Went down to Casey Fields for an hour this morning. A beautiful sunny and non windy morning (a rarity for Casey) for the lads to train in. Was a bit of a treat to watch some footy given the 17 games spent watching in the lounge room last year. I took my viewing position behind the fence in the pleb section and saw everyone's favorite mercurial small forward of the mid 1990's -early 2000's watching his son and the boys intently.

I picked a great day for it as it was essentially an intra club game, for the 60 minutes I was there. They had the blue team with numbers on versus the white team with no numbers, and given the blue team won 9.5 to 3.1 you could probably imagine the blue boys had the much stronger line up! (More game simulation may have continued after I left at 11???)

The standard looked OK but given I haven't been to a training session since a week before the infamous 2013 season started, I have nothing to compare.

Notes for the blue team:

Petracca - looked a million bucks rotating through midfield and forward and kind of looks a class above everyone else - not sure if that's a positive or a negative? His chizzling kicks and overhead marking is a thing of beauty.

Hunt - played as a half back flanker circa 2016/2017. Looked ok.

T Mac - Played wing in the first half of the session. Then as the third key/floating fwd in the second half. Looks fit, no issues. 

B Brown - Kicked 2 difficult set shots that essentially nobody at the club can drill. Very excited to have him at the club. Will probably kick a lot of goals via free kicks.

Harmes - Played exclusively in the centre square and did not play well. Seems a distance away from 2018 and isn't excelling at any position at the moment (ie -since 2019)

Tomlinson - Looks settled down back as a key defender, continuing on from his late season recovery after the wing failure. May was in rehab but I think Tomlinson will be there regardless come round 1.

Jordon - Not sure if he'll make it but he was heavily involved today through the middle of the ground and featured in many transitions towards the forward 50. Moves well and I reckon he'll play games this year.

Lockhart - Starting back pocket while Jetta was in the white side.

Fritsch - Becoming one of my favs. 2 or 3 goals and adds some class to our forward line. Kicked a nice set shot today.

Gawn - Nailed a nice set shot today.

Spargo - I'll have to wash my mouth out with soap but Charles looked good at half forward, involved in a fair bit of play.

The new draftees played for the white side. 

REHAB Boys:

May, Brayshaw, Vanders, Pickett and Smith. I suspect May, Pickett and Smith are injured as this pre-season is too short for players to miss back to back sessions for no good reason.

Jackson ran laps.

Didn't see Hibberd or Melksham. Not sure if Viney was absent or playing for the white side.

Hopefully there were other posters at Casey today who can add to the above, and provide a more ""footy technical" training report. 

 

 

Edited January 22, 20214 yr by Bring-Back-Powell

Great report.  Thanks.

Really good observation about players in rehab "this pre-season is too short for players to miss back to back sessions for no good reason". 

I'm hoping that Vand is in rehab because he missed the first few weeks of training rather than injury worries.  And hopefully, Pickett and May are out of rehab soon.  Brayshaw may be there for a while given his foot surgery.

Out of interest were you able to get into the ground or did you have to watch from outside the cyclone fence?

Edited January 22, 20214 yr by Lucifer's Hero

We have gone from boiled lollies to chocolates these past few days with training reports. Very much appreciated BBP and others.

Not relevant to this thread except to help give fans a live footy fix (no where else to post it on the main forum):

The women's comp starts next week and our games are:

Saturday, January 30:  Gold Coast v Melbourne at Metricon Stadium, 2.10pm AEST

Saturday, February 6:  Melbourne v Richmond at Casey Fields, 5.10pm AEDT

Live footy at Casey!

Edited January 22, 20214 yr by Lucifer's Hero

33 minutes ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

Great report.  Thanks.

Really good observation about players in rehab "this pre-season is too short for players to miss back to back sessions for no good reason". 

I'm hoping that Vand is in rehab because he missed the first few weeks of training rather than injury worries.  And hopefully, Pickett and May are out of rehab soon.  Brayshaw may be there for a while given his foot surgery.

Out of interest were you able to get into the ground or did you have to watch from outside the cyclone fence?

Thanks LH.

Yes, given the short pre season you'd have to think May has a niggle of some sort. Hopefully he gets back to main training ASAP as he clearly benefits from a healthy pre season.

