9 minutes ago, Roost It said:

Lovely be to see him m develop into best 22. Always love the hard workers 

But does he have the desired skill level?

2 minutes ago, old dee said:

But does he have the desired skill level?

I think he does, just needs more time You could do worse than having him as a regular backup

Edited November 7, 20177 yr by Roost It

3 minutes ago, Roost It said:

I think he does, just needs more time You could do worse than having him as a regular backup

That is the problem IMO at best he is a good back up.

 

1 hour ago, old dee said:

That is the problem IMO at best he is a good back up.

 

Maybe now he is (looks) a lot more physical he will play at a higher level too.   

9 hours ago, Biffen said:

He was such a small baby his mother was left without Stretch marks.

That's pathetic. You should be banned for such a mundane post. Forever.

I reckon Billy is tracking along nicely, he provides the run that we are lacking, he's just not quite damaging enough yet, but i think it'll come. 

1 hour ago, Lord Ivanhoe said:

It is said that Footy like many sports is a  game  'played between the ears'.

Good players play between their ears.  Great ones play between their opponents' ears. 

Try 'nick' instead of 'knick'. It's more gooder English.

21 hours ago, daisycutter said:

that's a nasty upper arm tumour you got there, red. i'd see a doc about that

Got the same on the other one.

On 11/7/2017 at 11:11 AM, mongrel said:

Mitch King. Our backup ruckman for 2018

From mfc website:  "...ruckman Mitch King caught Petracca’s eye....Mitch King has put on a bit of size ... about five or six kilos, so he’s looking a bit fitter and a bit stronger,”.  

It seems King has done a lot right during the break.  Hopefully he really comes on this year.  It will be good (and important) to 'keep Max honest' with competition building for the ruck spot and as a back up if Max breaks down again.  

King had bad luck going down early last year with a ruptured acl but he could be a surprise packet this year!  Wish him well.

On a different note, Weideman still looks pretty skinny... 

Billy is my pick for this years breakout

dam i used to love watching his old man sprinting like a Gazelle, bouncing the ball along the Members Wing and then shooting a 50 metre pass to CHF

Stephen could play in a very tough era...

11 minutes ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

On a different note, Weideman still looks pretty skinny... 

Had to be on Swan street mid-morning so I got down early to have a quick squiz for halfa today.

Weideman is actually filling out nicely. He is thicker through the upper body and legs and his arms are now looking bigger. He's got that hulking look already and in another couple of seasons, he'll have some big boy weight to throw around.

I'm more patient than a lot of demonlanders regarding Sam given his injury history, but this is the year I expect him to step it up. This will be his second full pre-season.

Having said that however, he was on light duties with Viney, Vanders and Tim Smith and he left early. Not sure if there's a niggle or not.

 

15 hours ago, McQueen said:

I’ve embarked on some fairly dedicated philosophy and mindfulness training myself this year. 

For the novice I highly recommend the Headspace app. 

With a commitment to making the time available (10 - 20 minutes per day) I’ve found it to have a considerable influence on my work and home life.

im interested to know more...

I drove along Swan street and saw Weideman walking with Vanders and Viney near AAMI park and I also thought he looked bigger and stronger. Might not be his year in 2018 yet but reckon he's tracking along nicely.

33 minutes ago, stevethemanjordan said:

Weideman is actually filling out nicely. He is thicker through the upper body and legs and his arms are now looking bigger. He's got that hulking look already and in another couple of seasons, he'll have some big boy weight to throw around.

 

 

17 minutes ago, Ruffles said:

I drove along Swan street and saw Weideman walking with Vanders and Viney near AAMI park and I also thought he looked bigger and stronger. Might not be his year in 2018 yet but reckon he's tracking along nicely.

Possibly just the angle of this pic at training that makes him look skinny especially in chest and legs. 

Delighted to hear your reports that he has bulked up and tracking well. 

He is an exciting prospect.

Edited November 8, 20177 yr by Lucifer's Hero

Are they training today, or did they come back for one session followed by a few more weeks off?

