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I'm sitting next to Roosy as he's doing an interview at the Café ATM so I'm stickybeaking a little bit. He spoke of Michael Voss and his tenure a little bit which could make for interesting reading. Anyway... It is perfect weather for the boys - it's freezing. Duffle coat represent because it's just too cold. Heck, maybe I'm going too far with the scarf but whatever. A few of the Casey boys are here so I WON'T recognise everyone, damn it. A lot of the group are playing a very amusing, highly entertaining game where they hold a ball in their hands with an additional ball coming in and they have to handball their ball away to a teammate before catching the ball that's approaching them, if you get my drift. It really is a laugh. Teams: White: Evans, Westrupp, Gawn, Trengove, Barry, Jetta, Blease, Hogan, Tapscott, Kent, Michie, McDonald, Spencer, Clisby, M Jones, Strauss. Blue: Pedersen, Toumpas, Cross, Dunn, McKenzie, Frawley, Salem, JKH, Hunt, Grimes, Riley, Viney, Terlich, Nicholson, Byrnes, Tyson, Howe, King, Georgiou, Watts, Harmes, Vince, Dawes, N Jones, Bail, Fitzpatrick. This along with the Casey players I mentioned before. More in white than blue, looking at those sides blue have a far far stronger side on paper. Clark, Garland and Jamar doing rehab. Fitzy walking laps with Gawn. Few stretches, runthroughs etc, short kicks too. A very solid crowd coming down for a look. Brr. Ruckmen not doing short kicks except for Spencer which is VERY understandable. Few short handballs now. Short kicks and a bit of 'groundball' as they call it. Casey boys are attacking it at 100k an hour which is good to see. They too want to show their worth. Another drill, down the line kicks, hands and all. Don't mind the look of Pedo at all. He's looking good. 'Turn and go' encouraged. We saw this at times on Friday night. Brand new drill I haven't seen before. Kick from a pocket with three blokes running up through the corridor to deliver inside 50 at the other end. More drills. To quote Millhouse: 'When are they getting to the fireworks factory???' Proper umpires doing this intraclub, although when Matthew Nicholls is one of those umpires 'proper' is a very loose term. Mammoth, mammoth, mammoth crowd here at Gosch's. Two/three deep in some places. We almost need a footy special from Richmond the crowd's that big. More full grounder drills. The same as what we've done all pre season, think the crowd just want the game to get going. IT'S HAPPENINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG THE INTRACLUB Few senior blokes leaving. Jones, Toumpas, Dunn, Pedersen, McKenzie, Riley, Frawley, Howe, Vince etc. Doing some sprinting. Quarter 1 Viv Michie on the burst, winning the first clearance. Already a goal to white and it's one of the Casey boys. White 1.0 (6) Blue 0.0 (0) With the omissions the intraclub is better for it. Blue inside 50 now. Holding the ball against one of the Casey boys though. Fitz with the dukes up and takes an uncontested mark. One behind. White 1.0 (6) Blue 0.1 (1) Goes down the ground eventually and big Max (Gawn) takes a pack mark. One behind. White 1.1 (7) Blue 0.1 (1) Although Blue progress 60m down White wins it back and Gawn takes it on the lead again and goals. White 2.1 (13) Blue 0.1 (1) From the clearance Tappy goes down and cannot put weight on his right ankle initially. Ouch. He walks off slowly. Max Gawn with his third mark inside 50. Misses the lot but doesn't make the distance. A Casey bloke hits the post. White 2.2 (14) Blue 0.1 (1) Blue goes coast-to-coast very quickly through Tyson and Salem kicks a goal much in the same vein as Frank Lampard would. White 2.2 (14) Blue 1.1 (7) Jack Watts with the clearance. Inside 50, Dawes gets a bit of a cheap free after a push from McDonald. Dawes goals. White 2.2 (14) Blue 2.1 (13) Ball movement both sides quicker now. Watts looks like he's playing as that quarterback role. No score for the reminder of the quarter and it's quarter time. Quarter 2 King's getting monstered by Spencer. Imagine him against Naitanui. Viney giving out don't argues at will. Loving it. Salem with a mark inside 50. Goal. Blue 3.1 (19) White 2.2 (14) Tyson roving a Spencer hit, loving it. Westrupp shows some foot candy but gets cleaned up by JKH! Wow. Dawes takes a nice mark on the dive. Goals from 45 out on the boundary. Blue 4.1 (25) White 2.2 (14) Blue on top now. Byrnes with a set shot, misses everything but Fitz takes a mark and goals. Blue 5.1 (31) White 2.2 (14) Another F50 from Blue. They've taken over. Dom Tyson reading hitouts, Wattsy getting a fair bit of it. I'm liking this midfield setup. Something to warm the hearts of opposition fans. Watts with an intercept mark. King with a mark inside 50. Goal. Blue 6.1 (37) White 2.2 (14) Terls out the middle to Fitz but Fitz screws the kick inside 50 and turns it over. SPENCER HITS A TARGET to Hogan, who kicks short to Trengove. Goal. Blue 6.1 (37) White 3.2 (20) Half Time. Quarter 3 Spencer grabbing it out the ruck haha. Salem looking alright once again. Possession footy from Blue as we've seen on Friday night. Kent out on the full. Boys on the sideline willing Kingy on haha. Tyson turns everyone inside out and nearly nails goal of the day. Blue 6.2 (38) White 3.2 (20) Fitz takes a mark to the delight of Jonesy and the boys!!! It's a (very questionable) goal. Blue 7.2 (44) White 3.2 (20) Blue killing it. A rushed behind again. Blue 7.3 (45) White 3.2 (20) There's another shot which hits the post as I type. Blue 7.4 (46) White 3.2 (20) Bit of contested ball, in dispute. Hogan eventually takes a mark, shot at goal, just doesn't make the distance. Blue 7.4 (46) White 3.3 (21) Low scoring quarter which ends with the scoreline. Dawes is sitting out, a bit of a massage on his calf. Hope it's not serious. Game over by the looks of things. Update: Dawes has ice on his left calf, not sure of the severity but he looks pretty uncomfortable on the sideline.

