2015 Pre-Season

[Twodogs]

Thanks for that MCL.

Good to hear some positive mentions for the likes of Roughy, Talia, Roberts, Redpath and Jong. All pretty important players if they can play well.

What days/times is training next week? I plan to head down to one.

They do some training most mornings but the big session is Thursday morning.

[LostDoggy]

I saw Wallis train the whole time. He even was having a couple of shots at goal after the rest of the team went inside. So unless he has done something after the main session, I didn't see anything untoward.

[LostDoggy]

Cheers mate appreciate it, how did Talias disposal look? Seems to be improving quite a bit.

Did you see Wallis, someone on BF has said he apparently rehurt his foot which has me a little worried, can anyone here confirm or deny that?

Tails looked really good to my eye? He's a big boy, mistook him for T BOYD when I arrived, same hair, same tan, similar physique. Skills looked OK, tbh apart from Bont, they're all a bit scratchy but it's early days.

I think he'll be OK, really hope he is given enough chances at senior level this year. Personally I see us finishing bottom 3 anyway, so we need to throw caution to the a bit and get some development into these guys.

[LostDoggy]

Thanks for those comprehensive reports.

[bornadog]

New Recruits training

[The Bulldogs Bite]

I went along this morning and had a look. There wasn't much to report on - a bit of running, some basic skill drills etc. Anyhow, some observations I made are:

- Skill level fairly poor and needs work. Even basic kicking drills with anticipated mild pressure we regularly missed targets.
- Jong and Talia both looked pretty good. They look very strong and fit - it's noticeable. Jong used his pace in some competitive drills a few times which really stood out. In one instance he was confronted by Wallis, composed himself, then ran around Wallis and absolutely burned him off and made him look like he was crawling. Skill level was good too. Talia looks in great condition and defensively was very good in a few drills with both his anticipation and spoiling.
- Still a few players not in main training including Boyd, Campbell, Prudden, Honeychurch, Kelly, Macrae and Roarke. All did their own thing - some light running/skills work. I didn't spot the likes of Goodes, Clay, Morris and one or two others.
- The new draftees look really raw, but I liked the way Bailey Dale moved. Whilst he was fresh he looked quite quick and agile, took some nice marks with arms extended and hit targets by foot. Caleb Daniel was impressive early too - doesn't like wasting a ball, has the ability to hold onto the ball and move around until an option presents - great composure and his skill level is good. Hamilton was quiet, Maclean did a couple of nice things in traffic, didn't see Webb out there.
- Cordy (Ayce) was terrible. Sounds harsh, but he missed basic targets by foot and dropped the ball/couldn't pick it up a few times. A couple of laughs were had.
- Bont looks in great condition. It's fun to watch him go about it, even on the training track. He makes it look effortless. Some of his handballs in traffic were sublime, he moved really well and I didn't see him miss a target by foot - some of them were 40/50m passes to advantage. He's the best young talent I've seen.

[Twodogs]

I went along this morning and had a look. There wasn't much to report on - a bit of running, some basic skill drills etc. Anyhow, some observations I made are:

Did my eyes deceive me or did I see Will Minson do a running somersault when he was on his way to the boundary to pick up a stray ball?

- Skill level fairly poor and needs work. Even basic kicking drills with anticipated mild pressure we regularly missed targets

.

The coach is very keen on them though.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Did my eyes deceive me or did I see Will Minson do a running somersault when he was on his way to the boundary to pick up a stray ball?

I must have missed that!

The coach is very keen on them though.

It's nice to see us doing these kinds of drills because if we can't execute there we have no chance of executing under real game pressure.

Just to add a few more notes:

- Murphy is just a class above. The way he moves, his composure and his ability to hit targets by either foot is elite. I have a feeling the captaincy will reinvigorate Bobby. Having heard him talk over the past 12-18 months he's mentioned a few times how tough it's been mentally. I think being appointed Captain might freshen him up from that perspective.

- Grant is the ultimate tease. He moved well in certain drills, showed he has a high footy IQ with some great contested body work, took some fine one grab marks on the stretch when most would have dropped them but then he'd turn the ball over with a terrible 15m pass.

- Hamling moves well and his skills looked OK from the small sample I saw. In one of the drills, he was briefly matched up on Bonti as a defender. He found himself out of position via a pretty good kick that was going over his head to Bonti and looked gone, but he somehow was able to track back and get a fist to the footy. His progress will be interesting.

[Go_Dogs]

Thanks for the reports, going to be an interesting summer.

[Twodogs]

I must have missed that!

It was right at the very end. A ball had ended up near the boundary on the members wing and Will went to get it. He was running at a fair clip and just before he got there, he flipped over and did a star jump. A few guys on the boundary gave him a cheer and Will gave a little bow.

It's nice to see us doing these kinds of drills because if we can't execute there we have no chance of executing under real game pressure.

Yep. It's good to see the footys (and soccer balls) out so early on.

[LostDoggy]

It was right at the very end. A ball had ended up near the boundary on the members wing and Will went to get it. He was running at a fair clip and just before he got there, he flipped over and did a star jump. A few guys on the boundary gave him a cheer and Will gave a little bow.

I'd love to see this during a game. Would be awesome.

[Twodogs]

I'd love to see this during a game. Would be awesome.

It was pretty impressive to see. Of course if he broke his wrist while he was doing it...

[F'scary]

- Hamling moves well and his skills looked OK from the small sample I saw. In one of the drills, he was briefly matched up on Bonti as a defender. He found himself out of position via a pretty good kick that was going over his head to Bonti and looked gone, but he somehow was able to track back and get a fist to the footy. His progress will be interesting.

Go Hamlet.

[LostDoggy]

Just got re-trenched at work. On the positive side, I'm gonna get a lot of fishing and Doggies training sessions in.

[bornadog]

Just got re-trenched at work. On the positive side, I'm gonna get a lot of fishing and Doggies training sessions in.

That sucks and right before Christmas, typical of companies. Good luck for a new job.