MFC training today at the Junction Oval

[Steamin Demon 401]

I was driving past the Junction Oval this morning and noticed the Dee's were training so I dropped in for a quick look. From what I could gather it was all of the young defenders training. I was a little funny walking up because three guys really stood out like grown men to to young boys. Rivers, Frawley and Warnock towered over the young brigade which included Healey, Cheney, Bail, Hughes, McNamara, Bennell, McDonald and Strauss from what I could see. They were working on set drills, One in particular was McDonald take the high mark and dishing off the Rivers who would run and kick to Cheney who was on the 50m arc. All the players rotated through this running drill. The thing that I was really impressed with was that anytime anyone dropped, fumbled or missed a target, The whole playing group dropped down for 10 push ups. This happened four times in the 10 minutes I was standing there. All in all the young guys trained really well.

When they finished the midfielders came out and I was immediately amazed by how big Beamer is, He was the biggest of all the boys by far. Brad Green, Jones, Morton (still skinny), Grimes, Stef, Maccas all completed pretty tame run throughs and various handballing drills. I began to start taking photos on my phone (I will attatch at the bottom) When Dean Bailey came out of the rooms taking photos of me on his phone. I will start by saying he was one of the nicest blokes I have come across. After he ascertained I was a die hard MFC Gold member He stood there and chatted with me about all things Melbourne for more than 15 minutes. I will list some of the the information I could get out of him.

- He said he expected "Colin Sylvia this year to produce Brownlow medal form" and has never seen him train better at this time of year in his time at Melbourne.

- Aaron Davey was "Having his best preseason" and "Expected him to play even better this year".

- I asked him about the draft and why we took Jordyn Gysberts at 11 instead of a tall key position like most of us expected. He was quick to answer by saying "We really needed to bulk up our midfield and "You win the midfield You win the game" and drew comparisons the Geelong and the Bulldogs midfielders and their rotations through the forward line.

- I told him I've read all Melbourne recruits bios of the last couple of years and it is a common the theme of Fast, silky skills, sure by hand and foot and overall brilliant users of the ball. He answered by saying " When I arrived at Melbourne in 2008 we could not hit the side of a Fu*king barn door" He said "I lived through that whole year at it was one of his hardest in my life". I then proceed to tell him don't worry 30,000 lived and breathed it too.

- He was overwhelmed by how many passionate supporters were out there and He added he hates it when the media take cheap pot shots at us and he would remind them on the way back up.

- I also asked how many wins he expected and he wouldn't put a number on it.

I was absolutely rapt that the senior coach would take the time to chat with me just standing there watching training, So I shook his hand and told him keep up the good work.

Here are some of the photos I took. I hope this has been enlightening.

[timD 994]

Nice stuff steamin. Dean sounds like a very interesting fellow. It may very well just be me, but the more I here, the more I like.

[jayceebee31 768]

Many thanks for stopping,reporting and taking photos for us. A very interesting observation you raised re the push ups- they did the same last Friday when they made a mistake- it was quite incredable when they all went straight to ground to do them. Great that Bails spent the time with you and answered straight forwardly. You can tell- it has made your day and you have made mine by your report.Another very interesting point was Hughes training in the backline. Maybe trying to make him versatile or to help him run off his opponent when on the forward line

[Keyser Söze 0]

Cheers for that, fantastic little report at this time of year.

Makes me want to get down there myself - maybe next week.

[Guest melbman]

absolute ripper of a post

really nice work Steamin Demon

Just to add to the passing by foot theme I noticed in preseason training at the end of 2007 when Bails took over that "couldn't hit the side of a barn" was an understatement, really poor skills. We improved last preseason and again this preseaon. I went to casey training last Friday and hitting targets during drills was good but under the match simulation it dropped off a bit

they have been focusing on it and I watch to see their improvement, they aren't quite there yet but definately well on the way

[Redleg 42,053]

Condition of the ground in some areas is very disappointing.

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

Thanks Steamin for the summary. Very interesting. DB is right when he says "You win the midfield and you win the game". I have no doubt 2008 must have been a huge frustration skills wise.

[jayceebee31 768]

Thanks Steamin for the summary. Very interesting. DB is right when he says "You win the midfield and you win the game". I have no doubt 2008 must have been a huge frustration skills wise.

RR - you are correct in saying you win a game through the midfield. No doubt that the recruiting has specialised in this area buy recruiting- Morton,Grimes, Maric, Cheney,McNamara all in 07 .Bails first year of recruiting- all could run through the midfield.

In 2008-Blease,Strauss,Bennell, Jetta, Bail &Jurrah-all of these could run through the midfield and Watts did in the Under 18's. In 2009-Scully, Trengove,Grysberts,Tapscott, Joel MacDonald- all could run through the midfield as well.

Gawn & Fitzpatrick the other two- ruckman/ forwards.

Therefore, he must have thought we had a major weakness in the midfield when he arrived.

