TRAINING - 31 OCTOBER 2011

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Thanks to your contributions, here's our Demonland summary of Training Day One:

TRAINING - 31 OCTOBER 2011

It was a tough first up training session for the Demons under new coach Mark Neeld but you came away feeling that it's going to get even tougher. 

This was more in the nature of a meet and greet with plenty of 400m runs, several faces missing for various reasons ranging from international duties, the Qantas strike and impending delistments. There was also a large rehab group doing limited work. Neeld has indicated that he is less than impressed at the general state of the players' fitness so tough times are looming for this playing list.

Austin Wonaeamirri was a no show and by the end of the session, he was confirmed as a delisting after 31 games and 37 goals, to be joined later by rookie Michael Newton who tweeted from Calgary. For him, it was the big freeze - career seemingly over after seven years mainly of unfulfilled promise.

 

Melbourne's 2011 skipper Brad Green, James Frawley and young gun Jack Trengove were on the Gold Coast preparing for Friday's international rules game v the Irish and Liam Jurrah was stuck somewhere between Alice Springs and Goschs Paddock courtesy of Quantas. The rehab group included Brisbane Lions recruit Mitch Clark. 

The others in this group whose work was limited were Lucas Cook, Aaron Davey, Michael Evans, Jack Grimes, Neville Jetta, Kelvin Lawrence, Jordie McKenzie, Ricky Petterd, Jake Spencer, James Strauss, Colin Sylvia and Luke Tapscott. 

For the more able bodied, the initial running was done in groups that appeared to be determined by aerobic capacity with the elite runners led by Nathan Jones, Rohan Bail and Clint Bartram. To the surprise of many, Jack Watts was in this group but Cale Morton (looking his usual thin self) was not. 

Future father/son Jack Viney looks every bit a part of the playing group although his 2012 season will be spent between school and the Scorpions. He is not tall but is well built for a 17 year old and didn't appear to skip a beat with the men. 

The big blokes were in the last lot of runners together with Jordan Gysberts and Sam Blease who trailed off badly and was first of the group to vomit in this pre season. He looks destined for a long, hard summer.

The work continued under the myriad eyes of the expanded coaching and fitness group but now the players were divided according to what appeared as playing ranks:-

Backs: Clint Bartram, Jamie Bennell, Troy Davis, 

Colin Garland, Joel Macdonald, Cale Morton and Jared Rivers.

Midfielders:  Rohan Bail, Matthew Bate, Max Gawn, Jordan Gysberts, Mark Jamar, Nathan Jones, Brent Moloney, Dan Nicholson and Jack 

Viney

Forwards: Sam Blease, Lynden Dunn, Jack Fitzpatrick, Jeremy Howe, Tom McDonald, Stefan Martin and Jack Watts.

A few surprises there but it is early days and the session had no special feel as yet with plenty of water to flow under the bridge. 

It is obvious that the club's football operations department is undergoing a seismic change - one that is much needed after the turmoil of the latter days of the Bailey regime. 

Neeld spoke to the media after training and reiterated that it was too early for major changes in the group to be noticed. After all, it was like his first day at school. The entire leadership group is up for grabs and won't be finalised until March.

A smaller group of players from Neeld's former club, Collingwood, was training next door. 

The 2011 Magpies were several classes above their Demon counterparts in most aspects of the way the game is played these days and, while it's true there were no major differences discernible among Neeld's charges yet and we were still in the same month as that in which the neighbour's lost their recent tilt at a premiership, there was a definite impression that before too long the gap would begin to narrow.