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With round one against the Bombers just seven days away, this looked to be a heavy running session incorporated into the drills in hot conditions, although the wind made it more bearable in the open air.
No appearance
James Blanck (ACL)
Denver Grainger-Barras (toe)
Will McCabe (back)
Rehab group
Chad Wingard: heavy running on the outer wing.
Jack O'Sullivan
Changkuoth Jiath
Mix between rehab and main group
Seamus Mitchell started with the main group, but looked to go to the rehab group when there were contact drills.
Cooper Stephens: more time in rehab, but did participate in aspects of the main group.
Bailey Macdonald: wearing boots and again mixed between the main group and rehab. Finished with a heavy session of running laps through the final match sim drill. Best session since the injury was diagnosed.
Dylan Moore: trained with the main group for the entire session. (I realise Brad has concerns about glandular fever having a longer term impact, but Moore looks to be good to go.)
Selection watch with 7 days to go
Mitch Lewis: started with the rehab group for warm-up being late on the track, then moved to the main group, however went to the blue tent quite soon after. The medicos looked to work on his lower back/hip/hammy. He didn't return to the main group, but did some slow lap running in runners.
Finn Maginness: came off through the 1st match sim drill and had his right foot looked at after which he left the session.
Drills
Full ground ball transition with either starting points across the ground
Four on each side of the ground.
Looked to be a running drill as much as a ball movement drill with little rest at each station. Max Ramsden caught the eye with his athleticism.
1st managed match sim
Looked to be 16 on 16.
Mabior Chol sat out.
Weddle played in bibs defence with Ethan Phillips, Bodie Ryan and Serong. James Sicily, Sam Frost and Scrimshaw on the opponents.
Ryan had Luke Breust for a period and had his moments both ways.
Midfield looked to be: Jai Newcombe, Conor Nash and Henry Hustwaite vs. James Worpel, Connor MacDonald and Cam Mackenzie.
Listening to the coaches shouting directions, it looked to be a drill with a focus on the midfielders working on their defensive transition which may be part of the review of the Dogs' game. Also, would be in line with a drill that they did regularly through the pre-season.
Followed by a tackling drill with pads. Nick Watson being tackled by Nash was a mismatch to say the least! (Use of the pads may be a reflection of the concussion concerns.)
2nd match sim
A few sat out this drill — Chol again, Worpel another.
This match sim looked to be a modern version of circle work with three forwards/three backs and a full midfield with the ball being shared between the tops and bibs to move the ball from various starting points eg. back half, ball up, throw in.
There were 3-4 on the interchange with players taking themselves on/off. Again, the focus looked to be on defensive patterns and ball movements.
Josh Ward caught the eye, being able to run away from Massimo D'Ambrosio in a one-on-one contest.
Josh Weddle looked to be in good touch having been rested last weekend. His running capacity reminded me of what was missed last weekend. Harry Morrison also moved well in the activity.
Running session
Finished with 10x100m run throughs.
First years looked to have been managed out this drill along with a couple of others.
Note: A couple of players looked to have to complete some further running to meet their GPS requirements. CMac was one of them.
Overall, Ward looked to be a player with a point to prove throughout the session and looked to return to his pre-Christmas form. Again, the lack of key forwards in the match sim appeared to limit the opportunities for full preparation on game play.
Looked to be a heavy running session to "compensate" for the four day break with a week to go before the first game.
So good to get this information so close to Round 1
Thanks Mick, that's priceless as usual. Great news re Dylan Moore and a relief to hear that Mitch Lewis seems ok. Also very encouraging to see Seamus Mitchell and Bailey McDonald progressing. McDonald's recent contract extension indicates that he is rightly viewed as a senior player and same with Seamus Mitchell who showed last year that he can very capably defend while at the same time give great run from behind. I have a feeling that later in the season, these two will likely be a part of our team. It seems as though Morrison will play round one, which is slightly disappointing as if we are progressing as a genuine team, we need to be moving past players such as Harry. Thanks again Mick, that info is absolute gold.