Intro.
My first training session for 2025, and the wind certainly made its presence felt. Today’s session was the lightest i’ve attended across the off-season and pre-season, featuring a warm up drill, two main training drills, and half ground game scenario training.
Who’s there, who’s not.
None of the recently drafted youngsters participated in training today, as they were attending the Players Association induction day, this including 2024 mid season recruit El Hawli. There have been recent whispers that El Hawli hasn’t been at full fitness, and his absence today may just be the tonic he needs to recover. Davey Junior was also absent, marking the first time he hasn’t been involved this pre-season.
Both Hobbs and Shiel, who ended last week’s match simulation early due to injury concerns, trained without issue and completed every task asked of them. Guelfi spent the session jogging as part of his injury recovery program and was briefly joined by Gresham, who also didn’t participate in the main training drills. Parish continued to stick to jogging laps at a leisurely pace, which has been the trend for him all pre-season. Outside of warm-up drills, he has only participated in full training once, making this a very light preparation for him so far.
McKay at least had his football boots on and did some kicking drills when the players first came out, but that was all he did on the ground.
Concerns about Cox’s readiness for the start of the season are beginning to grow, as he once again limited himself to walking a few early laps alone before heading back indoors. Baldwin joined the group after the warm-up and fully participated in every aspect of training.
Caldwell also made a welcome return to full training today. Up until this point, he’s had the runners on, running laps at a steady pace, but the pink footy boots were on today, and that wasn’t the only thing that shined the light on his return, as he completed the whole session and didn’t look to be holding back in any way.
Drills.
The initial drills of the session focused on keeping the ball in motion, with players encouraged to follow up their possessions with quick decisions and fast hands moving forward.
The main training drill saw two defenders—one a key defender—against a forward positioned near the flank closer to the boundary. The goal was for the key defender to out-position their direct opponent, with the extra defender tasked with either taking an intercept mark or scooping up the ground ball. Once possession was won, the aim was to rebound through the corridor as quickly as possible, with the extra defender being either Duursma, McGrath, Redman, or Shiel.
The final drill of the session was a half-ground match simulation. The ball started deep in the defensive third, testing the forward press and the opposing team’s ability to exit under pressure. Short switch kicks were prioritised as the preferred method for moving the ball out of the defensive area, but the strong wind made hitting targets a significant challenge. Both Langford and Caddy were used behind the ball during defensive situational training.
Once the ball reached the halfway point, the simulation flipped, focusing on quick, direct entries into the forward line, with the priority now about creating space for leading lanes that forwards could work in and out of.
Shining brightly.
Jones was the player who stood out today. In the half-ground match sim, he played as a wide forward and easily defeated his direct matchup in the air, thriving with the space afforded around him to work over his opponent. Forget about him playing on the wing, give him a matchup against a vulnerable defender in the air with room to move, and the opposition will quickly be forced to make a defensive setup change.
Perkins also caught the eye during the half-ground simulation. While there were no stoppages to evaluate the midfield group, he was prolific once the ball was in motion, repeatedly finding space through the corridor and linking up effectively in transition.
Duursma impressed in the main training drill as the third man up in contests. His ability to read the play, take intercept marks, and transition quickly into attack was a continuation of the defensive form he displayed in 2024.
Shiel continues to impress as a runner from behind, directing teammates with and without the ball, as well as bringing down players in strong front-on tackles, Redman felt it the most at one point. Shiels change in position and role is looking more and more impressive as the pre-season progresses.
Final thoughts.
There were no dedicated ruck contests during today’s session to evaluate the ruckmen or any midfield matchups. Bryan and Goldstein paired off around the ground, while Draper spent his time stationed as a forward. In defence, Reid continued to showcase his aggressive positioning, standing two to three steps ahead of his direct opponent and reading the drop of the ball correctly more times than not.
It was a brisk and blustery day at The Hangar, and the session reflected the conditions. The next session, scheduled for Friday, is expected to be far more intense with greater player availability, as it will be the final hit-out before a six-day break.
Go Dons!
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