TopDogs 2009 season launch - a report

Fom 6.30pm Tuesday, 3 February 2009, in what will soon be the new coffee shop area beside the merchandise shop. I’ll try to just cover the bits that are new or interesting.

Smorgo addressed the assembled coterie members and welcomed them to the redeveloped Whitten Oval. Admin moves back in on the 24th of this month.

He talked about Mission foods and how they employed an independent assessor to examine the competing clubs and he was very pleased that we won given how we used to be perceived.

He is leading a negotiating team on behalf of the Melbourne based clubs to secure better deals from Telstra Dome or whatever it is now called and the MCG. He believes we are being screwed, but that’s nothing new, that’s why we built Waverley so that we had options if other grounds didn’t come to the party.

To football matters we are going to spend 13.4m on the football ops this year an increase of ¾ m. and he still expects us to finish in the black

Paul Williams was next, not as smooth as Campbell but funnier and very committed. Asked about standout players he said he has been impressed by the work ethic of the entire group, but Johnno amazed him; given his age he expected him to take things a bit easier but is amazed that he still does all the work and still has his speed.

Four players were present Higgins, Hargrave, Hudson and DFA.

Higgins who has replaced West in the leadership group as well as in the No 7 jumper, spoke about the preseason and was very pleased about the work Bill D has done. He hopes to play more in the midfield but given the rotations expects to spend time on a HFF. One of the players, Shaggy I think, yelled out “Forward” in a derogatory way. I suspect that there is some in house rivalry about which part of the team contributes most.

Then we toured the Players area. I was with Huddo’s group. It certainly looked good and was better than what Adelaide had when Ben was there. Most of the other clubs CEOs have been over to have a look, he thinks they are clearly the best facilities in the comp.

He too is a big wrap for the new fitness regime. He said that in the past if they were going to do say 5 X 1k runs then they would go flat out the first one and then struggle through the rest feeling flat and need to rest the next day; whereas Bill D gets them to work at 80% through them all, and they get the benefit of the reps. He said this was a big part of their improved performance because when they were in the states they worked really hard for 5 or 6 days without a break, something they wouldn’t have managed previously.

In the gym they have a bell on the wall besides the weights area which they are allowed to press if they do a PB at a weights or other tasks and he said it has been going off nearly non stop.

He was a bit more forthcoming about the preseason, most players are bigger, stronger and lighter. They are leaner, he is about 3 kg down from last year but is fitter. The dietician won’t let him eat avocado and cheese in the same sandwich, a favourite of his I guess. He didn’t come back early to training, the system is based on how many years a player has been on the list. He came back with the younger group because he started in the AFL later.

Minson loves pumping iron and presses 150 kg about 20 more that Ben. He said Mulligan isn’t that strong yet but the boy just does not realise how strong he could be.

He showed us where Aker did his calf while doing the 20 m sprints.

If the success of the forthcoming season is dependent on how hard the players have worked then we would seem to be in for a good one in spite of my constant fear of the yoyo effect.

Informative...thanks

Thanks for that alwaysadog.

I can't wait.

I love these kind of reports, they always tell you something a bit less obvious about the club, whether it be our training program, setup or player personalities. Thanks Alwaysadog.

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Originally Posted by alwaysadog

He was a bit more forthcoming about the preseason, most players are bigger, stronger and lighter. They are leaner, he is about 3 kg down from last year but is fitter. The dietician won’t let him eat avocado and cheese in the same sandwich, a favourite of his I guess. He didn’t come back early to training, the system is based on how many years a player has been on the list. He came back with the younger group because he started in the AFL later.

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Thanks for the info Alwaysadog.


I found this bit particularly interesting.

In the past it was always the objective of clubs to get as big as possible in the pre-season, and then letting the match fitness take over and change their body sizes appropriately.

We have always struggled with getting meat on the bones of our players, and i find it very interesting that they are taking the approach as you described.

