East West Day - 20th of Jan

[LostDoggy]

Went along to Wesley College bright and early this morning to see the Doggies go through their paces. Conditions had changed from the original forecasted heat of 38 and instead we were confronted with a day in the low 20's with intermittent rain.

I got there very early well before the official starting time of 8.30am. The players were arriving and the East West Club was well advanced at setting up the day. I was informed early that a number of players would not be training and I was quite surprised to hear that Matty Robbins had joined a mounting injury list.

During the warm ups the players teamed up in pairs for a bit of kick to kick and I noticed that Aker grabbed Higgins early on as his partner. Higgins has added a fair bit of weight and muscle and seemed to feed off Akers enthusiasm. I expect big things from Higgins this season.

Eade was met by Jon Ralph from the Hun who some might recall trained with the club a few seasons as part of an expose he was writing. After a minute or two Eade directed him over to Luke Darcy who was strapping up his knee with the protective brace and Ralph interviewed him. I'd expect to see the story in Sundays Hun if last years interview with Gia is anything to go by.

Once the session started it was evident that it would be a light one. Strangely there was a section in the middle of the oval cordoned off which meant that in the scratch match was played out wide rather than going down the middle. There was some great match ups around the ground and it was evident that the youngsters we have drafted will nearly all become good players for the Dogs in the coming seasons. Even the rookies displayed sufficient skills to suggest that they could be called up if injuries plague us again. Harbrow in particular is an exciting prospect and posses an excellent kick.
With the draftees, Hill was outstanding. His long kicks to position was a real feature. Everitt looks composed and should only need a season to build himself up before pushing for senior games.

The stars of the session imo were Harris and Aker. Harris was trialed up forward and was too good for Pask although I don't the FB position is a familiar one for him. Sker tore Addison to shreads and was clearly too bif of an ask for the kid. I liked the way the backman linked up together and how we regularly hit our targets from long kicks. Perhaps a more direct game plan will evolve.
I did hear one piece of information that interested me and that was the possibility of Darcy being used at CHB this year. I'm not sure if it is an easier position for someone coming back from successive knee injuries or not, but it was never the less an interesting suggestion.
McDougall is still on light duties but held a couple of decent contested marks so he could be a valuable option for us as a key forward or even defender.

Some of the guys have really added muscle. Wight looks bigger across the shoulders although his legs are still skinny. Skipper looks a lot stronger and Sam Power really looks more confident. There are a heap of other players that have made a lot of physical progress but these three guys stood out.

Eade spoke well to the fans and introduced the 10 new players which was entertaining. He also went through all the injuries for the players and gave everyone a rough idea when they would be back.
He also talked about the modfied programns Grant and otherws were on. 18 games from Grant is the plan for 2007 and is very unlikely to travel to Darwin and Perth. He also talked the NAB cuip and said while we are serious about it we will not compromise the season for it.

Hope this helps those who couldn't make it.

[Dry Rot]

Tell me more about Harris?

Have a read a couple of training reports where Harris was playing FF. Now your suggestion that Darcy may play CHB.

Wonder if Harris may spend some time forward?

[LostDoggy]

Tell me more about Harris?

Have a read a couple of training reports where Harris was playing FF. Now your suggestion that Darcy may play CHB.

Wonder if Harris may spend some time forward?


This is the 2nd time I have seen him up forward however, I'm not sure if I should read too much into it. He looks very fit and barely cracked it for a smile throughout the session. Perhaps he is angry because he will miss the first two games but I think all forwards should look out when he returns.
Playing him as a forward would be great for the club but I don't think we can cover him just yet.

By the way Eade did not rule out Williams playing in defence later in the season.

[alwaysadog]

I liked a lot of the group training stuff they were doing.

The tackling drills from front and rear, including one arm and two arm pins. They weren't going hard at it, they were working on technique and routine. It's clear they aren't creating unnecesary injuries and resting players with niggles.

Another I liked was keepings off hand ball where two groups of 6 or 7 a side fought for possession. A very good preparation for using short handballs in close to find an open man.

Another was the short passing to a leading forward. It started about 60 metres out with a man on the mark and the player with the ball had to wait till a forward had broken in to space and then hit that person. This was then repeated. Excellent practice at creating space to lead into and at accurate chip kicks in a crowded area.

Some other standouts physically;

Robbins was getting his back manipulated and massaged. When he stood up with out his shirt on his upper body development was awesome.

Lamby West has still along way to go to fill out but his arms and legs no longer qualify for the stick insect award.

[alwaysadog]

This is the 2nd time I have seen him up forward however, I'm not sure if I should read too much into it. He looks very fit and barely cracked it for a smile throughout the session. Perhaps he is angry because he will miss the first two games but I think all forwards should look out when he returns.
Playing him as a forward would be great for the club but I don't think we can cover him just yet.

By the way Eade did not rule out Williams playing in defence later in the season.

Brian is not allowed to smile in public.

[southerncross]

I liked a lot of the group training stuff they were doing.

The tackling drills from front and rear, including one arm and two arm pins. They weren't going hard at it, they were working on technique and routine. It's clear they aren't creating unnecesary injuries and resting players with niggles.

