Training report- Warburton Lad- 20th November 2017

[warburton lad]

The sun rose early over the southern spur of Mount Donna Buang, it's fingers of light reaching into my master bedroom. I clambered out of bed, reached for the keys to my Leyland P-76 for the drive to Lilydale Railway Station to journey to Holden Centre.

It's times like these when one should celebrate being alive. Hope beats strongly in the heart of every sporting fan as the pages turn on the old and the new chances for success are ushered into to our lives. If one relied only upon the press, one would believe that the only thing of interest in Arden Street is the new Metro Rail station and that the Gold Coast is only good for 'schoolies'. Whilst history may prove this to be true, hope springs eternal in the breast of every footy fan in mid-November.

However, my heart and head are no where else but Collingwood FC as the train rumbles through the outer-eastern suburban sprawl of Melbourne toward the Richmond Station. As I alight, I can see the AAMI centre in the distance, like some Harry Potter disappearing cloak obscuring what my eyes desire to see.

After a short stroll on arthritic knees, I arrive at the Holden Centre- Lou Richards statue, as cheeky as ever, our front. A lonely and empty flagpole seems to beckon flag number 16 in 2018. There is an old Estonian saying that I never forget; "Hope in tomorrow can appease the bitterness of days gone by". I remain hopeful.

Two things struck me on the walk to our Mecca by the Yarra: as I passed the training ground of the Storm, half a dozen of their young players were out working with their fitness guru. The sweat on the brow betrayed the reality that the work they had already done ( running whilst carrying five kilogram weights out front) was arduous and they were clearly committed to the cause of self-improvement.

When I arrived at the Glasshouse Cafe for the mandatory hot chocolate and white chocolate and raspberry muffin, Hine, Rendell et al were having a latte out the front and discussing drafting options. I would love to report that Hine said, 'we are picking X with pick six' but I kept moving as to eavesdrop is impolite.

The players hit the track early, sans Elliott, but there was still an abundance of class on the track. Crocker and Adams the first to emerge from the rooms, indulging in some gentle kick-to-kick. Crocker alternated between his favoured right side and his left- the left needs a fair bit more work. His ink is increasingly impressive- not quite Swanny level yet, but certainly heading there! Boyd was the first coach to hit the track, placing meticulous attention to the placement of cones for the drills to follow.

Mayne, Aish and new-dad Crisp hit the track donning the monitors, sunscreen and caps which are now an integral part of preseason training. Bucks, Sidey and Varcoe came out of the rooms, with the senior coach smiling as he moved around the players giving them pats on the back. A smile shows more strength than rage.

Varcoe, left elbow strapped, was deep in conversation with Boyd. These guys were joined by a very fit looking Wells.

In terms of big men strength, I am quite bullish. Grundy looks absolutely ripped, Cox appears to have bulked up, but lost no mobility with it. His right shoulder was taped, but the big American moved without any apparent discomfort. Lynch is a very, very big unit. Interested to see Rocca work with both Cox and Grundy and have one big man rove to the others knockouts. fair to say Grundy excelled at the ground work to Cox's tap outs!

The midfield stocks are strong: Treloar, Adams, De Goey and reigning Copeland Trophy winner Sidey. With experience comes confidence no I'm pleased to report that Sidey now is more vocal on the training track. He was in deep conversation with Hocking for much of the session That guy Pendlebury was out there as well- finger strapped but itching to get into it.

Broomhead, Crocker, Aish, Adams and Howe worked on an intense tackling drill I would label The Gaunlet'. A ball was fed to a player who had to gather a rolling ball and fend off two players whilst a third tackled him. Both Aish and Howe excelled at this. Both players drawing praise from Adam Oxley who was jogging laps with Pendles and McLarty

In terms of 'voice', it's wonderful to hear new voices directing traffic: Gary Hocking is a great cat to have around and with him, Harvey and Bucks on the coaching staff, our mids don't have to go very far for advice.

Marty Boyd's career at Western Bulldogs showed what dogged determination can do for a player's career. He is an inspirational type and seems to have fitted right in with the group. The respect for him and Hocking from our older players was patently obvious.

We had five water boys and sixteen other staff on the track during training. Staggering to recall the old days at Victoria Park when in mid-July one would find Tom Hafey, his brother Peter and Ron Richards the only people other than fifty players on the ground.

Bang on ten, Bucks called the lads in and dispensed them for a slowly jogged lap and stretches. Josh Thomas appears to be loving life and led most activities during training.

