Pre-season

[LostDoggy]

Re: Pre-season

For the first part of the pre-season it appears we are concentrating on the game plan and the attack on the ball / man, which has to be done.

Is this being done at the expense of getting kilometres into the legs?

Will this have an adverse effect on the guys in running games out, and especially since we are going to play an aggressive physical brand of footy?

Understand your concern but I'd like to think there's enough paid brains at the club to know what they're doing. Also, sounds like most of the boys have kept pretty fit of their own accord during the break.

[Missing Dog]

Re: Pre-season

For the first part of the pre-season it appears we are concentrating on the game plan and the attack on the ball / man, which has to be done.

Is this being done at the expense of getting kilometres into the legs?

Will this have an adverse effect on the guys in running games out, and especially since we are going to play an aggressive physical brand of footy?

Perhaps we have been concentrating on the running side of things too much. Hall and Aker have both mentioned the dogs do a lot of running compared to their previous clubs.

Personally I'm glad they have brought the balls out earlier then in previous years, our skills level has declined quite a bit in the last 2 years.

[AndrewP6]

Re: Pre-season

Perhaps we have been concentrating on the running side of things too much. Hall and Aker have both mentioned the dogs do a lot of running compared to their previous clubs.

Well the head of physical conditioning is a triathlon coach!

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Re: Pre-season

Perhaps we have been concentrating on the running side of things too much. Hall and Aker have both mentioned the dogs do a lot of running compared to their previous clubs.

Personally I'm glad they have brought the balls out earlier then in previous years, our skills level has declined quite a bit in the last 2 years.

This.

Our ball has been terrible even from a few of our skilled players.

[jazzadogs]

Re: Pre-season

For the first part of the pre-season it appears we are concentrating on the game plan and the attack on the ball / man, which has to be done.

Is this being done at the expense of getting kilometres into the legs?

Will this have an adverse effect on the guys in running games out, and especially since we are going to play an aggressive physical brand of footy?

It depends on how we are teaching the game plan etc. From what I saw at training, and from what I've read, the key to everything we've been doing is intensity. If you're doing skill work at a high enough intensity, then it will also lead to improvements in endurance. And as for the man-on-man, attacking the ball drills, they can be the most physically draining of all when done right.

I would prefer the team to be doing 30min of intense skills work/match practice than 30min of running. As much as we nees the team to be athletically capable of running out games, improving this in conjunction with improving our skills will be much more beneficial.

On top of all that, the players will enjoy themselves more and be better off mentally, which should not be understated.

[Greystache]

Re: Pre-season

It depends on how we are teaching the game plan etc. From what I saw at training, and from what I've read, the key to everything we've been doing is intensity. If you're doing skill work at a high enough intensity, then it will also lead to improvements in endurance. And as for the man-on-man, attacking the ball drills, they can be the most physically draining of all when done right.

Agreed. There was a drill they were doing at training 2 weeks ago where a pair of players wrestled on the ground for a minute, then had a ball thrown to them and they had to try and win a one one one contest. They'd get a rest while two more pairs went, then they were on again. This went on for 20 minutes and is the most brutal training drill I've ever seen, even the most senior players looked pretty distressed by the end, yet they wouldn't have run more the 100 metres in total.

[Maddog37]

Re: Pre-season

Match fitness is all important. I am loving reading about all of this competitive work. It is like the old favourite of a coach having full on competitive training the week after a team has performed poorly except we are doing it for a whole preseason.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Pre-season

That sounds very gruelling, no wonder some players have had to have time off due to soreness. I hope they're not being pushed too hard physically though, the last thing we need is pre-season injuries.

Whilst I don't want to see them injured, of course, I think a little bit of swim or sink can only be a good thing, especially with us not expecting to make finals next year (despite what Boydy reckons )

[LostDoggy]

Re: Pre-season

I honestly expect to make finals next year. And I think it's bad for teams to fall into the trap of rebuilding and having low expectations lest they end up like Melbourne and Richmond who have seemingly been rebuilding for a decade or more. I'd much rather go the Sydney or Geelong approach of trying to do your best every year whilst turning over your list.