Hi all, just got back from the game. The weather was very blustery, but I was impressed with the level of skill. They did pretty much a full training session prior to the game started, so they were working while tired. 2 notes about other peoples comments. I dont think the game was played at half pace, they were going hard and hitting hard and in regards to the casey players not knowing Roos' style, well that is probably good, or else both teams would be playing the same style and would already know each others games back to front, this way it may have offered some more surprises for the players. So, to the game: POSITIVES: (of course i understand this was an intra club, and this must be taken into account, but no need for everyone to say "lets see it under real pressure") Watts: Was fantastic in the middle, got clearances, used the ball really well, was clean off the ground and was going in and getting the ball and taking the contact. He wascovering plenty of ground too. If he plays like that in the season proper, moving him to the mids will be a master stroke. Mitchie: I thought he was best on ground. He won plenty of clearances and got the ball out to others, he also used the ball well and had heaps of the ball. Was very happy with his display. Fitzpatrick:Did not realise how big he is, he has built his body up nicely now. He moved very well, marked on the lead at full pace and kicked goals. Particularly impressive after missing plenty of the pre season. Kent: I thought he was great. Looked slimmer and really quick. He had clean hands both in the air and off the deck and he has a beautiful kick. Tyson: Really dtrong today, head over the ball and got plenty of clearances. Kicking was better today too. Terlcih: Reads the ball so well and is strong and attacking from defense. Viney: In and under as expected but also moved well and found the ball in space. Trengove: Reads the ball well and will rack up stats this year in Roos' game plan, which is perfect becuase he is a wonderful field kick and strong mark. Dawes: Prior to whatever injury he was leading really well and looking strong. King: I think he shows all the attributes to be really good, in a few years. He marks well and already can see him using his body well in 1 on 1s and ruckwork, has improved heaps. He is also better skilled than most ruckmen. Gawn: I know he was playing on someone smaller, but he is huge and can take contested marks. If he gets fit, can be a great asset to rest in the fwd line. Blease: ran really hard and kept on presenting today, also went in hard. Was really happy with his game. Overall: The voice and direction was great all round. Skills were so much better than previous years, I just think the players are being more patient and choosing the better option, and when kicking/ handballing to a loose player, the skills should be better. MIds: despite no Jones, Vince, Cross, the mids were really good. They worked well and there were some fine, quick clearances amongst the tough tackling stuff. Style: we move the ball back to loose players who have time to see upfield, will annoy some people, but will work. We also switch heaps, which outs the onus on HF and mids to push to the other side to create the next lead and also relies on high skill level, which I think will be our biggest challenge. Again, I know it was an intrclub, but considering who was missing, I was really happy with the hit out. Any questions I am happy to answer.

First time I've been to pre season training this year so I'm probably not much of a judge. Fitzy looked super impressive, although his kicking technique still worries me. His marking has improved dramatically. Watts was very effective and seemed to be everywhere. Salem is a lot bigger than I'd been led to believe and will play senior footy this year. Michie was good all game as was Viney. Didn't see much of Tyson though, but that could be me not recognising half the players. Both Gawn and Spencer played well without dominating, and King does show a lot of potential. I think it was Jaydn Hunt (29) who also looked impressive. All in all a good hit out in very windy conditions.

