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LostDoggy
29-10-2007, 11:24 PM
Pre-season snapshot – Western Bulldogs
6:34 PM Mon 29 October, 2007 | Back

By Jennifer Witham

Exclusive to AFL BigPond Network

News
New arrivals
Players - Tim Callan (Geelong), Ben Hudson (Adelaide).
Coaches – Brad Gotch (Collingwood), Peter Dean (Murray Bushrangers).

Delisted
Cameron Faulkner, Travis Baird, Tim Walsh, Damian McCormack, Marty Pask, Michael West.

Retired
Luke Darcy, Chris Grant, Matthew Robbins, Brett Montgomery.

Traded
Jordan McMahon, Sam Power.

What I did on my holiday
Two Bulldogs became heroes during the off-season, with Daniel Cross and Tom Williams leaping into Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour to save a woman from drowning.

The two players swam to the woman – who is believed to have been attempting suicide – and dragged her to shore, with both suffering minor cuts and bruises.

"We noticed someone jumping in but to be honest we thought it was just one of the local fishermen. Then we realised something was wrong and just jumped in," Williams said, on westernbulldogs.com.au.

"We had to swim 10 kilometres to get her out and fight several sharks off at the same time ... no really it was just 200 metres"

The players were on an unofficial team trip at the time of the incident, and were waiting to board a cruise boat when they heard shouts from bystanders.

Cross was later awarded with a new mobile phone from Telstra as a result of his brave act, after the incident left his old one water-logged and unusable.

"They were heroes, weren't they? I think those things are instinctive and obviously they did a very good thing to save the young girl's life," coach Rodney Eade said.

"It was an interesting experience for them. It certainly shows the calibre of the two guys involved."

Pre-season training starts…
It already has for some. Around 20 members of the Dogs' list hit the track recently, with the more senior players set to resume in early November.

The group currently training will get a break in six weeks time, before earning a week off. They'll then face another three-week block of training before breaking for a fortnight over Christmas.

Pre-season plans
The Bulldogs will head off on a training camp later in the year, once the entire list is back training.

"We're planning something at the moment, it's not finalised yet, but we will be going somewhere pre-Christmas," head of physical performance Cameron Falloon said.

"That will be a focus not just on the physical side of the training, the running and the weights etc, but a lot of leadership stuff as well.

"It will be about team building, and getting the younger guys to have a bit more of a voice, and to step up and not just run great times in time trials, but to have a voice and a say in where they want to go."

All up, the focus for the Dogs this year is to have a staggered but lengthy pre-season, with the objective of "getting more miles in the legs earlier" but "breaking up their pre-season to mentally as much as physically freshen them up".

What the fitness guy says
"There's a lot of different things we're doing. We're taking a much more individualised approach to their training," Falloon said.

"It's a lot of hard work, but already I've seen massive improvements in the guys since they've come back, so we're really pleased that the hard work the coaching staff and the conditioning staff have put into planning their program is already paying off.

"We're gradually building every week, and we're got a plan basically for the first six weeks of just incrementally building their training loads in weights, running and skills.

"Next week will be a bigger volume week again, and the week after bigger again, and so on until the sixth week before they go away and have a short break."

What the coaching staff says
"Our list isn't too bad, actually [injury wise]. Wayde Skipper's got a fractured foot, so he's still a couple of months away," Eade said.

"Tom Williams had a clean-up on his ankle and he'll be joining the main group next Monday.

"Ryan Griffen just had a bit of pain in his patella tendon, which was just due to the operation where his thigh wasted a bit, so we've just got to build up the strength there, so he's probably only a week or two away from being 100 per cent to join in.

"Shaun Higgins had a shoulder operation and it was probably a good decision that we did it two or three weeks earlier than if we'd waited until the end of the season, and now he's been able to do all the running, so he's in pretty good shape.

"We found last year that quite a few guys had an interrupted pre-season, or didn't have much of one, and we believe that hurt us towards the end of the season.

"We need to have a really strong base, and getting them back early allows us to get them fitter a bit earlier so we can work on some game style, and some footy stuff earlier rather than wait until January."

