The footballs are out at Whitten Oval this week in the lead up to NAB Cup and utility Christian Howard has been buoyed by the team’s progress during match simulation sessions.
Howard said the simulated drills provided a platform for the Western Bulldogs playing group to bed down some finer details of their game plan as the season approaches.
“It was good to sort of be back into… playing games again instead of just doing the training drills and we did it really well,” Howard said.
“It was really encouraging signs with a lot of the stoppages we had going and the setups.”
The 21-year-old has firmed his place as an elite endurance runner at the Club this pre-season, notching a personal best before Christmas in the six minute running trials.
In recent weeks his focus has shifted to the gym, which he feels will put him in good stead for the year ahead.
“Before Christmas it was… all running basically, not a whole lot of football and I was really fit before Christmas – I set a [personal best] for my six minute run,” he said.
“I have sort of come back after Christmas and… I’ve put on three or four kilos in the last three weeks.
“I am still right up the front in the running just probably not where I was before Christmas but I’ve still got the fitness and I am more happy that I put the weight on and [am] able to cope with that better.”
As the composition of the Bulldogs list continues to change it is a mix of young and old who have impressed Howard – with Shaun Higgins as well as draftees Josh Prudden and Nathan Hrovat the individual stand outs.
“I did a fair bit of training with [Higgins] in the offseason and he was burning me around the track,” he said.
“I am confident that if he can stay injury free – which has probably been his only issue over the last couple of years – he is really going to take the next step.
“Young Joshy Prudden… he’s been training with the mids for a couple of weeks now and I think he’s shown a little bit of grunt.
“And from what I’ve heard Nathan Hrovat as well. He’s in the forwards group obviously, so I don’t really get to train with him that much but from what I have seen and heard I think he is going to have a little bit of go about him too.”
