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Missed the start, saw Spence was there but didn't see him as he was gone before we got there. Lot of kicking practice when I first arrived and they looked great it what was perfect conditions, must have seen 100 running passes but only saw the ball hit the ground 3 or 4 times. The skills exist , just need to learn to execute them under pressure. Next up, the boys moved the ball moved the ball from one end to the other, sprinting hard up the ground with players often receiving a handball from the person that had just marked their kick. Called for hard running this drill, the players all put in. Watching Watts run hard, couldn't help wonder why we don't get that body language and hard running in a game. The kid has all the ability in the world and just needs to back himself. Maybe he should call Brendon Goddard and invite him out for lunch one day. Also did some match simulation work, not tackling hard but closer to the real thing than you often see at training. Here the skills were not as sharp, generally pretty good but the pressure led to some mistakes. The mids, defenders and forwards (Watts in The later group) the split up. The defenders practiced clearing the ball quickly, the mids working on the centre bounce set up and the forwards finding a leading target in congestion, blocking was used to help here though marking was terrible to start with, only Dawes holding them, got better fortunately. Goal kicking practice followed by quite a few. Watts (who I followed closely due to the fact my 4yo daughter loves him and was constantly having to show her where he was) then did a drill involving picking the ball up on the run while getting hit by a couple of trainers with the pads, then a marking drill where he copped a hit just before jumping for the mark. Got some great pics of my daughter with Chunky, then the Russian, Wattsy and then Jack Viney. She was beaming in the photos and if the players happen to read this, thank-you for being great with her.

You will find that the people who get bagged out (constantly) are posters whose opinions have little substance or thought behind them. I do not always agree with the likes of RPFC, Hardtack, Daisycutter or Old Dee to name but four but you rarely find them giving opinions without any thought put behind them. I actually disagree with quite a lot of Machsy's posts but he backs up his opinions with examples of what he considers gives weight to his opinions. I try not to but I cannot help but poke fun at opinions such as "any other club would have dropped Watts" or " the fitness team should be sack" - these are casting opinions with no weight and no possible way of measuring or even debating. BTW - I think that Watts would be a 100 goal a season goalkicker if he was at Hawthorn. ( just for differentiation purposes - Watts should be dropped ? No problem debating that opinion. Any other team would have dropped Watts and you know it - wtf ?)

Garland back doesnt mean Georgiou gets dopped Georgiou has beaten his direct opponent in every game bar maybe 1 Why the hell would he be dropped?

Yes, they are as ubiquitous as content-less, irrelevant posts...

When I want your opinion, I'll give it to you!

The only thing I object to iv'a is personal abuse. Peoples opinions don't worry me after all they are just opinions and I come on here for that exact reason to hear other views.

Why on earth does it "pain you to say it"? Shouldn't we actually be happy that a player, no matter how maligned, has shown signs of improvement??

I actually prefer this approach - what we have seen in recent years is players being dropped for poor form, without anybody really being in better form below. This way, Roos has picked his 22 and is backing them until someone else turns out to be playing better. Rather than Casey players waiting until they are called up due to the failures of others, they are now being required to lift their own standards and demand to be included. That can only be a good thing.

This forum is moderated?

Nice to see in a short article on the Club website that Mitch Clark was at training this morning, catching up with the boys, and apparently in good spirits. Hopefully it's a sign that he's on the mend. Sure hope so.

Just watching the Filth vs Carltank - and I don't want to ever hear that Watts could be / is like Pendlebury... they share some motor skills - FULL STOP...

Somehow MFC followers have more soul

I just wanted to post something because i have a new avatar...

I love what they are saying about the fringe players. Maybe I remember incorrectly, but in previous years when you'd read a summary of our VFL players performances it was full of platitudes and you'd wonder why they weren't playing in the seniors. Now each seems to be given a message in that public forum about a particular weakness which tells the player, and us, why they are still in the VFL and what they'll have to do if they want to be promoted.

i was going to say something in defence of bbo, but i couldn't think of anything

Geez, loving the optimism here! Club does the right thing by sending him home to a familiar and safe environment to help boost the kid's morale, and we're on the club's back like a bucket of leeches. GWS sent Patton home to Rowville while his shoulder healed. This is perfectly normal behaviour for a football club.