GVGjr
29-10-2007, 11:27 PM
The fitness coach really has his work cut out for him doesn't he? He must get this list in top shape for the season ahead other in fitness, size and power . Lets hope some of these guys have a torrid time and start to reap the benefits of it.

southerncross
30-10-2007, 07:36 AM
It's a good report DAB. It''s interesting that 20 are training already with the senior guys due back in the next couple of weeks. It was this time last year that the Dogs decided to dump Michael West because he came back fromt he break in less than acceptable condition. Lets hope it sent a strong message to the other youngsters.

Bulldog Revolution
30-10-2007, 10:50 AM
Huge job ahead of the fitness guy - Adding the balance of fitness and strength to a very young list

Presumably Eade has a fair bit of faith if he is just heading off on leave

dog town
30-10-2007, 11:14 AM
Really worried about Griffen and his knee long term. Dont want to scare the shit out of everyone but a dislocated knee can be pretty nasty. In alot of ways a dislocation of the patella is worse than an acl. The recovery time is less but they are notorious for popping again. Once the tendon is loose it can be really hard to tighten up. Look at Tredrea these days. His knee has popped out almost every year since his first season. He had a patella realignment last year to tighten it up but now he cant run because the surgey is so invasive.

Hopefully Griffen does not have naturally loose knee caps and it has tightened right up and its the last we hear of it. Will be watching him very closely. I think he will be better mentally than Murphy or Hahn were so barring any relapses he should get back to top form pretty quickly especially with a full pre season.

The Coon Dog
30-10-2007, 11:18 AM
Well dt, you have managed to scare the shit out of me! :eek:

LostDoggy
30-10-2007, 11:29 AM
What the coaching staff says
"Our list isn't too bad, actually [injury wise]. Wayde Skipper's got a fractured foot, so he's still a couple of months away," Eade said.

"Tom Williams had a clean-up on his ankle and he'll be joining the main group next Monday.

"Ryan Griffen just had a bit of pain in his patella tendon, which was just due to the operation where his thigh wasted a bit, so we've just got to build up the strength there, so he's probably only a week or two away from being 100 per cent to join in.

"Shaun Higgins had a shoulder operation and it was probably a good decision that we did it two or three weeks earlier than if we'd waited until the end of the season, and now he's been able to do all the running, so he's in pretty good shape.

"We found last year that quite a few guys had an interrupted pre-season, or didn't have much of one, and we believe that hurt us towards the end of the season.

"We need to have a really strong base, and getting them back early allows us to get them fitter a bit earlier so we can work on some game style, and some footy stuff earlier rather than wait until January."


Really worried about Griffen and his knee long term. Dont want to scare the shit out of everyone but a dislocated knee can be pretty nasty. In alot of ways a dislocation of the patella is worse than an acl. The recovery time is less but they are notorious for popping again. Once the tendon is loose it can be really hard to tighten up. Look at Tredrea these days. His knee has popped out almost every year since his first season. He had a patella realignment last year to tighten it up but now he cant run because the surgey is so invasive.

Hopefully Griffen does not have naturally loose knee caps and it has tightened right up and its the last we hear of it. Will be watching him very closely. I think he will be better mentally than Murphy or Hahn were so barring any relapses he should get back to top form pretty quickly especially with a full pre season.

I just thought that I would add a bit to both of these posts (isn't multi quote is a great feature?)

Griffen had problems with his knee before we drafted him and I don't think this set back will do him any harm in the short term. Perhaps it means that he might retire at 30 rather than 33 but carefully managed this will not cause him too much concern.

Griffen slow start coupled with Williams (and his ankle) and Higgins (with the shoulder) does pose us problems of getting enough of these guys fit enough to do the hard yards between now and Xmas. Williams in particular could do with getting a full pre-season into this legs.

We need to have more guys doing as close to a full pre-season as possible than we did last year.

dog town
30-10-2007, 11:48 AM
Well dt, you have managed to scare the shit out of me! :eek: Plenty of guys around who have done it and never had another problem with it. Ashley McIntosh coped pretty well with it as did Creswell and a couple of others. Tredrea has carried it his whole career and its only really caught up with him now.

