Leaderboard

Rocked on down at about 10:20 and stayed until 11:30 when the guys were still going hard. Roos in control of absolutely everything. Matt Rendell watching on in his Collingwood gear. Absent (bearing in mind the time I got there): Riley, Barry, Nicholson, Jamar, Terlich and Garland. Edit: Plus, Byrnes, King, Harmes, Jetta. Rehab: Dawes, Gawn, Fitzy, Hogan and Viney. Rehab group doing some run throughs but also some ball work including taking some hangers with one of the staff holding the pads. Viney doing mainly running. Modified program: Spencer, McKenzie, Frawley pulled out of one drill only to back in later. Same for Salem and JKH whilst Hunt stayed in but finished early. At one stage Spencer and Clark ran laps before Clark finished (after the other rehab boys were done) and Spencer went back in the main stuff. Kent got some work on his left hip I believe from the physio before calling it a day. Drills. I didn't take notes so I'm going off the top of my head but the main message today was on spread and spacing. 3 group handball drill. A group in the goal square, 1 on either flank. Handball the ball around a defender and move the ball up to the next group. Very much working on getting players in to open space. Roos' message "don't go early". A ball movement lanework drill with a kick at half back to a leading player leading down the line of the centre square who then handballs off to a player who kicks it to a leading forward. All about sharp kicks and following up your kick at speed. Had this going both ways so players pretty much kept moving at all times. Watts, Strauss, Salem stood out for continuing to hit targets. Michie and Tyson are classy as well. Howe for his ability to mark the ball whether its kicked 5m short or 5m over his head. Not too many really bad kicks. Jayden Hunt every now and then will do a poor kick but he's got that easy athleticism and can mark above his head. He's a bit like Howe in the easy movement stakes. A simple drill 3 guys lead out, kick the ball to either of one of the 3 leading out 50m away. Just about sharp kicks and getting through the 40 or 50m sprint. Seemed a drill designed just to get voice up and run through. Into some ball use simulation drills with about 15 in blue v 12 in yellow vests with the aim of getting the ball to a coach or player at full forward then starting again from the backline trying to work it to the other end. Not really tackling or competing just working on kicking through a zone kind of thing. The ball movement started off pretty well and this drill showed the smarter players getting more of the footy. Trengove, Grimes, Watts, Jones getting lots of touches. One nice piece of play where Blease got the ball at half back, took off down the corridor, handballed to Jones who then kicked it straight to the full forward. Another where Watts wheeled on to his left from the right forward flank and put it lace out 40m to Bail I think who was the leading forward. But also some dumb stuff considering the numerical advantage and not always fluent movement. Dunn gave Blease a polite ear full about getting out of the space and leading in to it at one stage. Also a couple of times Blease had some work done during the drinks break on the muscles in the front of his lower leg but resumed training. JKH as we are now used to very busy in calling for the ball. Then they did a full ground circle work designed to move the ball as quickly as possible with defenders and forwards at either end and about 20 players moving in a scrum around the contest like midfielders do. Then they did the same drill but made it all about moving the ball slowly and methodically with short kicks and going back off the mark. Interestingly they then ran 2 footies at once with one moving fast the other slow. That was a bit strange to watch. Overall it was a decent hit out. A few missing. The big boys rehabbing but all moving well. Good numbers of supporters. Good numbers of 'official' people hanging around - Robbo, Josh Mahoney and several others in the official area. Nothing obvious to give away the captaincy news from the players, if anything Trenners was one I heard getting the boys in together and back on the track after a drinks break so good on him. As with Monday and last week I felt it was a productive session but also one that's about being patient and not going fully in to complex game scenarios or full on match practice.

