Intra-Club Training Reports
- Thread starter NT.Thunder
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Some epic intra-club posts on BF from the hawks game :-
waverleyparkwalker -
I didn’t realise the game started at 10am but managed to catch a majority of it after I arrived at what I believe was midway through the second quarter.
Despite only being 22 degrees, the conditions were quite warm and glarey at Waverley – think an early round game at Optus Stadium against the Dockers on a Sunday afternoon.
As I said, I believe I arrived around midway through the second quarter – here is what I took:
The quarters were for around 15 minutes. Both the ‘brown’ and ‘gold’ sides were mixed, so no obvious ‘probables’ vs. ‘possibles’ from what I could tell.
1st quarter:
Potentially missed
2nd quarter:
Gunston appears to be moving really freely. Agile with ball in hand through traffic and moving around the ground well.
McEvoy played a majority of the game at full forward for the golds, allowing both Lynch and Reeves to battle it out in the ruck. Mitch Lewis played by himself up forward for the browns with no sighting of Koschitzke.
Moore was prolific, with 4-5 disposals in the space of 5 minutes. His game is clearly modelled on Puopolo, with the additional knack of shrugging his shoulder whenever he gets tackled – make of that what you will. However, his run and carry through traffic is probably what distinguishes him from Poppy. If last season wasn’t a break-out year, perhaps 2022 will be – we have a fair player on our hands.
Maginness has noticeably filled out and looks to hold his own in traffic. A nice little ‘don’t argue’ and evade from a tackle was undone at times by his poor disposal. His open-field kicking is good but it does suffer under pressure. One to watch this year, especially with Shiels nearing the end.
Worpel was wearing a shirt under his top with baggy gym pants so difficult to tell whether he has put any muscle on or not. He was caught a few times with his ‘don’t argue’ during this quarter but nonetheless turned the jets on when was needed.
Lynch shows a bit around the ground. The ruck battle between him and Reeves was quite even throughout the game, despite Reeves holding a 11cm advantage. He took a strong grab and was entrusted with the trusty old kick-down-the-line. Reeves appears to get the first tap to a majority of contests but it was difficult to say who won the points in that battle.
Josh Ward is a clear first-round draft pick. Agile, smooth, smart and professional. He is just what this midfield is crying out for and I’m excited to see his impact this year. He took a mark on the right back-flank and easily hit a target 2m from the boundary line on his right foot. For those into Supercoach or AFL Fantasy, lock.
3rd quarter:
I believe it was Jaegar who tried to take on Ned Long out on the far boundary. Ned impressively tackled Jaegar and received the free kick, which was then converted into a 50m penalty. Long kicked truly from just inside the 50m arc on a 45-degree angle. Looks to be good value from the rookie draft.
Tyler Brockman was quiet but did have a good passage of play as he moved through traffic.
Connor McDonald excites me. He took a mark on the right half-back flank. Looked inboard for the 45 option and speared it to Moore. His kicking was a highlight and to be honest, he was arguably in the top 5 players on the ground. For those playing Supercoach and AFL fantasy again, a definite early season option. From that passage of play, Moore went on and received a free kick for another high-tackle shoulder shrug. He played on and his pace was impressive, leading to an easy inside 50 entry. I’m a big fan of how hard he has worked on his game.
Denver is Denver. A future leader of the club and Sicily 2.0. Took a strong intercepting mark and received a 50m penalty, only to rub it in the face of the player laying on the ground. Didn’t mind seeing that. He does have a propensity to go too far at times, as shown by a late hit on a mark inside 50 and then a subsequent 50m penalty.
Mitch Lewis was relatively quiet but did kick a few. He converted truly from a sharp angle from the boundary on the far side. He looks to be moving well.
From a centre bounce, Tom Mitchell slammed it on the boot and the chaos ball was marked by Gunston. He converted beautifully from just on the paint and directly in front. The goal umpire did not move. The boys loved it.
Maginness again showed some poor disposal at times under pressure. As I mentioned, it will be interesting to see how that role transpires with Shiels and a few younger players fighting for the same spot. Shiels was barely sighted until later in the contest.
Phillips looked like he really struggled. Under any form of pressure and he shot out a quick handball to someone else under pressure. His kicking wasn’t a noticeable feature and his running is a far cry from that of someone like a Ward. Perhaps those two may be fighting out for a different position but Phillips may find himself in the same position as Shiels. It’s an interesting problem to have.
