TRAINING REPORTS - JAN to MAR

[Teflon]

Also strategic set ups for centre bounces which I didn’t see last year.

Can you put some meat on the bone?

Can you describe the comparison in strategies? What does RLs CB set-ups look ike and how do they compare to Ratts?

You say you didn't see Ratts employ any CB set-ups it, so it would fascinating to know specifics and why you think the set-ups will perform better? Do you see similarities to other teams CB set-ups?

I’m talking about centre bounce drills, whereby mids practice reading the ruckman’s taps & forming a synergy between each midfielder.
I didn’t see this under Ratten & McGlynn but Lenny & BJ run this every week.
If you guys get a chance, come down to training & see for yourselves, reckon you’ll like what you see!!

Wow astounded
Thanks for sharing Mike
What an indictment on the previous idiot coaching group who wouldn’t train centre clearance and mid/ruck …it’s where the frighin game starts
Embarrassing Brett.
Thank god we have a genuine outfit in there.
Is it too early for a bronze RTB out from Linton St?? (just gagging Marty don’t answer that..)

[Impatient Sainter]

Also strategic set ups for centre bounces which I didn’t see last year.

Can you put some meat on the bone?

Can you describe the comparison in strategies? What does RLs CB set-ups look ike and how do they compare to Ratts?

You say you didn't see Ratts employ any CB set-ups it, so it would fascinating to know specifics and why you think the set-ups will perform better? Do you see similarities to other teams CB set-ups?

I’m talking about centre bounce drills, whereby mids practice reading the ruckman’s taps & forming a synergy between each midfielder.
I didn’t see this under Ratten & McGlynn but Lenny & BJ run this every week.
If you guys get a chance, come down to training & see for yourselves, reckon you’ll like what you see!!

Wow astounded
Thanks for sharing Mike
What an indictment on the previous idiot coaching group who wouldn’t train centre clearance and mid/ruck …it’s where the frighin game starts
Embarrassing Brett.
Thank god we have a genuine outfit in there.
Is it too early for a bronze RTB out from Linton St?? (just gagging Marty don’t answer that..)

Surely they ran those drills - even amatuer clubs do that? Perhaps they did it when there wasnt open sessions? Either way the more they practice clearances the better they will get.

[saintly]

the Saints mustve practiced those skills. maybe you just didn't see it

[saints4eva]

Under the previous regime the players always practiced centre square drills at the Captains run once they knew the oppositions likely set up.

[Yorkeys]

The question is, if our preparation was so poor heading into the 2022 Season, and everything was a joke, how did we manage to win 8 of our first 11 matches before injuries and the shallowness of our List impacted?

How did the likes of Higgins (as one) burst from the blocks in All Australian form before concussions impacted?

Exactly. Obviously some posters are blinded by their messiah complex and leave common sense at their front door when venturing out into the real world.

We/Ratts lost the opening game convincingly, ambushed, out coached by a rookie. That should be a key reference point. We only missed the 8 by a whisker. That was real world stuff.

We then won a number of games through individual brilliance not slick team work (special mention to Paddy, Jack's Steele and Sinclair).

Once a team gets into the top 4 opponents go to work on you as a collective and individually. Ratts was unable to respond and/or instill team self belief.

Not sure anyone is claiming Ross is the Messiah, in fact use of the term on here is largely pejorative & by detractors; but he is likely to be a more intelligent and proactive coach, hence an improvement.

He gets it is a team game and goes for the full distance. No switching off in the gut breaking last few minutes. No letting oppositions call the tactical shots without responding.

[Ghost Like]

Well said Yorkeys. Add King to some of that individual brilliance and more damingly some games he couldn't convert upfield effort.

That is part of the improvement required, we need 4 quarter efforts and we cannot / must not rely on a single individual. This may end up the silver lining in Max missing the first half dozen rounds.

[Saintmike65]

Also strategic set ups for centre bounces which I didn’t see last year.

Can you put some meat on the bone?

Can you describe the comparison in strategies? What does RLs CB set-ups look ike and how do they compare to Ratts?

You say you didn't see Ratts employ any CB set-ups it, so it would fascinating to know specifics and why you think the set-ups will perform better? Do you see similarities to other teams CB set-ups?

I’m talking about centre bounce drills, whereby mids practice reading the ruckman’s taps & forming a synergy between each midfielder.
I didn’t see this under Ratten & McGlynn but Lenny & BJ run this every week.
If you guys get a chance, come down to training & see for yourselves, reckon you’ll like what you see!!

Wow astounded
Thanks for sharing Mike
What an indictment on the previous idiot coaching group who wouldn’t train centre clearance and mid/ruck …it’s where the frighin game starts
Embarrassing Brett.
Thank god we have a genuine outfit in there.
Is it too early for a bronze RTB out from Linton St?? (just gagging Marty don’t answer that..)

Surely they ran those drills - even amatuer clubs do that? Perhaps they did it when there wasnt open sessions? Either way the more they practice clearances the better they will get.