Yeah, I hope we get there, of course I do, and I think Boyd was doing the right thing and is showing the right attitude in signalling our “intention” to make finals, but realistically, I'm not going to tear up the membership card if we don't, and if there's a time to flog the shit out of the boys that time is now.

[Cyberdoggie]

Re: Pre-season

Agreed. There was a drill they were doing at training 2 weeks ago where a pair of players wrestled on the ground for a minute, then had a ball thrown to them and they had to try and win a one one one contest. They'd get a rest while two more pairs went, then they were on again. This went on for 20 minutes and is the most brutal training drill I've ever seen, even the most senior players looked pretty distressed by the end, yet they wouldn't have run more the 100 metres in total.

A good point.

If anyone has ever watched UFC (i'm guessing you have), then you can see how quickly a fighter can tire in such a short amount of time. You sit there thinking why don't they just do something, but they are too fatigued or need to recover to do so.


I think the extra work on game plan and contested work is necessary over running as Macca needs to instill his gameplan in the players minds. This is more important than them running out games as if they can't follow his directions then the wheels will fall off much sooner than us fading in the last quarter.

I would expect to see a lot of match simulation stuff come january/feb this pre-season, and it should be an interesting intra club, with spots available, a fresh new coach and everyone wanting to impress.

[jeemak]

Re: Pre-season

Are they actually doing less running, or are they doing the same amount of running plus the drills with an extra emphasis on physical work and pressure?

That would explain the comments surrounding the extra loading, and some of the soreness.

With the talent at our disposal I think we should be aiming for finals. We were insipid for a number of reasons last year, and that insipidness was coupled with injury to key players. If we pull our fingers out of our backsides as far as attitude is concerned, then we should be competitive enough to make finals with a decent run with player fitness.

[Ghost Dog]

Re: Pre-season

Are they actually doing less running, or are they doing the same amount of running plus the drills with an extra emphasis on physical work and pressure?

That would explain the comments surrounding the extra loading, and some of the soreness.

With the talent at our disposal I think we should be aiming for finals. We were insipid for a number of reasons last year, and that insipidness was coupled with injury to key players. If we pull our fingers out of our backsides as far as attitude is concerned, then we should be competitive enough to make finals with a decent run with player fitness.

People are getting excited about the new guys. But I cant wait to see how a young Liberatore or a Tutt are going to look after Bruiser McCartney has transformed them into gym monsters.

[Dry Rot]

Re: Pre-season

I honestly expect to make finals next year. And I think it's bad for teams to fall into the trap of rebuilding and having low expectations lest they end up like Melbourne and Richmond who have seemingly been rebuilding for a decade or more. I'd much rather go the Sydney or Geelong approach of trying to do your best every year whilst turning over your list.

Having a couple of crap years and rebuilding didn't hurt the Pies or the Hawks, did it?

The Cats had/have the best recruitment guy and we got stuffed by Clayton. And IMO it will be long time before another Swans flag if they don't bottom and rebuild.

[Ghost Dog]

Re: Pre-season

It's a fair point. I disagree on your assessment of the Swans but that's something better left to hindsight. Historically though I feel we have more in common with Richmond and Melbourne ( !!!!!) than Hawthorn and Collingwood, in that we can't really absorb a full rebuild (financially and as a supporter base) and we don't really have the resources to take advantage of one in the same way the Pies did. As for the Hawks, most of their good players (with the notable exceptions of Buddy and Roughead) were picked outside of their bottoming out period or were trades. I also generally have problems with supporters cheering on failure even if it's for what they perceive to be the greater good.


Also BAS mate, totally understand what you mean in your last post. I also won't be tearing my membership up if we fail to reach expectations.

Both Melbourne and Richmond have had the ability to rebuild but for some reason, have stuffed up their picks and the back end of things at board level there have always been issues.
I suspect they have much deeper pockets than they let on.

[the banker]

Re: Pre-season

I honestly expect to make finals next year. And I think it's bad for teams to fall into the trap of rebuilding and having low expectations lest they end up like Melbourne and Richmond who have seemingly been rebuilding for a decade or more. I'd much rather go the Sydney or Geelong approach of trying to do your best every year whilst turning over your list.

Agree