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Everything is methodical, and meticulously planned at MFC training these days. A whistle blows and coaches shout, players move hastily, bibs are exchanged, balls are dropped. Everything is done for a reason. Dave Misson stands on the sideline looking at his watch. He blows his whistle when a drill has gone the required amount of time. Have we finished that drill, Misso, or is it half time? bellows Aaron Greeves. Were done! he screams back. My highlight of today: It was a match simulation incident. A ball was kicked in the air to Ro Bail who looked like he would take a comfortable mark. Lynden Dunn came from nowhere to execute a spoil, landing on top of Bail in the process. As Dunn was getting up, he pushed Bail back to the ground. Bail didnt like it, so before you knew it they had grabbed each other around the neck. It got quite serious when Dunn gave Bail a jumper punch to the chin. Dunn finally had the sense to release Bail, and as he did that Bail gave Dunn a decent elbow to the back of his neck. The two continued to play on each other with Dunn giving his usual elbow to Bail in the guts and back. Finally someone was sent out by Neeld to tell Dunn to pull his head in. It really did quite heated. My observations: - No Frawley, Clark or Trengove today. Gawn did his own running and skills session separate to the main group. D-Rod had the session off and helped Gawn do some skills work. Every other player took part in the main session. - There was a match simulation exercise. It was white jumpers versus blue. It was scrappy and I was disappointed by the amount of times kicks failed to find targets going into the forward-line, and by the number of times the ball was coughed up with indiscriminate handballs, resulting in a turnover. - Toumpas had no trouble finding the ball. He used it pretty well too. He did get caught a couple of times. (Hes adjusting to the pace of the game at the higher level.) And he ran out of steam pretty quickly. (Again, this is to be expected.) I think hell need some good NAB Cup form to have any chance to play round one. - Tom McDonald beat any forward he played on. He was just too good for them. Dawes, Sellar or Pedersen would start ahead of him on the lead, and he would get in front of them and execute a spoil. Tom was good at ground level and used the footy really well. BOG for mine. - Matt Jones looks a player. He is quick, a good size. He makes good decisions with the footy. Matt just needs to put some size on. - Shannon Byrnes never wastes the footy. He spends most of his time lurking in the forward line. (He gets to dangerous positions when the ball hits the ground from a marking contest.) - Jack Grimes won a heap of the footy through the midfield. He is moving well. In my opinion he must start in the middle. - Jesse Hogan has great hands. He looked a bit lost in some of the drill, but he marked strongly and was very good below his knees. The kid doesnt fumble. - James Strauss really impressed me. He looks fit, and most importantly for him, his body language and voice is very positive out there. Strauss takes the game on. He is quick, and he was happy to get physical with defenders he manned up today. He might surprise a few. -The players are a vibrant, enthusiastic group who are working hard to improve. They continually encourage each other, but are happy to give out constructive criticism to each other when required.

