP

[stui magpie]