Opinion 2025: PRESEASON TRAINING, MATCH SIM & GAME NOTES (Non Discussion)
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2025 pre-season report card: Midfielders
Assistant coach Tim Clarke analyses the midfield group's progress ahead of the 2025 season.
By Cristian Filippo, Carlton Media
3 hrs ago
ONTO the mids.
On the back of Jordan Russell's pre-season report card on the forwards last week (which you can read here), assistant coach Tim Clarke now looks at the midfield line with games fast approaching for the Blues.
Starting the pre-season report cards over the month of February, assistant coach Jordan Russell looks at how some of the Blues' forwards are fairing so far this summer.
It's time for some intel on the forwards: stay tuned for the other lines to come over the course of the month!
5. Adam Cerra
“He set himself up with what he did in the off-season. He came back and trained really strongly right from the start. He chased his inside game heavily in terms of his footwork and his ability to get out of contest - you’ve been able to see that in training.
“He’s led the way with his contest stuff. His primary role is as an inside midfielder, and that’s where we feel he’ll be spending the majority of his time in games. He’s also provided the run and the outnumber stuff which he provides naturally anyway: we’re really excited to see what ‘Cez’ is going to bring.”
00:30
Jan 13 2025
Pre-season report card | Adam Cerra
Assistant coach Tim Clarke comments on Adam Cerra's pre-season so far.
9. Patrick Cripps
“’Crippa’ has had a strong pre-season. He’s had a fit midfield group to be able to train against and he has prepared himself as well as he always has. He always looks to become more powerful and more dominant around his contest game, and he’s come back in terrific shape.
“He’s working hard, he’s leading really well which is something he’s developed in the last couple of years. I’m really excited to see how he goes.”
13. Blake Acres
“He had a slower start because he had an operation at the end of the year. He’s an experienced campaigner so he knows what he needs to do with his body to get himself ready.
“Similar to last year, I’ve been really impressed with his leadership of the young wings. He’s got Jaxon Binns and Lucas Camporeale that he works closely with. He’s been terrific with the leadership and being able to educate them, now it’s at a stage where he’s fine-tuning his body to be ready for games.
“Even in training, Blake will end up on the line in offence and then you’ll turn your head and he’ll be back on the line on defence. A common term is ‘Sheriff does Sheriff things’: he keeps turning up.”
00:33
Jan 13 2025
Pre-season report card | Blake Acres
Assistant coach Tim Clarke comments on Blake Acres' pre-season so far.
15. Sam Docherty
“He’s been another player that’s been able to do a large amount of pre-season. Coming back from his knee, he obviously fast-tracked it last year and got back to play games, so his program did back off a bit in the lead-up to Christmas. He hasn’t missed a beat since.
“He’s training well, he’s got a midfield role and he’s got a wing role which he plays both really well, we know he’s a versatile player and I’m looking forward to his leadership and what he’s going to bring this year.”
25. Jaxon Binns
“‘Binnsy’ got a taste of it last year off a terrific VFL season. He’s a guy that worked really hard on his game, had multiple conversations with myself and the other coaches.
“He’s gone away and worked on his game like he was asked to be able to be more consistent at AFL level, and he came back in terrific shape and been able to roll that out in training. He’s set himself up for a good opportunity to play consistent senior footy this year, it’s a credit to him.”
00:29
Jan 13 2025
Pre-season report card | Jaxon Binns
Assistant coach Tim Clarke comments on Jaxon Binns' pre-season so far.
29. George Hewett
“George has missed a little bit of work in previous years, and he hasn’t been able to string weeks together in off-season and pre-season - this year has been different. He’s come back as the best version of George Hewett.
“He’s another player that has worked on his speed and ability to get out of contest, and he has set himself up for a really strong year.”
On big bodied mids competing in training:
“It’s terrific to have such big bodies to compete against each other. You’ve got Cripps there, you’ve got ‘Cez’ there, you’ve got George Hewett. The ability for these boys to compete against each other, it’s going to set them up for the players they’re going to play against.”
On the team’s three ruckman:
“They’ve been able to complete the whole pre-season against each other, and to have the three of them go at each other has been terrific. They’re very different rucks, so it allows them all to combat what a different ruck is going to be either at centre bounce or stoppage.
“Matty Kreuzer has done a power of work with them, he spends a lot of time with those boys on their craft and ability to navigate their patterns around the ground. It’s already made them better players, and I’m sure it’s going to make them a more potent midfield.”
On the midfield group’s focus:
“Speed and power, it’s a bit of a buzz word in the AFL. How it helps us is we’re a contest team, we like to play with power out of our contest, so to be quicker and more agile in that area is going to make us more dynamic. We’re still going to be a competitive team in the contest, we’re still going to defend hard, but if we can do it with more power, we’ll be able to counterattack a bit better.”
