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I went this mornning Jordie McKenzie trained before the main group for about 45 minutes and then left, didn't seem restricted, ran, kicked, jumped etc Main group arrived at 10:30 and went till about 12:40 Most of the drills have been seen before, all about match simulation, running, leading, kicking etc, Roos had them in to talk at tleast half a dozen times, great to see Towards the end the rucks Jamar, Fitzy, Gawn, King and Spencer did some separate work with Greg Stafford for about 15 minutes, after George Stone had had the midfield group; demonstrating where to stand etc with the aid of witches' hats etc, it was good to watch him teaching Previous to that Spencer's session had conisted of sitting on the fence talking to a trainer and lying on the ground for 15 mintures, gods knows what a St Kilda spy if they were watching would have made of that Dawes and Hogan were no shows, everybody else seemed to be in attendance To show that players, who are supposedly shielded from the media/forum comments etc, actually know what is thought of them, Jack Trengove was in brigh fluro orange boots, I said they looked frightening, his answer "I have to look as if I am fast" Had a good chat to Jack Viney, suggested he wear a helmet, said this concussion was not his fault, had his arms pinned and hit his head on the ground, had to have a light week, no contact, because it was his second concussion of the pre season, tests he had to take were even more stringent, says he is about 2 weeks behind most of the squad in fitness and preparation, asked about the thought of him playing with Aiden Riley in the middle for Casey as he catches up, you can guess the answer. Another who loves Roos, respects that because he is young, Roos wants him to fight to earn his place in the team Spoke to Christian Salem, about Manchester United, Olympiakos, Arsenal and Everton...refreshing.....then watched him kick...it is a thing of beauty Asked Dom Tyson to get 30 touches on Saturday, Fitzy had said 35, said he was glad to know he was under no pressure to perform From what I can see/guess/surmise the 25 will be in no particular order Frawley, McDonald, Grimes, Georgiou, Terlich, Dunn, Nicholson, Tyson, Vince, Cross, Nathan Jones, Matt Jones, Howe, Fitzpatrick, Pedersen, Watts, Toumpas, Trengove, Byrnes, Michie, Bail, JKH, Blease, Evans, McKenzie/Kent Any questions feel free to ask.

Yeah, I surprised Roos didn't consult the Demonland experts before giving Byrnes and Pedersen a game.

From training today, you will see I had Matt Jones in the 25, he's earned it, he was excellent today, speed on the outside, let's leave the vitriol about Bail, Pedersen, Spencer and Byrnes till after the game if it is warranted, JKH will be sub, so Byrnes knows perform or else, we have a new coach who will have given each player a specific role, if they don't do it, he,they and we know they won't be there next week, that is the only promise Roos has made

There have been a number of studies looking at the psychological effect of long term injury on professional sportspeople, and at least one I know of based on the AFL. The basic conclusion is that there really aren't ANY players who escape adverse psychology during their layoff, but obviously there is a spectrum of effects. The common response is of significant diminished self worth, which commonly escalates into depression. These guys play football, and their whole sense of self is tied up with their performance. When they can't even get on the park, the self doubts and negativity spiral. This is compounded by their age reducing their inherent coping strategies. The most important thing for MC is that he is getting professional help, which I'm sure he is.

I dream of that making sense

He'd be licking his lips at the prospect of playing for us seeing he's said team success is the issue not money.

I am looking forward to the start of the season and I think, given the outs, this is about the best side we could expect. I like the fact that the club is taking a very conservative approach with injury and giving players time to fully recover. As for labeling players 'duds', I am more than willing to see how the individuals respond to the new coaching setup and the new attitudes within the club before crossing anyone off the list. To my mind, it is a clean sheet with the coaches and we should adopt exactly the same attitude. Looking for a win here.

and some guys injure themselves beyond repair. How the heck do you know how much pain Dawes or anyone is in. More armchair toughness.

Why are you debating with dopes?

Just had grimes on sen and he spoke about MC and how hard it is to c a team mate having issues without being able to do much for him. He said how respectful everyone has been about his situation and also how respectful the media have been to. Maybe some on here could follow suit. Look forward to seeing MC back in the red and blue soon.

Ban this imbecile once and for all.

You really don't think that will be the line up. About the only thing that's correct is the 25 players. They wont know who is going where until the saints players line up.

Why is Byrnes in the team?

