Training Report 10/1/07

[Twodogs]

All the players training together.

Cooney left the field early-I'm concerned about him

Everitt has some amazing skills-I can see why he was at the top of our shopping list.

Stack(I think it was Stack) kicks goals from the boundary like he's shelling peas-just makes it look soooooooo easy.

Walsh, Darcy, Williams did the whole session

Hahn is out of his brace and has bulked up massively. Ran up and down the steps in the Whitten stand with Doogs

Higgins is out of his elbow guard.

Cross worked and worked on his goalkicking after the others had left the track






Any questions answered.

[Dry Rot]

Thoughts on Pask, Walsh and Baird?

[The Bulldogs Bite]

From what I gathered myself;

* Mitch Hahn is huge. He's not overweight at all, just a ton of bricks. Ran up the stairs for a while with McDougall & Hargrave. Watched Doogs for a bit, he seems content at the Whitten Oval and did a lot of running particularly early on.

* Cameron Wight is training hard and showing some positive signs. He looks a bit bigger whilst not losing any mobility at all. Very quick and has been displaying some Leadership Traits in the drills.

* The Aboriginal boys are very, very skinny and it stands out. They are, however, pretty quick and have good skills. O'Shea is still very raw and was evident by just his running & marking.

* Wayde Skipper is arguably the biggest in our side. He's absolutely massive. He put in some nice passes, and I hope he's able to be a solid player.

* Travis Baird had some 1-on-1 marking contests with Brad Johnson and was slaughtered. Johnson is incredibly smart and strong, though. He's a little more defined but still, he needs a couple more pre-seasons under his belt.

* Shaun Higgins & Daniel Giansiracusa had some 1-on-1 marking contests also, to which Higgins performed very well. He used his body really well and frustrated Gia a few times.

* Akermanis is a step above most. Training pretty hard and was evident in even the 5 or 6 sprints they did. He pushed hard all the way every time, whilst others were on more of a stride.

* To answer DR's question, Walsh from what I saw was just running on the far side of the ground with a couple of the others (Hahn, Murphy). Michael West also trained good I thought, as he hit targets by foot and took some nice marks in 1-on-1s.

In conclusion, there's not a whole lot that - personally - I think you can take away from a Training Run, although it's still important. The real test will be when the Intra Club games start because then we'll be able to see competitively, if they've improved and who has the most. But certainly from what I saw, Higgins looks primed and in top shape whilst Wight also looks set for a good year.

[Dry Rot]

Interesting that Skipper has really bulked up.

How much bigger is Wight? (A slightly silly question I know)

[LostDoggy]

Wight has put on about 5kg from what I have seen. He is still far from being huge but is a bit stronger in the legs and upper body. He hasn't lost his mobility either.

Back to Skipper, yes he has really filled out and seems to be a lot more confident than the same time 12 months ago. I'm told he is quite an accomplished boxer in the training session now and can really mix it with even the bigger guys. He is now more than capable of playing a supporting role as a back up ruckman if required and his confidence level has risen accordingly.

The question still remains if he is capable of holding down a key position however while the jury is out there, I get the impression the coaches really appreciate his work and he is very much in the mix for a best 22 role possibly off the bench.

By the way you need to see how strong Sam Power is now and how much extra muscle Addison and Higgins have added to their frames. The extra weight sessions are paying dividends across the board however I don't think our time trials with running are as strong as last season. I think this is a good mix though.

[Mofra]

Back to Skipper, yes he has really filled out and seems to be a lot more confident than the same time 12 months ago. I'm told he is quite an accomplished boxer in the training session now and can really mix it with even the bigger guys. He is now more than capable of playing a supporting role as a back up ruckman if required and his confidence level has risen accordingly.

The question still remains if he is capable of holding down a key position however while the jury is out there, I get the impression the coaches really appreciate his work and he is very much in the mix for a best 22 role possibly off the bench.
Adam Morgan played a few games at the start of last season, getting few kicks but still playing an important role in the side. I rate Skipper above Morgs in a few areas, perhaps he can bring the ball to ground & fit back into our start of 2006 gameplan?

[The Bulldogs Bite]

By the way you need to see how strong Sam Power is now and how much extra muscle Addison and Higgins have added to their frames. The extra weight sessions are paying dividends across the board however I don't think our time trials with running are as strong as last season. I think this is a good mix though.

Spot on about Wight. He's still not where he needs to be, but he has gained a bit.

Power has steadily improved over 12 months physically. He's pretty defined now, and he trained well the other day. He's getting more like Luke I reckon. Half forward is certainly his position, because as we saw late in the season, he is very good at assisting. His body on body work is also pretty good, and will only improve with added muscle.

Higgins I agree is noticeably bigger. He really looks like a young Cousins, both appearance wise and the way he plays.

I wondered the same thing re: time trials, but I think we'll be right. Our guys are and will be fit, and with strength, it should only help their stamina and thus give them a longer lasting effect on the game then just the 10 minutes blitz we've seen the past 2 years. Not to mention, it should improve our stoppages work because we're undersized in this area. Bulking up + a Mitch Hahn will help truck loads, as he's really really bulked up again it would appear.

[bornadog]

I would like to see Skipper take on a key position role rather than being a ruckman. His height is a big problem even thou he can leap, he is still way too short for a ruck role. Now, whether he has it in him to take a key position, like CHB, or CHF I am not sure.

[GVGjr]

I would like to see Skipper take on a key position role rather than being a ruckman. His height is a big problem even thou he can leap, he is still way too short for a ruck role. Now, whether he has it in him to take a key position, like CHB, or CHF I am not sure.


It's an interesting issue with Skipper. He has probably shown more in the ruck than in a key position but we all know he isn't really a viable 4 quarter ruckman.
I think the club needs to establish early on this year if Skipper does pose any value as a potential KPP or not. Other than that I think he provides decent coverage for Minson and Street.

[LostDoggy]

I would like to see Skipper take on a key position role rather than being a ruckman. His height is a big problem even thou he can leap, he is still way too short for a ruck role. Now, whether he has it in him to take a key position, like CHB, or CHF I am not sure.

There was talk about trying Skipper as a CHB but I don't think it worked that well so he is now seen as a ruck relief. Having seen the way he has filled out over the last few months it might be something that Eade revisits again. I do think Eade favours running defenders and that might be a skill that Skip needs to learn quickly if he is to hold down that possie.

[Twodogs]

Power has steadily improved over 12 months physically. He's pretty defined now, and he trained well the other day. He's getting more like Luke I reckon. Half forward is certainly his position, because as we saw late in the season, he is very good at assisting. His body on body work is also pretty good, and will only improve with added muscle.






Has really shown a desire this preseason. His effort to get to a player and then the tackle he layed on him at training a few weeks ago were both incredible.

[BulldogBelle]

Has really shown a desire this preseason. His effort to get to a player and then the tackle he layed on him at training a few weeks ago were both incredible.


He is sounding very impressive, he just seems to get better and better each year - perhaps 2007 will be his break out year...I really want Power to succeed.

[bornadog]

All the players training together.

Cooney left the field early-I'm concerned about him

Any questions answered.


How bad is Cooney's Osteo Pubis problem?

[GVGjr]

How bad is Cooney's Osteo Pubis problem?

I'm told it's basically the same level of OP that limited his pre-season in 2006. It's manageable but will impact his training.