On the midfield make-up:
“Our midfield balance will depend a lot on the opposition and who’s available. Last year we had some injuries through our midfield, which meant some of our players missed games of footy and it meant there were opportunities for others to play a role.
“The benefit of this pre-season is we’ve had a lot of those midfielders be available and been able to train against each other, which means there’s competition for spots. They’ve made each other better, so I can see that competition providing a lot of intensity around our midfield area - I’m hoping they remain available so we can keep that competitiveness up.”
Assistant coach Tim Clarke analyses the midfield group's progress ahead of the 2025 season.
By Cristian Filippo, Carlton Media
3 hrs ago
ONTO the mids.
On the back of Jordan Russell's pre-season report card on the forwards last week (which you can read here), assistant coach Tim Clarke now looks at the midfield line with games fast approaching for the Blues.
Starting the pre-season report cards over the month of February, assistant coach Jordan Russell looks at how some of the Blues' forwards are fairing so far this summer.
It's time for some intel on the forwards: stay tuned for the other lines to come over the course of the month!
5. Adam Cerra
“He set himself up with what he did in the off-season. He came back and trained really strongly right from the start. He chased his inside game heavily in terms of his footwork and his ability to get out of contest - you’ve been able to see that in training.
“He’s led the way with his contest stuff. His primary role is as an inside midfielder, and that’s where we feel he’ll be spending the majority of his time in games. He’s also provided the run and the outnumber stuff which he provides naturally anyway: we’re really excited to see what ‘Cez’ is going to bring.”
00:30
Jan 13 2025
Pre-season report card | Adam Cerra
Assistant coach Tim Clarke comments on Adam Cerra's pre-season so far.
9. Patrick Cripps
“’Crippa’ has had a strong pre-season. He’s had a fit midfield group to be able to train against and he has prepared himself as well as he always has. He always looks to become more powerful and more dominant around his contest game, and he’s come back in terrific shape.
“He’s working hard, he’s leading really well which is something he’s developed in the last couple of years. I’m really excited to see how he goes.”
13. Blake Acres
“He had a slower start because he had an operation at the end of the year. He’s an experienced campaigner so he knows what he needs to do with his body to get himself ready.
“Similar to last year, I’ve been really impressed with his leadership of the young wings. He’s got Jaxon Binns and Lucas Camporeale that he works closely with. He’s been terrific with the leadership and being able to educate them, now it’s at a stage where he’s fine-tuning his body to be ready for games.
“Even in training, Blake will end up on the line in offence and then you’ll turn your head and he’ll be back on the line on defence. A common term is ‘Sheriff does Sheriff things’: he keeps turning up.”
00:33
Jan 13 2025
Pre-season report card | Blake Acres
Assistant coach Tim Clarke comments on Blake Acres' pre-season so far.
15. Sam Docherty
“He’s been another player that’s been able to do a large amount of pre-season. Coming back from his knee, he obviously fast-tracked it last year and got back to play games, so his program did back off a bit in the lead-up to Christmas. He hasn’t missed a beat since.
“He’s training well, he’s got a midfield role and he’s got a wing role which he plays both really well, we know he’s a versatile player and I’m looking forward to his leadership and what he’s going to bring this year.”
25. Jaxon Binns
“‘Binnsy’ got a taste of it last year off a terrific VFL season. He’s a guy that worked really hard on his game, had multiple conversations with myself and the other coaches.
“He’s gone away and worked on his game like he was asked to be able to be more consistent at AFL level, and he came back in terrific shape and been able to roll that out in training. He’s set himself up for a good opportunity to play consistent senior footy this year, it’s a credit to him.”
00:29
Jan 13 2025
Pre-season report card | Jaxon Binns
Assistant coach Tim Clarke comments on Jaxon Binns' pre-season so far.
29. George Hewett
“George has missed a little bit of work in previous years, and he hasn’t been able to string weeks together in off-season and pre-season - this year has been different. He’s come back as the best version of George Hewett.
“He’s another player that has worked on his speed and ability to get out of contest, and he has set himself up for a really strong year.”
On big bodied mids competing in training:
“It’s terrific to have such big bodies to compete against each other. You’ve got Cripps there, you’ve got ‘Cez’ there, you’ve got George Hewett. The ability for these boys to compete against each other, it’s going to set them up for the players they’re going to play against.”
On the team’s three ruckman:
“They’ve been able to complete the whole pre-season against each other, and to have the three of them go at each other has been terrific. They’re very different rucks, so it allows them all to combat what a different ruck is going to be either at centre bounce or stoppage.