Tasmanlvr's report lifted from Bigfooty Not gonna complain, but cold + wet weather is insanely awesome. It is far better than yesterday's 'Blurghhh' conditions. It's back to school and you know what that means. Traffic, people lining up to top up their myki and general chaos. Yuck. Couple of young blokes here in training tops. Tyler Roos takes a hanger over Miller! Mitch Clark and Fitzy running laps with the boys. A good sign. Could be a light session by the looks of things. No reason why these names shouldn't be running with the boys alongside the Rehab Regulars: Byrnes, McKenzie, Nicholson, Riley, Jamar, Dunn, Frawley, King, Harmes, Barry, Viney, Terlich, Jetta. Clark runs with the boys but is now on the sideline. Standard issue running, stretches to start off with. Hogan and Fitz go to the sideline - Hogan's so ripped, I'm jealous. He's a year YOUNGER than I am and he's a goliath while I'm probably the equivalent of Cale Morton. The 2011-12 Cale Morton, that is.  Robert 'Tulip' Flower is here!!! Great to see more club legends reconnecting with the club. Quite interesting to notice that Terlich's right knee is very heavily strapped. Four blokes doing some short activities on the other track - Fitzy, Hogan, Gawn and Viney. Upper body strength drills after the runthroughs/stretching stuff. Wrestling drills and the like. Split into three. Forwards doing lead up drills, midfield split into two and playing keepings off, defenders doing a switch drill trying to work it out of defense. Voice is a bit down today! It seems the most vocal is Roosy. Which is a bit concerning. Forwards not saying a word which is baffling. Crowd looks solid. Nowhere near as large as Monday but there's about 80 people here. Captaincy discussion sweeping Gosch's! Everyone thinking Chunk will get it. Handballs and kicks in the meantime, got swept away by discussion of the captaincy. Damn. Another bloke who's moving well off injury is Dean Kent. He's moving very solidly. Boys are doing a switch drill up the opposite side of Gosch's. Defenders added after a little while wearing bibs. We have journos here guys (Channel 7 at least) but we all know who the best 'journo' is here. The unassuming kid with the iPad.  #futuremelbournemediamanager #moveovermattburgan Mitch Clark progressively running faster around Gosch's. Great sign! Full grounder drill now. Let's keep an eye on how people are moving. Jayden Hunt's moving very quickly as he should with his natural pace. Taking an understanding that James Strauss is battling some sore shoulders and has plenty of strapping but he's moving well nonetheless. Howie moving well but drops his bread and butter overhead mark. Trenners also moving well but not fast. Not a quick midfielder but a hard working industrial midfielder. Boys come in for another chat. Robbo's here too as the boys start another drill. Simple mark, run then 25m kick to player on the opposite side of centre square. Two defenders wearing bibs for good matter. Full grounder after a chat. Drill is brief because the boys are called in. Assuming that they were doing something wrong. Anyway the boys are back out and there is an emphasis on FAST ball movement. Lots of noise! Viv Michie looking good. Clean user of the footy and getting it a few times. Noticing that Chunk is a lot louder than he used to be. Hint hint? Emphasis on gut running in this one! Cross and Toumpas are looking good in this department plus getting the footy and using it well too. Boys are called in, on resumption JKH busts his gut 30-40m to get the footy. Brilliant! He's one of my favourites already. This just got interesting. Two balls now. A bloke who's looking solid in this drill is Lynden Dunn. He's getting it often, using it pretty well and frequently using his voice too. Dom Tyson, methodical with the ball as always. The boys come in and the drill is altered. Half of them are defenders now. Grimes nails a 45m kick to Michie which is perfectly weighted. JKH feasts on an errant Tom McDonald kick which is fumbled by Strauss, tackles Strauss, wins the footy, spins around and handballs to Bail for a goal. Hnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng. Christian Salem gets the ball, has a stroll, takes the game on with a couple of bounces and nails a pass inside 50. I like the cut of this kid's jib. Boys come in and split into two. One group doing groundwork, whilst another doing goalkicking. Let's give Crossy three years boys. He has his son here and he is cute. #getcrossyto50games Training finished afterwards and I noticed that Nathan Jones was having a very lengthy chat to Josh Mahoney walking back... think it's confirmed guys.

Story of my life

Nothing about what he has said or done since joining the club indicates that. Unless he's a mate of yours and has told you this himself, I'm calling [censored].

Don't mind a bit of a stalk myself...

I can see a few peoples sense of humour has gone missing......

Tasmanlvr you write the training reports how you like them mate, because its people like me that live up in the country and cant get down, really do appreciate the mountain of work you do.

Not reflected in his training intensity one bit

Perhaps DL can trade him in from Big Footy. We could swap him for posters who figure high on ignore blocks

I loved this mixed metaphor.

Delighted that Jack T is in LG...great way to show respect and keep him motivated not to mention that he really deserves it.

Now I know what PJ stands for :- Premature jack

I know the Club owes me at least three grand final victories. But they never seem to be able to pay up.

