"We set out that night for the cold in the North
I gave him my blanket, he gave me his word
I said, where are we goin', he said we'd be back by the fourth
I said, that's the best news that I've ever heard

The wind it was howlin' and the snow was outrageous
We chopped through the night and we chopped through the dawn"

Selected Lyrics from ISIS BOB DYLAN

So to start let me paint the scene for you, given I have prequeled the view upon arrival at Casey Fields today. I could be forgiven when I cast my mind back to the Dystopian rain and Apocolyptic scenes that were reminiscent of Sci Fi classic "Bladerunner" It was so dark the illuminations of the scoreboard lights added to the errie backdrop of an enveloping storm coming in from the West. Not only was it as cold as a mother in laws kiss, the scene of witches hats and cones set up and the stark contrast of about a dozen footballs spread randomly but without owners just added to the ridiculousness of the situation. Where the hell were the players?? Had they been zapped of by Kevin Sheedys "Martians" into an entirely new space and time continuum?? Further confusion was added when just before the storm struck the lights of the scoreboard suddenly went of. Rain , Sleet, Hail ensued for about half an hour and then, like the dawn of time the clouds lifted and the sun started to break through and as if waiting for a divine signal the players appeared and started warm ups!

Notable absentees None that I could see although Mitch Brown and a few others Tomlinson I think and others were on modified duties ( Remembering that I was outside the ground) masked up)

Skills, Drills and Views Wet ground footy was the order of the day and the players were split into two groups, It appeared random and mixed between ones and twos although the core group and forwards were practicing contested footy getting it out into the open overlap and sending the ball to an unmarked and leading T.Mac interesting ly BB was also alone and one out in the drill. The others were practicing contested close in footy and handballing to players in hotly contested match simulations. It appeared to me that close on contested ball then moving it out quickly to a target and creating overlap were the possible instructions.

Another drill involved individual one on one contests and again emphasis was on quick , precise execution of skills and laying it of to best option.

Other observations The session went for about an hour only and just as quickly as it started within a few minutes all players had disappeared back into the rooms.

Player watch We seemed to have almost all at training I didnt see any notable exclusions, I would think Weeds might play again in the twos although watching Melksham, Bowey and Jones they all might be close, BOWEY Tantalisingly so, trained well he reminds me a lot of Caleb Daniel.  After watching I could not get a line on selection and even though they would have the main team selected final inclusions might not be made until later. All in all it appeared to be an energetic session, no one appeared to be lethargic or just going through motions it was more like a "down to business" type session. I did not observe any goal kicking practice in the time I was there as an aside.

Finally, as you know I have been adverse to taking the tracks outside the ground for fear of slitheras, but today was so gloomy at the start I was expecting to see this posted around the ground.

Cheers PF

Edited July 28, 20214 yr by picket fence

BOWEY to debut. GREAT!

Edited July 28, 20214 yr by picket fence

Picket, your the best, thanks very much for attending and giving us the rundown, it must have been atrocious conditions. 

Fortitude @picket fence!

Well done!

Watch out coming back through Frankganistan! Exposure sites galore!

Post of the year. Not so much for its content (as entertaining as it is) but for the dedication you showed in attending in the first place. 

Edit: For those not in Melbourne, Picket's description of the weather today is accurate. I wouldn't have been surprised if he'd bumped into Macbeth and some witches while he was there.

Edited July 28, 20214 yr by La Dee-vina Comedia

Very nice work @picket fence.

Any chance we had umpires there showing us where we're going wrong?  

No umpires,⁷ saw one lone camera man though could be a news item tonight??

1 hour ago, picket fence said:

"We set out that night for the cold in the North
I gave him my blanket, he gave me his word
I said, where are we goin', he said we'd be back by the fourth
I said, that's the best news that I've ever heard

The wind it was howlin' and the snow was outrageous
We chopped through the night and we chopped through the dawn"

Selected Lyrics from ISIS BOB DYLAN

So to start let me paint the scene for you, given I have prequeled the view upon arrival at Casey Fields today. I could be forgiven when I cast my mind back to the Dystopian rain and Apocolyptic scenes that were reminiscent of Sci Fi classic "Bladerunner" It was so dark the illuminations of the scoreboard lights added to the errie backdrop of an enveloping storm coming in from the West. Not only was it as cold as a mother in laws kiss, the scene of witches hats and cones set up and the stark contrast of about a dozen footballs spread randomly but without owners just added to the ridiculousness of the situation. Where the hell were the players?? Had they been zapped of by Kevin Sheedys "Martians" into an entirely new space and time continuum?? Further confusion was added when just before the storm struck the lights of the scoreboard suddenly went of. Rain , Sleet, Hail ensued for about half an hour and then, like the dawn of time the clouds lifted and the sun started to break through and as if waiting for a divine signal the players appeared and started warm ups!

