PRESEASON TRAINING: Friday 7th February 2025

[adonski 12,790]

 

[whatwhat say what 23,211]

guesses at squads:

blue (likely rd 1?):
1. may
2. van rooyen
3. salem
4. mcvee
7. viney
10. turner
11. gawn
13. oliver
14. billings
15. langdon
17. bowey
19. lindsay
20. langford
21. jefferson
22. howes
24. rivers
30. sharp
31. fritsch
32. sparrow
35. petty
(20 players spotted)

white:
16. laurie
25. mcdonald
26. adams
27. hore
29. campbell
36 pickett
39. mentha
40. woewodin
41. brown
42. johnson
45 moniz-wakefield
+ roy george
+ jai culley
(13 players spotted)

injured / didn't spot:
5. petracca
6. windsor
8. lever
9. spargo
12. tholstrup
18. melksham
23. mcadam
28. verrall
33. fullarton
37. chandler
38. sestan
44. kentfield
(12 not spotted)

i'd guess at rd 1 based on players expected to be returning from injury...

B: McVee - May - Lever
HB: Windsor - Petty - Salem
C: Langdon - Petracca - Billings
HF: Sparrow - Fritsch - Sharp
F: van Rooyen - Jefferson - Chandler
Foll: Gawn - Oliver - Viney
I/c: Langford - Rivers - Sharp - Turner
Sub: Lindsay

Edited 2 hours ago by whatwhat say what

[Gator 17,762]

Today’s MFC main session:

Rehab: Lever and Spargo running laps.  Lever was running short distances at a fast click as well as having kick to kick with a trainer. He seems unimpeded.

Petracca, Chandler, McAdam and Fullarton doing non-contact kicking and handball drills on the adjacent oval.  All moving freely at pace. 

I didn’t notice Windsor, Melksham, Verrall, Tholstrup or Kentfield, but it could have just been an oversight by me.

Today’s main session comprised of 3 x 20 minute quarters of contested match simulation under the guidance of two AFL umpires (no boundary umpires). And it was very much a probables vs possibles for round one, which is why Pickett was with the possibles.

So when you’re trying to drift off to sleep at night while picking your best team from the backline to the forwards keep the following in mind.

Probables – Blue:  May, Petty, Howes, Salem, Bowey, and McVee in defence; Gawn, Oliver, Rivers, Viney, Langford, Ed Langdon, Sharp, Billings, Sparrow, and Lindsay rotating in the mids, and van Rooyen, Turner, Jefferson, Fritsch as the main forwards.

Ed Langdon, Lindsay and Billings all spent time on the wing. Langdon and Billings also occasionally rotated through a half-forward flank, while I noted Langdon attended a lot of CBAs. Lindsay was predominantly just wing.  

Along with Ed Langdon, Oliver, Viney, Rivers and Langford had the bulk of the CBAs.

It was quite noticeable that Blue had a heap of left footers: Viney, Langford, Lindsay, Billings, Salem, May, Fritsch. Just need to get Chandler and Brown into the team.

• I’m saying Ed Langdon, because a lot of posters are saying Langdon when they mean Langford

Possibles – White:  McDonald, Pickett, Brown, Adams, Laurie, Woewodin, Mentha, Campbell, Hore, Moniz-Wakefield, Johnson, Sestan, George, Yze, Culley, plus a few other Casey players

White got off to a flyer with the first 3 goals. George kicked 2 (one lead and mark and the other a good crumbing goal) and Mentha one on the run from about 40 metres. Gradually Blue wrestled control and ran out 38 point winners (10 11 71 to 5 3 33).

I don’t believe there were any injuries, although Viney copped a high one, which set him back in his tracks.  I think he was fine.

Lots of switching with short and long kicks before trying to spot up forward leads if possible, or long kicks when necessary.  The game was a bit scrappy with some skill errors, including dropped chest marks (my pet hate), intermingled with some quality ball movement.

Gawn and Campbell nullified each other. Gawn wasn’t able to take his trademark contested marks, but I never expect ruckmen to be marking at their best in early February.

Ed Langdon was prolific.  He was constantly an option and seemed to be relishing a bit more freedom through the midfield.  I was surprised by how many centre bounces he attended.

Lindsay didn’t get a lot of it and made a couple of errors but generally used it well.

Langford was busy and contested as you’d expect.  Took a nice mark and kicked a goal from a left foot snap 35 metres out.

Billings was one of the busiest. He’s finding the footy with ease and was used a lot.

Salem is also finding plenty of it. Bowey also got a heap of it.  May was his intercepting self and uses Salem and Bowey as the outlet kick. McVee was also busy. 

Howes was good. He links up well with his fellow defenders.  He seems to be having a very good preseason.

Petty did what he had to do, which wasn’t much.

