Watts didn't play like a star, but was still impressive in pieces.

He'll never be the same as the players you listed; he doesn't play the game like them and likely never will.

But it is a different game today and this is a tired argument.

It's a bit unfair to the kid to be demanding he play like a star at his age and stage of development.

And he's not 21 yet.

That's a very silly statement. Who has played the game like Franklin ? Who has played the game like Riewoldt ? Who has played the game like Lockett ? They're all different. I expect to be saying "who has played the game like Watts ?". The point being that Watts doesn't need to play the game like anyone before him. But he does need to be able to take contested marks in the forward line to become a star. Goals win matches.

And I'm not "demanding" anything. Watts hasn't even turned 20, let alone "21". But I am giving you a history lesson.

My two cents from the notes I took today. I don't sugar-coat too much so please don't suppose I hate said player because I make a negative comment. I only took notes on players that did something that took my interest. i haven't read the other reports so as not to skew my perceptions.

Syvlia - would have won nearly half of the stop play clearances today and that is not an exaggeration. Was dominant in that situation whether in the white or blue team. Played out the four quarters well so fitness is good.

Maric - has obviously worked very hard at his fitness and won a lot of the footy as a midfielder who put hiself in good spots, the few nice things he did were good however he overcooked the ball on many occasions trying to do too much and was iffy at best by foot. Still a big step in the right direction.

Jetta - really liked his showing. Got himself involved a lot, his grunt work was terrific, tackling was a feature, very hungry footballer. His knock today as it always has been was his field kicking. Just let himself down with poor kicking skills. I don't think it is a decision making issue just and inability to execute at times.

Watts - Agility,skills and decision making a feature. Kicked some goals, presented well and played smart. Was allowed a lot of latititude by the Casey player who had him in the 2nd half. He will need to get used to body pressure from Afl backs. Still did not get himself into contested situations be it aerial or ground but he showed some signs today of taking some steps forward in self belief. Never, ever does Watts kick in hope, always backs his skills and sometimes (not often) it doesn't come off.

Scully - busy at times with some breathtaking breaks from the guts. Still missed a couple of kicks but hit quite a few lace out too. His hands were also a feature.

Morton - bigger stronger and looking more confident. Took some good marks and did some nice things. Solid.

Bail - Got involved at times and is great to watch. Hits the ball hard and at pace. Has a nice shimmy and shake. Is in the 22 for mine if fit. Hopefully his body allows him a good run at it this season.

Cook - Did a couple of nice smart things. Will get more involved. Will end up a solid unit. Has a good frame.

Martin - Presented, bit fumbly. Took one clunker only to spray the kick at goal. Very attractive man though.

Spencer - Toiled hard, took some strong one grab marks and competed well. Has the 2nd ruck spot at the moment. Obvious limitations but he dished off a few handballs and short kicks and was able to be dispose of it effectively. Liked his game.

Beamer - In everything but decision making and disposal let him down today.

Gawn - I walked away really impressed by this guy. I watched him do a one grab pick up of a moving ball below his knees at pace in the forward pocket and was amazed. Got a goal in the 2nd from a free when the defender? just could not get into the contest to spoil legally. If his body can withstand the rigours of being an afl ruck he will be a player.

Bate - Typical "good" Bate game. Worked hard, presented, spilled a couple of marks, took a couple of strong ones, kicked some good goals. A solid showing. Is a very strong, fit unit and may have slimmed a little.

Howe - Looks a smart and capable footballer. What I saw of him he got himself into good position, picked good options and backed himself. The blue forward line functioned very well with Watts, Howe, Jamar, Dunn and Bate.

Trengove - Very nice in close and around the ground. He will really impact games as he starts to touch the footy more. Really brings class to the strong inside mids that we need.

Dan Nicholson - a couple of nice things, struggled to get into it or to be fair he may not have got a lot of game time.

