AFL 2021: All the standouts and news from pre-season training
Geelong had a stunning off-season, snaring a number of seasoned campaigners, but gun defender Tom Stewart has put the brakes on external expectations.
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Dual All-Australian defender Tom Stewart has shot down suggestions Geelong’s off-season recruiting spree would be deemed to have failed if it does not win the premiership this year.
The Cats went big during the AFL trade period, securing veteran pair Isaac Smith form Hawthorn and Shaun Higgins from North Melbourne, as well as the prized signature of champion GWS forward and Coleman medallist Jeremy Cameron, in a move that cost the club three first-round draft picks.
Stewart said Geelong’s philosophy was that it should always be putting itself in a position to contend, and rejected the idea that the 2021 season was a ‘premiership or bust’ season for Geelong in the wake of its grand final loss to Richmond.
“I don’t think that is the case at all,” Stewart said.
“We are lucky at this footy club because we believe that we should be contending every year. Scotty has come out and said it publicly, we don’t believe it is the right thing to do to rebuild or go into a transition phase with your list.
“We believe at this footy club that you should be contending and if you are not then you are probably not doing the right thing. I am lucky enough I have played in finals every single year I have been here and to be able to experience that.
“Obviously to come up short last year was disappointing but we are in another position again to contend and it is not all or nothing, it is not premiership or bust, it is why you should play footy. You play footy every year to contend and to have a crack at the premiership and at this point in time everyone is on the same amount of points and we are all trying to chase that same goal.”
Stewart also downplayed the hype that had built around the Cats after key forward Tom Hawkins said the Cats were embracing the public expectations.
“I don’t read too much into that narrative, that is not the way I approach football,” he said.
“I just want to approach it looking forward to (today) and having a good training session and then coming back next week and putting my best foot forward again.
“Everyone is on zero points at the moment so there is no real internal pressure on us to put anything extra than what is being said already. That is for other people to say, it is not for us to say, we are just trying to play good football and contend at the end of the year and whether that is a premiership or finals, that is not really my focus at this point in time.”
Ex-Roo forward set to get an AFL lifeline
St Kilda is poised to throw key forward Mason Wood a football lifeline, with the former Kangaroo a chance to line up alongside a bulked-up Max King in the Saints’ forward line this season.
Wood, who was delisted by North Melbourne at the end of last year, has impressed since joining the Saints for pre-season training last Tuesday.
St Kilda has three spare list spots that it is able to fill under the AFL’s pre-season supplemental selection period before March 9.
However, Saints coach Brett Ratten has hinted a decision on Wood could be made much sooner, potentially as early as Friday.
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“There is room there and he’s training really well,” Ratten said on Wednesday.
“So we’ll go through that with (list manager) James Gallagher and we’ll have a chat later this week and where it sits. But he’s a fine young man and he’s done everything right so if he continues like that there’s an opportunity there.
“We have got space but we’ll make a decision as a club probably around Friday or Monday.”
Wood, 27, played 65 games and kicked 76 goals across seven seasons with North Melbourne but managed just eight AFL games last year.
The Saints have also been buoyed by the progress of fellow key forward Max King on the training track, who has added some muscle to his light frame over summer.
King played 18 AFL games on debut last year after missing the 2019 season as he continued his recovery from an ACL injury.
“It’s his first full pre-season in a long time, virtually three full years,” Ratten said on 3AW radio.
“He’s a big man and a big presence in our forward line and he’s probably put on 4-5kg, which is great.
“He’s just going to keep chipping away at his game but he’s got enormous talent and he knows that the best full backs will be coming for him.”
Round 1 worry for popular cheapie
Essendon captain Dyson Heppell is racing the clock to be ready for Round 1 as he remains at least a month away from a return to full training.
After managing just three games last year due to a persistent ankle complaint, the Bombers are treading carefully with Heppell as they slowly build his fitness base.
The 28-year-old fractured his left ankle during training last June and had further surgery last September to fix an issue with a screw in the same ankle.
“Hepp’s in a good spot at the moment. He’s come back in really good shape physically, but we’re just managing his loads from the injury that he had last year,” Essendon head of strength and conditioning Sean Murphy said.
