So, it begins again…
A recap on the pre-season thus far, heading into the holiday break
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The treadmill that is the AFL pre-season resumed on 25 November for the Hawks’ first to fourth year players, however nearly all of the list was on the track. It is worth keeping in mind that this was a little later than last year (13th November) – a benefit from the finals run.
But then one must consider the early start to the 2025 season with Opening Round on 7 March 2025 (Round 1 in 2024 was played on 16 March). This means that the 2025 pre-season covers 14 weeks as against 17 weeks last year, inclusive of the three-week Christmas break.
Undoubtedly, the planning for the pre-season works back from the Opening Round as well as looking back at the end of the 2024 season as to what the team and individual players need to work on in preparation for a season that brings a genuine level of expectation for success that was more an aspirational goal last year.
The other factor that must be acknowledged is with the list changes through the trade/draft period where, based on the 2024 season, the Hawks lost one game from the retired/delisted players (Ethan Phillips), but brought in 43 games via Josh Battle and Tom Barrass. This demonstrates the improved depth of the list when applying “Rule 529”, as this represents eight percent of the games available across an entire season.
An intense start
From a practical perspective there appears to be a different air to the pre-season activities this year compared to last, although this may be purely in the eyes of this track watcher.
Whereas 2024 provided for a high level of speculation given that most Hawks supporters had 10-12 spots inked in (with another eight to 10 penciled) it left the remaining three to five spots open to a range options depending on personal preferences as to who may be able to cement a spot (Henry Hustwaite, Bailey Macdonald and Seamus Mitchell who played 10 games come to mind).
This pre-season - considering the 23 who played in the semi-final against Port, along with Will Day, Cam Mackenzie, Sam Frost, Changkouth Jiath, James Blanck and Mitch Lewis missing through injury plus Battle and Barrass, it will be a substantial achievement for someone to come from the clouds with a strong enough pre-season to earn a spot in the starting team.
As to the on-field sessions mainly focusing on Mondays and Thursdays (they also have a Saturday session), this year they are starting earlier (9am) and from memory, running slightly longer 2.5 hours as against two hours last year, probably to address the shorter pre-season period.
There appears to be less emphasis on direct running activities this year, however they may be doing this on Saturdays. They did complete a six-minute timed activity whereas last year, they had a 4x1km time trial, along with a yo-yo / beep test backed up with some strong running sessions mainly goal to goal square.
The ball-based activities this year have incorporated a lot of incidental running which from memory didn’t take place until after Christmas last year.
They have completed the goal to goal run throughs this year, but what has been noticeable is at the end of sessions, players do check their GPS numbers and then complete their own personal running to top off the session.
Observations on drills
As indicated earlier, the focus of the drills for those in the main group have involved a lot of ball movement, although they are yet to do any full match simulations (18 on 18) and touch/tackling activities.
A couple of the more innovative drills have been:
The modern version of circle work where the group is broken into three sets of 10-12 players moving the ball from goal to goal looking to switch to the open side – each set works independently without tackling but looking to get through the traffic of three groups moving together. This was a drill that they used last year. The innovation this year was the groups went into “silent mode” four to five minutes i.e. the players didn’t use their voices to attract the attention of the ball carrier. When this first happened at the training session, it was eerie to watch the players move in absolute silence – like watching TV on mute. The objective being to train for games with big crowds where it may be hard to hear voices on the ground. For those who were at the open training session, they did this drill, but it may not have been as noticeable with the crowd noise at the time.
The QB drop back simulation when kicking – a small drill was based around the actions of the quarterback in US football who adopt 3, 5, 7 step or blitz drop back when passing the ball. In this drill, the coach called the number of steps before the players had to kick the ball to their counterpart about 30m away. The idea being to infer the capacity address a pressure situation.
The closest they have come to a match simulation scenario has been 14 on 14 with two forwards/defenders at the non-scoring end. The scenario is managed from a midfield ball-up or throw-in with the attacking mids looking to provide an entry into their forward half that is properly set up. The forwards and backs in the attacking 50 rotate through two or three groups as well as rotating to the non-scoring end. What has been noted here is that Blake Hardwick has played as a forward rather than a back which is what he did last pre-season. Josh Weddle has played as a defender as has Jiath who played as a winger last year – this may be an issue of player availability. (Note: James Sicily hasn’t participated in this activity at all, nor has Barrass or Jak Gunston.)
Player observations
This is where the bucket hats create a slight problem with the players in singlets/t-shirts, not being able to see their faces clearly or their hair, identification can become a problem at times!
Recruits:
(As is often noted, it is only when a player comes to your team that you appreciate what they do.)
Josh Battle – Looks to be a slightly wirier version of his school teammate (Jack Scrimshaw). He appears to have a pretty good tank which is a feature of the Sam Mitchell back six. He appears to be attempting to shadow Weddle in the run throughs. His foot skills look to be strong as well as his overhead marking. Aside from the occasional drill, he has completed all tasks with the main group.