Notable absentees None that I could see although Mitch Brown and a few others Tomlinson I think and others were on modified duties ( Remembering that I was outside the ground) masked up)

Skills, Drills and Views Wet ground footy was the order of the day and the players were split into two groups, It appeared random and mixed between ones and twos although the core group and forwards were practicing contested footy getting it out into the open overlap and sending the ball to an unmarked and leading T.Mac interesting ly BB was also alone and one out in the drill. The others were practicing contested close in footy and handballing to players in hotly contested match simulations. It appeared to me that close on contested ball then moving it out quickly to a target and creating overlap were the possible instructions.

Another drill involved individual one on one contests and again emphasis was on quick , precise execution of skills and laying it of to best option.

Other observations The session went for about an hour only and just as quickly as it started within a few minutes all players had disappeared back into the rooms.

Player watch We seemed to have almost all at training I didnt see any notable exclusions, I would think Weeds might play again in the twos although watching Melksham, Bowey and Jones they all might be close, BOWEY Tantalisingly so, trained well he reminds me a lot of Caleb Daniel.  After watching I could not get a line on selection and even though they would have the main team selected final inclusions might not be made until later. All in all it appeared to be an energetic session, no one appeared to be lethargic or just going through motions it was more like a "down to business" type session. I did not observe any goal kicking practice in the time I was there as an aside.

Finally, as you know I have been adverse to taking the tracks outside the ground for fear of slitheras, but today was so gloomy at the start I was expecting to see this posted around the ground.

Cheers PF

Thanks PF for good read. Very enjoyable in these gloomy times. 

I'm expecting a bounce back this week and would like to know your thoughts

22 minutes ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

Post of the year. Not so much for its content (as entertaining as it is) but for the dedication you showed in attending in the first place. 

Edit: For those not in Melbourne, Picket's description of the weather today is accurate. I wouldn't have been surprised if he'd bumped into Macbeth and some witches while he was there.

Blackadder and the Baldrick on a spooky night wouldnt have looked out of place either! It was weird

Edited July 28, 20214 yr by picket fence

7 minutes ago, picket fence said:

Blackadder and the Baldrick on a spooky night wouldnt have looked out of place either! It was weird

Hoping Goodwin has a cunning plan for the rest of the year

1 hour ago, picket fence said:

"We set out that night for the cold in the North
I gave him my blanket, he gave me his word
I said, where are we goin', he said we'd be back by the fourth
I said, that's the best news that I've ever heard

The wind it was howlin' and the snow was outrageous
We chopped through the night and we chopped through the dawn"

Selected Lyrics from ISIS BOB DYLAN

So to start let me paint the scene for you, given I have prequeled the view upon arrival at Casey Fields today. I could be forgiven when I cast my mind back to the Dystopian rain and Apocolyptic scenes that were reminiscent of Sci Fi classic "Bladerunner" It was so dark the illuminations of the scoreboard lights added to the errie backdrop of an enveloping storm coming in from the West. Not only was it as cold as a mother in laws kiss, the scene of witches hats and cones set up and the stark contrast of about a dozen footballs spread randomly but without owners just added to the ridiculousness of the situation. Where the hell were the players?? Had they been zapped of by Kevin Sheedys "Martians" into an entirely new space and time continuum?? Further confusion was added when just before the storm struck the lights of the scoreboard suddenly went of. Rain , Sleet, Hail ensued for about half an hour and then, like the dawn of time the clouds lifted and the sun started to break through and as if waiting for a divine signal the players appeared and started warm ups!

Notable absentees None that I could see although Mitch Brown and a few others Tomlinson I think and others were on modified duties ( Remembering that I was outside the ground) masked up)

Skills, Drills and Views Wet ground footy was the order of the day and the players were split into two groups, It appeared random and mixed between ones and twos although the core group and forwards were practicing contested footy getting it out into the open overlap and sending the ball to an unmarked and leading T.Mac interesting ly BB was also alone and one out in the drill. The others were practicing contested close in footy and handballing to players in hotly contested match simulations. It appeared to me that close on contested ball then moving it out quickly to a target and creating overlap were the possible instructions.

Another drill involved individual one on one contests and again emphasis was on quick , precise execution of skills and laying it of to best option.

Other observations The session went for about an hour only and just as quickly as it started within a few minutes all players had disappeared back into the rooms.

Player watch We seemed to have almost all at training I didnt see any notable exclusions, I would think Weeds might play again in the twos although watching Melksham, Bowey and Jones they all might be close, BOWEY Tantalisingly so, trained well he reminds me a lot of Caleb Daniel.  After watching I could not get a line on selection and even though they would have the main team selected final inclusions might not be made until later. All in all it appeared to be an energetic session, no one appeared to be lethargic or just going through motions it was more like a "down to business" type session. I did not observe any goal kicking practice in the time I was there as an aside.

