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That was the largest number of people I've ever seen watch training. I didn't count, but there were at least 100 in attendance. I watched training with "Bitter but Optimistic". He was incognito, but it didn't take too much imagination to appreciate what a fine specimen he'd be in full regalia. I won't go into too much depth, but I thought the standard of their full ground drill in blustery conditions was excellent. The ball didn't hit the ground often, but when it did it was kicked to the advantage of the receiver and easy to run on to. Good to see Evans training. His kicking is the query, but I like what he offers with pace. Matt Jones is a good size and moves well. Terlich has nice footskills. Hogan was running lap after lap at a really good pace. He was standing next to Watts after the session and they were the same height. Dawes trained with the main group. Toumpas had his calf strapped and was in rehab, but he was running OK and kicking the footy with no problems, so I suspect it's a minor niggle. Tapscott didn't train with the main group, nor did Magner and Sylvia. Grimes was back in full training. I didn't see Garland or the coach. It was a pretty light session that finished by repeat sprints over roughly 70 metres. There were three groups - best runners pitted with each other, with Nicholson dominating the best group. It was good to see Viney and Barry both with the best group. Blease dominated the final group. Admittedly he was with the defenders, but it was still nice to see him clearly at the front of each sprint and well ahead of last year's efforts. There were 7 or 8 in each group. Others will have different insights and add more detail, but I have to say that I love the look of Barry. He's definitely the closest player I've seen in looks to Michael Long; if not a tad taller. He's skinny, but wiry and those players are quite often 'sneaky strong'. He has excellent endurance already, did well in the repeat sprints, has great evasive ability, pace, is a really good left foot kick and looks to have a footy brain. It's called class. Morale is good with plenty of voice and encouragement. While having a drink and stretching before the next drill there was constant talk with players urged to keep up their intensity, "don't drop off", etc. We just need that midfield to get going this year. It's most definitely the key.

Triple the number of Melbourne supporters as there were watching the filth. Hogan was working with Max Gawn, looked like a rover! Strauss, phenomenal skills, beautiful kick. Sadly can't say the same for Davis, if today was any guide, he is going nowhere. Jordie had some nice kicks, wind was getting quite blustery. Young Jack is already a tank, wasn't hugely impressed with his kicking efficiency early when having a kick to kick with Chunky. Reckon Dawes may have trimmed down a touch, still a beast though. Davey with the pads put Frawley down pretty heavily which was impressive, pads or not. Had some young kids so watched most of session (left early), but will happily answer any questions people might have. Expect more, and better, reports from those on the other side of the ground. With regards to big Max, was running well, lateral movement was very cautious though.

While I left after an hour and a half, the group were doing running exercises. This involved a 300m run then a series of 100m sprints end on end. Mind you this was AFTER the hour and a half on the track!!! When Misson said the fitness and endurance factors would be raised he was serious. It was interesting as a contrast that Collingwood were running match simulations next door, and we are still building on fitness. Make of that what you will.... It was great to see the turnout from the tragics. As RGRS noted there were at least 3 times as many Demon supporters there as Filth, but it must be heartening for the players to have that sort of support shown. Sylvia and Tapscott walking laps. Sylvia with bandage on Hamstring/thigh. Nothing obvious with Tapscott. Gawn running full stretch with multiple laps. I wish I could run as far and as fast as he was. Dawes participating in the main activities, despite a knee bandage. Good signs to have him back on the track. Grimes back with the main group, also good sign. Clark still standing at the sidelines. At this rate will be lucky to be available early on in the season. Byrnes, Rodan, Gillies and Pedersen all out there which means 4 players ready to go from round 1 who weren't there last year. Hogan running laps. My god he is a big unit and only 17! Not a really intense session, but they seem to vary the programme week to week. Interested to hear others impressions, and keen for more reports over January, as being a typical Melbourne supporter, am now off to the ski-fields for a couple of weeks.