Michael Evans - Impressed with this kid, best performed of the rookies. Had a crack, was not overawed and got himself involved in the 2nd quarter particularly. Decisons and skills good and good courage.

thanks for the 2 cents dandeeman. the most intriguing ones for me are the talls like Howe and big Gawn who i keep hearing the same words of skillful and a good touch player.

In your opinion, how far are these blokes from being AFL level?. You could include McDonald and Cook who looks too skinny in the photos at least.

I believe our real improvement will come if we can add a decent tall or two who can hold down a key position. We still have high profile recruits like Tapscott, Gysberts, Strauss, Blease, Maric to develop as runners in various parts of the ground, but it is the development of the talls I will find the most intriguing, so interested in your thoughts.

If we end up with 3 bona fide stars of the competition then you'll see flags. I've seen one bona fide star at Melbourne in my lieftime, so 6 in the one team would be incredible and highly unlikely.

To win a flag we'll need roughly 10 players to become genuine A graders in that flag year. I say "that year" because a player can slip out of A grade status quickly.

Id like to know who that one star is that you have seen.

I ve seen 4 Flower, Stynes,Lyon,Schwarz pre knee.

Also which ones of the 5 i mentioned do you think will not be an A grader, Scully,.Watts,Grimes,Frawley,Jurrah?

thanks for the 2 cents dandeeman. the most intriguing ones for me are the talls like Howe and big Gawn who i keep hearing the same words of skillful and a good touch player.

In your opinion, how far are these blokes from being AFL level?. You could include McDonald and Cook who looks too skinny in the photos at least.

I believe our real improvement will come if we can add a decent tall or two who can hold down a key position. We still have high profile recruits like Tapscott, Gysberts, Strauss, Blease, Maric to develop as runners in various parts of the ground, but it is the development of the talls I will find the most intriguing, so interested in your thoughts.

It's a scratch match so it's pretty hard to gauge too much. I still get the impression that both our field kicking and contested marking up forward need a loy more work, but then at this time of year I suppose 15 other sides will have the same issues.

It would not surprise me to see Jeremy Howe play this season and make an impact. I would expect that Gawn will need a solid season in the twos building fitness. If he wants to be great player and his body holds up he will be a great player.

Mcdonald I didn't see too much of today. Cook looks likely but hard to say whether he will play senior footy soon, looks composed.

Edit Spencer was good today, and was a lot less fumbly than Martin both aerially and on the deck.

Can anyone help me out with a copy of the teamsheet/flyer that was given out at today's prac match? Happy to pay costs.....Much appreciated

can I ask why on Earth the posts between glengarry and myself were deleted?

I was asking about Luke Tapscott - what is/has been his injury status, what has anyone seen of him at Casey, are we expecting to see him in red and blue anytime soon etc

pretty reasonable line of discussion not breaking any rules?

As jimmy and Bails stated last night, we were a bit rusty yesterday at the intraclub match. A lot of passes by hand and foot went astray. They spend a summer doing handpass and kicking skills, yet they failed to hit targets on too many occasions, and not always under pressure. I also thought there was too much lateral movement of the ball and not enough quick movement into the forward 50, as is evident in the low scores.

It was good to see Maric, Jetta and Strauss get a bit more of the ball. One surprise was Strauss using the old torpedo punt on a couple of occasions when kicking out from full back. I haven't seen that since Paul Wheatley's last game gainst the saints in 2009. Could this be Bailey's new game plan for our kickouts - to get around the oppositions' forward defensive pressure? Nothing ever happens on that field wsithout Bailey's permission.

It was good to see Maric, Jetta and Strauss get a bit more of the ball. One surprise was Strauss using the old torpedo punt on a couple of occasions when kicking out from full back. I haven't seen that since Paul Wheatley's last game gainst the saints in 2009. Could this be Bailey's new game plan for our kickouts - to get around the oppositions' forward defensive pressure? Nothing ever happens on that field wsithout Bailey's permission.

