Jump to content

Featured Replies

  • Author
2 minutes ago, Deeoldfart said:

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

That’s exactly what it looked like.

The only regular blokes i recognised from the whites were Mitch Brown up forward,  Jetta down back, possibly Viney and Baker as well as the draftees.

 
4 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. 

 

 

 

Ermahgerd.jpg

4 hours ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

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.

this was confirmed in the afl.com.au report

2 hours ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

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

hopefully lookalike is the only thing they have in common and maybe speed?

18 minutes ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

That’s exactly what it looked like.

The only regular blokes i recognised from the whites were Mitch Brown up forward,  Jetta down back, possibly Viney and Baker as well as the draftees.

not ideal for baker as a 4th year player with basically a straight shot at the wing possie in the snr's to be in the 'B' side. i hope it doesn't take him 15 weeks to crack a game this year but i get the feeling he's gonna be a close but not quite type with Hunt's move to HB to free up Salo/Riv to move up the ground combined with the jacko/tmac wing possibility too

 
5 hours ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

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.

Did  Jordon play with the Blue team or White team?

Thanks for making the effort BBP and for the detailed report.


Marty Hore ACL confirmed ????

can't get any luck this man, hopefully they give him a gig at seasons end and give him a chance to get himself right coz i really like what he offers 

https://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/852887/hore-suffers-acl-injury

my thought process and its an unpopular one which i dont think i like but the club might consider, Cal Moore is probably the front runner for Carltons 1 SSP spot due to Curnow's injuries right, so does OMac get a last resort chance as a relatively like-for-like mature defensive option who knows the club in the knowledge that he's purely a depth player and is unlikely to be called upon?

Other recently delisted similar options could be:

  • Sam Skinner -swingman (delisted by BL training at NM)
  • Hugh Goddard/Harry Macreadie (blues)
  • Majak?
  • Jono Marsh (StK)
  • Lewis Jetta
  • Suckling

 

 

4 hours ago, adonski said:

Gonna vom if we play T Mac on a wing 

Pretty surw Gonna Vom plays for Essendon. 

But back to the thread; I'm really pleased to hearthat Brown still has his lovely long straight kick. Part of his appeal is that you don't need to get the ball in really close to goal to realistically expect a goal from him.  That's why he also often is is allowed enough space to give a birst lead, gain a few steps ahead of his opponent and then meet the ball at the top of his long-armed 200cm height, leaving defenders with nothing they can do except chop at his arms from behind.

Which is why he gets a lot of goals from free kicks.

It was true when he was at North and it'll still be true when he's with us. There's Youtube videos of 'every goal by Brown' and its unmistakable that most of those free kick goals epuld have been mark goals anyway. 

Sorry, rant over.

Other thought; it wluld be a sublime kind of MFCSS to imagine that now we've recruited multiple other potential small forwards, Spargo came good and we were left with a traffic jam of high draft picks struggling to find a role. ?

  • Author
42 minutes ago, Baghdad Bob said:

Did  Jordon play with the Blue team or White team?

Thanks for making the effort BBP and for the detailed report.

Thanks BB.

Jordan was certainly in the blue team wearing the #23.

As mentioned before, he was one of the more involved in the match sim. Can’t put my finger on it but he looks like a likely type at AFL level. We’ll see what happens.

ANB was also very busy alternating between half forward and midfield.

 
1 minute ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

Thanks BB.

Jordan was certainly in the blue team wearing the #23.

As mentioned before, he was one of the more involved in the match sim. Can’t put my finger on it but he looks like a likely type at AFL level. We’ll see what happens.

ANB was also very busy alternating between half forward and midfield.

Great report Powell. How was young Kobe Farmer and Deakyn Smith.

  • Author
16 minutes ago, Little Goffy said:

Pretty surw Gonna Vom plays for Essendon. 

But back to the thread; I'm really pleased to hearthat Brown still has his lovely long straight kick. Part of his appeal is that you don't need to get the ball in really close to goal to realistically expect a goal from him.  That's why he also often is is allowed enough space to give a birst lead, gain a few steps ahead of his opponent and then meet the ball at the top of his long-armed 200cm height, leaving defenders with nothing they can do except chop at his arms from behind.