Training began in earnest with s short, sharp handball and kicking run through. Buddha's hands, and tongue, is as sharp as ever. He barked encouragement at Brayden Sier and Rupert Wills, encouraging the young Magpies to greater efforts and urgency. When the groups spread out, Maynard and Wills and Broomhead worked passes to one another over a variety of distances- their capacity to hit targets at will was only surpassed by Wells who was lethal with ball in hand.

Our backs got around one another. When Collingwood acquired Dunn and Howe, my brother Torsten, a Melbourne tragic referred to them as 'Dunn and Dusted', but their work with other backline hopefuls , Shaz, Goldy, Langdon, Smith, Varcoe, Reid,Mc Larty etcetera was inspirational. They are excellent to have around the club. Murray from Sydney looks very quick and takes the game on- watch him with much interest.
There was much emphasis of our smaller backs gathering the ball and hitting targets. The drill involved clearing the ball to a coach on the boundary 50 out and then chasing the ball back and drilling it to a coach at a 45degree angle from goals fifty out.

Our forward stocks look somewhat thin, however. Darcy Moore has put meat on those bones and Faz looks trimmer, but we seem to have a sameness about the other guys: Blair, Daicos, Kirby, Brown, Phillips, Mayne. Hoskin Elliott still looks slight- perhaps he is one of those guys who never gains bulk. This was highlighted when he stood aside De Goey who has returned in great nick, with no injuries.

Wells looked very fit and has certainly returned in better order than 2016 preseason his kicking is a sight to behold. He has better evasion skills than even Pendles and certainly Ronald Biggs. Not sure what channel Rob Waters reports for, but his cameraman took lots of footage of Wells who broke away from the group to jog laps during training. Take it from me, Wells is miles ahead of where he was physically 12 months ago.

Buckley showed great interest in a four on four handball drill involving quartets led by Grundy and Cox with a fifth player resting for the set plays. Amazing to witness the ground speed of 200 centimetre Darcy Moore and the speed of his hands in the contest. He dominated. The beauty of the match-simulations today was the speed at which the drills were done and the inclusion of tackling. This gave the drills a sense of authenticity because mistakes drew a physical consequence.

At 10-45, Kirby left the track. This lad really needs to lose some weight if he is to figure in Round one. Whilst he has obvious talent and enthusiasm for the game, the pace of the game in 2017 doesn't allow for those not at the peak of fitness.
To be fair to Kirby, he returned, boot less, to the ground ten minutes later, left foot heavily strapped, pointing to some problem either with his toe or the foot. I trust its nothing serious although he favoured the foot as he left the track.

At 10-50, the playing group gathered in the centre before being dispersed to various parts of the ground. There is no doubt who the 'Alpha males' are in this group: Grundy, Adams, Sidey and the ubiquitous Pendlebury. Constantly moving around the groups shouting encouragement.

De Goey and Sier and McLarty continued to run lap after lap- at one stage, De Goey removed his top to show chiselled abs and an embryonic piece of body art. Both impressive!

Two groups began match practice within about an eighth of a ground each. The emphasis was on very quick ball movement by foot or hand. This appeared to be as much about the capacity to make decisions as it was about the ability to hit targets. Faz, Varcoe and Sidey excelled at the skills and the likes of Phillips, Aish, Mayne, Dunn and Adams showed good skills in pressure. The game has many facets, very few master many of them.

Varcoe in particular looks hungry for success. He has returned at the peak of fitness and trained with the urgency one would expect from a new recruit. He shows all the signs of being a mature on-field leader if his body does not betray him.

At 11-10, the players assembled at the Rod Laver Arena end and were paired off to run half laps to the River Phoenix end. After ten seconds breather, they completed the lap at pace. This was one of the few occasions that balls were not in use. The tough element of preseason work.

Whilst this happened, Oxley continued the solo grind of a player who is not on the list and working hard to recover from injury. I'm not a doctor, but he appears to be favouring a hip flexor on his right side, or perhaps an intercostal muscle. And man, he worked really hard, alternating in one of the ruck circles with running and gathering handballs. His dedication and work ethic is admirable- good luck to him.

At the Rod Laver end, players kicked at goal from a variety of angles. No shock that Daicos, Mayne and Fasolo excelled here. Ben Crocker also kicked well as Lockyer instructed the club cameraman to get plenty of footage for the follow-up review session after training.