I watched from outside the cyclone fence (behind the Wiz who was inside) on the outer wing and could see most of the play. I didn't even try to get into the ground given that other posters have a had a few issues so far. I'm assuming COVID protocols essentially bans supporters from coming in??

Gonna vom if we play T Mac on a wing 

Excellent work the last 7 days ‘landers. Warming up the supporters nicely for the season with the latest reports, been a long time coming. 

I only really care about our recent draftees. how did they look?

1 hour ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

Gawn - Nailed a nice set shot today.

No way! This has to be fake news.

 

17 minutes ago, Dr.D said:

I only really care about our recent draftees. how did they look?

They were in the white jumpers with no numbers so barely noticed them and had my eye on the blue team.

I think it was Rosman that shanked a kick 10 metres straight to the oppo and the neighboring suburbs apparently heard the expletive that was attached to the turnover.

Laurie provided a nice field kick to someone (pleasingly of the same jumper)

Didn't notice the Sam Blease look a like (forgotten his name)

 

 

Edited January 22, 20214 yr by Bring-Back-Powell

5 minutes ago, Ron Burgundy said:

No way! This has to be fake news.

 

It was near 50. His comfort zone. Anything closer and you can write your own ticket.

1 hour ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

Thanks LH.

Yes, given the short pre season you'd have to think May has a niggle of some sort. Hopefully he gets back to main training ASAP as he clearly benefits from a healthy pre season.

I watched from outside the cyclone fence (behind the Wiz who was inside) on the outer wing and could see most of the play. I didn't even try to get into the ground given that other posters have a had a few issues so far. I'm assuming COVID protocols essentially bans supporters from coming in??

Thanks for the report BBP it is always great to have some feedback on how the boys are going.

Edited January 22, 20214 yr by nosoupforme

Sen just reported Marty Hore may have done a knee and going in for scans 

3 minutes ago, DeeZee said:

Sen just reported Marty Hore may have done a knee and going in for scans 

That's a shame for him and our defensive depth.

Below is a report from the professionals. Didn't realise Oliver missed the session as well.

https://www.afl.com.au/news/542321/scans-for-dees-defender-after-knee-injury-big-forward-stars

1 hour ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

Yes, given the short pre season you'd have to think May has a niggle of some sort. Hopefully he gets back to main training ASAP as he clearly benefits from a healthy pre season

Gawn and Gus mentioned in their podcast that May rolled his ankle over the Xmas break and it's still working back to full training.

 

 

 

Edited January 22, 20214 yr by ArtificialWisdom
Added via at may comment

21 minutes ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

That's a shame for him and our defensive depth.

Below is a report from the professionals. Didn't realise Oliver missed the session as well.

https://www.afl.com.au/news/542321/scans-for-dees-defender-after-knee-injury-big-forward-stars

Its hard to see everything. I'm guessing some of the issues happened after you left.

Thanks, a good article.  It confirms much of your report. 

I've taken the liberty of summarising it for those that just want a snap shot:

"MELBOURNE defender Marty Hore is headed for scans after injuring his knee in a crunching tackle at Demons training on Friday morning.

Reigning best and fairest Christian Petracca also looked in discomfort early in the two-and-a-half-hour session after copping a heavy knock to his left shoulder.

While he was taken from the field for assessment, the midfield gun returned moments later with the shoulder strapped and finished the hit-out unencumbered". 

Sounds like the tackling is quite fierce!  Hoping we don't have to much 'friendly fire' injures in the pre-season!

"Forward recruit Ben Brown impressed during one hour of match simulation, booting three goals with his typical long run-up and dead-eye approach on goal.

The 28-year-old later jarred his finger but was able to join teammates for running efforts that closed out the morning.

Brown combined in the forward 50 with Sam Weideman, while a lively Bayley Fritsch alternated between attack and the wing with a leaner Tom McDonald. 

Steven May sat out the match play due to a minor ankle injury but will return next week and was among a group of six who were put through lighter drills on the secondary oval.

He was joined by Clayton Oliver, who was managed for loads, Joel Smith, Kysaiah Pickett, Angus Brayshaw and Aaron vandenBerg, who is easing back after being forced to quarantine following a stint in NSW over his break.

Second-year tall Luke Jackson was reduced to running laps after reporting recent Achilles awareness and will be back in full training next week alongside draftee Jake Bowey, who nursed a corked calf.