McDonald again showed his gun disposal. His kicking is probably the best in the side.
4th quarter:
The game started where it ended from a boundary throw in on the stadium side. Moore roved it beautifully to penetrate inside 50. Arguably the best player on the ground.
Jaegar’s disposal was at times apprehensive. He looked to an option at the top of the 50 only for it to be intercepted. There were times where the disposal from all players was poor and put others under pressure. This may be a bit of a glowing review of the game but we all need to remember where we are currently situated on the ladder.
Sicily looks to have bulked up a little. He still plays with his same elite kicking and intercept marking. He looks to be moving okay.
Morrison showed a bit in the final term and was busy. He danced around two players with ease for a deep inside 50. Even one of the coaches was heard glorifying his twinkle toes from the viewing area.
Ward in traffic is brilliant. As I said before, a clear first-round draft pick. He took possession on the right-side wing and drilled an absolute bullet on his left to Mitch Lewis. Lewis marked and unfortunately missed a relatively easy set shot.
Reeves and Lynch continued fighting it out, with the points shared evenly between the two. McEvoy attended maybe one or two centre bounces all day from what I saw.
Sam Butler and McDonald combined beautifully for an inside 50. Butler looks to have something about him too, however, he wasn’t as prolific as Connor nor Ward. There seems to be a recognition of Connor’s ball using ability, with a few boys looking to get the ball into his hands at times. He will be a player for us.
Ned Long looks relatively composed in traffic. There was a passage of play where they lost their way looking for an open option and Ned managed to steady the troops and look to the fat side. He has quite good vision.
The only downer for the day was a hand injury to Jai Newcombe in the final play of the game. He was in some pain and taken to the medical tent. He has noticeably trimmed down and looks very agile. He still possesses that grunt around the stoppage.
The browns ran away with it in the final term.
Wingard, CJ, Downie, Saunders, Day and Impey sat out and were on the boundary line either cycling or boxing.
Either way, a good hit out with some excitement building around the new draft picks.
waverleyparkwalker -
I didn’t realise the game started at 10am but managed to catch a majority of it after I arrived at what I believe was midway through the second quarter.
Despite only being 22 degrees, the conditions were quite warm and glarey at Waverley – think an early round game at Optus Stadium against the Dockers on a Sunday afternoon.
As I said, I believe I arrived around midway through the second quarter – here is what I took:
The quarters were for around 15 minutes. Both the ‘brown’ and ‘gold’ sides were mixed, so no obvious ‘probables’ vs. ‘possibles’ from what I could tell.
1st quarter:
Potentially missed
2nd quarter:
Gunston appears to be moving really freely. Agile with ball in hand through traffic and moving around the ground well.
McEvoy played a majority of the game at full forward for the golds, allowing both Lynch and Reeves to battle it out in the ruck. Mitch Lewis played by himself up forward for the browns with no sighting of Koschitzke.
Moore was prolific, with 4-5 disposals in the space of 5 minutes. His game is clearly modelled on Puopolo, with the additional knack of shrugging his shoulder whenever he gets tackled – make of that what you will. However, his run and carry through traffic is probably what distinguishes him from Poppy. If last season wasn’t a break-out year, perhaps 2022 will be – we have a fair player on our hands.
Maginness has noticeably filled out and looks to hold his own in traffic. A nice little ‘don’t argue’ and evade from a tackle was undone at times by his poor disposal. His open-field kicking is good but it does suffer under pressure. One to watch this year, especially with Shiels nearing the end.
Worpel was wearing a shirt under his top with baggy gym pants so difficult to tell whether he has put any muscle on or not. He was caught a few times with his ‘don’t argue’ during this quarter but nonetheless turned the jets on when was needed.
Lynch shows a bit around the ground. The ruck battle between him and Reeves was quite even throughout the game, despite Reeves holding a 11cm advantage. He took a strong grab and was entrusted with the trusty old kick-down-the-line. Reeves appears to get the first tap to a majority of contests but it was difficult to say who won the points in that battle.
Josh Ward is a clear first-round draft pick. Agile, smooth, smart and professional. He is just what this midfield is crying out for and I’m excited to see his impact this year. He took a mark on the right back-flank and easily hit a target 2m from the boundary line on his right foot. For those into Supercoach or AFL Fantasy, lock.