Those that I didn't see, or didn't join main training - Frawley, Trengove, Clark, Rodan, Gawn As usual, training started with the entire squad pairing up and doing short kicks between two players, that gradually became longer kicks, before players then spread over the ground with kicking weighted to where your opposite ran. In the main the kicks were good, but the usual culprits hit the deck too often. Toumpas and Tapscott stood with their superb kicking, but plenty of others kicked really well. Lots of handball drills with an emphasis on running in numbers, which typically included a group of 3. This drill determined that two players held tackle bags and a group of 3 players had to bypass them. There were two main groups doing this. I noticed that the receivers had a bit of space between them, which I liked, as too often players get sucked into a contest only for the opposition to throw it wide and get on the outside. It was short, sharp and looked pretty slick. Next they had two stoppage drills happening simultaneously at either end of the ground, which was basically the entire group split into two. Each group had players evenly divided either wearing blue or white singlets. One group had to work it out of congestion through handball before spotting up a target 40 metres away. Lots of pressure/tackling and plenty of turnovers, but also a few clean take aways, which were subject to applause from their teammates. On to the full ground circle work type drill where the ball starts in defence, is usually switched, but wasn't always, and worked forward by kicks, overlapping handball receivers and hard running, before trying to hit a target close to goal. In the main it was done well, but there's still room for improvement with the overall skill level. And finally there was match simulation between white and blue, plus use of the interchange, but usually only two players off at any one time. There were no AFL umpires and the ball wasn't thrown up in the middle, but it would start with a ruck duel and it was predetermined who out of Spencer, or Jamar got the hit-out to give either blue or white first use. There were some good passages and some ordinary ones. There were some good skills and there were turnovers. The pressure was good and there seemed to be far more understanding of each player's role compared to last year. Lots of emphasis on decision making. Lots of tackling and pressure. I've definitely noticed a higher quality in the tackles of late. The work put into correct technique is paying dividends. Magner, Nicholson, MacDonald, McDonald, Sellar, Evans, Dunn, Watts, Jetta all missed targets that resulted in turnovers and even Toumpas and Terlich had a bad one. Get used to turnovers in AFL footy, but there's still much to like with the way the ball is now being moved. I won't list all of the players, but want to highlight 5, although I thought Tapscott, Sylvia, Jetta, and Grimes also trained well. I'm reluctant to mention Viney, because it seems he's singled out every week, but he was in everything, kicked beautifully, made good decisions and was a stand-out. His only blemish was slipping over when trying to play on after a mark and getting caught. The rain had a small effect on the conditions late in the session. Barry excites me every time I see him. His class and movement just slaps you in the face. He's a good kick, a really smart player, quick, and just doesn't fumble. Terlich has a knack of reading the play. He gets by himself and constantly gets the ball. He uses it well and looks to have a cool head. He's no superstar, but one of those reliable defenders that mops up. Taggert trained really well. I noticed him more than I had previously and I liked what I saw. He's tall, strong, moves well and is a good kick. It was a toss of the coin with Viney, but my stand-out today was Matt Jones. Like Taggert, he's tall, quick, balanced and a beautiful kick. At 25 he's ready to go. Where Magner dropped marks and butchered a number of kicks Jones' skills shone. I understand that supporters will be skeptical about a guy that was playing at Box Hill and overlooked by Hawthorn and everyone else over the years, but I can only comment on what I see and he looks a real find.

Yes, 13thFlag is right, Jimmy continued in the full match-play activity. He was feeling the intensity and may have had a bit of a niggle. I left at 11:15 due to parking restrictions. The match play activity was very impressive. We will be using a fast, play on, follow up, play the wings style which relies on high level delivery. We will come unstuck when kicks are poorly directed, BUT... It will look fantastic when in full flight. Expect rapid movement sweeping down the wings and surges of quick scoring, coast to coast. That's what they are training for! Propping, stopping and being indecisive is out! There was so much to be impressed by, I hated leaving early. Viney is ready! He sticks like glue when chasing and is a master of repeat efforts. Dawes will add speed, and kicking distance to the forward line. Pedersen will be valuable, particularly while Mitch is recovering. I noticed Matt Jones more today he seemed right at home and kicks well. Nathan Stark has speed carrying the ball and reminds me of Barts. Nathan Jones was excellent in match play. By the way, the tackling was intense and several players were bought to the ground with a thud. Dunn ran into McKenzie at full speed and left No13 struggling for breath. Davey was good. Hogan contested well but on most occasions was spoilt by the intense back pressure. Sylvia, Grimes, Strauss and Tapscott (playing half forward) all took part in the full scale match play. I will add more plus photos a little later.

