BREAKING A PROMISE

BREAKING A PROMISE by Whispering Jack

I've lost count of the number of Melbourne pre season training sessions that I've attended over the years and of how many times I've walked away thinking that, "well this might just be the year when we step up and show enough improvement to really challenge the big boys!"

So naturally, as we drove down the Narre Cranbourne Road in the direction of Casey Fields and passed the aptly named Strawberry Fields residential estate on this beautiful, summer's morning, I made myself a promise not to get carried away. The rose coloured glasses were definitely going to come off and I had to resist the temptation to say things like "the players are looking fitter than ever", "those previously labelled as ‘potential’ have matured" and "there are a fair number out there who are training the house down."

To be certain, there was a slight pall over Casey Fields when we arrived. We already knew that our All Australian key defender James Frawley was going to be missing the action after news came through of his pectoral muscle injury but it got worse later with the diagnosis that it was bad enough to require surgery and would keep him out of action for up to 3 months with the season starting in under 2½ months.

Bad news, but Chip's young and strong and looks the type who could make a quicker than expected recover and besides, good clubs need to show they have the depth to cover their injuries. I've got a lot of time for Matthew Warnock and this affords him the perfect opportunity to revive his stalled career after spending much of the latter part of last season in the VFL. Stef Martin looks refreshed, fitter and more refined and could get an opportunity in defence or attack so the club has its options in Frawley's absence. Colin Garland, who held Buddy in a game early in his career, should also take further steps in his second year back from that bad injury.

Otherwise, we don't look too badly off on the injury front. There were a few blokes in the rehab group but they didn't seem to be major worries. Rookie ruckman and 2008 premiership player Robert Campbell (Achilles) walked laps for a while with Lynden Dunn but did take part in some light training. Others like Austin Wonaeamirri and Jack Watts were doing running work after taking part in some training sessions but sights of a large group undergoing rehab as we had seen in the past seem gone. And Aussie’s appearance certainly stamped out rumours that he would never return after the tragedy of his father’s death and of fellow Tiwi Islander Maurice Rioli late last year.

The night before, I was part of a group that had dinner at Squires Loft, a steak place in Queens Road, Albert Park. There were a couple of athletic looking female tennis types on hand but the table that caught my attention was a group of ten Hawthorn footballers that included Cameron Bruce and Kyle Cheney (they’re in the background in this photograph).

The former has been the most impressive pre season trainer at Melbourne for several years and I suppose that explains his achievements year in, year out in the club best and fairest awards. I reflected that it's going to be sad watching Bruce go round elsewhere after such a long career at Melbourne but who will take his place as best trainer now that he has defected to another club?

The answer to that one is simple. Tom Scully is a rare beast. I mean the "beast" part not as a reference to his stature but to his overall presence and demeanour at training. It's more than just outstanding - it's beyond description. It's the way he burst through to accept a handball from Aussie without missing a beat and continued to motor at top pace without missing a beat to deliver the ball perfectly downfield while the rest of the training group remained in the background as if suspended in slow motion.

There. I bet you think I've blown it. Halfway through my report and I've broken that promise about not to getting carried away about the team and its prospects. Not guilty, Your Honour. You can’t get carried away in Scully's case; I’m just telling it how it is and that means he goes 110% all the way to such an extent that's frightening!

We all know that football has evolved rapidly over the years but I'm constantly amazed at the way these training sessions continue to surge in their intensity. It's a far cry from the first pre season session I attended when, back in my uni days, I dropped into the MCG to watch the boys train and was invited to join in (I kid you not. I was clutching a heavy bag - full of law text books, not footy gear. The fact that the bloke standing next to me was 6'4" tall, built like a brick outhouse and later played ruck in the ammos might have had something to do with it as well). The invite was declined by both of us even though back then, training was pretty well laid back, most of the participants were youngsters and unknown potential recruits while the old hands took things easy, feigning niggles that would spare them having to exert themselves too much in the February heat.