Can follow on MFC twitter or through the mfc website (twitter section) - Spencer. V King start the centre bounce in the intra-club clash at Gosch's Paddock - Several Casey players are playing today to make up numbers for the intra-club - Jack Fitzpatrick takes a nice grab on the lead, but misses for goal in the windy conditions - Some match ups: Georgiou is playing on Hogan, Nicholson on Blease and McDonald on Fitzpatrick - Maxy Gawn marks nicely on the lead and kicks truly - Luke Tapscott hobbles from the ground - Christian Salem shows some class and kicks a goal - Christian Salem takes a fine sliding mark in the pocket at the Monash Fwy end and then slots a classy goal - impressive! - Chris Dawes repeats Christian Salem's effort with a sliding mark in the pocket, before converting - fine effort - Fitzy marks in the opposite pocket to Salem and Dawes and snaps a goal. Some good signs up forward. - Jack Trengove takes a nice mark in the pocket and kicks a fine goal just before the end of the term

Salem played as a small forward. He won't go near the midfield at senior level. He will get time at Casey. Imo he will be at casey in r1. It was good to see some big forwards on the ground. We were able to kick it a bit more direct to 1 v1s. Fitz is huge and marked nearly everything that came his way. Dawes was very very good until he went off. Gawn took quite a few marks in the f50. Spencer was good in the ruck and did a lot of work around the ground. King looks a great get, when he has a body he will be one of the best bigs in our team. Coordinated, marks really well, is the best kick of the big guys already. We won't see him anywhere but Casey for a while though. He still has a lot of ruck work to do but being bigger will help that. Watts and Tyson were everywhere in the blue team. Michie in everything for the white. Viney is all grunt and was pretty good. He took the ball from a throwin, ran away and delivered to Dawes who got a free from McDonald. Viney tackles hard every time. No one gets away from him. Hunt was ok but had one really impressive run along the centre square with a couple of bounces and dangerous kick to about 20out. It's interesting watching 2 teams with the same game plan and watching players trying to stop it even when they know what is happening. The kicking by everyone was pretty good following on from Fridays game. Roosy was in the middle the whole time and once pulled watts, Tyson and viney together for some quick instruction. Guys like terlich, clisby, georgiou were all pretty solid. McDonald is so competitive. The umpire paid a 2 touch mark to Dawes which he thought he got first hands to and remonstrated fiercely with the umpire. His kicking was pretty good when he had it as well.

The game was played in blustery conditions but I thought the skill standard was pretty good. Having said that the tempo of the game was nowhere near AFL level. I had two major observations from the game. The first is that Jack Watts looked an absolute natural in the midfield and had a lot of the ball and used it very well. He has time in the same way Travis had time. I'm not making any further comparisons but will be interested to see how he develops. It's ironic that he was drafted as a KP forward which is what we really needed at the time but may well turn out into a quality mid which is exactly what we need. The other observation is that Jack Fitzpatrick will be very difficult to keep out of the team. His leading and marking was good and I thought he was the most impressive of the tall forwards. How we deal with the talls in the forward line will be one of the more interesting things to see this year. On Salem I wouldn't get too excited about a debut early. He played little cameos that were full of class and might earn him a practice game. But I think Roos will ease him in and I'd expect blokes like Toumpas, Viney, Kent, JKH and Salem to all spend some time at Casey.

Training/intra club - some observations No doubt many will comment on this but the crowd was very large. Certainly the biggest Ive seen at the odd training sessions Ive attended over the last few years. Notably, the mood and conversations, that I could hear, were very upbeat and positive. Strong and gusty winds. It was apparent that both teams were instructed to hold possession. Dawes. In both the pre training and the game he did a lot of running , turning and reversing. He looked the goods fitness wise but I was told later he had suffered an injury I did not see this. I hope its minor. He showed his strength in one on ones with T Mac. However T Mac surprised me with his strength in that competition. Dawes took a couple of strong grabs. Spencer. Spent a lot of time on the field and competed for the most part against young King. Spencer also took a couple of strong clean marks. There was no sign of Jamar (dont know why) but today strongly suggests that Spencer is one in the rucking order. Gawn did some ruck work but also hovered close to his teams goal. He also marked cleanly. I just wonder what the plan for Gawn is. He could be very dangerous around goal if Clark is not available. Just to round off the big man discussion, Fitzy also impressed at times. I was able to see him up close and he surprised me with his ability to compete with the taller Gawn. It was also interesting to watch Greg Stafford demonstrating techniques and actively coaching both Spencer and Gawn during breaks. He appears a very passionate coach. Trengove. Carried on from Friday night. Skill fitness, hard at it and looking far more mature. Dont want to moze him but he is starting to look the player we expected. Must mention Jack Watts. He looked very classy. I did not see him waste a possession. He was cool and had plenty of time to choose his option. Anyway must head home, the lads are still disturbed by that violent cat video that DC posted.

