Leaderboard

Just got back. There were a few people down there today, enjoying the great weather. While I remember too, there was a bloke from the Casey area letting people know there will be a BBQ and some kids activities (not sure what) at training on Friday at Casey. So get on down. Training today started with some running at the Athletics Track near the ground. Sylvia, Clisby, Gawn, Hogan and Toumpas did their own training which involved running and then skill drills with heaps of running. Toumpas' kicking skills are immaculate, as are Sylvia's kicking, on both feet. The following players did not do the sprints ; Grimes, Dawes, Magner, N. Jones, Dunn, Garland, Joel Mac, Tapscott, Fitzy, and the 5 named above. These guys are all coming back from slight niggles and were not asked to do the hard sprints. The others did 5 x 300m sprints, all at full pace. They were in groups, I think they were in groups from fittest to not so fit. I may miss some names, as I did not write it all down. The first group had Howe, Nicho, T Mac, Couch, Viney, Evans, McKenzie The second group was M. Jones, Pederson, Davis, Frawley, Watts, Tynan, Strauss, Byrnes, Rodan, Barry The third group was Blease, Spencer, Gillies, Jamar, Davey, Kent, Terlich, Sellar, Jetta, Taggert The guys who were the most consistent and at the front are underlined. Howe dropped out after 4 good runs and looked ill and both Jones and Barry dropped out after 2 or 2, not looking too well. The battlers were Davey (but he did it all and you could see he was trying), Rodan (not his style of running really) and the younger blokes on occasions. What must be said, is that some individuals battled on 1 run but then pushed hard through the next one. From what I can see there has been a great overall improvement, and they worked bloody hard. After the running they went back to the ground to do drills. Almost everyone joined in these drills, except for Clarke, Trengove, Sylvia, Gawn, Toumpas, M Jones and Howe. The first few drills were in close hands, quick movement and protcection. The voice and skills were really good. Next they did a drill which was based on the defenders trying to get the ball out of the backline and carry it down the field while the forwards were putting pressure on. In this, the forwards were trying to keep their zone up, work on forward pressure and hold their lines while the defenders had to move the ball quickly and hit targets. At the same time there were guys on the bench and players had to continually rotate. It is great practice to see how well the zone holds up with player coming on and off the ground. The pressure and voice was most impressive in this drill. The decision making has still got room for improvement. You can see the style of game thogh in this drill. They are trying to move the ball quickly and always had 1 or 2 forwards up forward to be a target. The next part of training they split into groups where some players were working on their kicks under pressure while the rest were doing a 6 on 6 drill trying to work their way though under pressure. I left after this, as it was already 12, and they were about to head back into a drill. Maybe someone can fill in anything I missed. I thought it was a great session, especially working hard under fatigue. Again, all the drills involved the following points (which I think are rapidly improving at the club): * hard 2 way running * maximum pressure (to the point where N Jones and Kent had a wrestle after a tackle) * pressure on decision making as the drill is generally stopped and started again when a mistake is made * guys on the mark are running up to the mark at full pace and pressuring the kicker * the voice and guidance is great * the ball is moving quickly, there is not much stopping and kicking over the mark The guys who impressed more most in the session today, overall, were Evans (looks really fit), Tynan (can see a real athlet in him), Kent (worked really hard all the time),Gillies (skills look akward, but work, but he looks to be a smart defender), Frawley(looks really fit and ran well and he did well in the defensive drills), Spencer (putting real pressure on Jamar for the #1 ruck, and his kicking skills are vastly improved). I can see the pressure on all players now as the depth is better than it has been in a while, and players are going to have to work hard for a spot in the team (finally). If you have any questions, happy to answer them. Cheers.

Many will think that each win should have been better\greater\more fulfilling. Threads such as 'worst win ever' will start to appear.

Essendon are always in my sights. Their red sash is like a flag to me, it brings out a feral side, like it does with a bull. I guess it's 2000 still haunting me. Surprisingly I haven't had too many problems with many other supporters. I got into a verbal argument with a morbidly obese member of the doggies cheersquad once. He told me to shut up- I told him his club would have more supporters if he didn't eat them all. Fun times.

Does Brock McLean being tarred and feathered count as "decorated"?

I hope every Demon on 99 games gets his 100th. Lynden will in his first game this year. He is versatile and worth his place on the list.