Tom Barrass – Looks to be a strongly built player who still has a good turn of pace for his size – with the retirement of Tom Hawkins and Charlie Dixon, the days of the stay-at-home big forward look to have gone the way of the dodo. He has had a more managed program than Battle, so would be about 60/40 in terms of the main group and other activities, particularly in the first week. It has been noted that he has done some work with both younger defenders and forwards as drills are being done. His left foot is sharp and his right foot at training is competent. Very friendly with those who come to sessions.
The draftees:
Noah Mraz – Whilst he hasn’t done anything to catch the eye yet, being a bucket hat wearer could be a factor here. He has a nice shape and size to him and looks to have good pace to go with this. As to whether he has a tank, it is still a watch.
Cody Anderson – With his hair, he is much easier to spot. His foot skills do need some polish, and he does need to develop a tank watching the six-minute run, not that it was poor rather a recognition of his age. The managed match sim have been limited for him, he has played as a forward rather than as a mid, but looks to have some dash in general play. He drew some applause from the group when he took down Massimo D’Ambrosio from the blindside with a strong tackle in one drill, only to get a reality check later in the week, when he looked to take on Conor Nash who nailed him.
Matt Hill – There seems to be a huge difference in the running needs of an NRL player to an AFL player as he looked to be in a world of pain in the six-minute run and then in other longer running drills. His right foot doesn’t look to be awkward and has been reasonably accurate, accounting for his history. He hasn’t really been seen in the match sim activities.
Jamie Uhr-Henry – He is very lightly framed, although he looks to move well across the ground. Another who may have to work on his tank. He hasn’t really been used in any competitive activities as a ruck.
Rehab/Managed group
James Blanck – Has purely been doing running either run throughs or laps with some light ball work in the rehab group. Running is not his friend if you look at his face!
Mitch Lewis – Has been Blanck’s running partner, although he has drifted into some stationary drills from time to time as an extra body. His running style makes it a less taxing activity.
James Sicily – Has probably split his time 60/40 between the rehab and main group activities. He has been the third wheel with the previous two. He has actually joined in some of the ball movement activities but hasn’t engaged in the contact drills as yet.
Luke Breust – He has at times been the fourth wheel for this group and looks to have had a very managed program thus far being upstairs on a couple of days.
Karl Amon – As he did through last season, does a lot of managed running rather than being in the main group activities.
Sam Frost – Has had the latest start to the year, which may be a combination of injury management as well as parental leave. He has been on the track since the open day and has been doing some run throughs.
Those who have caught the eye (or some random thoughts)
An overview, as to whether it is the new kit, several players look to have come back with a leaner frame than last year.
Will Day – He will be the player most will be keeping an eye on, and he has probably participated in 80-90% of the main drills with the occasional shift to the rehab group. He looks to be moving well and there is no apparent concern with his shoulder issue from last season.
Josh Weddle – Probably second on the watch list of supporters and he has been moving well. He did miss one session (six-minute run day) as he was apparently a little crook. He has been playing behind the ball and running off half back in the managed match sim. He sets the pace for the running drills.
Cam Mackenzie – Another one to miss the finals series and he looks to be healthy. His ability to cover the ground isn’t as strong as Josh Ward who also looks to be in good form, so other factors may become the difference makers if they are competing for the same spot. (Personal gripe – he doesn’t appear to have worked on his left foot.)
Changkouth Jiath – Has been moving well and as noted earlier has been playing behind the ball rather than around the midfield in the match sim. This may just be a matter of balancing the numbers. His speed across the ground attracts the eye as per usual.
Mabior Chol – Has been with the main group since the return, which is a major difference to last year, when he only joined after Christmas. He looks to be a little leaner and more toned in his body shape.
Jack Gunston – Another who had a disjointed pre-season last year, however he has been with the main group for the drills/activities this year, although he tends to take a coaching role in the match sim activity. In the running drills, he looks to be moving well across the ground.
Jack Ginnivan – Looks to have had a serious off-season looking to be leaner and quicker across the ground consequently. This may reflect a stronger understanding of his high half forward role.
Nick Watson – Looks to have muscled up in the upper body which may assist him with opposition tackles. He looks to have been managed at times as hasn’t always been in the match sim activities.
Jasper Scaife – Looks to have really worked on his body shape as he looks very lean, but still looks to have strength. It looks to have assisted his mobility in the drills – in Box Hill games, he looked to be a straight-line runner, whereas he does look to be nimbler in the ground ball contests.
Ned Reeves – Another who looks to have overcome his injuries from last season as he looks to be moving more freely in drills and across the ground, although he’ll never be a contender at Stawell. The limited competitive ruck contests with Meek have been a good watch.
Jai Serong and Henry Hustwaite – Both caught the eye last pre-season and are doing the same this year, but each are in the most competitive parts of the list.
Max Ramsden – Has yet to be given a serious chance in the ruck in the drills or match sim activities.
On a side note: For HIs, Sam Mitchell in a radio interview about three weeks ago was asked about the Sicily forward option and he unequivocally said that it wasn’t in his plans, however it may be an in-game option. Sam has been noted for making his declarations early e.g. ruling out injured players early to reduce speculation, so this may be the scenario until the “facts” change.
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Thanks Mick. Love your insights. Look forward to 2025 and your analysis.
Thanks Mick, very informative as usual you’re the best “track watcher”