The Vics were not flat, and they completed their drills with crisp precision, but there was a lack of fizz about the group.
Perhaps this is a consequence of so many players knowing each other already. A number played together in underage teams, and a large proportion are drawn from just two clubs, ensuring combinations are already embedded. As it is, Geelong and Hawthorn players have their best opportunity to carve out a piece of football legend since the 1989 Grand Final, this time on the one side.
“Today was a bit of a hello session,” Victorian chairman of selectors Kevin Sheedy said.
“I’d imagine we’d have a fairly upbeat training session tomorrow. It’s all new. It was a chance to put on their new gear, run out together for the first time ever, so it was fairly relaxed. We’ll put a bit of pressure on them to tone it up tomorrow.”
The first observation as the squad ran onto a slightly damp MCG was that there is no better jumper in all of football than the Big White V. Setting aside its historical resonance, the Victorian guernsey has a design that is simple, classic and bold.
The second observation was that, as ever, players are difficult to identify when they are out of their club colours. Some, however, would stand out in space suits.
Brendan Fevola is more heavily muscled when seen up close. Troy Simmonds has all the body fat of Glad Wrap. Matthew Scarlett looks intimidating in any jumper. Robert Murphy is a pale wraith who makes soft contact with the ball, almost caressing it by hand or foot, but delivers the Sherrin with speed and precision.
Assistant coach Ken Hinkley spun a football on his fingertips with faster rotations than the blades of a Chinook. Fev casually spun the ball as well, but with nowhere near the aplomb of the skinny ex-Camperdown champ.
The first sighting of a fumble was 15 minutes in when Chris Judd spilled a handpass. Steve Johnson kicked effortless goals across his body, and Jonathan Brown looked mobile and enthusiastic. The cohesion was remarkable.
“It’s like we’ve been doing it for a fair while, everyone slips into the rhythm,” Bulldogs midfielder Murphy said. “It’s always nice to train, but it was a real joy today. My feet didn’t touch the ground to tell the truth. I wish it had gone a little longer.”
While coach Mark Thompson looks like a man who has been given the keys to a new Ferrari, the sagacious Sheedy saw cause for vigilance. He knows the Victorian side must become more demonstrative.
“We can improve that training run today, pick up the tempo tomorrow, and get ready for one of the great games these blokes will ever play in their life,” Sheedy said.
Asked by afl.com.au whether coaching is more or less important with a team of players drawn from different clubs, Sheedy said: “As a coach you back off. Players know how to play.
"When you bring them from different clubs you need a form of consensus about the way the team should play and Mark’s done that quite capably. The players have been talked to about the way they want to look at it. The ball’s going to be moving pretty quick on Saturday night.”
Sheedy explained that match day coaching is changing fast. While the boss in the box might still have some sway at “stoppages, structures, set-ups”, increasingly it is a matter of empowering the players. “The champions have a really good feel for the game and the position of a match, the score level, where it’s at,” Sheedy said.
“Do you push back into defence to help rebound it out? Do you want to slow it down? It’s all about where you’re at in the match. That’s why you need a smart team. You can’t run out messages and think you’re going to pull off a strategy these days. You’ve got to be well-tuned, well-planned, and have smart-thinking players well trained.”
So, are the Vics smart? “Of course. Otherwise they wouldn’t be where they are.”
In a professional but low-key training session, the one moment of individual animation came when Fevola broke off from a drill to run towards the boundary. Why? Because he was gesturing g'day to faux-footballer Bryan ‘Strauchnie’ Strauchan.
In this Paris Hilton age, where fake celebrity has become real celebrity, did the jut-jawed forward’s excitement say something about society, or about footy? Maybe – but probably not. It probably just says something about Fev’s comedic preferences.
He might not be as funny as Strauchnie or as adept at Sherrin-spinning as Hinkley, but he still makes a formidable target up forward in any navy blue jumper.