To answer some of the questions, as I have been to a few sessions. The drills they are doing a starting to use the whole ground, but they are still working on all rolling up or creating forward pressure. The defenders are working their way through the zone and pressure, and I dont think there is a particular instruction to not go into the middle of the ground. Blease is working his butt off. He was in the last group in the sprints today, but I think he would be able to run in the middle of the second group. That all being said, his endurance will improve, but it is his speed and line breaking we need. Clarke is not relly doing any running in front of people, but he is doing heaps on the bike and other cross training. Along with Gawn and Sylvia and Toumpas, they are taking extra precautions and going slow. Viney was in the top fitness group, he struggled bad in the 3rd sprint, but with true grit, he pushed closer to the front in the next one.

2000 grand final aftermath, I bit a bombers supporter's finger because he was waving it in my face telling me how much we sucked. I was a hurt and cornered youngster he should have known better, I needed a rabbies shot, although some say the disease still lingers. You don't f with my dees at the footy, I take this stuff seriously haha

I hate Essendon supporters with a passion but don't worry felllas I have extracted revenge on behalf of all of us on three separate occasions. I have successfully managed to draw blood from two of the arrogant sods and had a whole family of the ferals ejected from Telstra dome in 2009. The most fulfilling part was tasting the youngest bombers supporters tears, they were so salty!

As of March 1st the Pies will start training on their own ground next to the Westpac centre. We'll have exclusive use of the oval at Gosch's.

we had a few players last year who thought they were cones

I find extraordinary the proposition that the interpretation publicly and consistently given to a rule over a number of years by the chief executive of an organisation should not be the one to be applied in any decision about its breach.

Middle of the night, ok? Round one is for us on Easter Sunday. So I idly asked myself if there was a useful analogy lying around here. If the tanking investigation is unfairly heading towards a crucifixion, can the biblical precedent shed any light on it? McLean fits the role of the Judas - he put us in it. Demetriou is certainly playing the Pontius Pilate card - standing apart from it all, trying to look wise and pretending it's not his doing. Who today will end up loathed and hated, if we try to parallel the biblical story? - not the investigators, whose role and mentality is pretty much like that of the Bible story's Roman soldiers. Judas and Pilate are obvious villains, but the synagogue power-brokers lurking in the shadows were the real instigators of the crucifixion in the Bible story. So, I ask myself, who's driving this attack on the MFC? Mclean (like Judas) backed down when he saw what he'd done. Anderson gets the blame from some, but he left the building before it got anywhere near a crucifixion. Wilson has gone quiet. Carrying the thing forward has to be down to Pilate-like Demetriou, but in the Bible story Pilate isn't really the driver of the crucifixion: he just wanted to not get mired himself, and couldn't see any other way to placate the troublemaking Synagogue push. Somewhere in the apparently evidence-free zone of the tanking inquiry, surely there has to be someone with unyielding agenda to get the MFC? Someone exerting pressure that won't go away and which ensures the momentum of the whole thing? Who? What is at the heart of their agenda? Jealousy in the Bible story, and surely that isn't it here. Ok, it's the middle of the night and I've got nothing worthwhile to think about. How we long for the footy! May we too rise above the crap on Easter Sunday...

Many of the kids I teach give me grief over supporting Melbourne. Of course I obtain revenge by downgrading their marks and writing them poor reports.

No but when she was about 13, I ate a caterpillar in front of her and her girlfriend. Her girlfriend vomitted.

It gets better. I've thrown my plastic cup beer at a Carlton boy's face. I've been banned from taking my little cousins to the footy. Collateral damage as I like to think of it

lol..no words.

Ok, we beat Port and Ess in rounds 1 and 2 - done deal. Round 3 is the Eagles at home - plane strike and they have to drive over - win no.3 Giants and Lions in rounds 4 and 5 - easy peasy. Round 6 is the Blues - Murphy injured and Judd out for his 4th 'weird' suspension - McLean stretchered off and it's win no.6 Tigers in round 7 - payback for '09 - Win Round 8 - Gold Coast - in a canter That's 8 Biff . That's what I call a prolonged winning streak (for our team)

My son is 8 weeks old, still undecided on whether I will let him support this club.

I haven't been to a lot of training but it appears we are doing much more match simulations at a high intensity than we have in previous years. I seem to recall we hardly picked up a footy until mid to late January... Can anyone confirm that at all?? If true I'd have to say I am stoked. We always seem to enter a season with no momentum, poor skills and lack of fitness. Going by the reports its a significant improvement from years gone by... Hopefully its all about to change..