Which is why he gets a lot of goals from free kicks.

It was true when he was at North and it'll still be true when he's with us. There's Youtube videos of 'every goal by Brown' and its unmistakable that most of those free kick goals epuld have been mark goals anyway. 

Sorry, rant over.

Other thought; it wluld be a sublime kind of MFCSS to imagine that now we've recruited multiple other potential small forwards, Spargo came good and we were left with a traffic jam of high draft picks struggling to find a role. ?

Brown kicked beautifully today albeit missed one challenging set shot he could’ve got.

If he plays 20 + games this year, I can’t see how he doesn’t kick at least 40 goals this year. He is such a professional goal kicker.


  • Author
Just now, dazzledavey36 said:

Great report Powell. How was young Kobe Farmer and Deakyn Smith.

Thanks mate.

Sorry, I couldn’t keep up with the white team. They didn’t have numbers on their backs and most of them had caps on to make it even harder to tell.

The only bit of Kobe I saw was a set shot from 30 that he just missed. Apparently kicked a goal from reports.

Hopefully trackwatchers next week can keep an eye on him. His Dad was encouraging him from the sidelines.

2 minutes ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

Brown kicked beautifully today albeit missed one challenging set shot he could’ve got.

If he plays 20 + games this year, I can’t see how he doesn’t kick at least 40 goals this year. He is such a professional goal kicker.

40 goals from a Demon player,  really sets the rest up, well I hope it does, a good start to win  few games one reliable forward

1 hour ago, Turner said:

Marty Hore ACL confirmed ????

can't get any luck this man, hopefully they give him a gig at seasons end and give him a chance to get himself right coz i really like what he offers 

https://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/852887/hore-suffers-acl-injury

my thought process and its an unpopular one which i dont think i like but the club might consider, Cal Moore is probably the front runner for Carltons 1 SSP spot due to Curnow's injuries right, so does OMac get a last resort chance as a relatively like-for-like mature defensive option who knows the club in the knowledge that he's purely a depth player and is unlikely to be called upon?

Other recently delisted similar options could be:

  • Sam Skinner -swingman (delisted by BL training at NM)
  • Hugh Goddard/Harry Macreadie (blues)
  • Majak?
  • Jono Marsh (StK)
  • Lewis Jetta
  • Suckling

 

 

I think with have enough depth in the backline: 

Lever | May | Tomlinson | T Mac | Hibbo | Jetta | Lockhart | Salem | Smith | Hunt (seems to be down back again). 

Just get Wiz jnr on the list

8 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. 

 

 

See I told you there is no way he is playing wing for us... #fingeronthepulse

8 hours ago, Docs Demons said:

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

We’ve gone for chocies to boiled lollies on the injury front by the sounds of it. Dang.

Thanks for all the training reports. The heartening common thread to see is that Tommy Mac is fitter and apparently injury free at this stage. Great news. And Trac is continuing to star. Lots to look forward to.


4 hours ago, Turner said:

Marty Hore ACL confirmed ????

can't get any luck this man, hopefully they give him a gig at seasons end and give him a chance to get himself right coz i really like what he offers 

https://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/852887/hore-suffers-acl-injury

my thought process and its an unpopular one which i dont think i like but the club might consider, Cal Moore is probably the front runner for Carltons 1 SSP spot due to Curnow's injuries right, so does OMac get a last resort chance as a relatively like-for-like mature defensive option who knows the club in the knowledge that he's purely a depth player and is unlikely to be called upon?

Other recently delisted similar options could be:

  • Sam Skinner -swingman (delisted by BL training at NM)
  • Hugh Goddard/Harry Macreadie (blues)
  • Majak?
  • Jono Marsh (StK)
  • Lewis Jetta
  • Suckling

 

 

I suspect that  by the seasons end Unfortunately All our Half back flankers/ defenders will have I MO passed Hore in talent and achievement.

Hore's problem is that he is older and can't mind either talls  ( not strong enough ) and smalls ( not quick enough) and mark intercepting is his main skill. Virtually a Lever clone so don't need 2 of them. Sad that he is injured never the less and he doesn't deserve this fate.

