Jump to content

Training - Tuesday 18th March, 2014

Earl Hood
Earl Hood
in Melbourne Demons

Featured Replies

Posted

I managed to get down to training this morning, not many spectators there. The boys all came together in the middle about 15 minutes in. Roosey announced something and there was a big cheer. I am guessing he announced Alex G's elevation off the rookie list. There were many high fives and a few Mr Bean references.

Hogan, Viney doing a few run throughs over to the side early, then disappeared.

Jamar doing laps but did get involved in at least one routine where both he and big Max played as lead up forwards. Gee Max should be a handful playing deep forward if we had control of the midfield. He took a couple cleanly at full extension, what nine feet up and took one cleanly off his boot straps, swung round and put it through.

Fitzy was doing the same up the other end, leading up well and taking clean marks. My only concern was that he often took the mark at full extension above his head on the run. He should be timing his run to take those out in front away from a backman's fists.

I took a day off with a bad cold but work keeps calling. I will provide some more observations a little later.

  • Quote
    •  

    Was Dawes anywhere to be seen?

    The herald sun made a brief reference to him possibly playing against West Coast but that seems optimistic.

    I would say more likely round 6 v Sydney after 2 games at Casey.

  • Quote
    •  
    • Author

    Some more observations

    I didn't see Dawes or Mitch as we know.

    The hyphen, Kent and Strauss were running laps. So was Tapscotts early, gee he looks fit and powerful. He took part in most of the routines before jogging off a bit early, knee is still strapped up but he was moving well and was clean by hand and foot.

    But keep in mind today's routines were run under minimal pressure, it seemed to be about honing the skills of kicking on the run to a leading target, running into space, presenting, looking for the best option. Generally our kicking was good, fast and low to a lead. The was some sloppy stuff from the three B's, Byrne, Blease and Barry occasionally. Blease moves so well but struggles at times with his decision making and some poor disposal. He stuffed up one routine and copped a spray from N Jones but took it well and got it right the next time.

    When they broke up into their groups the forward group was Fitzy, Pedo, Howe, Toumpas, Bail, Blease and Byrne. Did some innocuous leading and kicking to each other, not sure what it was achieving really. I watched Howe closely for much of the session, never saw him fumble a ball on the ground or in the air, he is looking really sharp.

    By the way there was some new bloke leading out from the goal square, if I didn't know better I would swear it was Lucas Cook!!! Oh no come to think of it It was Max King doing lead ups with Fitzy.

    Watts trained with the midfield group everytime. In the last exercise the ball was rolled at a mid who then had to try and crash his way through 4 or 5 guys holding big pads, you get the feel of body contact without the bruising. Jack got through this pretty well I thought so did Bernie V who at one stage got completely bowled over. Jones, Evans, Tyson, Cross, Riley all got involved. N Jones seemed to in everything, much higher profile than Grimes on the field I thought. First time I have seen Mitchie he moved well and looks fit and a good size

    I think M Jones was working with the backline group. At the end Frawley and MacDonald were going one on one as a coach kicked the ball up high to them. They did a lot of body on body and spoiling work. Grimes, Terlich, Jetta, Frawley, MacDonald, Dunn, Alex G with a big smile all doing a lot of punching away to high balls and running onto the loose ball to set up a clearance.

    I get the impression that Riley is a bit of a joker, always seemed to be smiling and having some running gag with a couple of the assistant coaches. He seems un impeded to me, moved well in the routines, ran some serious laps at the end. Doesn't have the most athletic build on the field, he is pretty solid.

  • Quote

    Cheers for the report!

    I've missed the training reports.

    Even though Roos said Max would play at Casey, any chance you think if he trained well enough he may be selected?

  • Quote

    Understand what you are saying and while it is definitely preferable for him to mark with arms stretched forward, if he is taking marks stretching overhead, defenders are going to have to go the chop of the arms and it will be blatantly obvious.

    Fitzy was doing the same up the other end, leading up well and taking clean marks. My only concern was that he often took the mark at full extension above his head on the run. He should be timing his run to take those out in front away from a backman's fists.

  • Quote

    I'm calling it now - Aiden Riley - will be a huge pickup for us

    ( Note- I called early on Newton, Bate and Gysberts so my track recording on calling is pretty uninspiring)

  • Quote
    •  

    I'm calling it now - Aiden Riley - will be a huge pickup for us

    ( Note- I called early on Newton, Bate and Gysberts so my track recording on calling is pretty uninspiring)

    Love it nutbean

    Keep going you have got to crack one some day.

  • Quote

    • Author

    Thanks Hood, any news on Garland?

    No I didn't sight him

  • Quote
    • Author

    Cheers for the report!

    I've missed the training reports.

    Even though Roos said Max would play at Casey, any chance you think if he trained well enough he may be selected?

    Well I thought he trained well. He is moving freely, showed that he is quite agile below his knees, handled the ball well and looked like he would be a handful playing deep forward if we kept pumping it in. Spencer is the main man at the moment, he was involved in all the midfield work. Whether Max plays or not may depend on the Saints ruck division. I don't know how they are placed after they lost McEvoy. Spencer, Fitzy and Max together may be seen as a bit top heavy.

  • Quote

    Well I thought he trained well. He is moving freely, showed that he is quite agile below his knees, handled the ball well and looked like he would be a handful playing deep forward if we kept pumping it in. Spencer is the main man at the moment, he was involved in all the midfield work. Whether Max plays or not may depend on the Saints ruck division. I don't know how they are placed after they lost McEvoy. Spencer, Fitzy and Max together may be seen as a bit top heavy.

    I reckon they will expect Hickey to do the majority of the ruck work so having Gawn and Spencer might give us an advantage if we can run him off his legs, particularly given how much stronger our midfield will be, gee it's strange saying that.