22 minutes ago, Petraccattack said:

Are they training today, or did they come back for one session followed by a few more weeks off?

 

2 hours ago, stevethemanjordan said:

Had to be on Swan street mid-morning so I got down early to have a quick squiz for halfa today.

Weideman is actually filling out nicely. He is thicker through the upper body and legs and his arms are now looking bigger. He's got that hulking look already and in another couple of seasons, he'll have some big boy weight to throw around.

I'm more patient than a lot of demonlanders regarding Sam given his injury history, but this is the year I expect him to step it up. This will be his second full pre-season.

Having said that however, he was on light duties with Viney, Vanders and Tim Smith and he left early. Not sure if there's a niggle or not.

 

Look and you shall find 'Petrac'...

Thanks for the update 'stevetheman'.

Edited November 8, 20177 yr by rjay

Interesting to note that Pendles, Treloar and Adams were back at training with the first to fourth year players over the road today. I think that's an impressive sign from the leaders and for anyone who needs to make a point if they're not best 22.

Seeing Viney was a positive, but aside from him there was nobody there that wasn't required back. Someone mentioned Pedo was at the Monday session which was good to see. I believe he's needed to do that over the past couple of years, good to see it's hit home for him.

The other one I'd like to see back a bit earlier would be Dean Kent. Have always thought he needs to trim down and work harder on his running. Hopefully we see him back a bit earlier.

 

Both ANB and Salem lead their running groups today which were 4 x 3 minute efforts.

Salem was very impressive in the second group leading Harmes and Brayshaw and ANB just looks so comfortable leading the running in group A.

Edited November 8, 20177 yr by stevethemanjordan

2 hours ago, rjay said:

 

Look and you shall find 'Petrac'...

Thanks for the update 'stevetheman'.

Oh true.

Nice work @stevethemanjordan

2 hours ago, stevethemanjordan said:

Seeing Viney was a positive, but aside from him there was nobody there that wasn't required back.

Think Viney was there because of the off-foot issues.

Take your point, but it's also important that players get/take the rest they need. It's a very long season, and running yourself into the ground by Christmas isn't the way to get through it, especially for more mature players. As always, it's a question of getting the balance right.

21 minutes ago, bing181 said:

Think Viney was there because of the off-foot issues.

Take your point, but it's also important that players get/take the rest they need. It's a very long season, and running yourself into the ground by Christmas isn't the way to get through it, especially for more mature players. As always, it's a question of getting the balance right.

There is also a workplace EBA.  There can be no pressure on any of them to come back early.  I’m sure they have plans for the off season for what they should do, and it is not reasonable to ask people to come back from their leave early for how it looks.  They should take their appropriate leave, just as you would expect your boss to offer you.  Then come back and get to work, as they are paid for.

3 hours ago, stevethemanjordan said:

Interesting to note that Pendles, Treloar and Adams were back at training with the first to fourth year players over the road today. I think that's an impressive sign from the leaders and for anyone who needs to make a point if they're not best 22.

These things can be a little like the old rah rah & rev ups the coaches used to give players before the game...all show and no go.

I'm not convinced it really means much or is of much benefit. From what I hear our boys have been working up some pretty hard sessions whilst on their break here and O/s...

Time out may be more valuable with a big season ahead.

It’s a good look with older players coming back and it gives the media a story. However I don’t mind players having the extra time. It looks like Gawn and Jones etc are doing some work overseas anyway. Also Jones and Gawn had soft tissue injuries last year so no need to rush back. Also Tmac has had his ankles done. 

It is good however to see the likes of Bugg and Pedersen back. There’s plenty of competition for spots next year. 

Players attending on Monday but not required to (AFAIK):

Viney, Salem, Kent, Frost, Pedo, JKH, Hunt, Frost.

Jones is usually always back earlier than required but (according to BF) is O/S or just back.

I'm just hoping for minimal injuries this off season.  I'd love to see us hit the ground running in Round 1 with our best 22 out there, or at least very close to it.

A focus on a Plan B with our gameplan wouldn't go astray either.  Once it was found out we had nothing to fall back on.