Pre-season update: Richmond ...... (The Age)

[one-eyed]

It may be Christmas but the footy never stops

  The Age
    December 23, 2013

In the countdown to the opening match of the 2014 premiership season on March 14, we take you through the state of play at your club: the training standouts, the latest on the injury front and when and where the NAB Challenge and practice matches are scheduled to be played.

Compiled by: Matt Murnane, Ashley Porter, Brad Elborough, David Polkinghorne and David Sygall.

RICHMOND

The workload: A small group of Tigers travelled to Brazil as part of an exchange program designed in part to prepare their bodies for pre-season. The training itself has involved an increased focus on fitness, conditioning and individual skills: rather than game style: with 15-time Australia's Strongest Man winner Derek Boyer also working with the players.

One to watch: Brandon Ellis has been the big performer in the hard running drills and, coming into his third season, the former first-round draft pick should start to see even more improvement from the work he has put in.

Medical room: Reece Conca was on light duties pre-Christmas after having hamstring surgery, but should join full training in January. Like Conca, Chris Knights (knee) is running and should be ready by round one.

WHEN THEY PLAY

NAB Challenge

Feb 14 v Melbourne, Etihad Stadium

Feb 22 v Collingwood, Wangaratta

Practice match

March 7 v Essendon, Punt Road Oval

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/it-may-be-christmas-but-the-footy-never-stops-20131222-2zt9k.html

[tdy]

Its an interesting development to train with a Strongest man athlete.  We're talking heavy lifting with medium aerobic fitness, not total weightlifteresque.

What it says to me is we are going to put on weight for the collisions in the game.  Seems like a good idea to me. 

Of course you can go the other way Adelaide has gone, lighter (the article claims faster too but I don't get that, sprinters are heavy, endurance athletes are lighter) but I still think the heavy for collisions is the way to go.

[Judge Roughneck]

I remember a practice game @ Carlton vs Adelaide a few years ago

Adelaide seemed huge and us tiny

[bojangles17]

I remember a practice game @ Carlton vs Adelaide a few years ago

Adelaide seemed huge and us tiny

I remember that didn't they kick plenty in last term , walker 7+

[Andyy]

Yeah I was there too. Great footy ground IMO. Got beat, and yeah looked like men VS boys.

Fact is that 95% of players will put on weight/muscle over the summer and become leaner throughout the year. Only time I've ever seen an entire team maintain/increase their size over a full AFL season is Essendon and we saw how that ended.

Papers usually say much of the same - 'the players look so much bigger they've all put on 3-4kg of muscle' and then they shed it over the year.