Just want to add my two bobs worth.Attended training today. First time at Gosch’s and only second time ever. I will provide some personal observations below but need to explain that my view was frequently obstructed by the hoards of people milling around Ben-Hur for his autograph. The first thing I liked was the preponderance of big bodies. We will no longer be pushed off the ball like wimps. Hogan was running laps ( at a fair pace too). I can’t believe he is only 17. He will be huge and looks like he could play now. Dawes trained with the main group and was moving freely. Another poster noted that he was fumbly but, at this stage, his building fitness is the main concern. I am a big fan of Jake Spencer, so I watched him closely. He is bigger but kept up the pace in running drills. He also hit his targets by foot on the 3 or 4 occasions I saw him kick. It was very interesting to watch him and Jamar contesting marks. Jamar won these contests. It was as if he was saying, “you’re going to have to do better to take my spot kid”. Dom Barry certainly looked silken and reminded me of a young Aaron Davey. Aaron Davey BTW also looked the goods. Max Gawn was running laps and looked to be moving very comfortably. Rhodan looked very fit and dangerous. I would be putting in the “short ones” to avoid running into him. Overall, I was really impressed with what I saw. The simulation type drills particularly. The wind was flukey but the ball movement was confident and accurate. Our skills looked much improved

is that how cats get tape worm , ?

It’s not just a 'better' view to take of tanking but really the only one. The problem here is that the word doesn’t occur anywhere in the AFL’s regulations and what the AFL has to find evidence of relates to some violation or otherwise of Regulation 19 A5). It’s been quoted before, but is worth quoting again: ‘A person, being a player, coach or assistant coach, must at all times perform on their merits and must not induce, or encourage, any player, coach or assistant coach not to perform on their merits in any match - or in relation to any aspect of the match, for any reason whatsoever’. ‘Tanking’ is being used by all and sundry to describe what the MFC is supposed to have done, but a lot of what the MFC is supposed to have done hasn’t got much to do with specific competitive actions on the field. I wonder whether the AFL’s report or findings or charges will even use the word or, if they do, they’re going to have to give it a meaning that links it specifically to the regulation. The regulation itself is a lawyer’s picnic, particularly because of an injudicious use of an ‘and’. But as far as it relates to what takes place on the field, because it refers to inducing or encouraging actions that might lead to a loss, what the AFL presumably needs to establish is, at some level or other, something about intention. Hence the apparent efforts to number every fumble and every interchange as if these disclose some demonic pattern and purpose. On the other hand, since it also ends with that catch-all (or hopeful catch-all) ‘for any reason whatsoever’, the regulation asserts that intention doesn’t really matter. So I’m not surprised people might be at odds about whether intention’s important or not … or, for that matter, whether ‘tanking’ has taken place or not.

What an utter farce this has become. "It all boils down to three minutes of footy" we are told. Well the AFL was at the game- the whole footy world was able to watch it- 3 and a half years ago!! If a crime was committed in those 3 minutes why didn't the AFL do something about it then? The reason - a clear-cut crime was not committed. It wasn't clear at the time - and it certainly isn't clear the best part of 4 years later. For goodness sake AFL you owe us big time - for the damage your incompetence has caused

Good news in this tweet from Jack Trengove:

Redleg might well be acting dumb but we've been working hard in Hobart today to try to solve the conundrum of the tanking story. We are about to sail off into the wide blue yonder in the direction of Sydney but, below I set out my diary of today's events as they unfolded in Tasmania's capital city:-It was our last day here and we went on an excursion to the MONA (Museum of Old and New Art) which is about 20 minutes out of old Hobart town. Unlike Redleg who fortified himself for the ordeal the night before with a concoction made from bananas called a "banana foster", I had to be taken there at gunpoint by she who must be obeyed. I mean, the MFC is currently under siege and our wives are taking us on a tour of an art gallery? Let's get real, please! We took the ferry up the Derwent River and passed the Cadbury Chocolate Factory. There have been rumours that the company intends to come on board as a sponsor of the MFC and I have no problems with that proposition. In fact, I tried to arrange a meeting with executives of the plant to convince them that we Demons are a solid upstanding bunch of decent human beings and had nothing to do with the alleged match fixing they might have been reading about in those funny Victorian newspapers but the execs wanted nothing to do with us so the next stop was MONA. Now, both Redleg and I are anarcho-primitive philistines who have no place in a modern art gallery and we were soon bored witless by the wild mix of antiquities, modern and contemporary art and audio-visual displays which (as far as I was concerned anyway) were all a load of carp - literally. Anyone who has been within smelling distance of Cloaca Professional, a machine which turns food into excrement would attest to this. And after queuing up for half an hour to get into the death room, which wasn't nearly as confronting as we expected, Redleg and I were already working out an exit strategy. Then a strange thing happened. We passed by Sydney Nolan's Snake and found ourselves in an alcove where a green button on the wall invited me to press hard once, upon which I started hearing voices through the speakers. One of the voices was familiar - it was Dean Bailey. "OK. Nathan Brown's a bit of a worry. Who have we got left to put on him?" Then, I heard another voice coming out of the ether. "Try PJ on him. He's got the pace and the agility and if you move Ricky up forward, he might just get a goal to put you in front". At first, I froze when I realised to whose voice those words belonged but I quickly gathered my wits, pushed my way beyond a screen and grabbed the cassette from a console and placed it in my back pack. Then, I ran up two or three flights of stairs with my chest heaving pushing past crowds and shocked attendants. I hailed a cab and within a quarter of an hour was back on the ship where I played the tape through in its entirety. It was in fact the missing audio from the the Jordan McMahon game and I had my proof that there was no tanking. This was all the evidence that was needed to put an end to the sham of a farce that would surely now become the great AFL tanking fiasco of 2009. I had no doubt about the identity of the other voice - the one who was advising Bailey during that frenetic final quarter against Richmond and provided him with all of those brilliant moves that all but won the game against the Tigers. His voice was distinctive, his initials were A.D!