3rd quarter:
I believe it was Jaegar who tried to take on Ned Long out on the far boundary. Ned impressively tackled Jaegar and received the free kick, which was then converted into a 50m penalty. Long kicked truly from just inside the 50m arc on a 45-degree angle. Looks to be good value from the rookie draft.
Tyler Brockman was quiet but did have a good passage of play as he moved through traffic.
Connor McDonald excites me. He took a mark on the right half-back flank. Looked inboard for the 45 option and speared it to Moore. His kicking was a highlight and to be honest, he was arguably in the top 5 players on the ground. For those playing Supercoach and AFL fantasy again, a definite early season option. From that passage of play, Moore went on and received a free kick for another high-tackle shoulder shrug. He played on and his pace was impressive, leading to an easy inside 50 entry. I’m a big fan of how hard he has worked on his game.
Denver is Denver. A future leader of the club and Sicily 2.0. Took a strong intercepting mark and received a 50m penalty, only to rub it in the face of the player laying on the ground. Didn’t mind seeing that. He does have a propensity to go too far at times, as shown by a late hit on a mark inside 50 and then a subsequent 50m penalty.
Mitch Lewis was relatively quiet but did kick a few. He converted truly from a sharp angle from the boundary on the far side. He looks to be moving well.
From a centre bounce, Tom Mitchell slammed it on the boot and the chaos ball was marked by Gunston. He converted beautifully from just on the paint and directly in front. The goal umpire did not move. The boys loved it.
Maginness again showed some poor disposal at times under pressure. As I mentioned, it will be interesting to see how that role transpires with Shiels and a few younger players fighting for the same spot. Shiels was barely sighted until later in the contest.
Phillips looked like he really struggled. Under any form of pressure and he shot out a quick handball to someone else under pressure. His kicking wasn’t a noticeable feature and his running is a far cry from that of someone like a Ward. Perhaps those two may be fighting out for a different position but Phillips may find himself in the same position as Shiels. It’s an interesting problem to have.
McDonald again showed his gun disposal. His kicking is probably the best in the side.
4th quarter:
The game started where it ended from a boundary throw in on the stadium side. Moore roved it beautifully to penetrate inside 50. Arguably the best player on the ground.
Jaegar’s disposal was at times apprehensive. He looked to an option at the top of the 50 only for it to be intercepted. There were times where the disposal from all players was poor and put others under pressure. This may be a bit of a glowing review of the game but we all need to remember where we are currently situated on the ladder.
Sicily looks to have bulked up a little. He still plays with his same elite kicking and intercept marking. He looks to be moving okay.
Morrison showed a bit in the final term and was busy. He danced around two players with ease for a deep inside 50. Even one of the coaches was heard glorifying his twinkle toes from the viewing area.
Ward in traffic is brilliant. As I said before, a clear first-round draft pick. He took possession on the right-side wing and drilled an absolute bullet on his left to Mitch Lewis. Lewis marked and unfortunately missed a relatively easy set shot.
Reeves and Lynch continued fighting it out, with the points shared evenly between the two. McEvoy attended maybe one or two centre bounces all day from what I saw.
Sam Butler and McDonald combined beautifully for an inside 50. Butler looks to have something about him too, however, he wasn’t as prolific as Connor nor Ward. There seems to be a recognition of Connor’s ball using ability, with a few boys looking to get the ball into his hands at times. He will be a player for us.
Ned Long looks relatively composed in traffic. There was a passage of play where they lost their way looking for an open option and Ned managed to steady the troops and look to the fat side. He has quite good vision.
The only downer for the day was a hand injury to Jai Newcombe in the final play of the game. He was in some pain and taken to the medical tent. He has noticeably trimmed down and looks very agile. He still possesses that grunt around the stoppage.
The browns ran away with it in the final term.
Wingard, CJ, Downie, Saunders, Day and Impey sat out and were on the boundary line either cycling or boxing.
Either way, a good hit out with some excitement building around the new draft picks.
The Axeman :-
Observations from Intra Club #2 on what started as a cool and overcast day down at Waverley.
