Preseason Update: Earl Spalding

Demons Coach Earl Spalding and the rest of his team have been hard at work over the last six weeks getting the players fit and teaching them new drills and structures.

Before everyone breaks up for Christmas I took the time to catch up with Earl to see how the preparations were going for the 2015 season.

Andrew Owen:  Earl you’ve now spent almost two months at the club.  How are you finding it?

Earl Spalding:  Personally I’m really enjoying it, there’s still a challenge ahead and a lot of work to be done.  I think most of the players have embraced what we are trying to do and that can sometimes be the hardest bit.  Hopefully from here it’s onward and upward.

AO:  How has preseason gone so far?  Not to many hiccups I hope?

ES:  We’re working pretty hard and as a consequence of that there’s been some pretty sore guys that might have missed a session here or there because of their reaction to the hard work from a physical point of view but I think everyone understands and realises why we are doing it.  Certainly I think that come the first round we will be as fit as any other team we just have to obviously start working on structures and strategies and still continue to try and improve the list.

AO:  Have any players stood out over preseason?

ES:  Probably not.  I haven’t really been necessarily looking at individuals.  There are guys we are certainly pleased with but I don’t think anyone has gone over and above.  Once again I’m still feeling my way through it in terms of what I can expect from them and what’s unrealistic.  I haven’t been disappointed but as a group there are certain players that I would expect more from and we’ll certainly let them know. 

There are certainly some good role models from guys who work hard all the time so it’s not as though they’re doing anything different from what they know.

AO:  Last time we spoke to you, you mentioned the need to play to structures and that the team needed to improve their inside game.  How is the squad going with all this?

ES:  We’ve done a few drills that require hard work from a physical point of view, bumping and getting a shoulder on opponents.  They still need work on it and that’s why we continue to do it.  There haven’t been any complaints from it and they have certainly improved in that area in the six weeks we have been doing those drills.  We will continue to work on it, it’s not going to happen overnight but I have been pleased with what I have seen so far.

AO:  The club’s membership slogan for 2015 is “Know Your Role, Accept Your Role and Play Your Role.”  This sounds like something you would be constantly drilling into the team?

ES:  Absolutely.  It’s sort of difficult at this stage when we are not playing games to really emphasise that.  Obviously the know your role and play your role at training is one thing but when it comes to the game situation where your role might not be a very glamorous role, that’s where we will certainly be reinforcing that and not necessarily hitting up the same blokes with those unglamorous roles.  Hopefully it’s something that at some stage everyone will get a look at a good role in terms of getting maybe a more attacking role than a defensive role but it’s important that they understand why and that’s all part of the education as well.

AO:  You didn’t have a hand in making up that slogan?

ES:  No, not at all.  I was more than happy to hear it though.  It is something that I try and live by as a coach and it’s something you are always trying to impart on your players that it’s not all about you all the time it’s about team and I was certainly happy to hear the club going down that path.

AO:  Perth recently signed Brent Latch and Brett Wolfenden.  How are they transitioning into the squad and where could we possibly see them line-up in 2015?

ES:  They are training well.  Wolfenden has had a few issues with is body in terms of just getting used to the workloads again but he’s certainly keen and he understands the work he needs to do and he’s more than willing to do it, he’s just got to get his body across the line with it as well.  I look forward to him during the year probably playing a midfield role whether it is on the wing or inside; I think he’s capable of doing both.  He will certainly give us some depth through there and he’s got some really top end speed so he’ll be quite exciting I think.

Latch has been training really well to, I see him being a key back that can push forward at different times.  He has got a basketball background and hasn’t played football for as long as other guys have, he sort of came to the game pretty late, so from that point of view I’m pretty excited about where he can get to.

AO:  It’s a pity about Cale Morton leaving and heading back to Melbourne, but on the bright side it does free up ten points to go and recruit further reinforcements?

ES:  You never like losing quality players but that’s Cale’s decision and we can’t stand in his way, we just need to get on with it.  It’s always moving forward and not looking back at what might have been.  Like you say it opens up ten points and a bit of money under the salary cap so we will just keep trying to attract players to the club that we think can add value to the group.

AO:  I believe that Dean Dick is back training at the club?

ES:  Yes Dean’s been back and from what I’ve heard he’s a super talent.  We want to encourage him to continue to get his body into the shape that will allow him to play to his potential.  He’s still got a fair way to go with that but we are trying to encourage him keep persisting.  It’s hard work when you have been out of the system and he’s probably in his own mind 30 kilograms overweight so it’s a big comeback from there to get into the sort of condition that you need to play to your potential and we are going to keep encouraging him to do that.

AO:  I’ve noticed that there have been some new faces out on the training track.  Are we close to signing any of those players or are they just trying out?

ES:  We have got permission to train for a young kid that I coached at Wesley Curtin, Lachlan Dennis.  He is former Strength and Conditioning Coach Jackson Dennis’s younger brother.  I think that he’s probably the best under 23 player in the competion at amateur level this year.  I’m pretty happy that he’s been given permission to train by East Fremantle with us.  He’s just joined the police force so he’s got a few work issues to sort through which I’m sure he’ll be able to do.  I’m pretty confident that he’ll be able to play league football for us in 2015 with everything being equal and he gets a good run at it with injury.

Callum Walley is another who has been training really well.  Cal is the son of Clive Walley who played back in the mid to late eighties at Perth.  Cal played a bit of reserves football at Claremont and has been playing at Scarborough Football Club for the last three or four years.

AO:  What sort of player is Cal?

ES:  He played as a small defender at Claremont.

AO:  What’s the plan for after Christmas?

ES:  We’ll get stuck into it again in January and get some confidence up with the group.  We have got a few things that we are sort of mulling over in terms of camps and what we’re going to do in that regard.  I’m not a big one for having a camp, just for the sake of having a camp but if we think we can get something out of it we will.  Then we’re into matches by the end of February so it comes around pretty quick and we’re still obviously trying to add to our list and trying to get guys back.  We hope that Joel Leeson will be back after Christmas, we hope that Mitch Leyendekkers will be back from his travel in time to start in January to.  We hope to be able to bring the whole squad together and build some confidence heading into our first game.

We have gone through our list and where we’re at, at the moment and our best team on the park I think is going to be pretty competitive but as you saw last year, as soon as you get a few injuries I think that’s where we’re still a bit shallow in our depth.  Once again we are going to continue to try and not necessarily recruit depth players but recruit players we think can play all year and that will just help our depth throughout. 

AO:  Merry Christmas Earl and have a Happy New Year and I’m sure we’ll speak to you in 2015.

ES:  Same to you to.