Another I liked was keepings off hand ball where two groups of 6 or 7 a side fought for possession. A very good preparation for using short handballs in close to find an open man.



The tackling was an excellent session. Lets hope the players not apply these skills in a full on game environment.

The handball session really did display to me the skill level a number of our youngsters have. I have seen training sessions that have included this in the past however I have not witnessed the same level of intensity.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

The theme of this year's pre-season appears to be around building up and tackling, two things which we certainly needed to improve.

With bigger bodies and more aggression/better tackling, we'll be in a much better position then we have for years to challenge for the flag.

Nice to hear McDougall took a few contested marks. I have maintained the thought that he can play, as his 2004 season was very impressive.

Skipper still seems tohave some hope. He has shown a little bit every now and again, and with a huge frame that he has now, perhaps he could offer us a decent 2nd string Ruckmen/Forward type of a role when we're playing opposition teams with weaker Ruck stocks.

Power is another who by all accounts has put on more weight and is in great condition. He improved a fair bit last year and I have been impressed with his body work in the last few games. Added weight will only help the cause and I think he's following the path of his brother Luke. Those last couple of games were Luke Power esque with terrific foot skills and some "in and under" type marks. He started to move and think like Luke, something he wasn't close to in previous years, so he might be one to look out for. He's also a good height and can play anywhere, that'll help him a lot when he's fighting for a position in the side.

Higgins has big wraps too. You would expect him to play Round 1, but who's going to be dropped for him? Aker, Murphy, Darcy are 3 that will already come into the side. You'd think Higgins and perhaps another player, possibly tall, (Skipper? McDougall?) could also be brought in.

Darcy at CHB is an interesting one on paper but I don't think it'd be viable, particuarly early in the season. He hasn't played for nearly 2 years, his awareness, reading of the play, reaction time etc. will all be caught out if he's in - arguably - the most important position on the ground. He needs a few games to establish the pace of the game and to re-acquire mobility, awareness and reaction time. Being at FF and having the whole game in front of him will be a much better starting point rather than sticking him in the middle of the ground and asking him to direct the side, so to speak.

[alwaysadog]

The theme of this year's pre-season appears to be around building up and tackling, two things which we certainly needed to improve.

With bigger bodies and more aggression/better tackling, we'll be in a much better position then we have for years to challenge for the flag.

Nice to hear McDougall took a few contested marks. I have maintained the thought that he can play, as his 2004 season was very impressive.

Skipper still seems tohave some hope. He has shown a little bit every now and again, and with a huge frame that he has now, perhaps he could offer us a decent 2nd string Ruckmen/Forward type of a role when we're playing opposition teams with weaker Ruck stocks.

Power is another who by all accounts has put on more weight and is in great condition. He improved a fair bit last year and I have been impressed with his body work in the last few games. Added weight will only help the cause and I think he's following the path of his brother Luke. Those last couple of games were Luke Power esque with terrific foot skills and some "in and under" type marks. He started to move and think like Luke, something he wasn't close to in previous years, so he might be one to look out for. He's also a good height and can play anywhere, that'll help him a lot when he's fighting for a position in the side.

Higgins has big wraps too. You would expect him to play Round 1, but who's going to be dropped for him? Aker, Murphy, Darcy are 3 that will already come into the side. You'd think Higgins and perhaps another player, possibly tall, (Skipper? McDougall?) could also be brought in.

Darcy at CHB is an interesting one on paper but I don't think it'd be viable, particuarly early in the season. He hasn't played for nearly 2 years, his awareness, reading of the play, reaction time etc. will all be caught out if he's in - arguably - the most important position on the ground. He needs a few games to establish the pace of the game and to re-acquire mobility, awareness and reaction time. Being at FF and having the whole game in front of him will be a much better starting point rather than sticking him in the middle of the ground and asking him to direct the side, so to speak.


You pick up on a lot of the themes that I am interested in, and I agree with the points you have made. What follows is more detail to support your argument.

Firstly there is a lot of intensity about everything they do. Take Robbins yesterday. He had some back problem so he couldn't run and contest. On the other hand he spent a fair bit of time with an assistant coach; short and built like a tank, don't know his name, doing touch work, ie handballing and reacting at speed and at short distances. This went on for a while and then Campbell joined in and he had two balls being fired at him. Needless to say he did very well but it shows a degree of intensity and sophistication I don't ever recall being evident previously.

What seems to be apparent is that we have assembled a range of assistant coaches who have great energy and commitment, but also have the smarts to replicate game situations on the track.

What is most impressive is that this is a highly coordinated logistical exercise that Rocket is not just on top of, but is having the time of his life in orchestrating.

It's almost a new Olympic motto. Bigger, faster, stronger.

All the guys you mentioned above were IMO doing better than ever, and if there is one lasting memory of yesterday it is that the are exuding confidence, enjoying what they are doing and performing at a higher level than last year.

Getting hard to keep a lid on it.

[ons]

I got along as well, but was running late, and really didn't see much of training itself.

Was a long queue for food, but the day seemed to be pretty well organised. A good sized turnout to watch training. I missed the mini practice match they played.

Watched Darcy and Grant do sprints, good to seen Darcy without the brace on.

Looking forward to Jan 26 to go watch the club train at our home.