Why not make him CEO?

we are the Melbourne Football Club, the logo has our red yoke on navy blue just like our jumper it contains our traditional logo which everyone is raving about looking good on our training jumpers. it has the year we were established reinforcing the fact we are the oldest football club in the world Richmond's emblem is like a cartoon picture Hawks I have seen several junior clubs with this logo as it doesn't say Hawthorn Our logo is a big step up from the previous logo being the red yoke on a navy background

I'm pretty certain the club have a good handle on this(not the spade/shovel type) and they know what they are doing, I wouldn't have said that about the old regime but this one I would. I doubt we could just tear up his contract and I doubt they'd want to; it's to far down the track to do anything about payments and renegotiating anyway, even if that was the path they chose. I also doubt there are many on here, despite what's been said, that don't have the utmost respect for Mitch and would love to see him back on the ground in a Dees jumper so I think we will just have to trust that the club will get it right. This is not some drunken clown, this is a guy of integrity and if it's at all possible he will be back and hopefully will lead the forward line to many wins in the coming seasons.

Out of contract end of next year. Best mates with Bernie and Clisby. Melb get in his ear now and start selling him the club, the G and the town.

Miss you big Jimmy.

Hird and his own cheer squad continue to bleat! Now it's his missus on ABC tonite FFS Oh did I forget something? Or has Tanya Hey Tanya - you slag off the AFL culture, remind everyone that your whole life with ah James has been a beneficiary of this culture. The dumb Essendon members must feel proud that they have paid for the Hird family to live in France all expenses paid. The hubris of this family is just astonishing.

Bail I thought was a certainty on pre-season form. I'm surprised that people are talking about him as if he were a surprise. I don't love him by any stretch, but is clear best 22 at present for mine.

Put the troll on ignore. Go to manage ignore preferences

Seems like a hundred years ago and also yesterday.

Dank draws a blank - Dank ignores ASADA request for explanation story This suggests to me that ASADA can now proceed to recommend the issue of infraction notices to players. In the absence of explanations from Dank about the thymosin administered to players, it's reasonable to conclude that Dank gave them the TB4 which is banned. He admitted to this in an interview with Baker and McKenzie of the Age and only withdrew that admission after he was told by his interviewers that TB4 is a prohibited substance. It's reasonable to conclude that this was done as an afterthought to save him from incriminating himself. I've previously discussed the connection between Dank, the invoices given to Essendon and the TB4. There's lots more but in essence, in the absence of a reasonable explanation from Dank (and he's now blown that opportunity) the circumstantial case against him, the players and a number of officials can be made. Once the notices go out, perhaps Worksafe might become interested and come in to assist the players.

Settle down Duff man, the side isn't playing to save your life.

Ours looks like it was designed by a committee. Like a lot of corporate branding, ends up throwing everything in rather thasn keeping it simple. The colours are good though.

FCS stuie we the melbourne football club the "Demons" is just a nickname we were nearly 90 years old when we "acquired" the nickname I like the emblem as our official "logo" happy to have a demon symbol/name on apparel etc etc would like to see a new modern demon symbol we can have both - no problems

Which one of these... a) Doesn't say what the team is called or at least have a picture of it's symbol b) Looks like a purely corporate logo c) Will never appeal to kids d) Has too many elements, making it confusing and directionless FCS, it doesn't even say "Demons" anywhere or have a demon, might as well put a fuschia on there!

It is called democracy stuie you know that system we all live under. It is one I actually like. It gives the right of free speech. Even when it is not a popular cause being given. If you don't like someone's thoughts then ignore them they are usually not main stream. I am not a fan of censorship it is not a good policy. I am sure lots on here do not like my views on certain subjects or dare I say your views sometimes. They don't call for my exclusion or yours that I have noticed. So just get on with life the occasional over the top comment on Demonland will not bring down the MFC or the country.

I imagine they'd be of the mindset that new era means becoming more marketable and shedding all traces of the last few years. Rebranding the logo would be a minor but warranted change.

Geeze it felt good to click that "Strongly Disagree" button when asking if I liked the emblem.

My dad met up with a high club employee today and he said that Jesse Hogan's back is going to fine. Shouldn't be long until he is back out there. Also on the Chris Dawes note, he is supposed to be fine as well after a few niggles here and there he is starting to come along nicely apparently (I never would have guessed). Clark on the other hand, is a 50-50 to retire from AFL in the next few weeks. His foot is 100% not problems at all, but every time he trains he gives himself a new injury because he has been out of the game so long. That's why we have been hearing hamstring this and calf that so he has been given personal leave to discuss with his family what he should do here on in. Hopefully that doesn't happen because I think he adds so much to our list and is a champion player!

Some things are bigger and more important than footy. Like, for example, your mental well being.