That Tasman dude is fantastic, full of enthusiasm and reasonably perceptive of what needs to change re players' skills and possible niggles.

Bloody good job I reckon for a 19yo. We could do a lot worse than have him onboard the administration. At least he gives comprehensive reports, which are easy to read and issued straight after the training session!

Great report Roger, thanks.

Done and Dusted i'd say on the basis of this information. Grimes and Jones co captains Clark and Frawley Vice captains Good result only improved if they announce Frawley has a new contract. If Clark is vice captain I guess he really is fit and ready to play.

Personally I'd prefer one captain but that isn't the Paul Roos way.

Interesting. Most of all, I like when comments are backed up by stats. Mach, couldn't agree with you more. His season in 2010 was terrible. Sadly he just wasn't up to it. Isn't the only Melbourne player to come along in the last 10 years and have that though. Hannibal, the under pressure nature you talk about is a terrible fabrication after a team that's won 5 games in 50 odd games. Here his statistics on error prone possessions. In 2011, he averaged 12.9 possessions, with a disposal efficiency of 82.8% and 1.4 clangers a game. That efficiency put him second on Melbourne's list. In 2012, he had 77 touches at 11 per game, with again an 83.1 disposal efficiency and 1.6 clangers a game. His disposal efficiency left him at the top of Melbourne's list. A full 3% higher than any other player. And finally, in 2013, he had 58 possessions at 86.2% efficiency, the second best in the team, with 6 clangers. An average of one clanger per game. To put it in perspective, there wasn't a single Melbourne player who averaged one clanger or less other than James in 2013. Players like Fitzpatrick, Kent, Blease, Tapscott, Sellar, Dawes and Jetta all had less of the football and more clangers. Jimmy Toumpas, an excellent user of the football had 2 extra possessions a game, but averaged an extra clanger per game. If you can find anything in the above information that leads you to the conclusion that under pressure he chokes up, I'd enjoy hearing it. He played in the worst backline in history last year and turned the ball over once a game. 3 years in a row been in the top 2 for disposal efficiency. Have I lifted the wool up yet?

61 years since his first @melbournefc team photo, Ron Barassi poses for another with new Coach Paul Roos pic.twitter.com/PhwHjS0xzf Retweeted by Melbourne FC

Tasman can do the job if he's Abel.

The same kid that mentioned he had Cale Morton's build? I think he has a healthy respect for the both the sublime and the ridiculous.

Speaking of opening up a can of worms this quote from the Age to me sums up a key difference in approach from Roos and Neeld: Roos made it clear the coaching staff had the final say on the choice of captain, once the players had gone through the Leading Teams process to select the wider leadership group. ‘‘It was a little bit more transparent than it has been in other years, the players have been able to have a big say in who they want as their leaders," Roos said. "But it’s a bit of a myth that the players pick the captain, the players pick the leadership group," he said. "I think it’s really important that the captain is picked from that group by the coaching staff and the board, etc." Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/jack-grimes-and-nathan-jones-to-cocaptain-melbourne-20140129-31me8.html#ixzz2rlADvM5y When queried about the the the risks of selecting two young skippers Neeld frequently put it back on the players saying that the decision was based on a survey about leadership qualities players had to complete and Trenners and Grimes were by far the top scorers and therefore had to be captain. Poor decision and one he never took any responsibility for.

Well thank goodness for that, because if our net asset position was not in the black we'd be insolvent.While the accountant is there, perhaps she could explain why being in debt isn't always a bad thing and in fact, is sometimes a necessity in business. Anyone with a mortgage is in debt - heaven knows I'm up to my eyeballs in it - it's only a problem if you can't service it or it's hindering your cash flow too much. I wouldn't be tossing myself off the bridge over the MFC debt yet until I see a bit of context about who it is owed to and what it was spent on.

athan Jones ‏@nathan2jones 12m “@AFLphotos: .@nathan2jones shares a joke with @melbournefc legend Ron #Barassi pic.twitter.com/WL7RyUemNB” always great to see this legend

I'm sorry but this is too profound, intelligent and poetic to be said round these parts. Please leave, or start speaking dumber.

I feel that's a fair comment. Four of them are genuine near-a-graders IMO and the other two still very young with a heap of promise.. add Vince, Dawes, Watts, Howe, TMac and the kids Toumpas, Viney, Hogan and Tyson - that's 15 pretty solid players.