“Matty Kreuzer has done a power of work with them, he spends a lot of time with those boys on their craft and ability to navigate their patterns around the ground. It’s already made them better players, and I’m sure it’s going to make them a more potent midfield.”
On the midfield group’s focus:
“Speed and power, it’s a bit of a buzz word in the AFL. How it helps us is we’re a contest team, we like to play with power out of our contest, so to be quicker and more agile in that area is going to make us more dynamic. We’re still going to be a competitive team in the contest, we’re still going to defend hard, but if we can do it with more power, we’ll be able to counterattack a bit better.”
On the midfield make-up:
“Our midfield balance will depend a lot on the opposition and who’s available. Last year we had some injuries through our midfield, which meant some of our players missed games of footy and it meant there were opportunities for others to play a role.
“The benefit of this pre-season is we’ve had a lot of those midfielders be available and been able to train against each other, which means there’s competition for spots. They’ve made each other better, so I can see that competition providing a lot of intensity around our midfield area - I’m hoping they remain available so we can keep that competitiveness up.”
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Draftees shined and the forward line fired as the GIANTS ramped up their pre-season preparations with their longest match simulation of the summer thus far, playing six reduced periods at GIANTS HQ.
The GIANTS were tested in their final match simulation in conditions that could resemble those seen in next week’s practice game against the Swans at Tramway Oval.
ORANGE TSUNAMI
It didn’t take long for the GIANTS’ blistering playing style to take centre stage, with a brilliant passage of play from defence to attack highlighting the side’s slick ball movement for the first goal of the day.
Starting from a Wade Derksen kick out, the ball moved swiftly through Cody Angove, Brent Daniels and Toby Greene before ending up with speed machine Darcy Jones who kicked the first major of the day in a brilliant passage of play.
DASHING DARCY
Following his opening goal the show didn’t stop for Darcy Jones who was at his eye-catching best on Friday with several moments of brilliance across the match sim to show he’s ready for a big season 2025.
Also having moments as a midfielder, Jones’ pace and ability to get himself out of trouble to create for himself and teammates was at its usual high level as the dynamic 20-year-old finished with an equal game-high three goals.
FORWARDS FIRE
The GIANTS’ star-studded forward line was on full display on Friday, with boom recruit Jake Stringer taking his place in a mouthwatering forward line alongside the likes of Jesse Hogan, Toby Greene, Brent Daniels, Aaron Cadman, and Jones.
The dynamic forward line – which was up against the likes of Sam Taylor, Jack Buckley, and Connor Idun – fired on all cylinders as Hogan (three goals), Jones (three), Cadman (two), Greene (one), and Stringer (one) all hit the scoreboard, while Daniels weaved his magic further up the ground to lend a hand in numerous scoring chains.
DANCING DELANA
While many of the GIANTS stars shone on Friday, arguably none put in a better showing than recent GIANTS Academy graduate Josaia Delana who played well beyond his years to make an extremely strong impression.
Playing across half forward, the Western Sydney teenager collected disposals at will to play a key part in numerous goals for the orange side.
Showing off his pace and his eye-catching sidestep, the dancing Delana continually made the right decision in a brilliant outing.
While Delana starred, he wasn’t the only draftee who impressed on Friday, with Ollie Hannaford (two goals) and Cody Angove other newcomers with very strong moments throughout the day.
HALF-BACK HEROES
The familiar faces of Lachie Whitefield and Lachie Ash were at their rebounding best off half-back in Friday’s match sim, with the pair using their trademark run and carry and pinpoint skills to full effect despite the sometimes tough conditions.
Joining the established duo as a driving force out of the backline was Conor Stone who is looking to become a more regular selection at AFL level in 2025.
Having been moved down back in the VFL last year – which ultimately saw him win the GIANTS’ VFL Player of the Year award – Stone continues to impress behind the ball as he looks to break his way into Adam Kingsley’s best side more permanently this season.
BRAWN BRIGGS
Already one of the competition’s top young ruckmen, Kieren Briggs looks set to take his game to even greater heights in 2025 following a brilliant summer on the track.
Returning from the Christmas break in the best condition of his career, Briggs is fit and firing and looks ready for a monster 2025 season following an impressive showing in Friday’s match sim.
Battling it out with promising up and coming ruck Nick Madden, Briggs continued to give his midfielders first use while moving well around the ground well in an exciting showing from the 25-year-old.
KING KEEFFE
One of the most popular people at the club, Lachlan Keeffe continues to show his value on the field with another starring cameo in Friday’s match sim.
Often utilised as a third key tall and a backup ruck, Keeffe once again provided a great contest and a big target ahead of the ball to show there’s still plenty left in the 34-year-old’s legs.