Veteran Michael Hibberd was restricted to watching on and assisting coaches, still recovering from an ankle injury, while Harrison Petty (groin) missed".

Sounds like the minor injuries are building up.

 

And on the really positive side:

In defence, Jake Lever excelled alongside Adam Tomlinson and Jay Lockhart who played a lockdown role in the stronger 'A' side.

Jayden Hunt played off half-back in the same line-up and will settle in defence this season after several years playing as a half-forward.

Captain Max Gawn showed no signs of the knee injury that hampered parts of his 2020, covering the ground with ease for the entire session.

Jack Viney impressed in the midfield and landed a heavy blow on Weideman that left the forward rattled, while first-round pick Bailey Laurie was clean in congestion.

Kobe Farmer, the son of Demons great Jeff, booted one goal and showed promising signs as he vies for one of two vacant rookie spots ahead of the season.

 

If Cleary gives us that write-up for each session we won't have to trek to Casey.

Edited January 22, 20214 yr by Lucifer's Hero

11 minutes ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

Jack Viney impressed in the midfield and landed a heavy blow on Weideman that left the forward rattled

 

Thanks for those who can get out to training and provide their views! I'm interested if any DLs saw this exchange, for 2 reasons:

(1) Was is just an opportunistic tackle from Viney or was he generally very aggressive all round (I'm hoping he's going to take the aggression up this year as I think he's more valuable getting 20 touches and 10 bone crunching tackles than getting 30 touches and 3 or 4 tackles) 

(2) How was Weid's reaction, some guys really fire up and play their best after getting a big shot, and I think Weid needs some sort of physicality early in a game to play his best. If he jumped up and played on then getting hit hard might be the best thing for him.

47 minutes ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

Its hard to see everything. I'm guessing some of the issues happened after you left.

 

Yes they must have, although the Hore injury may have happened before I got there as I didn't see him out there.

I saw Ben Brown bothered by his hand and began to panic. Hopefully all good there and he completed the session.

Petracca looked a million bucks and didn't seem bothered by his shoulder.

I didn't see the Viney/Weideman hit, and didn't even realise Viney played. He must have been in the no numbers white team.

 

 

 

2 hours ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

Went down to Casey Fields for an hour this morning. A beautiful sunny and non windy morning (a rarity for Casey) for the lads to train in. Was a bit of a treat to watch some footy given the 17 games spent watching in the lounge room last year. I took my viewing position behind the fence in the pleb section and saw everyone's favorite mercurial small forward of the mid 1990's -early 2000's watching his son and the boys intently.

I picked a great day for it as it was essentially an intra club game, for the 60 minutes I was there. They had the blue team with numbers on versus the white team with no numbers, and given the blue team won 9.5 to 3.1 you could probably imagine the blue boys had the much stronger line up! (More game simulation may have continued after I left at 11???)

The standard looked OK but given I haven't been to a training session since a week before the infamous 2013 season started, I have nothing to compare.

Notes for the blue team:

Petracca - looked a million bucks rotating through midfield and forward and kind of looks a class above everyone else - not sure if that's a positive or a negative? His chizzling kicks and overhead marking is a thing of beauty.

Hunt - played as a half back flanker circa 2016/2017. Looked ok.

T Mac - Played wing in the first half of the session. Then as the third key/floating fwd in the second half. Looks fit, no issues. 

B Brown - Kicked 2 difficult set shots that essentially nobody at the club can drill. Very excited to have him at the club. Will probably kick a lot of goals via free kicks.

Harmes - Played exclusively in the centre square and did not play well. Seems a distance away from 2018 and isn't excelling at any position at the moment (ie -since 2019)

Tomlinson - Looks settled down back as a key defender, continuing on from his late season recovery after the wing failure. May was in rehab but I think Tomlinson will be there regardless come round 1.

Jordon - Not sure if he'll make it but he was heavily involved today through the middle of the ground and featured in many transitions towards the forward 50. Moves well and I reckon he'll play games this year.

Lockhart - Starting back pocket while Jetta was in the white side.

Fritsch - Becoming one of my favs. 2 or 3 goals and adds some class to our forward line. Kicked a nice set shot today.

Gawn - Nailed a nice set shot today.

Spargo - I'll have to wash my mouth out with soap but Charles looked good at half forward, involved in a fair bit of play.