Congrats to Jonesy - top bloke and A GRADE midfielder.

I love that this photo is taken on the 'G. Is a good statement. Other clubs may use the MCG as their home ground, but it is our home ground.

Under the Father and Son rule I expect.

Good choices for co-captains. Both well respected and well liked, and I think Grimes has a real opportunity to take his game to a new level with Roos as coach. LG is about right as well, as discussed Dawes is perhaps the only other inclusion I'd have in there but all are deserving although I though trenners might step back altogether. I'm also glad that Roos has said that while the group was player driven the captaincy decision came from him, the other coaches and the board. IMO it's the way it should be.

Welcome aboard! Though strangely we feel that we know you already.

If there was a snub at all then it was Dawes I guess. But the 6 man leadership group is reasonable. Right now I don't think anyone else can be too upset. Viney should work on his game before stepping up to leadership. Same for Tommy McDonald I think. And Vince and Cross are expected to be leaders with our without a title.

Running joke Redleg. After Rog posts one of tasmans reports (always credited) then its customary for someone to thank him for the report! Unless you've taken the joke to the next level Redleg!

Hey Cards, where do you get your grumpy pills from?

He gave off the 'impression' he didn't want to be at the club and having bad body language? This reminds me of the poster that was convinced Hogan will leave - his evidence: the fact that the kid rarely smiles in photos of him that he sees.

Outdone yourself again Roger.

What big losses each week?

Cue negative post from Hannibal

Wayne Ludbey. ‏@WLudbey 4m @JackWatts4 ,had 2 see the demons doctor today due 2 leather poisoning on the training track, #25 touches in 1 drill

I was at the team photo shoot yesterday. Grimes and Jones sitting proudly either side of Roos, read into that what you will. Clark and Frawley either side of them but I don't expect to see a third captain, despite what happened at the Swans. The decision at the Swans was based on having a captain in each sector of the field, Hall (Forward), Kirk (Mid), Barry (Defender). On that basis if the third was to come from Clark or Frawley you'd have to favour Clark, I think they'd be more inclined to let him focus on getting his body and mind right to play footy. All theories, very likely everything I say is waaaaay off.

I'm excited.....bring it on Jonesy and Grimesy!

And what would the consequences of that be?It's my understanding (and I stand corrected if someone can produce the figures), we were substantially in the red in 2008 when the Stynes Board took over and had somehow been managing to survive for several years despite that fact. My reading of the figures provided above indicate that we're now $3.27m in the black. I know accountants can do magical smoke and mirrors stuff with figures but you're right about debt per se being something we can live with - especially in our case where it's underpinned by $12m in property assets which appear to be conservatively valued. Collingwood was in a worse place financially than we have been recently when Eddie McGuire took over more than a decade ago. His board made some smart decisions on several levels and managed to build the organisation, helped by having a successful team (only 1 flag but regular finals appearances). They are now debt free and have been in a position for years to reinvest substantial profits into their football department. As much as I hate to say we should be like the Pies, that's exactly what we should be aspiring to achieve at Melbourne.

I know what you mean, but IMO he's become quite good in tight spaces. He often restricts his opponent to a handful of possessions, even if we get thrashed, although playing negatively he doesn't get a lot of it himself. I can't recall anybody who's really got away from him. My point is that we drafted him to be a running rebounding defender with very good ball use. But our substandard midfield means the defence is under so much pressure the whole time, so we've never had a chance to see how he goes in that role. We'll never get full value out of Strauss until he can get it in the open as much as Malceski et al. That's partly up to him and partly up to his teammates. The part that's up to him is being able to add his rebounding skills to his defensive game, knowing when, how and where to run off his man; his teammates need to look for him, find him and cover for him when he does. He's got both sides of the game, he's got all the tools, he just needs to put them together. On the other hand, it's entirely possible it's just beyond him. Why can't the coach who developed Malceski do just as well with Strauss? We'll have a very valuable player on our hands if he can.

Strauss issues in the limited chances he has had to string games together so far in his career has not been about disposal errors but errors in judgment in his positioning against his man and poor body on body play. The thing I have liked about the three times I have seen Strauss over the pre-season is he seems to be pushing himself more than I have seen before as well as doing extra work i.e.: he stayed back yesterday for 15 minutes working on flattening out his handballs with Rawlings. There is definitely spot for a running defender and if he gets a clear run with injury I think he will make the most of it.