The 204cm veteran finished Friday’s match sim with an equal game-high three goals to once again show he’s extremely capable of contributing in the GIANTS’ best 23.
Match Sim Goal Kickers:
White: Jesse Hogan 3, Darcy Jones 3, Aaron Cadman 2, Jake Stringer, Toby Greene
Orange: Lachlan Keeffe 3, Harvey Thomas 2, Ollie Hannaford 2, Jake Riccardi 2, Nathan Wardius 2, Lachie Ash, Marc Sheather, James Lugsdin
https://www.gwsgiants.com.au/news/1716141
The GIANTS were tested in their final match simulation in conditions that could resemble those seen in next week’s practice game against the Swans at Tramway Oval.
ORANGE TSUNAMI
It didn’t take long for the GIANTS’ blistering playing style to take centre stage, with a brilliant passage of play from defence to attack highlighting the side’s slick ball movement for the first goal of the day.
Starting from a Wade Derksen kick out, the ball moved swiftly through Cody Angove, Brent Daniels and Toby Greene before ending up with speed machine Darcy Jones who kicked the first major of the day in a brilliant passage of play.
DASHING DARCY
Following his opening goal the show didn’t stop for Darcy Jones who was at his eye-catching best on Friday with several moments of brilliance across the match sim to show he’s ready for a big season 2025.
Also having moments as a midfielder, Jones’ pace and ability to get himself out of trouble to create for himself and teammates was at its usual high level as the dynamic 20-year-old finished with an equal game-high three goals.
FORWARDS FIRE
The GIANTS’ star-studded forward line was on full display on Friday, with boom recruit Jake Stringer taking his place in a mouthwatering forward line alongside the likes of Jesse Hogan, Toby Greene, Brent Daniels, Aaron Cadman, and Jones.
The dynamic forward line – which was up against the likes of Sam Taylor, Jack Buckley, and Connor Idun – fired on all cylinders as Hogan (three goals), Jones (three), Cadman (two), Greene (one), and Stringer (one) all hit the scoreboard, while Daniels weaved his magic further up the ground to lend a hand in numerous scoring chains.
DANCING DELANA
While many of the GIANTS stars shone on Friday, arguably none put in a better showing than recent GIANTS Academy graduate Josaia Delana who played well beyond his years to make an extremely strong impression.
Playing across half forward, the Western Sydney teenager collected disposals at will to play a key part in numerous goals for the orange side.
Showing off his pace and his eye-catching sidestep, the dancing Delana continually made the right decision in a brilliant outing.
While Delana starred, he wasn’t the only draftee who impressed on Friday, with Ollie Hannaford (two goals) and Cody Angove other newcomers with very strong moments throughout the day.
HALF-BACK HEROES
The familiar faces of Lachie Whitefield and Lachie Ash were at their rebounding best off half-back in Friday’s match sim, with the pair using their trademark run and carry and pinpoint skills to full effect despite the sometimes tough conditions.
Joining the established duo as a driving force out of the backline was Conor Stone who is looking to become a more regular selection at AFL level in 2025.
Having been moved down back in the VFL last year – which ultimately saw him win the GIANTS’ VFL Player of the Year award – Stone continues to impress behind the ball as he looks to break his way into Adam Kingsley’s best side more permanently this season.
BRAWN BRIGGS
Already one of the competition’s top young ruckmen, Kieren Briggs looks set to take his game to even greater heights in 2025 following a brilliant summer on the track.
Returning from the Christmas break in the best condition of his career, Briggs is fit and firing and looks ready for a monster 2025 season following an impressive showing in Friday’s match sim.
Battling it out with promising up and coming ruck Nick Madden, Briggs continued to give his midfielders first use while moving well around the ground well in an exciting showing from the 25-year-old.
KING KEEFFE
One of the most popular people at the club, Lachlan Keeffe continues to show his value on the field with another starring cameo in Friday’s match sim.
Often utilised as a third key tall and a backup ruck, Keeffe once again provided a great contest and a big target ahead of the ball to show there’s still plenty left in the 34-year-old’s legs.
The 204cm veteran finished Friday’s match sim with an equal game-high three goals to once again show he’s extremely capable of contributing in the GIANTS’ best 23.
Match Sim Goal Kickers:
White: Jesse Hogan 3, Darcy Jones 3, Aaron Cadman 2, Jake Stringer, Toby Greene
Orange: Lachlan Keeffe 3, Harvey Thomas 2, Ollie Hannaford 2, Jake Riccardi 2, Nathan Wardius 2, Lachie Ash, Marc Sheather, James Lugsdin
https://www.gwsgiants.com.au/news/1716141
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