So this is Christmas...

...and what have we seen?

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With the last pre-Christmas on-field training session run and done, it may be worth reflecting on what has been seen thus far.

I’m loath to say that what has been seen will necessarily play out after the Christmas break with the alternative / managed group primarily consisting of Mabior Chol, Mitch Lewis, Jack Gunston and Ned Reeves (plus Karl Amon and Seamus Mitchell with Changkuoth Jiath progressing into the main group in the past couple of weeks).

It has been hard to gain a clear understanding as to how the forward 50 may look given the limited match simulation activities rolled out thus far.

As has been well documented, Josh Weddle is the ‘Forrest Gump’ of the team to the point where in the last running session yesterday, it looked as though he was given a “free pass” while many of his teammates completed multiple end-to-end run throughs to ensure they were in deficit to account for any Christmas festivities.

Looking at the recruits, as stated earlier, Gunston has been on a managed program with a heavy dose of running as has Chol with the report being that he was carrying a knee injury from the Suns VFL program.

Jack Ginnivan looks to be one of those players who prefers to have the ball in play rather than doing the pure running drills.

Massimo D’Ambrosio has had a slightly modified program with strapping on his knee and like most left footers, he looks to be a stylish kick. So the big question will be on his decision making (picking the right option) and execution (hitting the target). He has played off half back in the drills thus far as a ‘distributor’ which Amon played late in the season.

As to the draftees, they have all exhibited youthful enthusiasm as you’d expect having reached a childhood dream.

Nick Watson has shown that he has some tricks. Although his first impression did make you realise U/18s are now playing at a different level. In the first session on the Thursday after the draft — where he was part of seven-on-seven drill based on a keeping off type activity — he was pressuring the ball carrier and finally caught an ‘opponent’ only to be ‘don’t argued’ out the tackle.

Will McCabe looks to be as my old man would say, “a smooth mover”, covering the ground well for his size and shape. On a wet day at Waverley when stationary, he and Max Ramsden are doppelgängers. Bodie Ryan has shown the skills that were attributed to him in the Under 18s with his intercepting, and looks to be a neat kick on both sides of his body.

As reported, Calsher Dear looks to be the rawest of the draftees, but appears to have good marking ability and capacity to judge the flight of the ball — a skill some of his predecessors weren’t necessarily strong on. This looks to be complemented by a sound kicking action.

Others to catch the eye (with the eye of the beholder open to personal bias and in no specific order):

Cam Mackenzie — looks to have improved his leg speed and speed off the mark. He has looked to play an outside midfield role.

Bailey Macdonald — working off half back, he looks to have a stronger body which has allowed him to work through traffic a little more aggressively.

Josh Ward — looks to be physically stronger and as stated in reports, has been competing as an inside midfielder without looking out of place.

Connor MacDonald — looks to have made further progress in his physical development

Sam Butler — with the forward 50 a work in progress, he has been working through the midfield much more looking to be a link into the F50 rather than sitting inside F50. Similar to the role Dylan Moore has played in the past couple of years. This is also evidenced by his running capacity in various running drills and tests.

CJ — when he joined the main group in the past fortnight or so has been working through the midfield/wing as a running option.

Jai Serong — playing across the back half has shown that he is capable at the level and looks to be a clear decision maker as an intercepting defender.

Jai Newcombe and Conor Nash — they only look to have one approach to competitive drills – take no prisoners. On the day that Harry Morrison was injured last week, less than five minutes after it, Jai could’ve cleaned up Lloyd Meek, but thankfully caught him shoulder to shoulder with a bump. Similarly, Nashy has taken sympathy on his ‘opponents’ when he has them cold in a tackle. (By the way Morrison was stiff to be hurt as he looked to be completing a strong pre-season.)

Mitch Lewis — looks to be in trimmer shape than last year which may align with the reports that he may play higher up the ground with Chol being the anchor in the F50.

The Blake Hardwick up forward discussion – I have found the chat about Hardwick playing forward an interesting one. He has certainly spent his time in the forward 50 in match sim drills. Having recruited or drafted Chol, Gunston, Ginnivan and Watson, with Lewis, Breust, Moore and CMac, it is a matter of if he plays forward and then who will miss out? Hardwick doesn’t appear to have the engine to work up and down the ground, so his potential forward role would look to be a lead-up option that would put him in competition with Gunston.

The midfield options — as per the Hardwick discussion, the issue will be how the minutes will be managed across the group given the dependence on Day, Nash, Worpel and Newcombe in 2023. If Ward, CMac and others are to get a lick of the ice-cream, then there will need to be a plan in place.

An observation for those in midfield roles is the quality of the decision making in picking the right option and then executing the delivery of ball; errors on either of these points are becoming more obvious as the standards/expectations are rising.

Ned Reeves’ managed program has been an interesting watch given I don’t recall him finishing the season with an injury issue. He has been working with the mids in some ball-up/throw-in non-contact drills. One drill introduced through the pre-season has focused on covering the opposition defensively with the ball coming off half back.

It has been interesting to see the progression of the group as to how they have learnt to approach the drill with the aim of five defenders to disrupt or intercept the progression of the ball from centre half back (just inside the D50) via either wing to the opposition’s forward 50.

If golfers ‘drive for show and putt for dough’, the pre-season for footballers is the grind in pursuit of the glory!

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