East meets West day

[The Underdog]

Re: East meets West day

I thought Cam Wight looked good too. Handled it well below his knees, used it well. Definitely looks stronger. Be interested to see if it translates to matches.

Noticed Tim Callan miss a couple of targets.

Also had a bit of fun as we took the bub for a walk to quiet her down was playing guess who owns which car in the players car park. Went Rob Murphy for the Commodore station wagon with the baby seat and rrr sticker. Thought the SAAB with the SA number plates must be Hudson. Was surprised at the lack of big stupid V8 utes and the like for a group of guys with money mostly under 25. Mostly sensible cars.

[The Doctor]

Re: East meets West day

A couple of things that stood out for me among the younger players

* Callan Ward is a no brainer for senior footy this year
* Mulligan is a smooth mover for a player his size and his kicking was quite good. Very impressive overall and I'm looking forward to seeing him at the intra club.
* O'Shea has a magnificent physique and has filled out as well as you could hope for in a young KP player. I just noticed with his kicking he seems to take a bit of time to transfer the ball to his foot. Almost like taking to much care to place it properly.
* Stack has also built up a long way from last year. Looks very strong and I can see a power player emerging from him in the next few years if all goes to plan.

Of the senior group

* I noticed almost immediately the imposing figure of Ben Hudson and the presence he seemed to have. I felt last year we lacked this in our big guys. I sensed a calm kind of authority in the way he went about training and he seemed quiye jovial among the group. Has obviously landed at the club firmly on his feet.

* Aker looked in great shape. I reckon last year he got us over the line in at least 4 if not 5 games and our season would have really been really ratshit without him yet he copped a lot of criticism. I'm excited by his prospects this year as he looks very fit and settled.

* It was pleasing to see our young veterans looking fit and putting in. Guys like Cooney, Griffen, Ray, Higgins. Williams is a very big boy although he didn't train.

[Bulldog Revolution]

Re: East meets West day

A couple of things that stood out for me among the younger players

* O'Shea has a magnificent physique and has filled out as well as you could hope for in a young KP player. I just noticed with his kicking he seems to take a bit of time to transfer the ball to his foot. Almost like taking to much care to place it properly.

Sounds like O'Shea is in the process of having his kicking style modified and is very conscious of it whilst working on the skill. Hopefully it will start to look more natural as the season progresses and muscle memory kicks in.

Interesting snippets from everyone - cheers

Great to see some smooth moving bigs - and great that the group seems to be fully of confidence, as bad as our end to the seasons was we wont get anywhere without our players believing

Nice shots TCD - Morris looks ripped, boy will he annoy some of the guys he plays on this year, such a great team man and such a fabulous story of persistence and refusing to give up. I am sure I am not alone but I find Morris an inspiration and love the way he goes about it.

[LostDoggy]

Re: East meets West day

I went along yesterday.
- Morris is significantly bigger than last season and must be set for a big season. As BR said, he must be an inspiration for other players.
- Boyd is another who is improved his physique. Talked to Boyd for a while and he is an impressive person. He also gave a presentation of a signed cap to an elderly gentleman.
- As a group the new youngsters are physically bigger. Reid for instance has a very mature build.
- Minson says he will be right in another 2 weeks.
- Williams was a bit guarded with why he wasn't training. He looks far stronger than he did last season.
- Ray is nice and friendly bloke
- Gia was very relaxed and fit. He's making good progress,
- Wight is bigger and stronger and as someone else suggested during the drills his skill level looked sharper.
- Addison performed well in the drills.
- O'Shea has a great spring but needs some work on his skills. He could be one that shows a lot of improvement.

No Smorgon with his normal presentation was a bit disappointing but it makes for a change to see the guys running around and enjoying themselves.

[wb_age]

Re: East meets West day

Thought the SAAB with the SA number plates must be Hudson.

I can tell you that Will Minson just bought a SAAB and my mate was giving him @@#$ because they're an old man sort of car, as for the SA plates ????

[ledge]

Re: East meets West day

Hello all,
i have to ask, how did Stephen Tiller look i imagine they would try and bulk him up a bit, he has good hands and a good kick, just got pushed out a few times last year.Also where will he fit in? what position?

[always right]

Re: East meets West day

Looked like he's also hit the weights and whilst he is not naturally big, he certainly looked stronger. He trained with the rehab group so you couldn't see how he was moving.

My concern about Tiller is he is an in-between size. I hope he comes on but I have some doubts.

[Go_Dogs]

Re: East meets West day

Thanks for the reports guys, sounds like it was a good day.