  • Quote

    I'm calling it now - Aiden Riley - will be a huge pickup for us

    ( Note- I called early on Newton, Bate and Gysberts so my track recording on calling is pretty uninspiring)

    Has anyone nailed one yet haha! Come on Morton, Deeko still has faith!!

  • Quote

    Has anyone nailed one yet haha! Come on Morton, Deeko still has faith!!

    Actually - I was onboard Howe when he was mentioned pre-draft and I saw his highlight package.

  • Quote

    Really looking forward to see what Riley will deliver for us. I would think that he will be upgraded to the senior list as soon as possible and they will put Clark on the LTI list at the same time. One player that will require some coaches focus is Toumpas - He seems a very driven individual who sets himself very high standards and goals and thus careful guidance and management of him if he indeed spends some weeks playing for Cassey.

  • Quote

    Great reports Hood.

    I'm up FNQ.

    Could you add ay to the end of each statement?

  • Quote

    Great reports Hood.

    I'm up FNQ.

    Could you add ay to the end of each statement?

    ay

  • Quote

    Great reports Hood.

    I'm up FNQ.

    Could you add ay to the end of each statement?

    You need more drawl on the ay... More like ayyyyyy

  • Quote
    •  

    I'm up FNQ.

    Oh come on! It's not that bad up there is it?

  • Quote

    • Archived

    This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

    Go to topic listing

    Featured Content

    • GAMEDAY: Fremantle

      It’s Game Day, and the Demons return to the MCG wounded, undermanned and desperate. Still searching for their first win of the season, Melbourne faces a daunting task against the Fremantle Dockers. With key pillars missing at both ends of the ground, the Dees must find a way to rise above the adversity and ignite their season before it slips way beyond reach. Will today be the spark that turns it all around, or are we staring down the barrel of a 0–6 start?

        • Sad
      • 64 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • PREVIEW: Fremantle

      A month is a long time in AFL football. The proof of this is in the current state of the two teams contesting against each other early this Saturday afternoon at the MCG. It’s hard to fathom that when Melbourne and Fremantle kicked off the 2025 season, the former looked like being a major player in this year’s competition after it came close to beating one of the favourites in the GWS Giants while the latter was smashed by Geelong to the tune of 78 points and looked like rubbish. Fast forward to today and the Demons are low on confidence and appear panic stricken as their winless streak heads towards an even half dozen and pressure mounts on the coach and team leadership.  Meanwhile, the Dockers have recovered their composure and now sit in the top eight. They are definitely on the up and up and look most likely winners this weekend against a team which they have recently dominated and which struggles to find enough passages to the goals to trouble the scorers. And with that, Fremantle will head to the MCG, feeling very good about itself after demolishing Richmond in the Barossa Valley with Josh Treacy coming off a six goal haul and facing up to a Melbourne defence already without Jake Lever and a shaky Steven May needing to pass a fitness test just to make it onto the field of play. 

      • 0 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • NON-MFC: Round 06

      The Easter Round kicks off in style with a Thursday night showdown between Brisbane and Collingwood, as both sides look to solidify their spots inside the Top 4 early in the season. Good Friday brings a double-header, with Carlton out to claim consecutive wins when they face the struggling Kangaroos, while later that night the Eagles host the Bombers in Perth, still chasing their first victory of the year. Saturday features another marquee clash as the resurgent Crows look to rebound from back-to-back losses against a formidable GWS outfit. That evening, all eyes will be on Marvel Stadium where Damien Hardwick returns to face his old side—the Tigers—coaching the Suns at a ground he's never hidden his disdain for. Sunday offers two crucial contests where the prize is keeping touch with the Top 8. First, Sydney and Port Adelaide go head-to-head, followed by a fierce battle between the Bulldogs and the Saints. Then, Easter Monday delivers the traditional clash between two bitter rivals, both desperate for a win to stay in touch with the top end of the ladder. Who are you tipping this week and what are the best results for the Demons?

        • Thumb Down
        • Like
      • 201 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • REPORT: Essendon

      What were they thinking? I mean by “they” the coaching panel and team selectors who chose the team to play against an opponent who, like Melbourne, had made a poor start to the season and who they appeared perfectly capable of beating in what was possibly the last chance to turn the season around.It’s no secret that the Demons’ forward line is totally dysfunctional, having opened the season barely able to average sixty points per game which means there has been no semblance of any system from the team going forward into attack. Nevertheless, on Saturday night at the Adelaide Oval in one of the Gather Round showcase games, Melbourne, with Max Gawn dominating the hit outs against a depleted Essendon ruck resulting from Nick Bryan’s early exit, finished just ahead in clearances won and found itself inside the 50 metre arc 51 times to 43. The end result was a final score that had the Bombers winning 15.6 (96) to 8.9 (57). On balance, one could expect this to result in a two or three goal win, but in this case, it translated into a six and a half goal defeat because they only managed to convert eight times or 11.68% of their entries. The Bombers more than doubled that. On Thursday night at the same ground, the losing team Adelaide managed to score 100 points from almost the same number of times inside 50.

      • 0 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • PODCAST: Essendon

      The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Monday, 14th April @ the all new time of 8:00pm. Join Binman, George & I as we dissect another Demons loss at Kardinia Park to the Cats in the Round 04. Your questions and comments are a huge part of our podcast so please post anything you want to ask or say below and we'll give you a shout out on the show. If you would like to leave us a voicemail please call 03 9016 3666 and don't worry no body answers so you don't have to talk to a human.

        • Clap
      • 63 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • PREGAME: Fremantle

      The Demons return home to the MCG in search of their first win for the 2025 Premiership season when they take on the Fremantle Dockers on Saturday afternoon. Who comes in and who goes out?

        • Thanks
        • Like
      • 477 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland
    View All