TRAINING DAYS
In the ultimate local footy experiment, Addy sports reporter Damien Ractliffe heads to training with nine GFL clubs
GEE, I loved the session at Lara.
For a club that has battled results-wise, I couldn’t be more impressed with how first-year coach Simon Riddoch has gone about developing a culture among his players.
I had trained at seven GFL clubs by the time I arrived at Lara in June; the Cats having gone winless through the first half of the season.
But Riddoch was one of the few coaches who asked me to stand in front of the group and say a little about myself and why I was there.
And I wasn’t the only guest that night.
The club hosted an AFL Barwon umpire, but instead of discussing rule changes and certain decisions from the Saturday, Riddoch asked the umpire to talk about the life outside of game day — when does pre-season start, how important is nutrition and how do you recover?
Immediately the players had a greater appreciation of the commitment involved in umpiring in the GFL.
Since that night, Riddoch has drawn on a number of other guest speakers to help educate his players.
Experienced coach Darrell Fenton, an assistant to Neale Daniher at Melbourne, gave the players insights into football and life, while one Thursday Butch Shaw, a premiership teammate of Riddoch’s at North Shore, spoke to the group.
“He has coached in Swan Hill and also been at St Joeys,” Riddoch said.
“I needed some more intel on playing midfield for our boys, so we got some stuff out of him, he came down as a guest speaker.”
He has also called on the likes of Geelong great and Bannockburn coach Peter Riccardi to help develop game plan changes, leaving no stone unturned in making the club a better place.
Following the guest speaker, it was down to business — a professional warm-up with a conditioning component, driven by the players.
Then, there was one footy between two, as guys practised running away from each other before turning and hitting the leading target. A missed kick or mark equalled push ups for both.
Training later turned to match simulation before Riddoch put it on one player to nail a set shot on goal.
“Boys, Jack thinks he can kick this goal,” was something along the lines of the call, as the Lara players teased Jack Hancock before he missed the set shot.
The punishment? The players were sent down to the goalsquare to carry Jack to the opposite goalsquare. Not really punishment, but a great laugh.
“From time to time you try to put players in, as much as you can, game sense pressure. That’s a good one, also to find out who your mates are,” Riddoch said with a laugh.
When the boys were sent on a cool down lap, it was time for the guys to share their “s--- joke”.
“That’s just trying to get the boys to communicate, talk and come out of their shells a little and that’s worked really well,” he said.
Following the session, players split into forwards, midfielders and defenders.
I sat in with the forwards as the players were asked to open up about how the side’s
“I couldn’t be more impressed with how first-year coach Simon Riddoch has gone about developing a culture among his players.”
IS GFL training getting too complicated? Well, it depends what club you train at.
While some clubs are training just over an hour of sharp ball skills and tough man-on-man match simulation, others are spending 10 to 15 minutes at a time explaining where players physically have to stand and move at stoppages.
And if one voice isn’t enough, you’ve got two or three coaches trying to relay a message. Hopefully it’s the same one.
At St Albans, the senior players spent 10 minutes standing and listening to where they should set up at a ball-up around the ground, and what outlets their particular opponent for that week would choose to use.
While the two assistants tried their best to point and explain, the 25 men stood in eight-degree drizzle with hands locked behind their backs trying to understand.
For young developing sides, it can be important for players to stand at a simulated ball-up situation and understand where to position themselves and how to react.
But for others, it may suit better to go back to working on the basics, rather than making training too technical.
St Mary’s, on the other hand, introduced its players to some new drills.
Even late in July, when you’ve got a side in premiership contention, it makes sense to keep adapting training to try and find an extra 10 per cent.
Geelong West use repetition and specific game set ups to help drill into the players how they should play.
Repeat it long enough and it becomes second nature.
Coach Andy Viola, similar to Paul Nigro at the Supersaints, was happy to take a back seat and oversee the session while assistant coaches and experienced players led the session.
“All my assistant coaches have a big say on what happens,” Viola said.
“There are lots of voices out there. As long as the collective message is on the same lines then we let it go.
“It’s all match-simulated stuff, game sense drills, and it’s making sure guys know what their role is in different situations and circumstances in different parts of the ground.”
Other clubs, like South Barwon, are keen to show their players video evidence of where they can improve in certain areas.
I was invited into the Swans’ Tuesday review, where co-coaches Clinton Wells and James Maas highlighted certain passages of play that exposed them the Saturday prior. It included poor positioning at opposition kickouts — in particular one moment when their opponent went coast to coast to score — and other stoppage situations where their rivals simply cleared the ball with ease.
As a player, you walk away convinced there’s an easy remedy to fix the teething issues.