You can't legislate an action two different ways. Fan wants to have his and eat it. Either an action taken is 'taking the game into disrepute' or it isn't. You can't say 'if a team in this position does this they are cheating' but 'if a team does the same thing in this position, then they are not cheating.' And Billy is wrong. We did not take the game into disrepute by doing what teams do in losing seasons in a draft regulated sport. As long as players do their best, their is nothing that can be specified as cheating: injuries, youth, experimentation, rotations, etc. Find intent and you can talk about sanctions. Without that you are just wasting everyone's time.

Not much to add from BH other than some players still have a lot to work on skill wise (was quite breezy) others were superb. Jordie, Viney, Barry and Dunn stood out to me with quality foot skills over 30m. Caught glimpses of Fitz and his pace for his size is a real standout he also finished of a fwd drill where they had to make about 6 different leads, snap, lead again, snap and lead very well. His repeat efforts have improved, if he can impose and realise he is massive, quick and can keep pushing himself he could do some damage for us. Repeat sprints.... Killer. I was disappointed seeing Blease in last group and seeing Spencil neck and neck with him a number of times before Blease finished last one off strongly. He has improved and will keep doing so. As stated the Pies were on othet oval. One drill i watched was doing a bit of ball work from back pocket all the way down the ground to hit a fwd target, while being pressured and there skills are still two steps ahead of Dees but we are getting better. They finished off with sprint session and was interesting to see Dane (should be sacked for off field problems) Swan finished the strongest of there entire team. Also funny to see a Pies tragic taking pages of notes of the training session, one can only assume to go on fan site doubt he is a patch on FNQ

You see...now you are doing what the media is doing.... you are a getting a hint of scent and reporting it as the whole world has dropped its guts. you stated above - "it is reported that the charges will be......." - nooooo......what it should read is "if the AFL are not satisfied with the responses provided by the club then the charges will be......". If the MFC are true to their word , if charges are laid then that will trigger legal action as it means that the explanations offered by the club to evidence has not been accepted. Our opinions differ as I don't think the club or coaches/admistrators will be charged with anything as I dont think that the AFL want (or can afford) for this to go legal. I think it iis important to note that even if the AFL think they can win a court challenge from the MFC, the damage will be done to the AFL when this pandora's box is opened in court whether or not the AFL wins (which is unlikely anyway)

I was there too and was equally impressed with Barry, everything he does oozes class. I genuinely think the FD have high hopes that he'll get plenty of game time this year. In the stoppage work they were doing he seemed to be the go to guy on the outside and designated kicker. Jones and Viney were doing the inside work and they were rotating blokes in the fluero vests specifically to block for Barry. It's clear they'd love for him to play a Lewis Jetta type roll and be free to create. A lot will come down to the ability of the blokes around him to keep him free and still win the ball themselves. We don't have midfield grunt of Sydney just yet to be able to structure our stoppage set up around one first year player and not get picked off by the top sides. I suspect this will be one of few strategies they'll test this year but would be great if they can make it work, he is extremely creative with the footy in hand and time to use it.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/afl/more-news/demons-recorded-dean-bailey-in-coaches-box-during-tanking-year/story-e6frf9jf-1226551547888 That says Bailey is looking for the tapes to help the defence against charges. Sounds like they'll never be found to me "but if only they were then we'd be in the clear". I'd be looking behind the ice-cream in CC's freezer.

