NORTH Albury is leaving no stone unturned as the hungry Hoppers look to return to finals action.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Brisbane Lions triple premiership star Nigel Lappin took the Hoppers for training last night as most clubs enjoy a break over the holiday period.
Lappin is entering his seventh season as midfield coach with Geelong and took last night’s session as a favour for premiership teammate and North Albury coach Jason Akermanis.
“I spoke to Aker about six-weeks ago and he asked me if I was home for Christmas he would love it if I could take the boys for a session for a bit of a change up,” Lappin said.
“I kept things fairly simple and just touched on some of the basic methods that Geelong uses around the contest.
“We did four or five drills focusing on that.
“You could go into a lot of depth and detail about defence and attack but you can lose the players if you have four or five different themes for the night instead of just focusing on one aspect.
“I tried to make it a bit of fun as well.”
Lappin was midfield coach for the Cats’ two most recent flags in 2009 and 2011 but said his role has changed over the past two years.
“I love my job and work at a really successful football club that has got great people both on and off the field,” he said.
“The playing group is fantastic to work with, with a really good bunch of young kids coming through.
“My role has changed over the years with my first four years spent as midfield coach.
“I’ve been working more in strategy and development the past two years and doing a lot of reviewing and previewing of games for coach Chris Scott.”
Lappin said the game had changed significantly since he called an end to his stellar 279-game career in 2008.
“The game style has changed a hell-of-a lot,” he said.
“Rotations have been one of the biggest changes with most players rotating up to 10 times a match.
“When I was running around in the Brisbane midfield we rarely changed and would cover up to 15 kilometres in a game.
“The speed of the game has also changed a lot and also there has been the introduction of clusters and zones.”
Lappin plans to spend his time on the Border with his wife and four daughters visiting his parents and brother at Chiltern.