Gold
Ward
Finn M
Jeka
Moore
Scrim
Sic
Butler
Macdonald
Big Boy
Shiels
Morrison
Howe
Lynch
Nash
Callow
Serong
Brown
Worpel
Tom M
S Mitchell
JOM
Hardwick
Hartigan
Reeves
Bramble
Lewis
Kosi
Gunners
T Philips
E Philips
DGB
Duke
Long
Frost
Brockman
I'm going to start with a controversial opinion - Finn Maguiness was the best mid on the ground today. Playing for the gold team, he was all over it, had no issue finding and getting the ball, stood up in tackles, handballed well and his kicking was quite a bit better today than last week, but still not perfect. It was noticeable to me that his best kicks were when he took his time, he was managing to dispose of it well., when he rushes, he shanks it.
Morrison was classy all day and had the best play of the day when he danced around a bunch of opponents in the fwd pocket and delivered to a teammate in front of goal. One of the best on the ground.
Moore was busy and influential as usual.
Ward maintained his high standards and displayed some exquisite kicking and a massive work rate.
Macdonald was very good again. Hard to see how either of these boys don't play Round 1.
Probably the best of the new boys was Ned Long. He looks every bit an AFL standard player. He spent a lot of time at half forward. Took a nice mark and went back and cooly slotted the goal from 50 metres. In another nice piece of play, he gathered the ball hard up against the boundary line on the wing, evaded three oppo player, ignored Sicily calling for it and took the better option with a long handball to a teammate on the inside. Total composure, awareness and execution.
Tom Mitchell was prolific in the first half but quieter in the 2nd.
Seamus Mitchell had a purple patch in the last quarter where he dominated for 5 to minutes, taking a contested grab against taller opponents and one sensational running mark in the goal square plus a couple of other shots on goal. He has X factor and speed and knows where to be.
Hardwick and Sicily in the backline for the Browns were excellent, particularly Hardwick.
DGB & Jeka battled all day. Jeka got his hands on it a lot more today but couldn't convert. He could have heard 4 or 5 goals. he was a much stronger aerial threat today. probably helped that he had better mid field service than last week.
Reeves was the best ruck, but Lynch gave him a tougher time of it than last week. Reeves won the battle but Lynch definitely pushed him harder this time. Big Boy had a quieter game.
Bramble was good as was Howe.
Callow had an okay day. Got up the ground a lot.
Brocky was quiet for a lot if but had some great moments including a great goal where he span out of trouble and kicked it through from 25 metres out.
Nash was quite good. His kicking has improved.
T Philips was completely inconspicuous.
Scrim had a poor day by his standards.
Kosi started really well but was kept quiet after the first quarter.
Lewis was good but wasn't allowed to get off the chain like he did last week.
Worpel wasn't dominant like week but I thought O'meara was pretty good.
CJ, Day Impey, Wingard, Saunders, Morris didn't play.
Saunders and Morris did lots of running.
Observations from Intra Club #2 on what started as a cool and overcast day down at Waverley.
Gold
Ward
Finn M
Jeka
Moore
Scrim
Sic
Butler
Macdonald
Big Boy
Shiels
Morrison
Howe
Lynch
Nash
Callow
Serong
Brown
Worpel
Tom M
S Mitchell
JOM
Hardwick
Hartigan
Reeves
Bramble
Lewis
Kosi
Gunners
T Philips
E Philips
DGB
Duke
Long
Frost
Brockman
I'm going to start with a controversial opinion - Finn Maguiness was the best mid on the ground today. Playing for the gold team, he was all over it, had no issue finding and getting the ball, stood up in tackles, handballed well and his kicking was quite a bit better today than last week, but still not perfect. It was noticeable to me that his best kicks were when he took his time, he was managing to dispose of it well., when he rushes, he shanks it.
Morrison was classy all day and had the best play of the day when he danced around a bunch of opponents in the fwd pocket and delivered to a teammate in front of goal. One of the best on the ground.
Moore was busy and influential as usual.
Ward maintained his high standards and displayed some exquisite kicking and a massive work rate.
Macdonald was very good again. Hard to see how either of these boys don't play Round 1.
Probably the best of the new boys was Ned Long. He looks every bit an AFL standard player. He spent a lot of time at half forward. Took a nice mark and went back and cooly slotted the goal from 50 metres. In another nice piece of play, he gathered the ball hard up against the boundary line on the wing, evaded three oppo player, ignored Sicily calling for it and took the better option with a long handball to a teammate on the inside. Total composure, awareness and execution.
Tom Mitchell was prolific in the first half but quieter in the 2nd.
Seamus Mitchell had a purple patch in the last quarter where he dominated for 5 to minutes, taking a contested grab against taller opponents and one sensational running mark in the goal square plus a couple of other shots on goal. He has X factor and speed and knows where to be.