Good stuff, HT. Round 1 - Pick no.1 #1 - Kallis (SA). I can't go past him. There are still plenty of stars you just can't say no to, but it'll be interesting to see who's left by the time my next pick comes around. All yours, thepassenger.

God I hate the AFL..... They constantly come up with dumb ideas and this one is right up there

Good to see the turnout this morning, the club must be happy with the support. As for training the reports are pretty much on the mark. A few things I will add are that there seems to be a lot of competition for places this year with a good even balance of players across the board. NAB cup form will have a big say in who makes it into the starting 22 this year particularly for the likes of Jetta, Strauss, Tynan, Taggert, Nicho and a long list of players who have yet to consolidate a place. Neeld showed last year he will pick a player who puts in early by picking Tynan in the first game. There is no doubt about Barry's skill and his running ability and if it translates on match day then we may see a bit of him this year, I hope so. A couple of passes into Dawes in the drills had his eyes light up. He will be a happy man if he gets this sort of service from Barry, Davey, Toumpas and Watts on game day. Interesting to watch big Max and Jesse Hogan kicking on the far side of the ground for a while. Everything was timed, videoed and accounted for, they weren't there to fill in time. They must be itching to get into the main group though. The year that Hogan gets at the club in advance of his peers where he gets to train and play in an AFL environment will pay off big time. It will be great watching him at Casey this year, I wonder if the club will get him a run in the NAB cup like GC did last year. Watching Jack Viney kicking before training with NIcho and he is a very good kick over shorter distance, low, hard and accurate. Like Joel Selwood I think he will be ready to go from game one, he is made for AFL.

Nev Jetta is close to finishing his first FULL preseason, he has always had the skills but his miserable run with injury kept killing his fitness...we saw a couple of glimpses late last season what he can do ..I spoke to him a couple of trainings ago....this is what the training staff want from him...... bringing it out of the backline but also his toughness and tackling and evasive skills in traffic, helping extricate the ball from congestion....... ...made a joke of being the perfect sub because when fit he can play a variety of positions....if that got him a regular game then he would take it........I made a joke about him cleaning up Nicho in one session I saw (his main opposition for the small defender)...said 'he needed to do it".... If he can get through the rest of the preseaon and the NAB cup he is my smoky for the coming season....and yes biased, nr 39 on my jumper...been there since I chatted to him after praccy game at Casey when he first arrived

I hope you're right. The sooner he's a staple in the team the better. He'll add a dynamic that can really impact games. Toumpas, Barry and Blease give the side the speed, spread, and kicking skills they haven't had for years.

The intensity of training and the ability of the players to recover quickly and go again is way beyond what we have seen before. I counted 16 players who were not at the club or were not available in 2012 who are now training with us. Evans & Taggert are doing the full set. Big Max is not far off. He is the giant of the club, has filled out and will be a weapon if able to stay fit. Howe lead his group in the 400 metre runs, Byrnes lead his and Frawley just pipped Pederson in the other group. The groups then ran a shuttle with Nicholson coming to the fore, Byrnes also doing well and Davey and Blease big improvers. Of the newbies, I was impressed with the speed and carry of Kent, who trained with the mids along with Dom Barry. By the way, Barry did very well in the 400's and the shuttle After the shuttle the groups then repeated the 400's, followed by another shuttle! The group now has a fantastic fitness base to take into match practice. I will put up some pics with further comments after the cricket!

did you notice someone looking like a cross between a cherokee indian and madame lash? if so was wondering what his form was like. did he fumble a lot? was he ashen-faced?

I understand the frustration at attempts to jazz up the atmosphere. God help me if they ever do what he Suns have done with music after every goal.. But really, we're talking about a few minutes as they run down the race here. With the right song it could really work, though pretty much anything will trump the velvet bugler. It's a fine line between defending the game's traditions, and basic wowserism.

Before, after, during, all the same....... it's not the timing but the idea of playing some commercial pop song to entertain when the footy is entertainment enough. FFS, what's next....... The Demonette cheerleaders? How about fireworks and a marching band? Footy is a simple and highly watchable game. It is the poorer for being interfered with and razzmatazzed.

HMMMM!

Any TISM song

My guess is that if these tapes exist then there is sure to be an 18 minute gap in them.

The cheesiest song of the 80s - The Final Countdown by Europe. Would be hilarious.

I hope AC/DC sued for that. I just threw up on my montior. Stuff you, hardtack. I'm scarred for the rest of my life.

Or already gone.

If they did Fear of The Dark the crowd would have no choice but to sing along with the guitar intro!