The new draftees played for the white side. 

REHAB Boys:

May, Brayshaw, Vanders, Pickett and Smith. I suspect May, Pickett and Smith are injured as this pre-season is too short for players to miss back to back sessions for no good reason.

Jackson ran laps.

Didn't see Hibberd or Melksham. Not sure if Viney was absent or playing for the white side.

Hopefully there were other posters at Casey today who can add to the above, and provide a more ""footy technical" training report. 

 

 

Good summary, i was also there watching from outside leaning up against what resembled prison bars.

Petracca gave his all in the intraclub  and was knackered when he came off.

Jordan featured a few times.

Brown at FF looked good.

Hibberd in rehab saw him a couple of times.  Bowey came off very early before match sim with hopefully only a little niggle.  Did not seem bothered by it but went into the rooms for a while.

Jackson had an easy day not taking part in the match sim or drills.  Had his top off on the way in and has added a good few kilos of muscle.  Looks like he is serious about his footy - in serious good shape for his age. TMac has trimmed down but still looks pretty  big as he is big framed.

Concentrated on ball movement. Looked sharp. Choco took an early drill concentrating on well placed short kicking. 

Another drill concentrated on moving the ball wide from inside to outside.

Rosnan for the white jumpered team kept presenting time after time which was good but other options were taken in the main. His turn will come. Is tall, quick and took a good mark.

Overall impressed by what i saw.

 

 

3 hours ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

Not relevant to this thread except to help give fans a live footy fix (no where else to post it on the main forum):

The women's comp starts next week and our games are:

Saturday, January 30:  Gold Coast v Melbourne at Metricon Stadium, 2.10pm AEST

Saturday, February 6:  Melbourne v Richmond at Casey Fields, 5.10pm AEDT

Live footy at Casey!

When and where do they train?

35 minutes ago, manny100 said:

Good summary, i was also there watching from outside leaning up against what resembled prison bars.

Petracca gave his all in the intraclub  and was knackered when he came off.

Jordan featured a few times.

Brown at FF looked good.

Hibberd in rehab saw him a couple of times.  Bowey came off very early before match sim with hopefully only a little niggle.  Did not seem bothered by it but went into the rooms for a while.

Jackson had an easy day not taking part in the match sim or drills.  Had his top off on the way in and has added a good few kilos of muscle.  Looks like he is serious about his footy - in serious good shape for his age. TMac has trimmed down but still looks pretty  big as he is big framed.

Concentrated on ball movement. Looked sharp. Choco took an early drill concentrating on well placed short kicking. 

Another drill concentrated on moving the ball wide from inside to outside.

Rosnan for the white jumpered team kept presenting time after time which was good but other options were taken in the main. His turn will come. Is tall, quick and took a good mark.

Overall impressed by what i saw.

 

 

Anyone know who was playing on BBB?

15 minutes ago, bush demon said:

When and where do they train?

They train at Gosch's paddock and I think it is in the evening as many have day jobs.  Will try and find out more details.

The teams were picked with one team full of the guys who have been training well and those who would most likely have been picked in a game if we had it today against a team of the rest.

My source from within the club was talking up the Weed to me as well, really rating how he has trained and become stronger and is looking really impressive, for what it’s worth.

10 minutes ago, Sydee said:

Anyone know who was playing on BBB?

Nobody of note given Lever and Tomlinson were on the same side and May, Petty and Hore were sidelined.

Having said that it was nice to see a full forward nailing set shots from 45 mtrs out on a tough angle. He kicked 2 goals on angles - one on his preferred and 1 on his non preferred.

It’s rare for any of our players to be kicking goals on sharp angles.

There was an instance today when Petracca took a mark close to the boundary line on his non preferred side, 45 mtrs out. Mark Williams was offering some very loud encouragement but he couldn’t nail the shot. BBB nailed the shot from almost the same spot a shot time later.

Edited January 22, 20214 yr by Bring-Back-Powell

3 minutes ago, Yokozuna said:

The teams were picked with one team full of the guys who have been training well and those who would most likely have been picked in a game if we had it today against a team of the rest.

My source from within the club was talking up the Weed to me as well, really rating how he has trained and become stronger and is looking really impressive, for what it’s worth.

Sounds like the old 'possibles' vs 'probables' from the days of yore .... for those who go back that far.