 

Had a look down at Casey today for training. I’m not the best training observer and the view wasn’t the best as you have to stand on the outside fence. So can’t go up to the boundary.

Trac hasn’t missed a beat. Dominated the match practice. Played through the midfield.


Ben Brown presented well and kicked a couple if not more. A big unit and as expected has long run up. 

Fritsch looked sharp up forward. 

Tmac played mainly a high half forward role I thought. Turns out wing/forward. Got a bit of it and looked to be moving well.

James Jordon played through the midfield in what seemed to be the A team. Got a bit of the footy. 

Rosman I didn’t notice too much in match practice. But took a nice grab playing forward. He’s a big unit. And moves well.

Bowey seemed to injure himself early in the session. Came off and rode a stationary bike. Then came back out later with some skills stuff. Didn’t look like anything serious. 

Chocco has them doing a fair bit of skills stuff. Starting out with short kicks then longer type drills

I thought the skills looked pretty good and there seems to be a focus on moving the ball quickly out of congestion. 

Jackson didn’t do much but was out there early and then later. Maybe having a light day or has a niggle. Didn’t seem injured. (Read afterwards he has Achilles awareness and will be back training next week)

Gus I believe did some skills work

Hibberd didn’t seem to do any training. I saw him kitted up but maybe doing work inside as he walked past a couple of times. 

Petty seems to be in full training. I thought I saw him in match sim. But seems no one else did. 

Harmes seems to be back in the midfield. Got a bit of the footy.

Also I thought Spargo and ANB were lively up forward.

I also thought I saw Melksham participating in the skills work pre the match sim. But I think others have reported he missed. However I’m sure it was him. 

Great read and thanks for the report. 

For those that attended, did ANB play in the blue team? 
 

I’m glad to hear Spargo had continued his form of last year too. He did some nice things last year and was unfairly in and out of the team at times. Seems he isn’t one of Goodwin’s favourites. On the other side though is Harmes. Disappointing to hear he looked a mile off. If he has another year like last he could very quickly become surplus to our needs, with a lot of like-for-like players. 

On the positive sides:

- Good to hear that Trac doesn’t seem to be taking a backward step from last year

- Brown kicking three in first first hit out with good accuracy (something that has burnt us in the past)

- Wiz jnr scoring a goal and showing good attack, sounds like he’s not doing any harm towards getting an opportunity 

- Lever showing good early signs 

Very sad to hear about Hore though, poor bloke doesn’t seem to have luck on his side. Sounds like we have some niggles to go with a couple of long term injury’s (to be expected), hopefully they get themselves right for a chance at pre-season matches. 

I may have missed it in previous reports but any word on Sparrow? Can't recall him mentioned in any if the training reports to date, is he injured? I thought he did ok when given a chance last year.


  • Author
3 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

I may have missed it in previous reports but any word on Sparrow? Can't recall him mentioned in any if the training reports to date, is he injured? I thought he did ok when given a chance last year.

Sparrow played in the blue side. Played in the mid - half forward area and kicked an easy goal on the run from 20 but didn’t notice much of him.

I thought he looked ok mid season last year, particularly against Collingwood.

9 hours ago, Dame Gaga said:

Thanks for all the training reports. The heartening common thread to see is that Tommy Mac is fitter and apparently injury free at this stage. Great news. And Trac is continuing to star. Lots to look forward to.

I wasn't aware T Mac was injured last year

If he was why did they play him?

 
4 minutes ago, Kent said:

I wasn't aware T Mac was injured last year

If he was why did they play him?

I think it is a permanent injury. He is always apparently stretching his toes to mitigate against it.

2 minutes ago, Wrecker46 said:

I think it is a permanent injury. He is always apparently stretching his toes to mitigate against it.

Thanks Wrecker I was not aware of that fact!


Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

Featured Content

  • GAMEDAY: Essendon

    It’s Game Day, and the Demons are staring down the barrel of an 0-5 start for the first time since 2012 as they take on Essendon at Adelaide Oval for Gather Round. In that forgettable season, Melbourne finally broke their drought by toppling the Bombers. Can lightning strike twice? Will the Dees turn their nightmare start around and breathe life back into 2025?