Billy. You are rolling over. Stop it now. This sham must be hard fought by the MFC Dean Bailey and the legal Teams. The AFL have bought themselves into disrepute thus far... And you are holding a white flag?? FIGHT THE POWER.

Wholeheartedly agree BB. The bookmakers rarely get it wrong and in that year, generally without exception, we were long odds to win any games of footy. As you put it, for whatever reason, we were "rubbish". In that situation, I would contend that is was incumbent on any coach to test the waters with any player on the list and challenge players to attempt to go beyond their perceived limitations, in terms of ability, just to see if it were possible to "pinch hit" with some players, even if that meant playing them out of their usual positions. The reality at that time was that we had very little else to hang our hats on. It is for the reason of a considerable dearth of talent that Neeld was left with no alternative but to turnover the list and formulate his own list, for which he will ultimately be happy to take responsibility. Simply put, in 2009, tanking or otherwise, we were bereft of any serious talent. No surprise, therefore, that we lost games and were often belted.

If Angry Anderson had asked for those match day tapes when he spoke to DB after his presser then this whole farce would have been sorted within a day. A week at most. 6 months of this. The AFL have got more to answer than the MFC.

Not sure about this. Liverpool supporters have been singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" since the 60's, well before the 1985 disaster. Primarily it is sung to unify them as a supporter group. Likewise, I don't know the origins of the Hammers' "Blowing Bubbles" anthem, but I'd be surprised if it represents any higher purpose other than getting them pumped up for the game.. I did like the story about Michael Jackson going to a Hammers match and leaving before the first whistle had blown. He thought "Blowing Bubbles" was the crowd having a dig at his chimp.

Actually this whole thing revolves around one word : "Merits" As others point out a qualifier is motive, but I cant see how you can get too far from ability. Somehow many pundits , sitting currently on the bench of accusers , would have it we were more than capable and we should have won far more games than we did, thus proving the motive and qualifying the 'merit' of the situation. If however you take the far more realistic view that we were simply rubbish ( for the most part ) then our 'merits' simply wouldn't have got us very far irrespective. The League and others are trying to apply an absolute to a subjective and this is why we must fight, because they cant possibly do that. Its illogical.

http://youtu.be/D1Tf58Gl0vQ Now that sends a tingle down the spine.

The difference with Liverpool and west ham etc is they actually mean something, Liverpool sing due to all the people who died, we will play a stupid song cos the players are walking out.

Really, this is one more step along the road to me not wanting to attend games. Songs along with bands (both I'm positive I will despise) and the crap interviews on the big screen and everything else is annoying and detracts from the game. The game is all I care about, the rest is horrible.

Waterboarding

If I was Bailey's lawyer, I would only be asking for the tape if I knew it didn't exist....

Just took the time to listen to the presser ( as opposed to read the words etc ) . This bloke is a gem. That he would want to be part of a re-invigorated Melbourne says much I feel about the likely hood of us getting there. A very considered orator. I think his role in the Sports Performance position will pay dividends way over in the next few years. He brings a level of intuition, understanding and polish that this club hasnt had for......... hmm I can see why Neeld and Craig work so well together. You cant build anything of note without a plan and these guys ( together with Misson ) are the Architects of a New Melbourne. Rome wasnt built in a day and neither will the resurgent Demons, but im glad were in their collective hands.

Just mix it up . Some retro and some new stuff ... maybe Aussie primarily ... gotta be real loud with a slant on driving rock . Here's one from yesteryear for starters ... dee-luded posted 'Highway to Hell' with Brian Johnson up front but I prefer the version with Bon Scott ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_5kv8QeBBc

The only song I want to hear at MFC games is "A Grand old Flag " after winning games. Just play that 10 times next year and I will be ecstatic!

http://youtu.be/ewrHj_RRk0Y

If you let the occasional harsh post get under your skin i'd suggest putting him on ignore. But if i was you i'd chill out and take the good with the bad. Jose, Ben Hur, and a few of the other guys can get heated over differing opinions, but generally their veiws on the club and footy in general are pretty well informed, worth a read anyway

Its pumps, its modern and it isn't old man crap.

Hells Bells. That first ring of the bell - is there a more ominous sound than that?

why do we need another song to play? let the atmosphere build naturally

I stand to be corrected about him playing as a forward at AFL level, but why you'd want to move a valuable 10 year key back to the forward-line when you have Dawes, Hogan, Pedersen and Mitch Clark has me dumbfounded.