I giggle to myself every time I hear of the progress of Fitzpatrick. So many writing him off in the early days. He still has a long way to go but there is a take home message - Big boys around 200cm take longer to mature and develop. Guys like NicNat tearing it up from the onset are the exceptions rather than the rule.

A few more observations from today. I think the pre-game drills were again terrific, especially the three-on-three tackling. The drill variety is way up on anything we've had before and seems really well organised. I saw Mitch Clark head off and run a lap of the Tan early which is better than not doing anything - but did anyone spot Jamar - does he still exist? I suspect a lot of Roosy's thinking is revealed in the players given leave of absence from today's game and whilst most were obviously senior players who got leather poising v Richmond - eg: Vince, Cross, Jones, Howey, Grimes, Dunn Frawley - the two who will surprise some Demonlanders were Pedersen and McKenzie. While I'm sure Roosy is managing players to make sure they don't have too many pre-season games, I think you can write all of those guys into the side for Round 1 - barring injuries between now and then - how many of you had Pedo and Jordie in your lineup for Rd1. The only youngster given the morning game off was Jimmy T - which was interesting and also shows Roosy has him high up in his thinking. Like everyone else I thought Viv Michie was BOG today and he was playing with the weaker white side. Fitzy played himself into the side for Alice Springs and assuming they are deemed fit, both Dawes and Gawn will also make the trip. It was great to see Jonesy, watching from the side, give it to Gawny in a nice way when he was outmarked by Max King today. I sense that both Viney and Hogan are going to have to work their way into the senior side and won't be picked for Rd 1 and maybe Kent as well, who again looked pretty good. Salem is no chance IMO. I think Roosy likes making younger guys work for their spots - which is why Jimmy T's omission today was a bit of a surprise, although he has been doing all the hard yards pre-season and is now in top 10 in terms of endurance base. The only other young player who may make the Rd 1 side is JKH, who has the freakish skills that all coaches like - although I reckon he'll be our sub for Rd 1. Roosy also took time out to explain things to Bleasey and there's no doubt he's viewed as a key ingredient in his thinking - lock him in for Rd 1. Of those who lost ground today - I'd reckon Byrnes (one memorable hold of ball when he had an option), Dom Barry (still doesn't seem to know whether to run or hold) and Jetta (did he play, he was that quiet?). Clisby and Nicholson also were less clean and prominent as Strauss and Terlich in the battle for the one or two running defender spots. One final thing - did anyone else notice that when Casey players got the ball they tended to go back and kick long to a contest in the Neeld style, while the Melbourne listers all looked sideways - another example of what a possession-minded gameplan can do? It's a game plan that will see good kicks - and we have a lot of them although you wouldn't have known it last year - come to the fore. Two questions: 1) Who was the ponytailed tallish Casey defender - he was the pick of the Casey boys in my mind? 2) This is my fourth session I've been to now and I'm still yet to spot Jayden Hunt - was he out there today? Finally side for Rd 1 is now starting to take shape (see below) - although with two more practice games against good opposition and with potential injuries, there'll be a few more changes yet. Defenders (7) - Grimes, Frawley, Dunn, Pedo, Strauss, Terlich, Tom Mc or Georgiou Midfielders (8) - N.Jones, Vince, Cross, Tyson, Trengrove, Watts, McKenzie and Michie Rucks (1) - Spencer (Fitzy, Pedo as back up). Forwards (5) - Dawes, Howey, Fitzy, Blease, Toumpas Sub: Bail or JKH Emerg: Kent, Viney, Gawn

God I love reading this type of stuff. This is what has been missing over the last 7 yrs. It's music to my ears. Bring it on.

Gillies???? That gives me shivers

Fitzy will kick 30+ goals this season Some people still dont realize how good this kid is His speed for a 200cm player is insane

Great stuff fellas. Must not get excited. Must not get excited. Must not get excited... Ah hell. Move aside Big Kev cause I'm freakin excited!!

I am new here and I may have missed the point of Demonland, but I thought we were all here because of a common love , the MFC. The personal sniping is petty, if you don't agree with someone that's fine but try a rational argument. To question someones intellect or knowledge of the game says more about your inability to construct a rational argument than it does about the person you criticize. We are Melbourne supporters and there are not enough of us, how about we support each other. Go dees!

Here's another fact. 10 yrs at the Dees and not once inside the top 5 in the best and fairest. Good riddance.

Close thread.