I only went to training on the main day (Friday) but honestly didn’t see any centre bounce drills..unless Ratten did them on other days!
I’ve been to several training sessions already & there’s been centre bounce and boundary throw in drills every session.
Competitive too, with mids pairing up & working against each other, dishing off to a running player.

[B.M]

Had a look today

Gruelling 2hr session

Effort and intensity very good
Skills average
Structure and coaching excellent

Again
Ran by assistants and fitness by Walsh

Not out there (gym)
Coffield, Jones, Ross, Steele, Keeler

Training seperate (but then joined ruck drills) Heath

Did the main training (inc match sim) but later split into a modified group
Billings, Gresham, McKenzie, Hayes, Battle, McLennan, Adams

Noticeably super fit
Hill, Higgins, Wood, Windhager, Ayre, Highmore, Membrey, Crouch, Allison

Noticeable carrying some unwanted weight
Clark, Cordy, Stocker

Notes
Stocker - gets his hands on it in sim
Ayre - moves well, athlete
Phillipou - real deal
Van Es - impressive unit
Hotton - did not notice

Windhager
Really worried about second year blues, but holy s*** he is as fit as a trout! Ripped!
Leaner than last season, moves well and good skills.
If he continues to build - he could be the biggest ever StK draft steal. You’d be happy if he was a top 5 pick!

Great session

[saynta]

Thanks BM for an excellent first hand report.

Was Owens training?

[B.M]

Yes

Owens trained

Looked OK

[kosifantutti]

Thanks BM. I assume Ayre is Eyre from Essendon?

How does he compare to Allison?

[Vortex]

We only missed the 8 by a whisker.

If King kicks goals an Auskick kid would nail, we play finals and does Ratts keep his job?

[B.M]

Similarly to Allison

Eyre is a tall athlete, seems to have more footy ability but is quite tall and thin - looks fit 197cm
Trained behind the ball, has a good leg and finds it a bit more than Allison. But he is pretty light and not a contested type KPP

Allison is well built, 195 and an aerobic beast - but a poor man Battle who obviously struggles to read the play and impact games
Has been tried Forward, Wing and HB and has not looked good in any position yet

Cordy has presented in terrible condition - he needs to be held accountable by the leadership group
For a senior player and recruit- disgrace!

[kosifantutti]

Injury updates:
https://www.saints.com.au/news/1261017/ ... 023-begins

A host of Saints have returned to full training as the team completes its first week on the track for 2023.

With under 70 days until Round 1, Josh Battle (ankle), Jack Billings (back), Jade Gresham (knee), Jack Hayes (ACL), Dan McKenzie (calf) and Oscar Adams (back) have been welcome additions to the main group.....

[saynta]

Hotton has a stress fracture in his back and will miss the first half of the season

[Impatient Sainter]

Similarly to Allison

Eyre is a tall athlete, seems to have more footy ability but is quite tall and thin - looks fit 197cm
Trained behind the ball, has a good leg and finds it a bit more than Allison. But he is pretty light and not a contested type KPP

Allison is well built, 195 and an aerobic beast - but a poor man Battle who obviously struggles to read the play and impact games
Has been tried Forward, Wing and HB and has not looked good in any position yet

Cordy has presented in terrible condition - he needs to be held accountable by the leadership group
For a senior player and recruit- disgrace!

Its the exact reason the Bulldogs were happy to see him leave. Hopefully Van Es and Adams develop quicker than expected and Cordy can play at Sandringham.

[Teflon]

The question is, if our preparation was so poor heading into the 2022 Season, and everything was a joke, how did we manage to win 8 of our first 11 matches before injuries and the shallowness of our List impacted?

How did the likes of Higgins (as one) burst from the blocks in All Australian form before concussions impacted?

Exactly. Obviously some posters are blinded by their messiah complex and leave common sense at their front door when venturing out into the real world.

We/Ratts lost the opening game convincingly, ambushed, out coached by a rookie. That should be a key reference point. We only missed the 8 by a whisker. That was real world stuff.

We then won a number of games through individual brilliance not slick team work (special mention to Paddy, Jack's Steele and Sinclair).

Once a team gets into the top 4 opponents go to work on you as a collective and individually. Ratts was unable to respond and/or instill team self belief.

Not sure anyone is claiming Ross is the Messiah, in fact use of the term on here is largely pejorative & by detractors; but he is likely to be a more intelligent and proactive coach, hence an improvement.

He gets it is a team game and goes for the full distance. No switching off in the gut breaking last few minutes. No letting oppositions call the tactical shots without responding.

Heck of a post Yorkeys
Couldn’t have said it better
THAT is the primary reason I didn’t want Ratten extended
The failure after 3 years to get a side to play a consistent game style was embarrassing
You’re bang on re Ross - that’s the definition of a great coach ….consistency and buy-in and he’s demonstrated that multiple times
Is he the messiah?
Only to the twits chomping at the but to see him fail …so they can say they were right …
For the rest of us?
He’s a just a very naughty boy…

[Devilhead]

Thanks for the report BM

Here's another from Ads734 on BF

Watched about an hour and a half of training this morn.