Watts and Nic Nat were the two outstanding picks of their year. Both were seen as athletes who had a lot of football to learn. The club needed a CHF before it needed a ruckman and went with Watts. Watts kicked winning goals after the siren in the under 18 champs, therefore was seen as a player who stood up in a game when needed. I beleive that playing well in finals or in Under 18 champs is seen as a bonus by most clubs these days, including the new drafting policy at the MFC. Nic Nat is by far the superior player thus far, but Watts has had litlle support as a CHF, while Nic Nat has a great in Cox to coax him thru and support his development. Currently the rumour is that Nic Nat has an injury that he will not overcome. The player he was in the first half of 2012 will never be again. Fan hit the nail on the head and Watts has been grossly mismanaged by the club and he has suffered as a result. Another fact is that has been ignored is Watts played a lot in the midfield at the Dragons. He was NEVER a pure out and out CHF. I still see Watts as a FWD next to Dawes, Clark, Pedo and Hogan. Watts is a very talented midfielder come forward. I hate the idea of most on here believing that a good set of guns results in strength in the air or on the ground. The fact is that size and strength can be mean two seperate things!! Another fact is that Watts is being groomed differently under Neeld. Neeld is playing him as defender/midfielder. A role he played at the Dragons. If I had the choice to have Watts on another list today, I would say NO. He has talent and its up to the club to develop it. But if a player was thrown into the mix that was tempting, as has already been said, Watts in not indispensable. Another area that isnt discussed too much on here is, the club could not develop players at the same rate of stronger clubs due to the FD structure. The MFC were amatuer, and are yet to prove otherwise!! I like that Denham sticks the boots in. Its now up to the club to rise above the media and show the world that we are ELITE on and off the ground. Time the club walked the talk. I would love to see Watts be the one that shuts up Denham and many others on here

I have thought all along that it wont even come to a fight as there will be no charges to answer. Every fight the AFL picks, they usually are the the combatants, judge and jury. If they choose to fight by laying charges which we challenge in court, they lose the power to control the outcome. I dont think that want this with 5 other clubs that could face the same court defined scrutiny. The courts will not state that other clubs need to be charged etc but if they uphold any charges laid against us there will be meat on the bones of the AFL laws and rules governing this area - we will know exactly what actions we took that constituted "tanking" and then the media scrum will be baying for blood - e.g. Strange positional moves are tanking - Carlton ? Not coaching to ensure the teams success - Terry Wallace and Richmond. As it stands now, there are no practical defined actions under the existing rules - this will change in court and i feel sure that the AFL does not want to have investigate and possible charge 5 other clubs. For this reason alone, we cannot afford to blink - no buckling - keep towing the same line - you charge us AFL and we will defend ourselves in court.

what happened behind the office door i cannot comment O.D but on the outside it was fast & clean. Stynes was right btw it couldn't wait. The interest payment was mounting. PG's biggest problem was that he distanced the average supporter...Jim bought them back. Got the blood pumping... Victories are needed now. Strength comes from winning

My memory suggests he did not go willingly wyl. I think he wanted to serve out his last year and JS said it cannot wait we will die in the interium. He then went but with less than a gracious exit.

Yokozuna has got it all covered, good report. If anyone is thinking about heading down to Casey this Friday for the BBQ and watch training. I suggest they CHECK the MFC website for confirmation! I too was informed by the same guy about this Fridays BBQ etc. Later I was chatting to someone else from the club, and was told he thought it was the Friday after, and the other guy has got it confused. He then suggested to check the website before trekking out there. So now I am confused. Trenners is expecting to begin running next week or the following week. I overheard Sylvia saying his back is still giving him some minor problems. Thats about all I can add.No point me repeating what has been posted. Apart from the hard slog in the inclose clearance drills, some of the players were more than happy to have photos taken,and sign autographs, as their mates were sweating it out on the ground. Neil Craig was the main man to oversee most of the drills. There were approx 80 supporters there, so a good turnout.