Dont know what the situation is with Mitch but he has suffered phyiscal and in all probability mental injuries as a direct result of his employment as an AFL player. He and everyone on this forum should expect the MFC to behave as any other well managed and operated business would and take responsibility for the problems Mitch is now experiencing and support him through the remainder of his time at the club in accordance with workcover and the clubs contractual obligations. How much he earns and how few games he has managed for the club is irrelevant. Mental health and salaries are agnostic to each other. If as some on here suggest he was sacked I would expect he and the AFLPA to take legal action against the club. No one is allowed to sack employees for injuries they they have received as a result of there employment.

I think going forward all players will be saying the exact same thing (eg Frawley, Gibbs etc) as it's the classic AFL players response that doesn't make them sound like a money hungry a-hole and provides justification of why a player would look elsewhere. Being the continually burnt demon supporters we are suffering from a never ending case of MFCSS we all know it really translates to "Yes I would sell my body to the highest bidder and let them have there way with me"

If it is a mental health issue, then he cannot "run away" from his predicament... but, he probably needs to be somewhere away from what may be the root cause of his problems and where he can find some peace while he sorts things out. These kinds of issues can hit anyone regardless of age, gender or employment status and can be extremely debilitating... I don't think it is fair to compare his behaviour to what might be expected from a first year player.

I thought it was a good survey. Could you imagine the uproar if they changed the logos and branding of the club without asking the members? We would tear shreds off them. Personally I would like to see more of the Demon in the branding and work that in somehow with the MFC emblem. An outsider to football would hardly know that Melbourne are the demons. We have no logo with it apart from a pitch fork in the current logo. Nothing on any official merchandise or apparel. Our club song doesn't even mention Melbourne, Demons or football! But lets not open up that can of worms. Any time the Melbourne Footy Club asks for the supporters point of view is a good thing.

I think opinions which are out of step shouldn't be ignored but respectfully debated. The idea that being paid large slabs of money disqualifies you from having mental health issues needs to be robustly debated. I have often pondered the whole life of an AFL footballer and am surprised there are not more social and mental health problems. It is a lifestyle that is far what we would call normal. Very young men being paid extraordinary amounts of money, constantly bombarded with adoration from the public ( and vitriol in equal measure), for most of them being faced with perform or perish, pushing their bodies and adrenalin levels to absurd levels for relatively short periods of time and then having large amounts of down time.

You're very negative Jumbo, not sold on the clubs new direction?

Roos loves runners and has recognised the importance of fitness over the early stages of round 1. From that viewpoint, I don't reckon Blease will get a game. Then there's the coin toss - JKH or Byrnes. Most of us would like to see JKH, while Roos' philosophy tends to favour more mature types unless there's a clear difference. I hope JKH gets the nod.

I received mine yesterday. A real marketing toy. Especially at the end when asked if you would like to go into a draw to win a sign jumper by N.J. & J.G. Tick yes then you agree to receive all the sponsors crap for another 12 months.

Shall Demonland ban everyone who disagrees with you? This isn't big footy.

Remember we were a 2-20 team last year, and in one of those games we had to play one of our best ever quarters to beat a supposed "easy-beat". Every game this year that may be winnable for us, will always be a flip of the coin chance. The damage done during the MN era is unfathomable.

They are clearly thinking of changing it (again!), only a few years after it was introduced. I would have thought there were more important things to worry about. I'm fairly ambivalent about it, I prefer the demon logo we had in the 70s and 80s but I'm not desperate to change it. The key question for me is what words do you want to be associated with Melbourne in the future!!

I suspect the next conversation will again involve the AFL or Alliance Insurance negotiating a payout for MC. Moving forward, the Club needs to start winning without him and save the coin to land a big fish at the end of the year.

That puts you a long way ahead of many.

When Mick mentioned they were at 11 o'clock in terms of the Premiership window I just assumed he was meaning a.m. I have no problem with that.

tiges are going nowhere near a flag...not anytime soon

If I was to speculate, I would say that here we have a guy who is under a lot of stress... he is due to get married in October, he is unable to play football and has no idea when he will be able to play again wthout fear of being injured yet again, he feels he is letting down his team mates and the MFC, he feels he is letting down supporters and I would not be surprised if he is getting a barrage of Tweets, Facebook comments/messages etc abusing him for some of the irrational reasons people on here seem to express relating to his salary and inability to get onto the field, and on top of all that, he would seem to have self doubts about his abilities as a photographer, his other great passion (from his photography FB page: "I really don't like most of my work but..."). Some space and the ability to play again without the fear of injury hanging over him will do wonders for his mental state... the enforced break will do him the world of good.

Plus the handling fee.

When Matthew lloyd starts to sound smart you have to doubt the intelligence of those surrounding him