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TRAINING: Wednesday 18th January 2023

Bitter but optimistic
Bitter but optimistic
in Melbourne Demons

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TMac, BBB and a couple of others were taking set shots on goal from the pocket

Choco was supervising — “kick through the ball” was his mantra.

Had a brief chat to TMac — he looked really trim and fit. 

He said he felt “ pretty good”

An understatement, I’d say.

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    Morning all. First time at Goschs for a while, there’s a scoreboard set up which I’ve never seen here before. Possible match sim?

    Williams yelling out to players to get their hands off hips during drills. Gus looks fine to me.

    Absolutely., first two mins of match sim and his kicking is exquisite on both sides. He’s moving incredibly well. 

    Some observations from a match sim drill that lasted about 15-20 mins.

    The purpose seemed to be fast ball movement from the backline with players linking up through the middle and hitting forwards on the lead or over the defenders heads as the forwards ran  behind them to an open goal. The play would end when a forward took a mark deep or scored a goal, play would resume instantly from the back with the non-possessing team now pushing back to defend really hard and fast. Coaches were screaming at players to do just that.

    Kozzie looks in immaculate condition and was a standout in the short time I watched.

    Spargo never misses a target and he’s really clever when you watch him closely. He has a very good sidestep.

    Viney is Viney, just doesn’t stop harassing and getting in your face.

    Hunter is really good at finding free space on his wing and drifting forward to become an option. 

    Schache looks really good, I liked his movement and involvement deep forward. Will be interesting to see how we use him.

    Melksham another looking really good.

    Ben Brown was having shots at goal prior to the match sim drill. Left knee bandaged, didn’t see him after that.

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    I'm here too.

    My God, Kozzie is all class. Very wet conditions but he's kicking like a dry day

    Haven't seen Blake Howes

    ANB looking super fit.

    Seston has hips and legs like Lethal Leigh! Must build a tank though

    Woey has put on considerable size 

    Lever and J Smith were around earlier. Not doing match sim. Non contact 

    Melksham good skills in the wet during match sim

    Fritter smothers Pig kick out of defence, collects, turns, snap on the left for goal. Classic Fritter

    Grundy last by a long way in every half ground run through

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    Jefferson looks good but is very, very light. Knickname should be Pirate. Give him 12 months in the gym. Good hands and a beautiful kicking action. Needs time and development, but has much potential. Got a bit of it in match sim.

    JvR did well today, very assured, put on size over summer

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    Setson and his tree trunk legs

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    In the kick and mark session near the end I saw Grundy, Tmac, JvR and another drop 7 marks in a row. The marks that were eventually held were two or three grabs. I know it's wet and early January, but it no joke when fans over the fence are laughing at simple spilled marks.

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    Williams yelling out to players to get their hands off hips during drills. Gus looks fine to me.

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    • Demonland changed the title to TRAINING: Wednesday 18th January 2023

    5 hours ago, Stiff Arm said:

    I'm here too.

    My God, Kozzie is all class. Very wet conditions but he's kicking like a dry day

    Absolutely. First two mins of match sim and his kicking is exquisite on both sides. He’s moving incredibly well. 

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    30 minutes ago, Bitter but optimistic said:

    TMac, BBB and a couple of others were taking set shots on goal from the pocket

    Choco was supervising.  “ kick through the ball was his mantra “

    Had a brief chat to TMac - he looked really trim and fit. 
    He said he felt “ pretty good”

    An understatement I’d say

    Thanks, Uncle*.

    I might be reading too much into it but his responses seemed 'cautious' in his interview on the Club website (though he did look pretty good in the training vision!) It felt like there was still a little bit there and that he might be still (and possibly remain) on the edge of reinjury?

    (*Thanks @Dee Zephyr and @Stiff Arm too)

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    Haven't seen Blake Howes

    ANB looking super fit.

    Seston has hips and legs like Lethal Leigh! Must build a tank though

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    Would love a progress update on Jefferson and Burgoyne who I believe is in full training?

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    Grundy looked a long way off all session. Positioning and marking aren’t a strong suit, and whilst he got involved with some ground balls with good vigour he didn’t do anything with it.

    He was probably the biggest individual downside.