Firstly, the sim of the game sense stuff was about moving the ball from the back half. My guess is Ross wants us to become a dominant rebounding team. From what I could gather. The idea is get one of the backs with a big kick. (Eyre was doing this, has a big peg on him) think Ross has him down for the Dawson role. Anyways the Backman goes long preferably to an owns or hits up a guy like Sincs or nas who then explode of the back 50.

They were also working on using the outnumber at stoppages.

In terms of player notes

Coff , Max and Steele, Hotton and Keeler weren’t training.

Heath and jones ran some laps.

Billings and Gresh light duties. As was Adams I think.

In terms of things that impressed me

I’ll start with the Poo.
He’s much quicker in person then on video imo. In terms of his actual acceleration. Once he fills out he’s going to be a unit. I loved his tenacity as a defender in drills.

Windy - well it’s all been said, he looks in rediculous shape. Breaking through tackles and starting chains.

Owens - simmilar to windy, kicking still leaves a bit to be desired and I think will play an important role as a marking option.

Hill and NAS looked silky and I think Nas will enjoy getting some easier ball at HB. Ditto Sincs

Leo - I’m an unashamed fan but thought he just added the same as the guys above and is genreally the most skilled player in any of the drills he does.

Eyre - think he has a large roll to play, moves well and kicks long.

EDIT - Another one i loved when drafted him and in the nab league finals is Mcclenan. really good size and versatility

[B.M]

Connolly went off injured halfway through the session

Knee I think

Didn’t look overly distressed

[Ghost Like]

Hotton has a stress fracture in his back and will miss the first half of the season

Sad if true. Oh well, give him 2023 as a year for strengthening. I liked his U/18 highlights and have my fingers crossed for him.

[Devilhead]

Plenty of time for Hotton

[saynta]

Hotton has a stress fracture in his back and will miss the first half of the season

Sad if true. Oh well, give him 2023 as a year for strengthening. I liked his U/18 highlights and have my fingers crossed for him.

I took that information from the saints.com.au site, so it's true alright.

[Scollop]

We/Ratts lost the opening game convincingly, ambushed, out coached by a rookie. That should be a key reference point. We only missed the 8 by a whisker. That was real world stuff.

Do you think that the top 8 for 2023 is set in stone and should just be based on where teams finished in 2022?

And by the way…how did Collingwood go in 2022? Were they a good team or not? You don’t make a prelim if you’re shite!

Most Collingwood supporters were telling me to chalk up a win prior to the game in Round 1, but only fools and nuff nuff Saints supporters would discount a team that made a Grand Final just a few years prior

A team with All Australian talent and elite players like Darcy Moore, Scott Pendlebury, Steel Sidebottom, Taylor Adams, Brodie Grundy, Jeremy Howe, Jamie Elliot and Jordan De Goey.

[Teflon]

Thanks for the report BM

Here's another from Ads734 on BF

Watched about an hour and a half of training this morn.

Firstly, the sim of the game sense stuff was about moving the ball from the back half. My guess is Ross wants us to become a dominant rebounding team. From what I could gather. The idea is get one of the backs with a big kick. (Eyre was doing this, has a big peg on him) think Ross has him down for the Dawson role. Anyways the Backman goes long preferably to an owns or hits up a guy like Sincs or nas who then explode of the back 50.

They were also working on using the outnumber at stoppages.

In terms of player notes

Coff , Max and Steele, Hotton and Keeler weren’t training.

Heath and jones ran some laps.

Billings and Gresh light duties. As was Adams I think.

In terms of things that impressed me

I’ll start with the Poo.
He’s much quicker in person then on video imo. In terms of his actual acceleration. Once he fills out he’s going to be a unit. I loved his tenacity as a defender in drills.

Windy - well it’s all been said, he looks in rediculous shape. Breaking through tackles and starting chains.

Owens - simmilar to windy, kicking still leaves a bit to be desired and I think will play an important role as a marking option.

Hill and NAS looked silky and I think Nas will enjoy getting some easier ball at HB. Ditto Sincs

Leo - I’m an unashamed fan but thought he just added the same as the guys above and is genreally the most skilled player in any of the drills he does.

Eyre - think he has a large roll to play, moves well and kicks long.

EDIT - Another one i loved when drafted him and in the nab league finals is Mcclenan. really good size and versatility

Thanks Devil great read
The Connolly view is interesting as I too think he’s a very skilled player who once he gets the size/confidence could be a very damaging player by foot at AFL
Ball travels faster than any player so guys who can pin point hit up targets are worth their weight
Yes he needs to get it more but that’s his development and in time I can see 20 of his disposals being far more effective than 30 from some others.
Good wrap.

[Waltzing St Kilda]

You get the sense the Dream Team is havng a great time. I'm having a great time just reading about them.

RTB's job will be to make sure they stay focused.

But if the enthusiasm infects the playing group as well, then watch out.

Could prove to be one of the shrewdest moves in club history.