We'd all stop arguing with each and be polite, courteous and empathetic and cultivate faeries in the bottom of our gardens Pigs @arz we would

I did the Trailwalker a couple of years prior to that, and you're right, you have a team of 4 and its not possible to continue without all 4 members. I guess it's a "safety in numbers" thing, and it's monitored at checkpoints. And although he could have powered through and finished with plenty of time to attend the match, you are at the mercy of your fellow team members' pace. He could have actually just had someone else join his team in his place, but I don't mind that he did it. I agree with BH that it was his attitude that annoyed me. I would've accepted "unfortunately I have a prior commitment," but to downplay the importance of the first match with him as president just really got to me. It was like he was saying that being president was just one of many hats that he wears on different occasions. I want someone fully committed and devoted to the role. Mind you, I'd probably have said something similar off the cuff. It just required some forethought and preparation, and once again, I think that was indicative of how seriously he took the role.

"Demetriou said he had been briefed by AFL football operations manager Adrian Anderson about the Demons' probe, which has intensified after interviews with current and former officials." "But he said he had deliberately keeping an "arm's length'' from it, in case it has to go to the AFL Commission, on which he sits." "I am not involved (in the investigation),'' Demetriou said. "I sit on the commission and if Adrian believes it is serious enough to go to the commission, then I have to make sure I am at arm's length because I might have to listen to it. "I have not formed a view one way or another because I am not privy to all the information.''

Yes ... I've been waiting a long time for this - what a comeback!

And Jack Watts will still be blamed for something.

I bypassed the boycott approach and just stopped listening. Used to be a real advocate of the station, and actually miss Tim in the morning and Schwarter in the evening, but life is to short to listen or read stuff that pisses you off. Same as have stopped reading the age. Wrote and told SEN and the age as well. But I don't expect a response. You know I actually found that there are plenty of other good sources of news and even footy news without SEN and the age. The ABC web site is a good start. They tend to do reporting rather than opinioning.

Actually I ran the little focker over - most fun I've had in years. And - get to keep the collar.

You got your wish

If he was still in the country when McLean was on OTC - we wouldn't be debating this at all.

It goes to the very heart of what this is about.It means that there is a difference between the legal interpretation of tanking and its popularly held meaning. The AFL has a rule that defines tanking and the rule has been explained from time to time by the AFL and more particularly by Andrew Demetriou himself as having a narrow meaning which excludes such things as list management and experimental positioning of players. That is what I consider to be the AFL's law regarding tanking . That law can't be retrospectively changed in 2013 to apply to a set of circumstances that prevailed in 2009, 2007 or any other year. On that basis, I don't believe we can be charged unless the coach instructed his players to do things during a game which would minimise our chances of winning. Quite apart from the questionable investigation techniques applied by the AFL's people, this would ultimately see any case against us, thrown out by a court of law (if it ever came to that). In fact, there is only one instance of tanking that I believe can be proven and that is against Richmond, which by Terry Wallace's admission, gained a priority draft pick as a result of him not making moves to win a game against St. Kilda in 2007 i.e he did not allow his team to play on its merits. The AFL however, has failed to investigate or charge either the Tigers or Wallace. There have been other claims of tanking against several other clubs over the past decade or so but the AFL hasn't taken these seriously either and, as a result, it's my view that the AFL's tanking rules are bad law and need to be reviewed. There is a disconnect between the L-A-W (where have I heard that before?) and the public perception of tanking which is what 99% of the population (including you) consider tanking to be - that is the much wider view which included experimenting with player positioning, unusual tactics and dropping players or sending them off for early surgery. If that's your definition of "tanking" then a dozen clubs including us have tanked in one way or another going back to Fremantle in 1999 all the way to the AFL love child GWS in 2012. Back in 2009, I supported the idea that we should do whatever was in our power to collect the priority draft pick. I still found it repugnant that the AFL put the temptation in front of us but, we're all mortals and we ate the forbidden (but very legal) fruit.

There is quite a gap ( actually a gaping chasm) between an approach to the club and "almost traded".

The first time someone says we had" an honourable loss", I will lose my cool.

We will all put the winning down to Cale Morton leaving...

dunno about getting rid of them bbo, but i might switch to a nice pair of red and blue lycra ones i saw in the local bike shop window whilst doing a little late night graffitti

If there is ever a Knickleback song played as our anthem i will forever stay at home. Sorry but they really suck.

60

Taggerts debut is one of the things I'm looking forward to most this season. In the game he played in the magoos he really looked like he belonged playing senior footy and was one rung below dominant. Can't wait!

Grimes main concern is his Hamstrings, just like his brother, i thought frankys post was a pretty fair post, once again though Jose has to throw in a snide remark at the end of his.