I watched the first half of the game And I don't have a lot to add to what is already written by others Just a few observations. - The days was very windy compared to the game two weeks ago and this made it more of a scramble . - Due to a number of the better players missing and the numbers being made up of Casey players the standard of the was considerably lower than the game two weeks ago. - Baring Injury Spencer will be the first ruck in round 1, - Gawn surprised me I thought he played well and took a couple of big grabs in the forward line. He was obviously short of a run. If the beard stays he will be Ned to me from here on. - As others have mentioned I was impressed with Watts, I did not see him put a foot wrong and as others have said seemed to always have time to do things. I will be very surprised if he does not have a big year. - Fitzy played well I thought, he has size, Good hands and kicked well today. He is going to take a good backman every week, if teams don't give him full attention he will hurt them on the score board. - Nicholson if he plays AFL this year we will have a large number of serious injuries. His disposal is not AFL, I doubt it is good enough for VFL. - Dawes I thought he played well until injured but there lies the rub. Injured again, honestly will this ever end. I seriously question his worth if you cannot stay on the park you are not worth a cracker. - Byrnes whatever got him in a premiership team at Geelong is long gone. Honestly play a kid not him. If we have injuries play a kid, anyone who has a possible future because he does not.

Fitzy is huge. He has a big arse which defenders will struggle to get past once on a lead.

Those complaining about our injured talls should be happy with this quote from the website. Well see a number of players returning and playing their first game for the year, including a number of talls: Max Gawn, Mark Jamar, Chris Dawes, Jack Fitzpatrick and Jesse Hogan. Wed anticipate that the majority of players in this game would be preparing for our second NAB Challenge game in Alice Springs and the following practice match against Hawthorn at Casey. Sounds like we'll have close to a full list to pick from by the second practice match, fingers crossed nobody gets injured during the NAB challenge. Can't remember the last time we went into a season, or a game for that matter, with anywhere near a full list to pick from. Go Dees!

So impressed with George Stone, couldn't ask for a better bloke to be in charge of our young midfield and think in time he will be as valuable to our club as Paul Roos

That is fantastic news OD. I have to say Dawes has really impressed in the games I saw him play. We were [censored] but he acted like a true pro and ran, presented and chased. His training has been first rate and he is an example of how to be a professional athlete. I would love to see him play a full season.

Oh FFS. You're making stuff up. Dawes appears perfectly fit and has been managed up until this point. Off restricted training today he came out and kicked a couple of goals and probably beat Tom McDonald. Clark was improving and then pulled a hammy. You are right to be speculative in regards to Clark because of his troubled history of late but you can't just guess injuries and then say how smart you were. Hogan was not substandard today. He was not unfit or overweight. He was on the losing side of a completely unrealistic practice match against a decent enough opponent (I think Georgiou was on him for a bit). He kicked a goal didn't he or at least had a shot. Won a lovely ruck tap and followed it up and won the ball at half forward kicking to the north end and did one of the best handballs of the day to release a runner. If round 1 was tomorrow he wouldn't play. But it's not. It's in a months time in which he will be back in ball work training. He should also play 2 practice games that will allow him to highlight his ability. Maybe Fitzy, Dawes or heaven help us Pedersen with his 8 touches and 1 mark games will out play Hogan in to round 1 but you can't make a judgement on Fitzy and Gawn taking a few grabs on undersized young Casey defenders.

That stunt might have worked back in the two win days, but since we'll be winning 25 this year I'm not so sure.

I know there has been a lot before but for what it is worth, my observations are the following: 1. Hogan at the moment is not fit for round one. In this I make no judgement on his long term potential, but from what I saw today (post quarter time) he got one mark, one goal and two touches for the whole match. He is not fit for round one. 2. It was a very windy morning, but the marking was outstanding: Fitz, Max, and Dawes were really exciting in taking marks inside 50. We saw on show what our gameplan will look like with a forward line. It was very exciting. I saw Robbo walk past as Max missed the third shot for goal after taking an outstanding mark and said "Robbo, teach him to kick straight". Yes I know - ROBBO. Max is an immense force, but he exhibited the dominance he showed at Casey today in the seniors. I do not understand those on here who minimize his influence in the medium term. 3. The forward line showed how we would shaped the gameplan today. It was great to watch. 4. The positives we saw against the Tigers, were reconfirmed again: JKH was brilliant, Blease shied encouraging attack (I even saw him get a free kick on the HF line, get up,and take off towards the boundary line - a much worse position - but we sort of knew what was happening. I also saw him tackle an apponent on the boundary line just in front of me ( literally two metres from me) and he crashed the opponent into the fence over the boundary line. It was not malicious, but it showed he had got the message about intensity. Good signs I would suggest. 5. Watts will be a star this year: he has so much time, so much skill, and the best kick at the club. He s.one will propell us into an elite midfield, 6. Jack Viney is underdone; I have absolutely no argument with his intensity, but he is not yet fit enough to deliver it, and 7. Tom McDonald is a star - enough said.