Finally, as you know I have been adverse to taking the tracks outside the ground for fear of slitheras, but today was so gloomy at the start I was expecting to see this posted around the ground.

Cheers PF

Thanks, Pick! Very brave soul! Situated on the South Pole side of Casey, I'm well familiar with the conditions you experienced. No mention of the thunder and lightning, though?

Regarding the wet weather play focus, this doesn't help...

Saturday 31 July

Summary

http://www.bom.gov.au/images/symbols/large/sunny.png

Min 10

Max 22

Sunny.

Chance of any rain: 0% http://www.bom.gov.au/images/ui/weather/rain_0.gif

Gold Coast area

Sunny. Light winds becoming north to northwesterly 15 to 20 km/h during the day then becoming light during the afternoon.

Sun protection recommended from 9:50 am to 1:40 pm, UV Index predicted to reach 4 [Moderate]

Interesting the lack of goal kicking practice, after Goodwin's insistence it's somethng they work hard on every practice. Maybe it's done at the non-main-training practices? Also maybe not great for confidence, or for match-day conditioning this week (see above), practising in the wet/wind?

Responding to questioning on the possible 'ins', Goodwin confirmed Jones needed another Casey game and specifies Vandenburg, Melksham, Bowey and Weideman as pressing, and he also seemed happy to retain three talls, and confirmed Jackson is still delivering what the team and system requires of him.

Mind you, keep an eye on Queensland COVID. 'Home' game conditions:

Saturday 31 July

Summary

http://www.bom.gov.au/images/symbols/large/showers.png

Min 10

Max 19

Showers increasing.

Possible rainfall: 6 to 10 mm

Chance of any rain: 80% http://www.bom.gov.au/images/ui/weather/rain_80.gif

Melbourne area

Partly cloudy. High (80%) chance of showers, most likely in the afternoon and evening. Winds northerly 25 to 40 km/h decreasing to 25 to 35 km/h during the morning then turning west to northwesterly 15 to 20 km/h during the evening.

Sun protection not recommended, UV Index predicted to reach 2 [Low]

37 minutes ago, Timothy Reddan-A'Blew said:

Mind you, keep an eye on Queensland COVID. 'Home' game conditions:

Saturday 31 July

Summary

http://www.bom.gov.au/images/symbols/large/showers.png

Min 10

Max 19

Showers increasing.

Possible rainfall: 6 to 10 mm

Chance of any rain: 80% http://www.bom.gov.au/images/ui/weather/rain_80.gif

Melbourne area

Partly cloudy. High (80%) chance of showers, most likely in the afternoon and evening. Winds northerly 25 to 40 km/h decreasing to 25 to 35 km/h during the morning then turning west to northwesterly 15 to 20 km/h during the evening.

Sun protection not recommended, UV Index predicted to reach 2 [Low]

Wait. 19 degrees in Melbourne this Saturday? Surely not. 

1 hour ago, picket fence said:

Blackadder and the Baldrick on a spooky night wouldnt have looked out of place either! It was weird

...That’s the spirit PF,  you’re a real man, not some desk-sucking, pen pushing blotter jotter like Darling here!...

Edited July 28, 20214 yr by Rusty Nails

3 hours ago, picket fence said:

BOWEY to debut. GREAT!

Where did you get that info from? It's not on the website

 

2 hours ago, FireInTheBennelly said:

Hoping Goodwin has a cunning plan for the rest of the year

A cunning plan that cannot fail

57 minutes ago, WERRIDEE said:

Where did you get that info from? It's not on the website

Reported in press but agreed not on website.... Yet!!

Wait what? Practicing goal kicking?! Bizarre thing to do!

On 7/28/2021 at 4:52 PM, Timothy Reddan-A'Blew said:

Mind you, keep an eye on Queensland COVID. 'Home' game conditions:

Saturday 31 July

Summary

http://www.bom.gov.au/images/symbols/large/showers.png

Min 10

Max 19

Showers increasing.

Possible rainfall: 6 to 10 mm

Chance of any rain: 80% http://www.bom.gov.au/images/ui/weather/rain_80.gif

Melbourne area

Partly cloudy. High (80%) chance of showers, most likely in the afternoon and evening. Winds northerly 25 to 40 km/h decreasing to 25 to 35 km/h during the morning then turning west to northwesterly 15 to 20 km/h during the evening.

Sun protection not recommended, UV Index predicted to reach 2 [Low]

I'd rather be 'predicting' Melbourne wins...