I agree with others about Tommy Mac. He looks exceptional at the moment. He defended really well and is still rebounding like he did. He's just a fantastic runner with great judgement and a really good size. I was impressed with Clisby. He was clean in defence and carried the ball really well. Gave some good overlapping run from deep, which is what we need to move the ball quickly. I don't want to throw more petrol on the Viney fire, but he makes it hard not to. Towards the end there was a drill with the forwards and midfielders involving stoppages. It seemed very much to be an A-team vs B-team in the midfield, with just an A-team setup up forward. It was Jamar, Jones, Jones, McKenzie, Viney, Grimes vs Spencer, Evans, Magner, Couch and Taggert (IIRC) in the midfield. The forwards were Dawes, Pedersen, Fitzpatrick, Davey and Tapscott. They were set up like an X (20 metres apart) with Dawes in the middle about 30 metres from goal, Pedersen and Fitz playing deeper, but separated, and Tapscott and Davey playing higher (about 40 or so metres out) but spread out. The stoppage was won and then kicked forwards (either quickly under pressure or measured if they get space) where one of the talls knocked the ball down for a small to run onto the ball. With the running, they did repeat sprints with Misson in groups over about 30 metres. There were different targets for different players: a B cone, an A cone and an A+ cone (each one about 3 or so metres past the last - ie, Bs did 30m, As did 33m and A+ did 36m). In the midfielders group the A+ group were Grimes (who was ultra impressive), Jones and Viney. One thing about the drills is that there was a marked improvement from last year with the intensity. Especially defensively. The pressure that was placed on the ball carrier was very good and there seemed to be a lot of drills done to emphasise this. The match simulation had some turnovers, but a lot of that was to do with the defensive intent of the defending team. It was good to see, and easy to notice that the players genuinely value the defensive aspect.

Tommy Mac & Nath Jones to get AA this year. Calling it early. Mark that down.

I was there for about an hour today. Dawes has a good presence and will be a great focal point for us. Howe, Tapscott, Pedersen, Byrnes, Davey, Blease and Fitzpatrick also training in the forwards group. Very impressed with Barry and Toumpas, just known how to run to the right spots, find the footy and dispose of it to their teammates' advantage. Viney is a machine just goes and goes, and goes again, a definite starter. Grimes also impressed me in the midfield, running alongthe wing and working hard. Pickles Evans could be a real smokey for a regular senior spot as he was in everything. Watts has definitely beefed up, and he is probably our most skillful player from what I saw today. Jones just looks like a man on a mission and I wouldn't mind putting a few bob on him for the Brownlow, as I believe he will go to anther level again this year. No Rodan out there today, would have liked to see how he fitted in.

I find it hard to believe there are not measures in place to avoid anything like this happening. Either make it more visible by placing a larger cone on it or something FCS. After Tapscotts injury you would've thought a thorough risk assessment of this type of hazard was completed.

Live training reports, how spoilt are we!

Only Lynden Dunn could cop an elbow to the head and be blamed for it.

I'm going to have to buy a footy record in round one!

Full on running ball out of defense activity under way at both ends of ground Watts Garland Jones excelling at one end Great tackles by Jetta and McKenzie Watched Toumpas and Viney at other end Jimmy evasive but nailed by bigger bodies a few times and slightly injured after slipping on sprinkler cover Davey his old self in this group Pederson very good Chris Dawes with scorching pace on the lead Viney seems very capable in traffic

there's already a thread on this, it's called the demonland forum

It's extraordinary isn't it ? We tanked more blatantly than any other club, yet supporters want to argue over the definition of tanking, as well as claiming victimization. And as you correctly point out, if this investigation was about Carlton MOST of the same supporters would be saying "throw the book at them". Do these posters ever intellectualize situations, or are they only capable of seeing things from their own biased perspective ? We tanked. Pure and simple. I was for it at the time. But it's not easy to prove and we should fight tooth and nail claiming our innocence.

Nah, board just changed their mind after Geddy intervened at last moment Neeld to go instead you guys don't learn anything from history.

That's crazy talk. You are just like the media vultures who demand he plays a higher standard than everyone else. He finished 16th in the BnF despite missing 7 games. His 18.5 disposals a game was the third best average at the club behind Jones and Grimes. His supercoach average was 3rd at the club, his dreamteam 9th. At the start of 2012, he had just turned 21, meaning he is a good 3-5 years away from his best football. If you think he is anywhere near the fringe of the side you have no idea about football, simple as that

Lol, how did they fill 800 pages with that startling evidence. There must be a lot of pictures. McClean's statements were all in crayon.

what the heck has the Los Angeles Yacht Club got to do with this?