I attended, leaving into the 2nd quarter (or period as it turned out). Some observations - not as comprehensive as some of the other excellent contributions. A drill in front of me had a ball kicked to a player, who knocked it at the feet of two approaching players on the half forward flank. One of the approaching players picked up the ball, handpassed to his teammate, who then kicked to another teammate 30-40 metres away back on the wing, who immediately handpassed to a teammate running past who kicked to another teammate 30-40 away on the lead in the centre, who turned around and hit a leading Dawes, Hogan or Fitzpatrick coming out of full forward. This sequence was executed perfectly probably 80% of the time, which was very impressive given the blustery conditions and it requiring 5 consecutive good disposals and 3 marks. Noticed a lot of talk and voice - calling teammates in, calling for the ball. Obviously there has been a big push on this from the coaches. On the negative, every time I saw Dean Kent he was fumbling the ball, or missing a target. Hopefully just one of those mornings for him, he looked better in the game proper. Harmes also was a bit fumbly in the drills and didn't appear to have a particularly penetrating kick on him. Dom Tyson seemed a bit sloppy by foot, which I noticed in the Richmond game, but then later in the practice game he seemed tighter. Spencer made Spencer like errors. As mentioned by others, Aidan Riley was taking part in the drills and looked fine to my uneducated eye. You wouldn't think he was on the LTI list the way he was moving out there. I was surprised how big Christian Salem is in the hips/glutes/legs. He's noticeably bigger there than Toumpas. In the practice match, it was a pity there were so many Casey players as they were (unsurprisingly) clearly inferior to the MFC players, and it was often them who made mistakes that broke up the flow of play - or got comprehensively beaten and therefore not providing an AFL level contest. Perhaps it was Panozza on Gawn (#35 with hair up), but he may as well not have been there given how loose he was playing, and didn't really give Gawn a taste of what an AFL level defender is going to dish up. Also wondered how on earth the Casey players are meant to be in sync with the style of play Roos wants to implement (probably similar to Brent Moloney running around doing his own thing come to think of it) and how beneficial the practice is in that case.

Jimmy Stynes regularly had broken arms, legs and ribs but he was always there on game day. Miss you Jimmy

Dom Barry?

The real quality journalism comes in a week's time. One article in two parts; part one using the dopeler effect to pile up conjecture about Martin and part two declaring that Collingwoood 'obviously' would love to have him, and goes something like; MARTIN A PERFECT FIT FOR 'PIES Recent revelations of wayward Richmond midfielder Dustin Martin's intimate connections with players are Collingwood have fueled speculation about the future of the talented but discontented star, who considered leaving the club last year and has had numerous conflicts with Richmond leadership over his time with the Tigers. Collingwood desperately needs to add some attacking power to it's increasingly blue-collar midfield, and Martin would provide a clear replacement for lost star Dale Thomas, who, like Martin, was heavily influenced by intimate connections at his new club and was discontent for some time before finally leaving. Collingwood are able to offer the young star the prospect of a stable and successful club with regular finals appearances. With the loss of Thomas and progressive retirement of several top players, Collingwood would also be able to offer Martin a contract more lucrative than Richmond's offers, and beat out rival clubs for his services. Martin's arrival in 2015 would complete the potent midfield that would be the foundation for the Magpies to return to premiership contention in the new Buckley-led era. A midfield led by the likes of Pendlebury, Sidebottom, Beams and Martin would be a potent weapon feeding Cloke for years to come. See how I manage to slip in past-tense references to Richmond, and make it sound like it is Martin's activities that are 'fueling speculation', make a list of names that imply 'true facts' and even massage Collingwood egos along the way. Plus, in the same paragraph I describe Collingwood's midfield as 'increasingly blue collar' but also 'a potent weapon'. Golly gee whizz, boy oh boy wowee I'm a real journalist I am. I feel a little sick.

I don't know about this, although I understand why you'd think that... Players can still develop at the top level whilst playing particular roles and I reckon Toumpas will play the majority of games for us, providing he contributes and plays his role. His skills and decision making are too good for Casey, Roos would know this. And whilst his body is still maturing, he'll be played as a half forward who uses his running ability to get into open space and then use the footy with deadly precision. Lewis Jetta played the same role early on when he developed his tank even though his speed is more like Blease's. People easily confuse midfielders and what's required of them early on. The Wines and Toumpas argument is a bore and is absolutely pointless. They are two completely different body shapes, have different game styles, and different attributes. You need a mix of types of players through the midfield and if we had drafted Wines, it possibly would have changed the outcome of the mids we recruited this year.. I'm happy we have Toumpas, we have enough ball winners now but we lack players who can tear teams apart with their foot skills. Toumpas, Salem, Vince and Watts over the next couple of years will really help with that side of our game. It's just as important as having ball winners. Get behind the young fella. He has a driven mind, wants to succeed. He'll be a ripper.