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So so interesting you say this DD DDC i was about to come on and write that James was told on Friday that every kick in was to be a torp unless their is a short option on. He was [censored] himself and that second one that went about 65 he claimed was the only one he hit in 2 weeks of trying it.

Really impressed though Bailey is thinking of these things. 1 point down to Collingwood with a minute to go and we do have a gameplan for it. I'm really starting to warm to the guy and his ideas.

Ok i was at the game here was my take

Moloney, Sylvia and Scully were BOG's. And I dont care if Moloney goes long all the time. It's what I want from players anyway. Better long then stuffing it up trying to overuse the footy and short passes that gain no advantage.

If he goes long all the time and turns it over like he did yesterday on a couple of occassions (that resulted in goals to opposition), sides will punish us. If that's what you want then it's a vote for mediocre performances. I want the team to be better than that. Top 4 sides rarely do that.

Morton has got 'thicker', but simply no muscle tone to his body. He looked so skinny wearing his 'basketball' shorts and I didnt like his game today. Takes too long to dispose of the ball.

Morton's legs look stronger, but he still looks slim, despite being 'thicker'.

I thought Morton looked shocking. Granted he has seemed to filled out somewhat but looking at him there was no definition at all. Not to say he looked bad but just not match fit. i dont expect him to be Moloney but again he was being pushed around. I just can't put my finger on Morton

If he goes long all the time and turns it over like he did yesterday on a couple of occassions (that resulted in goals to opposition), sides will punish us. If that's what you want then it's a vote for mediocre performances. I want the team to be better than that. Top 4 sides rarely do that.

Morton's legs look stronger, but he still looks slim, despite being 'thicker'.

Turnovers deep in our forward line are better than turnovers in the centre square cause we stuffedaround too much looking for short options!

Morton will always 'look' skinny. Get over it. He has put on muscle and that is all that matters because it will make him stronger at the contest.

I thought Morton looked shocking. Granted he has seemed to filled out somewhat but looking at him there was no definition at all. Not to say he looked bad but just not match fit. i dont expect him to be Moloney but again he was being pushed around. I just can't put my finger on Morton

I know he doesn't look big in the 'glamour muscles', but that is a good thing!

Sylvia came to the club with huge biceps, but didn't have a strong core. So despite appearing strong, he spent the first 4 years of his career sustaining injuries. Shane Watson is another famous example of a guy who appeared strong in the 'glamour muscles' but actually wasn't strong where it mattered.

Morton is now above 90kg, and most of that is added muscle in the core and legs. That is a really great achievement and is really good for his development.

I think the aim over the next 12-24 months will be to inch towards 100kg, which will now be very achieveable considering the enourmous room for improvement in building muscles in the arms, shoulders and chest.

Morton came to the club as a stick insect with enourmous upside. The prospect of a 100 gamer, finely tuned 100kg 23 year old Morton, with outstanding running ability and overhead marking is super exciting. Adam Goodes anyone?

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So so interesting you say this DD DDC i was about to come on and write that James was told on Friday that every kick in was to be a torp unless their is a short option on. He was [censored] himself and that second one that went about 65 he claimed was the only one he hit in 2 weeks of trying it.

Really impressed though Bailey is thinking of these things. 1 point down to Collingwood with a minute to go and we do have a gameplan for it. I'm really starting to warm to the guy and his ideas.

That is very interesting and opens up some unusual possibilities. Anything is better than watching 36 players on one half of the ground.

I know he doesn't look big in the 'glamour muscles', but that is a good thing!

Sylvia came to the club with huge biceps, but didn't have a strong core. So despite appearing strong, he spent the first 4 years of his career sustaining injuries. Shane Watson is another famous example of a guy who appeared strong in the 'glamour muscles' but actually wasn't strong where it mattered.

Morton is now above 90kg, and most of that is added muscle in the core and legs. That is a really great achievement and is really good for his development.