Well it must be true then. Have never seen so much shiite written about any footballer in my lifetime. Don't see it about Scully, dont see it about Patten, don't see it about Kruezer. Give it rest you muppets. He plays for Melbourne. Its a new season. Try just supporting him as a 21 year old.

Just wanted to add that it was great to see Swooper Northey chatting to Todd Viney and Darren Flanigan when I got there. Northey had the same red and blue striped tie as Todd, so I wonder if there was some sort of breakfast that he'd attended.

Gee, a Hawthorn reject: maybe we have another Brett Lovett in the team!

Tommy Mac just glides over the turf...he's a running machine!

I think it's been too long since you've seen him play, so you're just making up things in your head. This isn't the case with watts at all. He does often stop and prop before making a move, much in the vein of Pendlebury, but that's the point guard in him.

No. I saw Dunn land on McKenzie after he spoiled him in a marking contest, but not the incident you're referring to. Maybe I was on the other side of the ground. They're all mates and would be ribbing each other about it later. I like to see those types of incidents. There haven't been enough.

First time seeing him live but every Jimmy Toumpas kick is just smooth as silk.

Dear Vlad, Thank you for the 800 page script you submitted as a fiction crime thriller. Unfortunately after reviewing it we have to reject it as unconvincing and poorly written. We have attached a critical analysis from our advisors which you might find useful for future endeavours We did think however with a little professional cleaning up here and there that your script would be suitable for a comedy novel or possibly a court room drama. Thanking you for your submission, and we wish you the best. Fiction writing is a very difficult and competitve field but we hope you keep trying MFC

this was something uttered about him when first drafted, and honestly I can see him being that player. Personally I think the question marks over his hardness at the contest are largely unfounded.. it is mainly the result of media propoganda - even so, that is his only weakness. He is a smart, athletic, skillful and of a size adequate to play most positions on the ground. FFS that is exactly why he went at number 1. If it was up to me I would have him in the centre square round 1 next year, but far wiser heads than me make that decision. If they float him across half back utilising his nous and class, so be it. If they stick him up forward, where Clark, Dawes, Pederson, Jamar and Howe allow him to receive little attention he might completely run riot. I've been to training a bit this PS and I have no qualms whatsoever about where the kid's head is at - he's not aloof, he doesn't lack confidence, he doesn't feel pressured, he just attacks it with a smile on his face because he knows how good he is and he is going to prove it... eventually. I have him in our very best assets pile along with Clark, Jones, Howe, Grimes, T.McDonald and of couse Viney and Toumpas.

I see your point; but I think the fact the no player will want to go near him in the future is the real punishment.

can you provide the address of your brothel please? i might try a little tanking myself if they're handing them out

I got in ... so lunatics are definitely allowed. Thanks Nasher for the reinstatement. It's good to be back.

Melbourne's response should be a short, single line: "Dear Vlad. Pursue this matter any further, and we will see you in Court. Have a nice day."

Need wickets , Need a Zaffer soon. Uum... er James Pattinson (Player of the Ashes)

With a small note attatched "You are so good at putting all the pieces together, Try this" 800 pages returned, shredded. and put into a small bag.

I cant believe the journo's dont join the dots and note that this is the same scumb bag who managed Scully's deal to GWS. They draw the longest of bows when 'reporting' (speculating) about the tanking saga, but somehow they dont feel obliged to muck rake in this scenario?

So the answer to the question is that we tanked in those years or we didn't tank in those years?

When you think of Ceylon, you think of tea and you think of Kamahl (though he was born in Malaysia)

Terrific. An Age reporter who works at racing stables. Which of your workplaces produces more horse manure?