In the centre of the ground, Hocking and Matty Boyd directed mids and rucks in body use to protect the ball carrier. This was very physically demanding on the players but some good signs were shown.

By 11-25, there are approximately 27 players on the track. In fact, there are almost as many staff as there are elite sportsman at this time. The drills swap over with the smaller players working on front-and-centre crumbing work and snap shots. A poster to Rupert Wills, the only blemish on what has otherwise been a faultless training session on his behalf. Grundy, Lynch and Moore seem to take delight with every goal they kick. The only difference being that Moore moves like a cat when a ball is rolled his way and his around the body snap brings up full points.

By 11-40, balls are being gathered and staff are milling around the playing group in the centre of the ground. For training watches, this spells the start of match simulation with all involved. The 'matches' begin from throw-ins from a variety of flank and wing positions. A very strong emphasis is placed on the positioning of players to block for the ball carrier. Very similar to a style played by the Dockers under Gerard Neesham. The 'Cox' team in yellow have a decided ruck advantage as Grundy runs-walks laps with his mate Broomhead. I am mortified to see Pendles involved, but he is not tackling, simply providing voice and advice.
Moore shifts into the ruck and his excellent tap work enables Smith to use his breakaway speed to advantage. As the drills continue, it is obvious that Collingwood are trying to hit moving targets on the outside to generate run and carry which has not been a feature of our play.

By 11-55, Bucks wanders off the oval, followed closely by Sidey. As they pass a prostrate Dunn, they enquirer about the wellbeing of the former Demon who is receiving treatment from the physio for lower back tightness on his right side.

The final drill involves several handballs then a hacked kick forward. This drill was notable for the fact Moore was used predominantly as the full back or centre half back during the drill. The indecision of Phillips in moving the ball on was a direct contrast to the anticipation demonstrated by Varcoe who swooped like a starving man on a Christmas ham, smothering the kick then feeding off to Cox for the simplest of goals.

Crocker showed an appetite for the contest, his efforts highlighted by several good chase downs and tackles.Daicos also worked well in tandem with Mayne, the more senior man giving Daics a heap of support and encouragement.
Scharenberg was also a standout in this drill. His ability to read the play makes him appear quicker than what he actually is. Disappointed to report that Tay Adams butchered the ball a few times here. To be fair and balanced, he often took the tougher option and several of his kicks were close to perfect, only to be intercepted.

After twenty minutes of this, the players had a well-earned libation. Lockyer and Harvey set up more set shot practice at the Yarra end. The players continued to work hard, running fifty metre sprints at very short intervals. By this stage, Mayne and Varcoe and Maynard were spelled. Incredibly, Moore led most of the sprints in company of Daicos and the hard-working Crisp.

I neglected to mention, Whilst the warm-ups continued, Cox worked feverishly on his goal kicking with Pebbles Rocca. His marking seems very assured these days and was working very much on taking the ball at its highest point- if this can be translated to match-day, he will be difficult to combat.

And so I begin the long journey home to the Yarra Valley. The years and the ravages of a tough life are taking their toll on my once proud physique, but I pray to God that I can eke out a few more years from this mortal conveyance to once again savour the joys of ultimate victory.

As my grandfather Igor so fondly told me several times as a lad in a country far, far away, "Hope in tomorrow can appease the bitterness of days gone by!!"

God's blessings to you all.

[BazBoy]

Well put together and imagine all will find interest in your summary

[KenH]

Thanks Lad, a bloody great read!

[ronrat]

Thanks for that.And thank goodness you didn;t metion tbe words awesome, surreal or training experience.

[Harrysz]

Lad, what a magnificent report. It had humour, inspiration and was above all informative.

I think that Igor was on to something!

[Dave The Man]

Thanks for Report Mate

[warburton lad]

[5 from the wing on debut]

A Leyland P-76? Memories of the 70's come flooding back.
Is it pink or bright yellow?

[warburton lad]

[warburton lad]

[warburton lad]

FYI, it runs fairly well down the hill from Seville East to Woori Yallock, but struggles up any incline or into the breeze.

[5 from the wing on debut]

[MatthewBoydFanClub]

Really appreciate your incisive report of the full group back at training the first day Warburton Lad. Did you notice any difference between the way they trained today with the same time last year? Last year they looked really underdone when they returned from their annual leave. I'm hoping this year they're a lot fitter and can put a lot more work into their training before the Christmas which puts them more on an even footing with the opposition sides next year.

[K]

[HAL]

I am sorry to hear that. Perhaps next time I can do better.