Stevens from the crows never recovered from it after he did it in 99 against us.

I suppose I am extra worried about it because he has such good agility and turns sharply so often. His knee's are very important to him.

Twodogs
30-10-2007, 11:54 AM
Plenty of guys around who have done it and never had another problem with it. Ashley McIntosh coped pretty well with it as did Creswell and a couple of others. Tredrea has carried it his whole career and its only really caught up with him now.

Stevens from the crows never recovered from it after he did it in 99 against us.

I suppose I am extra worried about it because he has such good agility and turns sharply so often. His knee's are very important to him.



Cresswell was from the DIY school when it came to kneecap injuries. That was stomach churning.

dog town
30-10-2007, 11:57 AM
Cresswell was of the 'do it yourself' school when it came to kneecap injuries. That was stomach churning. I have had to do that about 7 times. My tendon is that loose it doesn't even hurt when it comes out anymore.

Not even god knows how he was able to do that the first time it had ever come out though. The first time mine came out I almost fainted and was biting the ground it was that painful. Very tough man is Darren Cresswell

Mantis
30-10-2007, 12:00 PM
Cresswell was from the DIY school when it came to kneecap injuries. That was stomach churning.

Not is wasn't. It was one of the coolest thing's I have seen on a footy field.

Twodogs
30-10-2007, 12:01 PM
I have had to do that about 7 times. My tendon is that loose it doesn't even hurt when it comes out anymore.

Not even god knows how he was able to do that the first time it had ever come out though. The first time mine came out I almost fainted and was biting the ground it was that painful. Very tough man is Darren Cresswell



Him sitting there and bashing his kneecap back into place must have amazed people who dont see our game much. I just had so much respect for his bravery or stupidity-I still havent decided which one it is yet.

dog town
30-10-2007, 12:06 PM
Him sitting there and bashing his kneecap back into place must have amazed people who dont see our game much. I just had so much respect for his bravery or stupidity-I still havent decided which one it is yet. Actually a very smart thing to do provided the structure isn't too damaged. The longer its out the looser the tendon gets and the more damage is done.

I always wonder what other people think of our game when they see stuff like that. I remember during the 2000 olympics I saw a CNN report that went to the US about Australian culture. Our national football code was described as being more like a bar room brawl than a sport and they showed The Ox and Dean Wallis beating the christ out of each other in the 2000 grand final

Twodogs
30-10-2007, 12:24 PM
Not is wasn't. It was one of the coolest thing's I have seen on a footy field.


Oh yeah, it was great! It was still stomach churning though.

Go_Dogs
30-10-2007, 12:59 PM
Griffen slow start coupled with Williams (and his ankle) and Higgins (with the shoulder) does pose us problems of getting enough of these guys fit enough to do the hard yards between now and Xmas. Williams in particular could do with getting a full pre-season into this legs.

We need to have more guys doing as close to a full pre-season as possible than we did last year.


Cooney seemed to be fit enough (although we did need him fitter) off basically no pre-season. I think all these guys should be ok, they'll have time to get some work in prior to christmas, and besides Griff whose had an extended lay off, the other 2 shouldn't take long to get back to where they were. Griff shouldn't either really, he's been in the system for a few years and although he's missed a fair chunk through his injuries, he can hopefully get some work in and be fit enough to go.

LostDoggy
30-10-2007, 05:36 PM
What surgery did Griffen end up getting done on his knee?

I have a friend who kept dislocating her knee, had to get an reconstruction (at 17) and she hasnt been able to play properly since. Then again she isnt a full time athlete, and im hoping Griff can strengthen his up, somehow....

LostDoggy
30-10-2007, 11:02 PM
The pain that Griffin was in was terrible to watch though, he was panting it was that bad. All the talk about him coming back to play was just spin, I just hope he can play this year.

southerncross
31-10-2007, 11:14 AM
The pain that Griffin was in was terrible to watch though, he was panting it was that bad. All the talk about him coming back to play was just spin, I just hope he can play this year.

I think they believed it to be true at the time but remember he had that stomack problem and lost a lot of weight. He should be in full training by Xmas.