I think the aim over the next 12-24 months will be to inch towards 100kg, which will now be very achieveable considering the enourmous room for improvement in building muscles in the arms, shoulders and chest.

Morton came to the club as a stick insect with enourmous upside. The prospect of a 100 gamer, finely tuned 100kg 23 year old Morton, with outstanding running ability and overhead marking is super exciting. Adam Goodes anyone?

Interesting point about Sylvia and Watson.

I think Morton will be a very good wingman, a bit like when Richo played up the ground. I don't think Morton has Goodes explosive speed.

Turnovers deep in our forward line are better than turnovers in the centre square cause we stuffedaround too much looking for short options!

They didn't occur "deep in the forward line" - they occurred midfield in switching the play.

Morton will always 'look' skinny. Get over it. He has put on muscle and that is all that matters because it will make him stronger at the contest.

There is nothing better in this world than some smart-alec telling you to "get over it" after making an observation that he still looks slim comparitively to other players on the list ! Some people are just welled up with emotion.

Yeah, he's put on 'some muscle' and good on him for having an extra bit of meat on him - he still has to apply himself.

It's interesting that Jetta is getting so much praise. I'm also glad to hear the positive reviews on Strauss.

Martin was impressive today with his tap work in the ruck, however as a forward he didn’t take a mark all day and did not look threatening despite his physical attributes. A number of times he was in position to mark the ball, but it slapped out of his hands. Although I have seen Martin mark the ball well in defence, as a leading forward he still does not look comfortable

That could have been written about Martin's NAB Cup form last year (at least the Essendon match - I can't remember the rest that well). He lead well and was able to draw the footy but couldn't hold his marks. They were relatively easy so if he can't hold those he can't play AFL.

22. B Moloney – Was in the weaker of the two sides in the first half but really influenced the game in the second quarter. Many players were rushed but when he got clear he seemed to have time. At one point he switched the play across the ground which N Jetta intercepted, leading to a goal. He is an angry man on the field and often barks orders at other players…perhaps he needs to eradicate a few more errors from his own game before telling everyone else what they should be doing? Dunno.

Moloney was voted into the leadership group so I don't think the list agrees with you.

Regardless, I don't see how not being able to execute skills all the time means you can't tell players to cover X or stand on Y side of the contest when you notice they're not following team structures etc - they're pretty different.

R Bail – Bail played in the away colours all day today and he was one of the best in the weaker side. He attacks the ball fearlessly and showed some flare with his run and carry. He is really hard at it and his kicking is improving, great to see him out there and must be in line for the NAB cup.

While it's just the one intraclub game it's good to hear, as I thought disposal was his major weakness last year. He's got some good attributes.

47. S Blease – Played the first half in the back pocket. He won an early ball and kicked a beautiful 50 metre pass, then he won the ball again and kicked off his left foot – straight to the opposition. I have now seen Blease kick on his non-preffered side on several occasions and stuff it up, even though he has been told to kick on the preffered side. In these instances his self-confidence his not helping him and until he can consistently hit targets on his left foot, he should be doing whatever he can to kick with his right and reduce his errors, otherwise he will stay in the VFL.

I disagree. There's no point ignoring his left-foot in match situations unless you're happy for him to never have one. If he does ignore them in these sorts of situations it won't be any good when he is forced to use it. However, if he practices his left-foot - and in match situations, not just training - it'll improve.

There is nothing better in this world than some smart-alec telling you to "get over it" after making an observation that he still looks slim comparitively to other players on the list ! Some people are just welled up with emotion.

Yeah, he's put on 'some muscle' and good on him for having an extra bit of meat on him - he still has to apply himself.

The get over it was directed at the general continual comment around here about Morton 'still' being skinny or thin etc etc. Don't take any personal offence HT- wouldn't want to be in a mod's bad books.....