“He’s starting to build in with the main group in terms of their skill program, and now it’ll be a balance between the right amount of conditioning and the football drills. We’ll build his program over the next five to six weeks and have him ready to play good football when he returns.”
Following off-season surgery on his posterior cruciate ligament, fellow Bombers veteran David Zaharakis is also targeting a return to full training “over the next four to five weeks”.
However, the news is not so good for rookie midfielder Dylan Clarke, who had ankle surgery on Saturday which will see him miss the start of the season.
Essendon tackles Hawthorn in Round 1 on March 20.
Track watch: New Cats enjoy strong start
Geelong boom recruits Jeremy Cameron, Shaun Higgins and Isaac Smith are quickly finding their groove on the training track as the Cats begin to ramp up pre-season preparations.
Last year’s grand finalists completed some match simulation during training at Kardinia Park on Tuesday, with the three off-season trade acquisitions all taking part.
Wearing the No. 5 jumper made famous by Cats champion Gary Ablett Snr, former Greater Western Sydney key forward Cameron proved a handful for defender Lachie Henderson in attack.
Former North Melbourne onballer Higgins and ex-Hawthorn wingman Smith both provided some run through the middle of the ground during the session.
Senior stars Patrick Dangerfield, Mitch Duncan, Mark Blicavs, Zach Tuohy and Luke Dahlhaus all watched on from the sidelines and trained separately inside.
Geelong key forward Tom Hawkins said last week the Cats were embracing the hype around the new recruits as they look to take one more step and claim their first premiership since 2011 this year.
“I think you have no other choice but to embrace it,” Hawkins said.
Geelong is set to tackle Adelaide in Round 1 on March 20.
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SuperCoach bolter: The new Roo turning heads
He’s got a rock star name and Phoenix Spicer looks set to play a leading role with North Melbourne this year – if match simulation at training is anything to go by.
Selected at pick 42 in last year’s national draft, Spicer has wasted no time adding his own flavour to the Kangaroos attack and has been a standout performer since the club’s post-Christmas return to the training track.
“He took the three votes out there,” North Melbourne defender Luke McDonald said of Spicer after Monday’s training session.
“He kicked two goals. He’s just so exciting. I’m very happy that I don’t have to play on him in a real game but he’s certainly causing a lot of headaches for the defenders and he just makes things happen.
“He’s probably the biggest bolter of anyone.”
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A midfielder/forward who was recruited from South Adelaide, Spicer turns only 19 later this month but looms as a potential KFC SuperCoach steal in 2021 with a price tag of just $117,300.
However, he is not the only draftee at Arden Street catching the eye, with Western Jets product Eddie Ford ($117,300) also impressing in a forward line which will have spots up for grabs this season.
“Eddie Ford might surprise a few guys,” McDonald said.
“I played on him a bit at training and he was running around like crazy and I was like, ‘Geez, I’m going to have to try and put him on his arse here’. I bumped him and he got back up and pushed me straight away and I thought, ‘He’s going to be all right, this kid’.”
The Kangaroos’ reigning best and fairest, McDonald said the injection of youth into the Kangaroos had brought some new energy into the club, as had new coach David Noble.
“He’s been awesome, Nobes,” McDonald said.
“He comes with a wealth of experience. You’ve seen what he’s done at Adelaide and Brisbane. There’s no doubt we’re in a similar position to those teams.
“You can just tell he’s got a plan and we’re all on-board.”
While there have been plenty of new faces and names to learn for McDonald, Greater Western Sydney recruit Aidan Corr has not been one of them.
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McDonald and Corr played together for Vic Metro at under-18 level and will team up together once again in the Kangaroos’ backline this year.
“I know he’s going to fit in like a glove,” McDonald said of Corr.
“He’s just an ultimate competitor. You just can’t have too many of those blokes.
“Bringing in a guy like him, experienced head that a lot of the younger guys can lean on, I’m just looking forward to making a partnership with him for many years to come.
“He’s only been here two weeks, but I know he’s going to have a big impact.”
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