[GVGjr]

Re: East meets West day

Hello all,
i have to ask, how did Stephen Tiller look i imagine they would try and bulk him up a bit, he has good hands and a good kick, just got pushed out a few times last year.Also where will he fit in? what position?

Physically not much has changed. He doesn't look much bigger than last season but perhaps he is a bit like Hargrave in that area.

Looked like he's also hit the weights and whilst he is not naturally big, he certainly looked stronger. He trained with the rehab group so you couldn't see how he was moving.

My concern about Tiller is he is an in-between size. I hope he comes on but I have some doubts.

I suppose we differ on his size but I agree that at 191cm he could be caught in between unless he develops a particular strength like marking.

[GVGjr]

Re: East meets West day

http://afl.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsId=54676

WESTERN Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade used Saturday morning's East Meets West Family Day to rally the club's eastern suburbs supporters, with a public pledge that a top-eight finish is the only acceptable result for his side this year.

After his team trained at Wesley College at Glen Waverley in Melbourne's east, Eade said the Bulldogs were determined to prove critics wrong and play into September this year.

And, with almost an entire list to select from for the opening round of the NAB Cup, which kicks off for the Bulldogs in Darwin in less than four weeks, things are certainly looking positive.

"We're probably only two senior players short of joining in fully, so we've got a full list just about at the moment, so that's good," Eade said.

"There's a few little niggles here and there, which most teams get at this time of the year, but nothing major.

"Will Minson's back is a little bit sore and he's missed a week of training, but he'll be right next week, so I think [Daniel] Giansiracusa and [Wayde] Skipper are the only two at this stage."

Giansiracusa (knee) and Skipper (foot) are expected to be available in round three of the NAB Cup and round one of the season proper respectively, while Ryan Griffen has put his injury concerns behind him and is expected to play in Darwin.

Eade said his side is looking stronger than this time last year, with almost every player participating in pre-Christmas fitness training as opposed to the seven who missed in 2006.

He also said the Dogs will be looking to "win as many games as we can" in the upcoming pre-season competition, with former Crows Ben Hudson and Scott Welsh, and ex-Cat Tim Callan all expected to make debuts in their new strips.

"We won't compromise our programs for certain players that we'll set certain game time [for]," Eade said.

"That will mainly be the older players, so whether they play in round one, NAB Cup, only time will tell.

"We believe in our depth and in the players we've got, and we'd like to win as many games as we can."

The Bulldogs will head north for their community camp ahead of their NAB Cup clash with the Kangaroos, to spend some time in their adopted home of Darwin.

Eade said the players will not be exposed to heat training before the trip this time, as the four-day camp will act as perfect acclimatisation ahead of the game.

"When we went there last year, we spent three weeks in the heat chambers working towards that," he said.

"We probably won't do that this year. We go up on a Tuesday for our community camp, so we'll have three or four days to adjust.

"It will be hot and steamy, so that's an interesting management issue as well."

With the exception of Welsh, who had returned to Adelaide for a wedding, the entire playing list was on hand to meet approximately 300 fans at Saturday's session in damp conditions.
Eade took time to introduce the new Bulldogs, including 2007 draftees Jarrad Grant, Callan Ward, Sam Reid, Easton Wood, Jarrad Boumann and Guy O'Keefe, new rookies John Shaw, James Mulligan and Henry White, and experienced additions Callan and Hudson, to the crowd.

[always right]

Re: East meets West day

Physically not much has changed. He doesn't look much bigger than last season but perhaps he is a bit like Hargrave in that area.



I suppose we differ on his size but I agree that at 191cm he could be caught in between unless he develops a particular strength like marking.

So how exactly do we differ on his size?

[hujsh]

Re: East meets West day

My concern about Tiller is he is an in-between size. I hope he comes on but I have some doubts.

191cm is fine. Guys like Fevola and Pavlich are pretty good forwards

[GVGjr]

Re: East meets West day

So how exactly do we differ on his size?

I thought you had mentioned that he put on some size. From what I saw of him he looks about the same build.

[always right]

Re: East meets West day

191cm is fine. Guys like Fevola and Pavlich are pretty good forwards

yeah...191cm is fine if you are incredibly talented or built like a brick shithouse. Tiller is neither.

[hujsh]

Re: East meets West day

yeah...191cm is fine if you are incredibly talented or built like a brick shithouse. Tiller is neither.

So if he was 4cm taller he would be fine?

If he has a good reach and speed of the mark and some strength he'll be fine.