Fitter Stronger but LIGHTER.

I have commented recently on this as i observed that the players looke particularly leaner this year. Crossy is a good example. He's naturally a lean endurance athlete, at this time last year he and Tim Callan really bulked out considerably. I think this didn't work for Tim as it slowed him down and he wasn't able to use that strength in contests anyway.
Take a look at Crossy today and he's back to the lean athlete he was in previous seasons. The boney shoulders and chest are back.

I think the players are indeed stronger but there is less of the puffy gym junkie weight on them. They look more like Boxers, than Weightlifters.

I think this is a very smart and professional approach to training that we have taken. I'm not completely sure if it will pay off but i believe we are undertaking a very different approach to AFL football. My only fear is that we won't have the body size to match it in wetter conditions and real physical encounters, although if you look at our finals experience last year that wasn't why we lost to Hawthorn and Geelong.

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Originally Posted by soupaman

I love these kind of reports, they always tell you something a bit less obvious about the club, whether it be our training program, setup or player personalities. Thanks Alwaysadog.

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Agree completely with this view. Well done TopDog

So Minson pumping 150 kg?

Is that on each side of the bar or per finger?

AAD, that was an excellent read and very written - much appreciated. :)

Very interesting the part where you wrote about the fitness regime and the changes that Bill D has implemented. Eg with the runs etc.

Thanks for the nice comments, it's always nice to spread any info one gleans directly, and it puts back a bit to all the stuff I get in return. That's what this board is for.

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Originally Posted by Cyberdoggie

Thanks for the info Alwaysadog.


I found this bit particularly interesting.

In the past it was always the objective of clubs to get as big as possible in the pre-season, and then letting the match fitness take over and change their body sizes appropriately.

We have always struggled with getting meat on the bones of our players, and i find it very interesting that they are taking the approach as you described.

Fitter Stronger but LIGHTER.

I have commented recently on this as i observed that the players looke particularly leaner this year. Crossy is a good example. He's naturally a lean endurance athlete, at this time last year he and Tim Callan really bulked out considerably. I think this didn't work for Tim as it slowed him down and he wasn't able to use that strength in contests anyway.
Take a look at Crossy today and he's back to the lean athlete he was in previous seasons. The boney shoulders and chest are back.

I think the players are indeed stronger but there is less of the puffy gym junkie weight on them. They look more like Boxers, than Weightlifters.

I think this is a very smart and professional approach to training that we have taken. I'm not completely sure if it will pay off but i believe we are undertaking a very different approach to AFL football. My only fear is that we won't have the body size to match it in wetter conditions and real physical encounters, although if you look at our finals experience last year that wasn't why we lost to Hawthorn and Geelong.

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There is a lot of truth in what you say Cyberdoggie. I think some of the guys look bigger especially the younger ones and even some of the middle range players look more developed physically. That said it has not been a bulk for its own sake but a more muscle less fat approach, so they actually look finer honed and this hides the extra strength which will enable them to handle the tougher conditions. I gather their endurance is considerably improved and has given many players an added degree of confidence about their capacity to meet physical challenges.

As far as Crossy is concerned its probably a bit like Chris Grant; they bulked him up too much one season and he said it interfered with his game, Crossy would need to maintain a fine balance between the need for speed and weight with the need to maintain his endurance. In the current staff he has someone with an intimate and profound understanding of such things.

Mind you Bill D loves to have players running and for Crossy this is the equivalent of letting a kid have free rein in the chocolate shop.

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Originally Posted by alwaysadog

Mind you Bill D loves to have players running and for Crossy this is the equivalent of letting a kid have free rein in the chocolate shop.

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Chocolate shop! i look forward to letting them loose at the Chocolate factory (grand final)

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Originally Posted by Bumper Bulldogs

Chocolate shop! i look forward to letting them loose at the Chocolate factory (grand final)

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I'm very happy to accept/aplaud that correction.

A good read - thank you AAD:)