Howey training with the backs again? Realistically I think we'll need Dawes, Frawley, Howe and Watts forward in order to kick something close to a winning score this weekend. Not being scored against seems to be more important than scoring at the moment, but let's not forget the overall objective.

Don't even get me started. He was even more gutless.

one poster's crap is another poster's bread and butter.....................old web proverb

Let's see who he gets out of Pods, Jenkins, Lynch or even Betts this week and how he goes. He's been seriously good defensively in most games so far. Day from Gold Coast was too big and athletic for him but most other match ups he's done a good job. You can have a battler with average skills as long as they are good defensively and play deep in defense. I think give Garland has been injured and Frawley playing forward that Georgiou has done a fantastic job for us so far. And I blame the lack of skill and run off the backmen a lot more on the small half backs whose job it is to mop up the ball and run. Of course I'd prefer Garland in the team over Georgiou but they aren't a direct comparison yet. We may still be better off bringing Garland in for Howe, Jetta or Terlich than for Georgiou.

Can you put yourself on ignore?

Horrible skills and poor decision making would result in poor disposal efficiency, yes? His D.E. is over 80% for the year. You're talking straight out of your arse.

Im with you. All these jokes seriously want to make me gag.

This is the last post I will make on this subject. In all the time I've been on Demonland, which is maybe a few years, threads have turned to banter. Some of it, perhaps even alot of it, not that funny. It happens frequently and irrespective of the topic. The owner(s) chose to take a somewhat loose approach to moderation. It's their site, thus it is their decision. It annoyed me initially, but I've come to accept that it is part and parcel with Demonland. If you want to enjoy the excellent insights of posters on here such as rpfc, AxisofBob, the master, stevejordan, and yes, even saty, you have to accept that there is another side to the site that is essentially talking crap. If you can't balance the two, then there is no gun to your head to come here. Either you can or you can't. If you can't, your complaining about it just adds to the very problem that you are complaining about. We're an odd bunch. We support Melbourne ffs. Of course we're an odd bunch. I don't think we need to sterilise the place too much in the name of talking footy. I apologise for going off track again in a thread dedicated to a very exciting young prospect at the Dees, but that's my take on it and I'll leave it there.

With Mitch off the list, it is a ridiculous situation where we cannot sign anyone from outside the AFL to come onto the list... I hope to see some changes to this in the next few years.

I hope that by the end of tomorrow night's game, we are quoting Jack Dyer in relation to Salem: "He made a great debut last week and an even better one today."

Aren't you blokes on yard duty today???

Last year we had a percentage of 54.1. We are 1-5 with a percentage of 67.3. (13% better than last year) Take out the WCE match and we have 1-4 with a percentage of 90.7. (36% better than last year) I'll say that again. 90.7% For statistical sake, remove the outliers and take out both our worst game (WCE) and our best game (Carlton): 0-3 with a percentage of 70.8. (thats 16% better than last year) I am not un happy with our start. Had the dice roll been in our favour Dawes would have been available round 1, and Tom McDonald (of all people) would not have been injured. In that case I would have backed us to beat the saints and with some momentum I reckon we may have beaten one of GWS or GC. Maybe. The only facts are, apart from the WCE game this year, we have scored an average of less than 10% than our opponent across 4 games. I will take a seasons of close losses over the last 2 years any day. And you know what? Next year we'll get even better. We'll start to learn how to win, and it will become a habbit. I hate to say it, but it will never be a quick fix. But we are well on our way.

If a retired player isn't equivalent to a LTI in the eyes of the AFL they need an urgent trip to the ophthalmologist. Clearly the list is then 1 short. If anything the club should be able to recruit an extra player or rookie from somewhere if they wish and can find someone suitable.

Barry was the travelling emergency for the GWS game, so I don't think he is too far off it. From reports his GPS data is spot on, but he just doesn't use it effectively, and obviously this is an issue. But is a player with great fitness and this could well be beneficial if he gets his running patterns correct.