Ok, who's the wiseguy? I gotta relo who cant login. It could mean a split in relations if the ban cant be removed. Why ban nana ? Aferall she is harmless,its not if she just fritters her time away. She hasnt been able to post on the forum for months, she is going bananas.I havent seen someone do their narna since John Bourke lost it down at the Lake Oval. Atm she is sedated on the banana lounge.I wanted to-a-peel to anyone that could remove it, or warrant any justification to ban nana. Perhaps some smoothies on here can sort it out. Before she starts to think its become a banana republic or something... After feeling cut up she may do something silly over something trifle . thx

Rioli was drafted at 74kg. As mentioned previously, Stephen Hill was drafted at 72kg and played all 22 games. It really gets down to Barry's mindset. If he's good enough and soft he won't play many games. If he's good enough and attacks the contest he's ready to stake a claim.

DC your cosseted and cozy suburban life has left you unaware and out of touch with the real world. Sheep- are sooo country. We, of the polite landed gentry only keep alpacas.

She looks alarmingly familiar.

Treating you with the contempt your comment deserves!

lol what?

I must comment on this incorrect assertion. I think most supporters were hoping for a hard running and skilful Nick Riewoldt type forward not a Jono Brown; and it's also worth noting that for much of his career Carey wasn't a crash and bash forward, but more an agile and powerful athletic star. Jack will successfully intercept a mark if he can cut across in front of a forward and knows there will be minimal contact. However, there are plenty of aerial contests he steers away from. And because you see the odd intercept mark you immediately assume that he does go when he has to, when in reality he picks and chooses. He very much plays the game on his own terms.

I found it totally refreshing today to read this positive article written by Pierik about an AFL club with a long history and culture of "tanking" - Analysis finds Blues similar to 2006 Cats However, I can't help asking what is the matter with this bloke? No mention of the massive salary cap rorts or the three consecutive years of systematic losing and number 1 draft picks, of the fact that a former coach and a former player has questioned that club's motives in not seeking to win games, the eleven consecutive defeats at the end of 2007 culminating in the Kreuzer Cup, the failure to comprehensively analyse the coach's tactics during that and several other key matches and the oh so brief non investigation of comments made by the AFL into the possibility that the club tanked. The bloke's obviously losing his touch.

"Fear not supporters! I will return and smite the other 17 teams." - Mitch Clark* *may not be an actual quote

I have left my Collingwood supporter daughter to go home via public transport ( in the rain) rather than the comforts of my warm car parked close by after she mouthed off one time too many to me at the football. I have also given the silent treatment and basically ignored my husband for a week+ after QB.

That's ok Biffen, I'll give you a boost...

Yes, this article is the usual disgrace; thick-headed, loose in language, and typically malicious. Pierik says about CC and CS, that they have to 'prove why they should not be charged'. But they don't have to 'prove' anything at all; it is well nigh impossible to 'prove' one's innocence, which is why innocence is presumed and the onus of proof is on the prosecution in our legal system. Surely the MFC needs only provide reasonable explanations or refutations in order to persuade whoever sits in judgment. This loose language reminds me of the ignorant use of 'forfeiting' by both Pierik and Wilson. Later he writes: 'Connolly has argued he is the victim of a conspiracy theory despite an overwhelming number of witness statements detailing the now infamous ''vault meeting'' after a win over Port Adelaide where he allegedly made it clear the Demons were harming their hopes of securing a coveted extra pick.' First, Pierik gives us the implied opinion ('despite') that Connolly has no right or justification in his argument because there is 'overwhelming' (another opinion) evidence against him. Next, he applies a veneer of historicity in the pejorative words 'now infamous', when it is he (among others) who has both created a sense of 'infamy' and reported his own creation. Finally, he retreats behind the word 'allegedly' and fails, as usual, to provide the analysis which could lead any reasonable person to imagine quite easily a scenario in which CS said (allegedly, of course) with jocularity and irony, something along the lines of, 'You realise you're harming our chances of the priority pick!'

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.