One night at Swans training, we were practicing our stoppages. We took these drills very seriously, and they were completed at an almost game-like intensity.
Tadhg Kennelly grabbed the ball at the back of a ball-up at the back end of the centre square and, as he’d done so many times before, pushed off his right foot in an attempt to evade a tackler.
On this dewy night, however, his boots failed to grip, he slipped, fell, and was tackled, his knee bent at a right angle. He fell to ground in agony, having strained his medial ligament. His tackler picked himself up from the ground with the horrible feeling of having just hurt a good friend.
After training, given Tadhg’s injury, many people sat around discussing whether the benefits of those type of training drills, conducted at that intensity, outweighed their risk. The overwhelming response was that they do.
The rhetorical question, posed by many, was how can you expect to play at the required intensity, if you don’t train at it?
Once again, this year’s pre-season games have resulted in injuries to key players, and the relative benefit of the NAB Cup has been called in to question. For me, and I’m sure many other players, pre-season games are absolutely necessary, even with the inherent risk of playing a game of high-level AFL.
Regardless of whether pre-season games make up a formal competition such as the NAB Challenge, or a selection of individually organised practice matches such as those at community level footy, pre-season games are vital for a number of reasons.
Firstly, draftees and younger players have the chance to stake their claim.
It’s kind of crazy the amount of pressure placed on new draft picks in their first season, but the pre-season gives draftees, and even those in their second, third or fourth years, an opportunity to press for selection in Round 1, or develop a greater understanding of what’s required at the elite level.
Despite some great development programs, the difference between Under-18s and elite AFL is enormous.
There are also plenty of stories of young players, who at the beginning of the pre-season aren’t in the top 25. After a solid pre-season and strong performances in pre-season games, they’ve had the opportunity to demand that they be picked in Round 1.
New players to the team also have the chance to adapt to the new environment. The Swans’ success over many years in recruiting players from other clubs and turning them in to stars has been well documented, and I believe their first pre-season at the club has been critical in their development.
Having the opportunity to play alongside new teammates, with a new game plan, without the pressure of playing for four points is invaluable for new players.
It also gives older players the chance to monitor their game time. As players get older they tend to participate in fewer pre-season training sessions, particularly pre-Christmas.
This is also the same for the many who have surgery following the previous season. The goal for older players whose spot in the side is secure, is to be ready for Round 1, not for the NAB Cup.
What allows them to do this is to slowly increase their game time over the pre-season, often starting with 40-60 minutes of game time in their first hit out, and slowly building across the remaining games. Interchange caps and the pressure to win in the regular season don’t allow this.
Whether they are starting their careers as 18-year-olds, cementing their spot during the middle of their careers, or preparing their bodies for yet another season as a senior player, pre-season games provide value for players at any stage of their career.
Regardless of what you call it, coaches and players will find ways to get game time into their players prior to Round 1 so that once the season starts, they are fit, know who’s in form, and have practiced any fine-tuning to their game plan. Without the pre-season, Round 1 would look like Round 1 of the NAB Cup, and I don’t think anyone wants that.
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