Hardwick and Sicily in the backline for the Browns were excellent, particularly Hardwick.
DGB & Jeka battled all day. Jeka got his hands on it a lot more today but couldn't convert. He could have heard 4 or 5 goals. he was a much stronger aerial threat today. probably helped that he had better mid field service than last week.
Reeves was the best ruck, but Lynch gave him a tougher time of it than last week. Reeves won the battle but Lynch definitely pushed him harder this time. Big Boy had a quieter game.
Bramble was good as was Howe.
Callow had an okay day. Got up the ground a lot.
Brocky was quiet for a lot if but had some great moments including a great goal where he span out of trouble and kicked it through from 25 metres out.
Nash was quite good. His kicking has improved.
T Philips was completely inconspicuous.
Scrim had a poor day by his standards.
Kosi started really well but was kept quiet after the first quarter.
Lewis was good but wasn't allowed to get off the chain like he did last week.
Worpel wasn't dominant like week but I thought O'meara was pretty good.
CJ, Day Impey, Wingard, Saunders, Morris didn't play.
Saunders and Morris did lots of running.
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I'm not sold but interested. It's definitely a gamble but I think it's a reasonable one. We know if Ryder plays then Marshall will get DPP and we know that Marshall would be a good forward even in a share role with Ryder. I don't know how Ryder's preseason is going but if he lines up rnd 1 he would be a fair chance to get through most of the first 6 games. We also know that if Ryder goes down after rnd 6 and Marshall is already DPP then he becomes a must have forward.
A play for those who don't need blood pressure tablets!
A play for those who don't need blood pressure tablets!
I don't hate the Gresham pick but he's a solid 75k too expensive for my liking so he's at the bottom of the list of options rather than the top.
Have had him in a keeper league for years so probably experienced him as a fantasy player more than most and his durability has been very poor the last few years, he only scores as a midfielder and he doesn't seem to stay in that role consistently. Given how many midfielders they've got it's hard to find the spot for him. Hard part is squeezing him into the midfield mix. Ratten seems to love the guys who can't kick over the guys who can, it's such a strong preference it almost seems intentional, but the likes of Billings, Gresham, Clark, Higgins and Sinclair have intentionally been kept out of midfield proper roles so that guys like Dunstan, Ross, Hanners, Crouch and Geary can play them the last couple of years.
Ratten seems to have a very defined style that the guys who can kick and handball at high levels should have to wait outside for the guys who can't to get it first and try and get it to them instead of just cutting out the middle men and putting the best midfielders in there. I think a large part of it is they keep recruiting those types and then needing to find roles for them and they're all pretty one dimensional players.
Gresham just at that awkward price of needing to be back to his best to work, not a terrible call given he has shown flashes that he can exceed his best averages when playing midfield but coming off that injury it's a bit harder to do.
Definitely in the mix but behind Curnow, Coniglio, Coleman, Milera and a couple of others just purely on the higher starting price and role uncertainty. If we get some clarity on the latter then that higher price could absolutely be justified over most of that list.
Have had him in a keeper league for years so probably experienced him as a fantasy player more than most and his durability has been very poor the last few years, he only scores as a midfielder and he doesn't seem to stay in that role consistently. Given how many midfielders they've got it's hard to find the spot for him. Hard part is squeezing him into the midfield mix. Ratten seems to love the guys who can't kick over the guys who can, it's such a strong preference it almost seems intentional, but the likes of Billings, Gresham, Clark, Higgins and Sinclair have intentionally been kept out of midfield proper roles so that guys like Dunstan, Ross, Hanners, Crouch and Geary can play them the last couple of years.
Ratten seems to have a very defined style that the guys who can kick and handball at high levels should have to wait outside for the guys who can't to get it first and try and get it to them instead of just cutting out the middle men and putting the best midfielders in there. I think a large part of it is they keep recruiting those types and then needing to find roles for them and they're all pretty one dimensional players.
Gresham just at that awkward price of needing to be back to his best to work, not a terrible call given he has shown flashes that he can exceed his best averages when playing midfield but coming off that injury it's a bit harder to do.
Definitely in the mix but behind Curnow, Coniglio, Coleman, Milera and a couple of others just purely on the higher starting price and role uncertainty. If we get some clarity on the latter then that higher price could absolutely be justified over most of that list.