    • 378 replies
    Demonland
  • PREVIEW: Essendon

    As the focus of the AFL moves exclusively to South Australia for Gather Round, the question is raised as to what are we going to get from the  Melbourne Football Club this weekend? Will it be a repeat of the slop fest of the last three weeks that have seen the team score a measly 174 points and concede 310 or will a return to the City of Churches and the scene where they performed at their best in 2024 act as a wakeup call and bring them out of their early season reverie?  Or will the sleepy Dees treat their fans to a reenactment of their lazy effort from the first Gather Round of two years ago when they allowed the Bombers to trample all over them on a soggy and wet Adelaide Oval? The two examples from above tell us how fickle form can be in football. Last year, a committed group of players turned up in Adelaide with a businesslike mindset. They had a plan, went in confidently and hard for the football and kicked winning scores against both home teams in a difficult environment for visitors. And they repeated that sort of effort later in the season when they played Essendon at the MCG.

    • 0 replies
    Demonland
  • PREGAME: Essendon

    Facing the very real and daunting prospect of starting the season with five straight losses, the Demons head to South Australia for the annual Gather Round, where they’ll take on the Bombers in search of their first win of the year. Who comes in, and who comes out?

      • Thumb Down
      • Haha
    • 489 replies
    Demonland
  • NON-MFC: Round 05

    Gather Round is here, kicking off with a Thursday night blockbuster as Adelaide faces Geelong. The Crows will be out for redemption after a controversial loss last week. Saturday starts with the Magpies taking on the Swans. Collingwood will be eager to cement their spot in the top eight, while Sydney is hot on their heels. In the Barossa Valley, two rising sides go head-to-head in a fascinating battle to prove they're the real deal. Later, Carlton and West Coast face off at Adelaide Oval, both desperate to notch their first win of the season. The action then shifts to Norwood, where the undefeated Lions will aim to keep their streak alive against the Bulldogs. Sunday’s games begin in the Barossa with Richmond up against Fremantle. In Norwood, the Saints will be looking to take a scalp when they come up against the Giants. The round concludes with a fiery rematch of last year's semi-final, as the Hawks seek revenge for their narrow loss to Port Adelaide. Who are you tipping this week and what are the best results for the Demons besides us winning?

      • Haha
      • Like
    • 236 replies
    Demonland
  • CASEY: Geelong

    There was a time in the second quarter of the game at the Cattery on Friday afternoon when the Casey Demons threatened to take the game apart against the Cats. The Demons had been well on top early but were struggling to convert their ascendancy over the ground until Tom Fullarton’s burst of three goals in the space of eight minutes on the way to a five goal haul and his best game for the club since arriving from Brisbane at the end of 2023. He was leading, marking and otherwise giving his opponents a merry dance as Casey grabbed a three goal lead in the blink of an eye. Fullarton has now kicked ten goals in Casey’s three matches and, with Melbourne’s forward conversion woes, he is definitely in with a chance to get his first game with the club in next week’s Gather Round in Adelaide. Despite the tall forward’s efforts - he finished with 19 disposals and eight marks and had four hit outs as back up to Will Verrall in the second half - it wasn’t enough as Geelong reigned in the lead through persistent attacks and eventually clawed their way to the lead early in the last and held it till they achieved the end aim of victory.

    • 0 replies
    Demonland
  • REPORT: Geelong

    I was disappointed to hear Goody say at his post match presser after the team’s 39 point defeat against Geelong that "we're getting high quality entry, just poor execution" because Melbourne’s problems extend far beyond that after its 0 - 4 start to the 2025 football season. There are clearly problems with poor execution, some of which were evident well before the current season and were in play when the Demons met the Cats in early May last year and beat them in a near top-of-the-table clash that saw both sides sitting comfortably in the top four after round eight. Since that game, the Demons’ performances have been positively Third World with only five wins in 19 games with a no longer majestic midfield and a dysfunctional forward line that has become too easy for opposing coaches to counter. This is an area of their game that is currently being played out as if they were all completely panic-stricken.

    • 0 replies
    Demonland