Stumbled upon this gem this morning: Collingwood's Dane Swan reveals he and Dustin Martin are good mates Collingwood's Dane Swan reveals he and Richmond's Dustin Martin are 'good mates' Brownlow medallist Dane Swan has revealed his friendship with Richmond's Dustin Martin but insists he is not a mentor for the sometimes wayward Tiger. Swan, who has weathered his own discipline issues at Collingwood through the years, said he and Martin were ''mates''. ''We are good mates, we have dinner a bit, just chat about footy, just like mates,'' Swan said. That is the article in its entirity. I have no words. Much like this article.

Just read the MFC site and it appears Dawes was not injured. Thank god for that. WE desperately need this guy on the front line on March 22nd and the next 20 games.

I was impressed with our big blokes today. How about this scenario if Clark is not fit. Gawn plays mostly as a forward. Dawes plays CHF because he is prepared to run. Spencer does most of the ruck. Hogan plays forward up to the wing. Fitzy similar. One always off the ground.

What I like about this picture is how he is reaching forward to take the mark. If he does this as a leading forward, combined with his speed and height, no back men in the league would have any chance of legitimately spoiling him when the delivery is half decent. I'm a fan of Dawes but his tendency to wait for the ball to hit him in the chest is a weakness.

I used to go Dougherty's in Brunswick and do boxing training (my personal trainer took me there - I didnt fit in at all with lots of muscled up blokes and tons of Ink). Toby Mitchell used to use the ring after my session. He was always very polite and friendly to me. I had no idea at all who he was. I stopped going ( my work moved to the other side of town) - three months later someone took shots at him outside the gym. It was then from the papers I found out more about him. Its not snobbery or being holier than though but I wouldn't want my daughters going out with people who other people find it necessary to take potshots at ! I dont say that players should be ashamed of socialising with them - I say they should use better judgement.

Just a point on Hogan. Of course he is underdone. He jarred his knee and has had limited training for at least a month. However, round 1 is still a month away. He will get plenty of match fitness in that time and barring any further injuries will be 100% by round 1. Same goes for Viney.

By the way I don't neccessarily agree on this notion of needing a 200cm defender for new age forwards. I think McDonald and Fralwey are big enough. But with the way he moves and kicks the ball plus a natural overhead ability we should seriously consider Max King as a backman. 12 months as a defender never hurt anyone plus he can build endurance that way. Poor Kingy got smashed in the ruck by guys with height and significant weight on him but still impressed around the ground with some nice marks and a lovely weighted kick to a leading forward.

I agree BB. From what I saw today I wouldn't be rushing Viney and Hogan into our side Round 1. Hogan didn't create too many opportunities for himself and was rather static. That said, his off-the-ball work was very good. Viney, as we know, is a great tackler and burrows in for the ball. This year he will develop quick hands and will become a smaller version of Tyson. Tyson was clearly BOG followed by Watts and Michie. Watts played as a second-back mid (outside mid) and appears to have a very good understanding with Dom T who fed him a number of times. Watts disposal was excellent. Players that impressed me were: Hunt - will be dominant for Casey this season off half back with his speed and skill. Max King - Natural footballer that appears to possess a lot of self confidence and would not be surprised if he is rated next to Brady Grundy over the next two seasons. Fitzy - I think he will be a permanent fixture in our forward line. Leads well and more importantly marks well. Would have him ahead of Jesse H at this time. The guy who was critical of the Casey players is well off the mark. I thought their presence made the practice match more realistic and they seem to understand the game plan. yes there were a few more turnovers but no more than what we saw last year with MFC.

Thought he shared BOG with Watts in todays intra club. He got serious amounts of pill with a good balance of contested and uncontested.

What a completely hacked thread. A Poster passes on snippets of a general conversation of how much better his workplace is after the CEO & Senior Coach were removed and replaced with people who actually know how to do the job(s) correctly, and gets a hard time. Personally i am glad that JW now feels better about the place. It was obviously Clown School before and not pleasant to work in.

