Back from training. Perfect day outside.
Absent:
Dusty (personal)
Rehab:
Prestia (hammy): 200m runs along the outer boundary. Moving at a decent pace given it wasn't a bad hammy.
Vlastuin (hammy): Still a fair way off by the look it. Mostly jogging also along the boundary but not at any pace.
Riewoldt (thumb): Left the track before I got to training. Pics showed he walked a lap or two.
Main group:
A few drills today focussed on centre work and contesting. No real surprise there after the Carlton game and with us facing another strong midfield in GWS.
Drills today were:
- line drills: squad split into their lines to work on separate things.
- Tackling & handball keepings off in close.
- Pinball (my name for it): Players would run with the ball and bounce off about 3 blokes holding paddings.
- "Craft and technique": just 4-vs-4 centre contesting work and centre clearances (rucks & mids only)
- Match play
- Circle work: Defensive clearance, switching and transition.
Lines:
Backs: Grimes, Tarrant, Short, D.Rioli, Gibcus, Brown, Mansell, Broad, Ralphsmith, Miller, Biggie.
Rucks/Mids: Ross, Cotchin, Edwards, Soldo, Caddy, Nankervis, RCD, Dow, Bolton, McIntosh, Graham, Martyn, Parker, Sonsie, Stack, Pickett.
Forwards: Baker, Castagna, Lynch, Balta, Lambert, Ryan, Cumberland, Banks, Clarke, M.Rioli.
Balta - trained with the forwards so as Dimma said that's where he is playing on Sunday.
Bolton - did the full session ... phew!
Lambert - did the full session by the look of it but in the match play played as a half-forward. So no centre and heavy contesting work yet.
Dan Rioli - a watch and see. He should still play as he completed the training session with the main group but a couple of times during the session he spent time with a trainer and about 5 mins in the rehab group.
Maurice Rioli - I've been critical of his ability to kick over distance accurately but his three around the body shots from 40m all went through the middle.
Stack - trained well today. Very clean.
Any questions .... just fire away?