No doubt he has to apply himself. Reckon it would have taken a fair amount of 'application' for an extreme ectomorph (by AFL standards) to put on 6kg of muscle mass.

And that same application on the footy field will have him playing very well this year.

(it's amazing what being fit through the pre-season and practice games can do for players- just think back 12 months).

First time poster. Was at the practise game the other day. Have read through all of the reports and tend to agree that the skills were a touch down and hence people have been critical of some players.

Although Maric, Watts, Scully and Grimes missed some targets they were actually trying to create by foot when disposing of the ball. Most times they were trying to bring the ball back into the corridor to open up the 'fat' side of the groud, thus allowing their teamates to hit our forwards on their second lead in more space. Bailey was on the groud the entire time and he never once showed disappointment at any of these players trying to execute his game plan. On the contrary, he was very encouraging.

I would much rather these boys continuing to back their skills and take risks than watching Moloney kicking long bombs on the forwards heads! Trapper was my favourite player during his playing days as he would take risks and when they came off cut the game to pieces. Maric impressed me no end with his endevour and second efforts, he would have possibly been the leading possession winner. Should be in our starting 18 on Friday night, how his season unfolds is then up to him. But he has definately given himself a great opportunity to cement a spot in our best 22.

can I ask why on Earth the posts between glengarry and myself were deleted?

I was asking about Luke Tapscott - what is/has been his injury status, what has anyone seen of him at Casey, are we expecting to see him in red and blue anytime soon etc

pretty reasonable line of discussion not breaking any rules?

Good questions C & B, I too was wondering does he do anything besides "look Big"

So far I don't think he has played a game anywhere.

May be wrong but I cannot remember one.

Hope we don't have another John Tilbrook here, all muscle looks good and no action!

Good questions C & B, I too was wondering does he do anything besides "look Big"

So far I don't think he has played a game anywhere.

May be wrong but I cannot remember one.

Hope we don't have another John Tilbrook here, all muscle looks good and no action!

Played a few in the Casey 2's and 1s late last year, looked ok but hip was still causing trouble. I am sure he would love to be playing if he could.

I know he doesn't look big in the 'glamour muscles', but that is a good thing!

Sylvia came to the club with huge biceps, but didn't have a strong core. So despite appearing strong, he spent the first 4 years of his career sustaining injuries. Shane Watson is another famous example of a guy who appeared strong in the 'glamour muscles' but actually wasn't strong where it mattered.

Morton is now above 90kg, and most of that is added muscle in the core and legs. That is a really great achievement and is really good for his development.

I think the aim over the next 12-24 months will be to inch towards 100kg, which will now be very achieveable considering the enourmous room for improvement in building muscles in the arms, shoulders and chest.

Morton came to the club as a stick insect with enourmous upside. The prospect of a 100 gamer, finely tuned 100kg 23 year old Morton, with outstanding running ability and overhead marking is super exciting. Adam Goodes anyone?

I see him being more Richo than Goodes.

I think Morton will be a very good wingman, a bit like when Richo played up the ground. I don't think Morton has Goodes explosive speed.

Just saw this after I posted a very similar comment. Could not agree more Thomo.

Played a few in the Casey 2's and 1s late last year, looked ok but hip was still causing trouble. I am sure he would love to be playing if he could.

Me too, if it is still his hip problem it worries me.

If he goes two seasons without an appearance at senior level you would have to worry about his spot on the list.

Not another Moylan I hope

Just saw this after I posted a very similar comment. Could not agree more Thomo.

You're obviously a very smart bloke.

Good questions C & B, I too was wondering does he do anything besides "look Big"

So far I don't think he has played a game anywhere.

May be wrong but I cannot remember one.

Hope we don't have another John Tilbrook here, all muscle looks good and no action!

yeah that's why I asked, hoping someone would offer something, alas the mystery of the post's deletion remains unsolved

pick 18 for this bloke.. wouldn't mind seeing something, even Blease has got on the park a bit and he broke his leg