A few immediate things that came to mind. Kingy is 2 years and 15kg away from playing AFL. Hogan is lacking some serious match practice if he doesn't get that over the next couple of weeks, I can't see him lining up Round 1. Tyson & Salem look ready to go. With the doubts on the Big Three. I can see Gawn and Spencer lining up Round 1. (Spencer should teach Jamar how to palm the ball to a player and hit them on the chest) JKH played all over the ground. Reads the play well and sets up plays. Hunt has speed to burn, actually looks faster than Blease. Don't be surprised to see Fitzy at CHF Gawn at FF Howe at FP Round 1. ( don't think the other 3 are any where near right yet)

The comments about the Casey players are crass, Panozza, Tim Smith and Jake Best of the ones I recognised all played as well as they could.......of the Melbourne players I thought Kent, Clisby and Byrnes were ordinary, but it was their first hit out The AFL report has it just about right. To show how finely tuned they have these blokes these days, spoke to Jayden Hunt who got hit with the gastro bug, lost 3kg, but already has it back on, on the playing side he showed his zip once by taking off down the corridor at one point with a multiple bounce run

Rivers was drafted in 2002 and played 150 games for the Melbourne Footy club....He was a mainstay in our back line for most of that time and filled in forward when needed.....I don't know why posters bag and degrade servants of this club when they leave......I guess it's a lot easier watching at the ground or in front of a TV......It must just make these posters feel a lot better about themselves......

Ok....I'll bite....... Where do we find these "resilient men" who never get injured What is the requirement for being "built for the job" All teams have injuries throughout the season many are just bad luck....I understand the frustration but come on..

You are taking the P155 arent you? Watts did not whinge he mearly highlighted the difference between now and previous coaching groups and that he wished he had had this all the way along. That is a ligitmate comment and not beng a softkok as you put it, Are you seriously equating the requirements of todays modern footballers with those who played the game in the 50s 60s and 70s? Are you suggesting that player effort was the missing element in Neelds game plan or maybe that Watts and the other players should collectively design and implement the the structures required to play todays game in opposition to the coaches coz they obvioulsy weren't working. Maybe they should all go out and get medical or sport scence degrees so they can work out there own training loads and biomechanics while they are about it? I doubt you will find a coaching group in the AFL who dont understand the need to train the mind at least as much as the body. They all spend considerable time and effort in developing and training these boys minds because very often that is the difference. Are you sugesting that payers should just do it and we are wasting money and time on this. Of course the coaches have enormous impact on the mental side of the game in every club, successful as well as ones like ours. Thats not a weakness inherent in modern humans its just human nature. Read some books on great leaders if you dont believe me. There is no logic in your statements. The game today is very different from the one played by the players you note. Its not as simple as trotting out a series of cliches and expecting the players to be "hard at it" or "get there head over the ball" or "dont think DOOO!!" and have that result in wins. If it was we would have recuited Danny Frawley to coach us.

Yeh, but what about his football.

I'm not sure why this gets so much hate. I'm enjoying watching how a real coach operates (how ever briefly and Indian summer-like that may be), and I feel that the past 5-6 years were a monstrous waste of talent, money and belief. A player speaks his mind and says that it's nice to think that the pain will stop, and people get upset about it? I hope more players do should the new setup become something that we can all enjoy. We treat them like robots and forget that they are young boys thrown into a dysfunctional club, and that the major lesson they learnt from it was that the thing they sweat and bleed for is only rarely enjoyable. They deserved better and hopefully now they are getting it.

All I was worried about in losing Sylvia to FA was the compensation. Getting a draft pick good enough to land a genuine mid in Vince was a fantastic result. I don't hope he fails, I don't hope he succeeds, I'm indifferent to the player now. With that said I'm glad he is now another club's puzzle as opposed to the MFC's.

Apart from asking Cam about his role, spoke to a few players at the Family Day, they all had specific roles, instructions and structures to adhere to, and that Roos' message during the breaks was just stick to what they had been told. JKH said when he sat down for the 3rd qtr he watched intently concentrating on the structures, which enabled him to have the impact he did in the 4th

Haven't you guys ever been in dysfunctional Organisations before? I have been involved in a number of corporate turn-arounds and the MFC in Bailey's and especially Neeld's time have all the hallmarks of an extreme version of one. A characteristic of these types of organisations is that they almost always contain talented people (usually at middle management level) who feel powerless to do anything about the situation. Usually they leave. High stall turnover is a classic sign of a business getting into trouble.We should be thankful that there was loyalty from such people as Watts, Trengove, Garland, Frawley which leaves us with a legacy around which we can build a team. Usually in turnaround work with good leadership, come much higher performance from these capable people in middle management. I have not double with the very capable leadership of Jackson and Roos we will see an unprecedented flowering of talent the likes of which we haven't seen since Daniher's reign. The people we should be pointing the finger at is the Board and the CEO. They are the culpable ones here. Not the footsoldiers. Their leadership and governance was a disgrace, and it required heavy AFL intervention to get it right. We are though now in for an exciting ride.

Lol, sounds like Goldilocks to me. "This coach is too soft" "This coach is too hard" "Ahhh, this coach is just right"