Rivers and Oliver were the best mids for Blue.  It’s great to see Oliver looking like he’s back to his best and Rivers looks a natural mid to me.

Sharp was neat. Did a great spoli which became a mark deep in defence and 30 seconds later was hitting van Rooyen lace out in the forward pocket.

The tall forwards were pretty quiet.  Jefferson took a double grabber 35 metres out and converted.  He also kicked one off the ground in the last. I thought he competed well. Van Rooyen kicked a nice goal from a difficult angle, and he also went up against Johnson in the ruck for a while.  Turner was quiet. Fritsch was the most lively of Blue’s forwards.  He also got on the scoreboard.

I liked the look of Culley. A very tall mid, but looked good.  Kicked a goal for White.

Lastly, a special mention to the brothers. Pickett was fantastic despite getting caught by Langford.  He played 90% in the midfield and was just so clean, quick and creative. His delivery was very good.  He teamed up well with Mentha and George, who both looked likely.  He’s got a touch of class Mentha and the more nuggety George also looks like he could belong at AFL level. They were up against it with a strong Blue backline and White had no key talls to crumb off, but both looked dangerous and had multiple shots at goal.

Edited 49 minutes ago by Gator

[Slartibartfast 17,891]

57 minutes ago, Gator said:

Today’s MFC main session:

Rehab: Jake Lever and Charlie Spargo running laps.  Lever was running short distances at a fast click as well as having kick to kick with a trainer. He seems unimpeded.

Christian Petracca, Kade Chandler, Shane McAdam and Tom Fullarton doing non-contact kicking and handball drills on the adjacent oval.  All moving freely at pace. 

I didn’t notice Caleb Windsor, Jake Melksham, Will Verrall, Koltyn Tholstrup or Luker Kentfield, but it could have just been an oversight by me.

Today’s main session comprised of 3 x 20 minute quarters of contested match simulation under the guidance of two AFL umpires (no boundary umpires). And it was very much a probables vs possibles for round one, which is why Kysaiah Pickett was with the possibles.

So when you’re trying to drift off to sleep at night while picking your best team from the backline to the forwards keep the following in mind.

Probables – Blue:  May, Petty, Howes, Salem, Bowey, and McVee in defence; Gawn, Oliver, Rivers, Viney, Langford, Langdon, Sharp, Billings, Sparrow, and Lindsay rotating in the mids, and van Rooyen, Turner, Jefferson, Fritsch as the main forwards.

Ed Langdon, Xavier Lindsay and Jack Billings all spent time on the wing. Langdon and Billings also occasionally rotated through a half-forward flank, while I noted Langdon attended a lot of CBAs. Lindsay was predominantly just wing.  

Along with Ed Langdon, Clayton Oliver, Jack Viney, Trent Rivers and Langford had the bulk of the CBAs.

It was quite noticeable that Blue had a heap of left footers: Viney, Langford, Lindsay, Billings, Christian Salem, Steven May, Bayley Fritsch. Just need to get Chandler and Kynan Brown into the team.

• I’m saying Ed Langdon, because a lot of posters are saying Langdon when they mean Langford

Possibles – White:  McDonald, Pickett, Brown, Adams, Laurie, Woewodin, Mentha, Campbell, Hore, Moniz-Wakefield, Johnson, Sestan, George, Yze, Culley, plus a few other Casey players

White got off to a flyer with the first 3 goals. Roy George kicked 2 (one lead and mark and the other a good crumbing goal) and Ricky Mentha Jr one on the run from about 40 metres. Gradually Blue wrestled control and ran out 38 point winners (10 11 71 to 5 3 33).

I don’t believe there were any injuries, although Viney copped a high one, which set him back in his tracks.  I think he was fine.

Lots of switching with short and long kicks before trying to spot up forward leads if possible, or long kicks when necessary.  The game was a bit scrappy with some skill errors, including dropped chest marks (my pet hate), intermingled with some quality ball movement.

Max Gawn and Tom Campbell nullified each other. Gawn wasn’t able to take his trademark contested marks, but I never expect ruckmen to be marking at their best in early February.

Ed Langdon was prolific.  He was constantly an option and seemed to be relishing a bit more freedom through the midfield.  I was surprised by how many centre bounces he attended.

Lindsay didn’t get a lot of it and made a couple of errors but generally used it well.

Harvey Langford was busy and contested as you’d expect.  Took a nice mark and kicked a goal from a left foot snap 35 metres out.

Billings was one of the busiest. He’s finding the footy with ease and was used a lot.

Salem is also finding plenty of it. Jake Bowey also got a heap of it.  May was his intercepting self and uses Salem and Bowey as the outlet kick. Judd McVee was also busy. 

Blake Howes was good. He links up well with his fellow defenders.  He seems to be having a very good preseason.

Harry Petty did what he had to do, which wasn’t much.