[Keyser Söze 0]

Not sure about McNamara and Cheney just yet, and I know Maric is being groomed for a midfield spot, but he was drafted as a FP.

[45HG 1,559]

Steamin' work Steamin (sorry), your report is greatly appreciated.

[jayceebee31 768]

Not sure about McNamara and Cheney just yet, and I know Maric is being groomed for a midfield spot, but he was drafted as a FP.

Totally understand your point- and agree - but at a pinch they could run through the guts. Cheney& McNamara could play on a wing also.

Just looked at an AFL record- Round 9 2008 re ninth game that Bails coached us-against the premiers Hawthorn, the centerline was

Bate Mclean Green

Rucks- White McDonald Jones

Interchange- Bode,Buckley,C.Johnson, Valenti, Yze.

I therefore rest my case.

[MrReims 324]

Yeah big thanks Steamin. For guys like me living OS, posts like yours are just so rewarding to read. I come back to Australia for 2 months in about two weeks and just worked out that I fly back to Germany the day AFTER the big Rnd 1 clash with the Hawkers. So I am an extremely happy man at the moment. A day at the 'G with my brother who is a Hawks man will be freakin fantastic after almost 18 months away.

Also, I'm bringing a friend from Germany to Melbourne with me for the first two week. I have slowly converted her into an absolute die hard fan (who is madly in love with Brad Miller and wants to make Stefan Martin sandwiches with the crusts cut off for some reason) and you have made me think that since she won't be around even for a pre season game (thanks to the Fremantle fixture) that I should take her to training. I have only done it a handful of times myslef and I think it would blow her mind, particularly if she got to talk to someone, anyone really.

So again, big thanks for the post. Keep up the good work!

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

Therefore, he must have thought we had a major weakness in the midfield when he arrived.

Until some of the much vaulted talent blooms we still do have a weakness there. However there are some promising signs.

[Demonland 73,916]

Until some of the much vaulted talent blooms we still do have a weakness there. However there are some promising signs.

SD you're a real champ for just stepping out of the front door on a steaming hot day like today.

Cheers.

[Matt Demon 1,579]

I think I saw you Steamin.. I was there also. I work just down the road and try to get across In the mornings as much as I can. The forwards were out before you got there and wona and LJ joined In most training drills so injuries must be coming along well.

[DemonDing 56]

thanks steamin, im loving the news on sylvia how exciting is that? i hope he takes a huge step forward this year, the talent hes got he could easily be our best player

IMO. if he has a very consistant year and keeps on the field it'll be like having another new player!! how many days till the NAB cup? im getting a little excited here

[Deeoldfart 8,168]

1000 thanks for sharing with us Steamin.

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

I went to casey training last Friday and hitting targets during drills was good but under the match simulation it dropped off a bit

That is a key point, and I noticed that at Casey last week there seemed to be more match simulation than at the same time last year (it looked that way, I could be wrong).

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

Condition of the ground in some areas is very disappointing.

It's certainly no Casey Fields.

[Grand New Flag 3,227]

Awesome!

[Sir Why You Little 37,342]

Great Report, Thankyou Steamin"

Maybe the Bailey Quotes should be pinned so we can refer to them later in the season.

I still beleive we can be competitive for position 8 this year-I hope DB feels the same.

The First 4-5 weeks of the season will tell a lot about the Entire Club on & off the Ground-The Media are going to watch us real close this year.

If the players believe they can play at the elite level well we should win games.

Let's all do it for Stynesy this year. I like the Fact DB is going to remind the media of the cheap shots they have thrown-DB is a very cool customer isn't he.....

[Carlos Danger 380]

Great post! Is that Scully handballing in the first pic?

[Supermercado 2,802]

I began to start taking photos on my phone (I will attatch at the bottom) When Dean Bailey came out of the rooms taking photos of me on his phone.

Does this mean we've got some sort of KGB style dossier on suspected opposition scouts? I like it.

[Curry & Beer 5,444]

Does anyone else have a serious man crush on Bailey? I know a bloke who has a a nephew who is about 10 years old and is a die hard demon... as kids do, he once rang the club just expecting he could ask to speak to Bails about some suggestions he had for the side... of course whoever answered said 'um.. he's not here right now but we'll let him know you called' the next day (I think) Bails actually rang the little tacker back and had a yarn with him for about 20 minutes and answered all his questions. What a legend... imagine some [censored] like Malthouse doing that

"Brownlow medal form" that is some serious tent-pitching stuff. Not an absurd call either given Sylvia was one of the best players in the comp for a solid month around the middle of the year and his performance against the Hawks may well have been one of the best individual efforts of the season

Damn straight you remind them of it Dean. Start with Leigh Matthews

[Curry & Beer 5,444]

Does this mean we've got some sort of KGB style dossier on suspected opposition scouts? I like it.

Well ours dress as the village people to avoid detection so why not... however the Eagles have probably developed a cloak of invisibility such is there football department expenditure