Training today was at Vic Park. Quite a warm day once the sun came out. It was officially a closed session with a board by the locked gates saying so but OER reporters were allowed to sit in and watch the roughly 2 hour session
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In the rehab group today were:
Cotch - still not running and just watched why kicking the footy to himself.
Sugar - likewise just watched the session from the boundary.
Petts, Cogs, Cleve and Patto joined in with the main group for the usual handball and kicking drills but once the game-based drills started they stepped out. Cogs and Cleve did some jogging kick-to-kick with a trainer. Cogs then joined Patto and they plenty of hard running around the boundary line for the rest of the session.
I didn't notice Silvester out there but I may have missed seeing him.
Connors was absent with his broken finger as mentioned in the other thread.
Apart from the scratch match the rucks - Simmo, Gus, Putty, Vickers, Browne - and Gourdis worked on contested marking and leaping marking from behind and across the front of the pack with Monkhurst. Without Gourdis they also did the usual ruck practice.
After the main squad had done their usual handball and kicking drills, the main purpose of the session was to work on and fine-tune game-based scenarios - rebounding, work at stoppages, and zoning (both implementing it defensively and attacking against it). A scratch match was also played although it wasn't a proper game as such as it seemed to be more about getting the yellows (team most likely for round 1) ready. The coaching staff would intervene during it to work on different aspects of the gameplan. For example the yellows would kick a goal yet the other side (blue-singlets) got to kick it in as if a point was scored so the yellows could work on their kick-in zoning. Another time they restarted with a throw-in in the forward 50. The blue-tops did plenty of zone set-ups. Plenty of yelling orchestring where teammates needed to stand and fill space. Cambo was instructing both sides how to free up a teammate once they got forward of centre.
From memory the teams and match-ups were:
F: Morton Schulz (Yellows)
B: Polo King
HF: Browny Riewoldt Bowden
HB: Rance
R: Simmo
Gus/Browne
C: Tuck, Lids, Cuz, Jacko, White
Foley, Thomson, Edwards, Post, Gilligan
Wing: Richo
Putt
HB: McMahon McGaune Newman
HF: Tambling Polak Hislop
B: Raines Moore Thursty
F: Nahas Gourdis Vickery
JON?, Collins?
Tuck - BOG today. Got a heap of it at the stoppages and through the midfield.
Cuz - Just makes it look so easy and was running all over the place without probs. He played both in the guts and on a HFF. Edwards was his match-up in the forward line. You've got to love Cuz's blind turns to spin out of a tight situation and out into space. The look on Putty's face was priceless at one stage
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Lids - got plenty of it also. At one stage got a clearance and then pushed forward into the goalsquare to mark and goal.
Richo was Richo. Started on the wing, took a mark in defence and then pushed forward to nail a great pack mark against 3-4 opponents
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Browny also got his hands on the footy. I notice I'm mentioning our main guns but they were very good today.
Looking at the team if seems Wallace and the match committee have settled on their back six with Raines making up that "6th" spot. Newy was the general off half-back. Got a heap of it and pushed to wing and half-forward line at times as he usually does.
Post appears to be being groomed for Richo midfield role. Basically played as a midfielder. Didn't get a lot of it but did some nice change of directions with his decision making that impressed the coaching staff. Hislop had something mentioned to him about switching the play and the next time he got ball and followed the instruction Cambo gave him a wrap. David King's voice is hard to miss btw lol. Jade Rawlings turned up on crutches. Not sure what was wrong.
After the scratch match, the blue-singlets headed off and the yellow side plus Foley, Tambling, Rance, Browne and Gus (side for Carrara) stayed on and did the more rebounding drills with the assistant coaches acting as nuisances to pick off any errant kicks which were good to see few and far between today. Interestingly the side was flip-flopped at times with the rebounding sometimes starting with the forwards and going both ways so everyone was linking up with run and carry.
I try to be as balanced as I can for a Tigers supporter and not look through rose coloured glasses at training but overall I have to say this was one of the most positive training sessions I've watched and walked away afterwards from. Very hard to find fault with them today as they trained hard and more importantly their intensity, skills and decision making were all very good. They were switched on today. I'll feel quietly confident about round 1 if today's training is the standard we set and deliver on March 26.
Any questions just fire away
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