Rivers and Oliver were the best mids for Blue.  It’s great to see Oliver looking like he’s back to his best and Rivers looks a natural mid to me.

Harry Sharp was neat. Did a great spoli which became a mark deep in defence and 30 seconds later was hitting Jacob van Rooyen lace out in the forward pocket.

The tall forwards were pretty quiet.  Matt Jefferson took a double grabber 35 metres out and converted.  He also kicked one off the ground in the last. I thought he competed well. Van Rooyen kicked a nice goal from a difficult angle, and he also went up against Aidan Johnson in the ruck for a while.  Daniel Turner was quiet. Fritsch was the most lively of Blue’s forwards.  He also got on the scoreboard.

I liked the look of Jai Culley. A very tall mid, but looked good.  Kicked a goal for White.

Lastly, a special mention to the brothers. Pickett was fantastic despite getting caught by Langford.  He played 90% in the midfield and was just so clean, quick and creative. His delivery was very good.  He teamed up well with Mentha and George, who both looked likely.  He’s got a touch of class Mentha and the more nuggety George also looks like he could belong at AFL level. They were up against it with a strong Blue backline and White had no key talls to crumb off, but both looked dangerous and had multiple shots at goal.

Did you get into the ground?  Great report, many thanks. 

[Pennant St Dee 13,378]

Thanks for the report very much appreciated 

[Left Foot Snap 2,539]

18 minutes ago, Gator said:

 

Langford was busy and contested as you’d expect.  Took a nice mark and kicked a goal from a left foot snap 35 metres out.

 

Woohoo!!!

[GS_1905 65]

Going by the video, which is extremely limited, the things that were immediately obvious to me good and bad.

Our ball movement out of the back half appears to be more dynamic. Using a combination of short 45 kicks, handballs and overlap. I suspect this will continue our evolution of scoring from back half and hence more focus on punishing teams through the turnover game, which has been an issue for us for a while now.

We still don't look great moving it beyond half forward and into the 50 though i hope this was just a poor selection of video's. 

Defence looks pretty solid. May looked excellent and appears to be moving very freely

Kozzy looks just like he can be anything. A bit scrappy but he is definitely an x-factor in the middle. 

I hope Campbell is better than we think he is because Gawn didnt look that convincing in the middle.

First time i have seen Mentha in action. Definitely something there.

Oliver didn't have many cameo's. Was it just poor video selection in editing or was he not as prominent today?

Our injury list to the A-team is starting to look concerning. Windsor, Trac, Lever.. arguable McAdam, Melk.  

[dazzledavey36 55,605]

Thanks for the reports @Gator

How was Kynan Brown? Looked lively in the mat simulation video. 

[Gator 17,762]

39 minutes ago, Slartibartfast said:

Did you get into the ground?

1:32 is your clue.

[Gator 17,762]

9 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Thanks for the reports @Gator

How was Kynan Brown? Looked lively in the mat simulation video. 

He played off a wing and used it well.  He's got quite a lot of competition for his outside mid role, but I think he'll be a player.  Just has to do his apprenticeship.

[DistrACTION Jackson 9,945]

9 minutes ago, Gator said:

1:32 is your clue.

haha black shirt white shorts?

[DeeZone 10,326]

Thanks Gator that’s a great training report and all posters and special comments.😁

[Lord Travis 10,787]

Thanks for a great write-up Gator.

1 hour ago, Gator said:

Pickett was fantastic despite getting caught by Langford.  

And the doubters at draft time thought Langford was too slow and wouldn't be up to AFL speed 😆 If he can get his hands on Kozzie, he'll adjust fine!

[Demon Disciple 12,423]

57 minutes ago, Gator said:

1:32 is your clue.

Youre Kozzie Pickett?

[Bring-Back-Powell 15,173]

1 hour ago, GS_1905 said:

Our injury list to the A-team is starting to look concerning. Windsor, Trac, Lever.. arguable McAdam, Melk.  

I reckon the quantity of injuries and rehabbers would marry up with this time last year, and we all bemoaned how bad of a pre season we had last year.

I wonder why Lever is back in rehab? Hopefully there's no issue with Windsor.

 

[Roost it far 9,141]

 

9 minutes ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

I reckon the quantity of injuries and rehabbers would marry up with this time last year, and we all bemoaned how bad of a pre season we had last year.

I wonder why Lever is back in rehab? Hopefully there's no issue with Windsor.

 

??

[Roost it far 9,141]

28 minutes ago, Demon Disciple said:

Youre Kozzie Pickett?

White shorts, grassy knoll, background 1.32

[jaydenh10 6]

2 hours ago, GS_1905 said:

Was it just poor video selection in editing or was he not as prominent today?

I assume we would be very selective with the 'highlights' that are posted publicly for other teams to see