PERFECT PRACTICE

by Scoop Junior

I was away overseas over summer and missed the majority of the pre-season. Therefore, it was with a sense of excitement that I made my way to the MCG on Saturday afternoon because it provided me with my first opportunity in a long time to see a Demons training session. After all, it's not every day that you get to see the Dees go through their paces on that famous piece of turf although I was a little surprised to discover that close to 18,000 fans came along to watch the proceedings. We were even paid a visit by some members of the West Coast Eagles list (returning to the scene of their premiership triumph of a little under two years ago) along with a handful of members of their cheer squad.

At first, the boys were a bit fumbly in a handball drill but they soon settled into their stride when the kicking drills were introduced about a quarter of the way through the session. From then on, the players trained at a reasonable level for the duration of the session. At times, the odd-looking blue and yellow witches hats provided an obstacle due to their size (what ever happened to those little training cones?) but on the whole the session was conducted well.

Cale Morton was a standout on the track, his endurance on show with hard running up and down the ground. His ball use was better than previous weeks, though understandably there is not the same degree of heat in training as there is in a match. He just looks like he will be a beauty and should keep getting better and better as he gains experience and adds size to his frame.

The old guard led the way, as they should with such a young squad around them. About halfway through the session, the crowd witnessed a strange drill where Paul Wheatley stood about 30m behind a pack of players, all on his own, with the object of the drill to get the ball to Wheatley, who would then use his laser-like right boot to deliver the ball back to teammates who would spread themselves around. While Wheatley's kicking was excellent, he will be sure to receive more pressure during matches when someone actually mans up on him.

Green and Bruce were also good on the track, while McDonald was impressive in a centre square drill involving ruckmen Paul Johnson and Mark Jamar palming it into his path. Again, while this worked well, it will be a different story when facing an opposition midfield intent on winning the clearance for itself.

Simon Buckley also trained well, running hard off his blue and yellow witches hat off half back to deliver the ball to the forwards. He has great pace and while there is work to do in the decision making department, he does offer something that the side lacks and will be an interesting player to watch in the coming years.

Stefan Martin showed a fair bit, with his work in the defensive drills particularly impressive. He has an unorthodox playing style but it is effective and his athleticism for a big bloke is a major asset. While his kicking can be wobbly, he invariably makes good decisions and looks calm and composed in the back half.

All in all, it was a solid outing from the Demons. Enough to suggest that there is some young talent coming through but at the same time showing that there is a lot of work to do.

Next week Melbourne faces Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium and, given its recent history at the venue, it should shore up a priority pick. However, nothing is certain in footy, and Port, without a host of stars is hardly playing inspiring football at the minute. There's even a hint of a rumour going around that the Power would not be upset to finish in the bottom three to pick up a Rich or a Naitanui rather than the next best choice in the draft. But that's all scuttlebutt ... I think!

If the Dees do manage to win at AAMI for the first time since 2001, then I will consider doing something for the first time in my life. I might attend Richmond training on Sunday 31st of August at 2:10pm at the MCG and I'm even considering bringing along some blue and red witches hats for them to help make their practice perfect.

Melbourne 1.3.9 5.7.37 8.12.60 11.13.79

West Coast 2.2.14 4.5.29 5.10.40 5.15.45

Goals

Melbourne Bruce Newton 2 Bartram Bate Green Johnson Miller Morton Sylvia

West Coast McKinley 2 Armstrong LeCras Lynch

Best

Melbourne Bruce Morton Sylvia Wheatley McDonald Green

West Coast Embley Armstrong LeCras

Injuries

Melbourne Nil

West Coast Wilkes (neck)

Umpires H Ryan M Ellis K Nicholls

Official Crowd 17,958 at MCG