What did the police say to the dubstep theif? Drop the bass... Skrillex - Rock N Roll

Phew! Thank goodness they finally played Clarke, Wade, Warner et al. Definitely made them a stronger and more competitive side.

went to training at casey this morning noticed Pederson spent a lot of time up forward in the match simulation couple of things I noticed mind you it's only the second time I have been to training(nice place Casey saw two Eskimos and a polar bear ) Dawes was very vocal in giving orders to players around him telling them where they should be ie moving up the ground etc . Viney and rodan spent the entire match simulation in the centre and at ball ups around the ground. Both made efforts to get to every contest Viney is going to make a lot of opposition players need ice baths after they come up against him in games. His take no prisoner attitude to me hopefully will rub off on a few players around him. I think Rodan must rub oil all over him because he was able to slip out a lot of tackles. Saw Trengove,Clark,Sylvia on sidelines all moved freely Sylvia doing 100 sprints seemed un fazed.To me it looks like Clark is busting to join the main group he paces around like a bear with a sore tooth. Finally saw young Hogan for the first time today he is more solid than a lot of 2nd and 3rd year players he is about 6 to 12 inches taller then a lot of our new players

I went to Casey to watch training with my teenage daughter and son. Trengove appeared, but did no running. His legs have lost a lot of condition, and I guess his left leg had the injury because Dom Barry's legs were bigger than it. NIcho did some handball drills and then walked heaped of laps, finishing with some stationary kick to kick. Dunn walked laps, and then was like a sidelines coach barking instructions during some drills Clark did some handball drills but nothing else. After an extensive warm up, one group of players left to go to a distant training track. Gawn, Magner, and a few midfielders whose names I forget. The best thing about today was that almost every player was there. The only player I didn't see was Rohan Bail (edit: Jeremy Howe and Tynan also). This is the first time in a few seasons that we have had so many in full training. I can't wait for Clark, Trengove and Gawn to join in. The main drill began at stoppages. Any time there was a spilled mark or poor kick the drill was stopped and Neil Craig - who led the session - would choose a spot on the ground to start again. Every player had a one-on-one opponent each time the play stopped. The backmen looked efficient and strong, and I was super impressed with Gillies. Very big, very strong at the ball and has good awareness. The midfielders were lively and aggressive. Jones and Blease were the standouts, Davey and Jetta not far behind. But the kicking into the forward 50 was atrocious. The first 7 times they conducted this drill the ball missed the forward target 6 times. It was a bit windy (when is Casey not?!?!) but the delivery was just plain poor. Frustrating to watch. Every other aspect of the drill was impressive. Cam Pederson attacks the ball fiercely in the air but did not complete one contested mark he went for. Every 15 mins or so they would stop for a drink, and do 2 - 5 mins of in close tackling, picking moving ball up of the ground drill. I was sitting goal end and saw the defense up close. Davis and Couch hardly hit a target by foot. Joel MacDonald was running hard and kicking well. The other backmen seemed impressed with his effort and efficiency. Jade Rawlings voice among the backs never let up. Always commenting, always feeding back. If needed, he got involved and would use his weight and nouse to ruffle a few feathers. It seemed to work wonders and fired them up at times. Interesting to watch Jamar and Spencer ruck against each other. Spencer matched him for strength and positioning, but Jamar has a greater tap sense and won on maybe 2/3 of all contests. But around the ground Spencer ran well, often getting into attacking positions with Jamar trailing. I have a gut feeling he will overtake Jamar by the end of this year and could end up being our ruck duo with Gawn. Aaron Davey was lively and aggressive. I can't believe I am typing this but his tackling was spot-on, both in close and on the run. Jetta looks fit, quick, aware and strong around the footy. Dawes leading was great - however on a few occasions his great leads were ignored. One last thing that I really liked. At one stage Watts turned out of defence and delivered the ball poorly out to the back flank. Jetta gave him a brief spray, and Watts acknowledged it and took it. I had to leave at 11am. Cheers.

So wish I could go to these sessions. I literally refresh this page all day Monday, Wednesday and Friday reading all your posts. They certainly don't go to waste. And the interstate fans really appreciate the reports you guys post.

Arguably the most extraordinary post I've ever seen on here.

Another Jack would be good

I watched a couple of eps of "Yes Minister" last night. Anyone who has not seen it. I strongly urge you to do so. It was made in the 80's but the script & acting is as sharp and clever today as it was then. Nothing in Politics changes very much.