Arguably the greatest player to have pulled on the red and blue. Come to think of it, forget the arguably bit.

showing off again, H? For a moment there, I thought you were trying to describe something, but no - just trying to be clever. It's a yawn, H.

Great first effort and really impressive.Thanks and welcome aboard.....

Hi everyone, 1st post on DL and 1st pre-season training visit for me today. After watching the last 2 pre-seasons under Neeld, today's visit was a refreshing experience needless to say. They look fit. There is now a definite focus on gut (two-way) running the full length of the ground to support and give options and saw some really solid examples of it from Trenners, Michie, Cross, Vince, M Jones and N. Jones. There are some clear differences that I see already in the way we move the ball under Roos that I'd like to point out (from my perspective). It appears as if the transition from defence, going forward, is no longer slow, wide and within 5 metres of the boundary line (TFFT). In the game-sim drills I saw, it's evident that Roos wants the ball moved as close to, or through the middle as possible. If held up at half back, the switch across half-back takes place and it transitions along the opposite wing and the instinct is look to hit back into the middle of 50m arc at CHF or the edge of the square. Makes sense really being we have some good hit up forwards in (hopefully) Hogan, Dawes, Howe and Clark , no point going to the boundary. If you can imagine the game play taking place on oval within an oval (say 15-20 mtrs in from the outer boundary), that's the radius that ball movement takes place within. It is a couple of quick short, sure ball movements and then long to the spread (and this year when there is spread, there is more than one option). I'm sure the Roos mantra is, 'Don't Give It Away Cheaply, Hit A Target'. I've been reading anxiously for some weeks now (stuck at work) of all the posters giving their feedback on training and how this guy and that guy is up and about ... but I had trouble seeing that to be honest. Not in a bad way, let me explain. Last year, I saw N.Jones dominate everything, Grimes trying hard and most others..... well let's just say a big gap between those two and the rest. Today , N. Jones was no less of a shinning light. He was as manic as we have come to expect. But also at that level were Cross, Michie, M. Jones, McKenzie, Vince, Toumpas, Evans and Watts - they were all pushing hard. I think what Roos & Co is assembling is a workhorse midfield. I was quietly impressed today with: Michie: He appears to be the quiet, under the radar type. He is a ball magnet - always near it and I'm sure will develop just nicely under Roos and Stone's tutelage. Strauss: He was vocal, pushed hard on all drills and his kicking is super smooth. JKH: I've read a lot about him. Not much more to say - it's all true! He is super exciting and will get his opportunity when the time is right. But he is doing his chances no harm by his training intensity. There's a little 'Jeff Farmer' in his evasiveness. Salem: People have said how slim he is and he may need more time to develop, and rightly so. But, he was 5 metres away from me standing with Toumpas - they are almost identical in size and physique. He may get his chance at some point this year if his form warrants. I do think his tank will limit his opportunities however. His kicking ... well ... hits the target in a very 'Adem Yze' kind of way. Frawley & Dunn - Very vocal and leading the way. After the rehab group finished Jamar, Gawn and Dawes were all used as prop forwards in some full-length drills. All moving freely. I don't feel as concerned as others here about their return to the main group. Maybe being an ex-senior coach I understand individual workloads and working to a plan. I would say at this point Spencer is the clear front runner for Rd-1. But no doubt Roos sees Jamar as the No 1 and being he is an older player, he is preparing him for an early season return (if he warrants it on form). I wouldn't be surprised to see Dawes be back in full training, if not end of this week, definitely next. Hogan probably 1-2 weeks until full training, he is purely precautionary. Clark will be the same precautionary measure but I would say probably 2-3 weeks before a main group return. I'm basing this on their movement and how I would manage them in the same position, remembering there is a whole season ahead of us. We don't need to peak at Rd-1. All in all, I'm quietly impressed without being as excited as others on here. I would think the midfield additions will definitely be more sound and provide more link up and opportunity. What we do need is for some players to take a step towards or to the next level. (Watts, Strauss, Blease, Tapscott, Evans, McKenzie, Terlich). Based on what I saw, they're all training with more intent and enjoyment. Carn the DEES