    The tempo is incredibly fast, I’d still like to see more switching and run and carry with forward handballs to open up space. There’s some lovely fast aggressive kicks that pay off but faster long down the line purely for the sake of being faster won’t make us better.

    I agree Chandler had a strong session with some good positioning, attack at the contest and tackling.

    Pickett, May, Hibberd, Salem, Petty, Langdon, Melksham were others that looked good.

    McVee was the big improver. Not sure about top end speed but he looks genuinely quick, and he was scything through traffic with ease with solid disposal. My immediate thought was he’s likely to debut this year. 

    JVR was his typical energetic self, crashed in to some packs and his follow up is exceptional, he has a desire for tackling that we haven’t seen from a tall. Need to see a dry day to see if he can hold a few more. Hibbo and Petty mostly had him covered.

    Big Kyah contested for a mark with Gus and quickly came down and was back on to the loose ball. Whilst he’s a long way off it’s nice to see the athleticism is as advertised. 

    Was good to see Deak Smith back in training too. 

    K Turner had some moments, he covers ground very easily and looks a natural runner for a tall. D Turner had a great goal saving tackle at one point, he looks super fit and lean. Lockdown back has to be an option for him, and I even wonder if he finds himself stuck in the key back log jam if he can contribute to the midfield. 

    6 hours ago, dazzledavey36 said:

    Would love a progress update on Jefferson and Burgoyne who I believe is in full training?

    Jefferson (unsurprisingly) got moved out of the way by May a couple of times in match sim and was otherwise quiet. But he did swoop on to a loose ball nicely. In fact that’s probably the standout flash I’ve seen from him - he changed direction and accelerates like a talented player.

    Burgoyne in full training, moves well, seems clean enough, got in to space a couple of times. But not heavily involved so far.

    Haven’t seen Howes or J Smith. Only briefly saw BBB.

    AMW did some repeat runs and has spent the time off legs building a solid upper body. 

    No Lever. And Adams and Verrell doing their own thing as per usual 

    Petty’s copped about 6 injuries in the last 20 minutes. Think he just popped a finger out.

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    Haven’t seen Howes or J Smith. Only briefly saw BBB.

    AMW did some repeat runs and has spent the time off legs building a solid upper body. 

    Edited by DeeSpencer

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    No Lever. And Adams and Verrell doing their own thing as per usual 

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    Lever and J Smith were around earlier. Not doing match sim. Non contact 

    Melksham good skills in the wet during match sim

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    Some observations from a match sim drill that lasted about 15-20 mins.

    The purpose seemed to be fast ball movement from the backline with players linking up through the middle and hitting forwards on the lead or over the defenders heads as the forwards ran  behind them to an open goal. The play would end when a forward took a mark deep or scored a goal, play would resume instantly from the back with the non-possessing team now pushing back to defend really hard and fast. Coaches were screaming at players to do just that. 
    Kozzie looks in immaculate condition and was a standout in the short time I watched.

    Spargo never misses a target and he’s really clever when you watch him closely. He has a very good sidestep.

    Viney is Viney, just doesn’t stop harassing and getting in your face.

    Hunter is really good at finding free space on his wing and drifting forward to become an option. 

    Schache looks really good, I liked his movement and involvement deep forward. Will be interesting to see how we use him. 

    Melksham another looking really good.

    Ben Brown was having shots at goal prior to the match sim drill. Left knee bandaged, didn’t see him after that.

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    5 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

    No Lever. And Adams and Verrell doing their own thing as per usual 

    Adams and Verrall back into training in February. Coming back from bad Shoulder / Groin injuries.

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    2 minutes ago, Stiff Arm said:

    Who's  number 47?

    K Turner 

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    Petty’s copped about 6 injuries in the last 20 minutes. Think he just popped a finger out 

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    There seemed to be an emphasis on quick, precise ball movement - get, give, go and pinpoint - in both the short distance and longer drills. No nonsense. Incredibly skilful overall - endorse the comments about Kozzie and Seston. Rick Lever was doing handball drills with a couple of young lads early.

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    Interested to hear about Laurie, Woewodin and McVee today from our track watchers thanks.

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    38 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

    Petty’s copped about 6 injuries in the last 20 minutes. Think he just popped a finger out 

    Special Victims Unit Reaction GIF by Law & Order

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