It's so different these days. The sessions are longer, the drills are more complex and many are carried out with scientific aids (heart rate monitors, GPSs?) and seem to be specifically designed to cater for a comprehensive skills training programme mapped out for the whole of summer. There was no specific emphasis and many of the drills looked as if they had more than one purpose. There was lots of running and tackling, work on disposal of the football and on breaking through zones. Even some of the blokes who were walking or running laps were equipped with ear phones as they moved around, often in fartlek style of the great Finnish athlete Paavo Nurmi.

I've already commented on Tom Scully but the likes of Jake Grimes, Jack Trengove, Brent Moloney and Nathan Jones looked great. Liam Jurrah was moving like a cat and though he seemed to come down awkwardly on his ankle just before we left, it didn't look too bad. He also had his shoulders strapped heavily but it didn't seem to affect his mobility. It was also good to see Ricky Petterd back training after his should injury last year. Brad Green and Aaron Davey trained like consummate professionals, with the former just ahead in favouritism for the gig in my book.

Jamie Bennell has developed physically and I think this will help his game this year. Many are tipping him and Addam Maric, who also impressed, as the year's big improvers. You can add Jake Spencer to that group; he seems to be growing into that big body and his co-ordination at all levels has improved.

I think most clubs are taking the view that with the new substitute rule coming in this year, a tall option resting in the forward line will be the order of the day to allow for four midfield types to come off the bench in rotations. This opens up a few interesting possibilities. I think Martin might firm for this position if he can do well in the NAB Cup.

Colin Sylvia looks absolutely superb and, I think he might be the key to our season in many ways. He's hard and tough and is light years away from the precocious talent who arrived seven years ago yet who, at one stage, was in danger of never fulfilling his promise. I wondered why I have never seen his training efforts in this light over previous seasons and then I remembered his injuries, the osteitis pubis and the like and the poor attitude. Let's hope that he doesn't get king hit from behind in a practice match this year (how on earth did that @*%# get off without a suspension?).

Anyway, it's at this point that I realise that Melbourne has at least a dozen players training at the levels reached in the past by only Cameron Bruce and that is probably the difference between 2007 and 2011. The players now have a deeper physical base and their skills are better. Here come the rose coloured glasses!

I could go on forever and end up getting carried away but I do think we'll see strongly built Luke Tapscott in action over the NAB Cup and possibly also Sam Blease who showed he has pace and good evasive skills. Max Gawn is a big unit and he might come into contention later in the season along with Jack Fitzpatrick.

I only wish that the players could train with their numbers as this would make it a lot easier to determine who was who among the newcomers. Generally, you can tell who the newbies are because most look so green. As training and fitness levels increase across the board, it inevitably becomes more and more difficult for players coming into the system to acclimatise to the rigours of training at a the elite level of any professional sport. This applies most to our taller recruits who looked as if they were doing it hard as the session wore on. Jeremy Howe looks the most advanced and might get a run in the NAB Cup. He certainly has clean hands and moves well. However, Lucas Cook, Troy Davis and Tom McDonald still have some way to go although it's good to have this much developing talent (which includes an All Australian CHF) in the bank for the future. I can envision a future where two tall forwards in Watts and Cook complement each other as twin towers in a dominant forward line fed by a class midfield.

Of the new young rookies, I didn't see Michael Evans and Kelvin Lawrence who I believe are back home in WA for a week but Dan Nicholson and Cameron Johnston were not out of place in the heat of training. I know it's early days but Nicholson looks to have all of the attributes to make it in the big time so it will be interesting to watch his progress over the next couple of months.

OK, I've broken my promise to keep a lid on things but, like many other Demon fans, I can't wait to see the first ball bounced in the coming weeks. I would even settle for an intraclub practice games and I believe one is tentatively scheduled for Casey Fields on Friday 4 February at 6pm, a week before the NAB Cup matches. I promise I won't get carried away next time.

Photographs by Andy (Demonland) except for the first one which was taken by me on my iphone without the permission of the subjects. Geez, I hope they don't take out an injunction!