That's not hard to achieve. Sorry bb I could not help myself

Obviously the coach thinks otherwise.

We won the game . but Morton was about the only player on the ground to lose his matchup. Goodes kicked 4 goals from m memory and was the Swans best player

Im confused.. Is it More OR Les ?

Still don't get what Byrnes as to offer. Hopefully he is the sub

Verbal report of a single incident at training, seen from the other side of the fence. Of course he has to hang - he might not give us another opportunity for a while.

No one deserved a promotion more than someone deserved to be dropped. .....that says plenty about our depth at the minute .

As someone who suffers from depression on and off, I can assure you that looking well and having a great time don't mean a whole lot long term. Or at least in my experience. Having said that, it's great to see that Mitch has taken the time to come out and made the call that he's ready. Small steps. You never get cured, you just learn to live with the predisposition and hopefully Mitchy is well on the way.

Can't believe this. Georgiou has not been beaten and has allowed Chip to go forward. One of the finds of the season and will be a fixture. He may be awkward but rarely turns it over - unlike many others in the side

GIVING HELL by Whispering Jack Sitting in the stands last Saturday night at the MCG wasn't the most pleasant experience for those who go to the football to taste the aesthetics of the game. It wasn't the night for pretty football, for excitement and skills and we weren't witnessing a game made in heaven for either the participants or the viewers. We are, after all the Demons and you could be excused for thinking that this was a game that those unfortunate enough to make it to that place, would spend countless hours playing this game out in hell. When Paul Roos signed on to take over the mantle of coach of the Melbourne Football Club, he never promised anyone a rose garden and we should not expect overnight changes to make the team immediately perfect. As far back as 2005 when he was with the Sydney Swans, Roos' coaching style was criticised by the then AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou who described his negative, defensive game plan as "disgusting" and "ugly". Those remarks were made during a game against St. Kilda which the Swans lost by seven goals but they appeared to be a catalyst for the team from the harbour city as they marched on to win the flag later that year. Not only that, but history records that the Sydney Swans scored only 8.10.58 to beat the West Coast Eagles by four points in the grand final. When Roos was appointed coach last September, he said, "It's going to be a huge challenge, there's no doubt about that. "They're certainly not sugar-coating it - I know what I'm coming into. I know it's going to be a very difficult job. "I'm really looking forward to setting a direction for the players and the football club, and setting some really high standards." Paul Kelly once sang that from little things, big things grow and, back in those stands on Saturday night, it wasn't hard to notice that we were watching the very budding of those "little things". Sydney came out of the blocks and had two goals on the board within five minutes thanks to a lucky bounce that favoured Luke Parker followed by an even luckier free kick and goal to expensive import Buddy Franklin. Melbourne was denied such luck in the opening term but it displayed some great resistance and aggression over the next fifteen minutes for a reward of a single goal to Shannon Byrnes while Jack Watts and Jeremy Howe dropped marks in front of goal that could have made a significant difference. They were made to pay when the Swans added two more in time on but the 4 - 1 goal scoreline was deceptively misleading. The game got uglier in the second quarter when the Demons scored the only goal for the term in a defensive slugfest but when was the last time that they kept a top four contender goalless for an entire quarter? So it went on, the Demons fought hard against the relentless strangulation of the Swans. Both teams played behind the ball, the visitors did it better and with the more skilled and experienced players, they ran out winners while the football world moaned at what it saw. They spoke in the end that Melbourne's average score for the season was its lowest since 1919, a winless wooden spoon season in the club's return after a three year recess during the First World War. But the Demons kept the Swans down to nine goals, a once unthinkable achievement and I suspect that we will soon see the silver lining to all of this. It might not be as dramatic as the rise to the top experienced by the Swans when their style was derided by Demetriou but I can see a continuation of the process to the point where one day a Melbourne side will strangle the life out of a good team with the dour, defensive style being introduced at present. And then, with the introduction of young, talented players like Christian Salem and a bit of height and strength up forward and down back, the ugly demon ducklings will soon be giving others hell. THE GAME Adelaide v Melbourne v at Adelaide Oval Saturday 3 May, 2014 at 4.40 pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Adelaide 21 wins Melbourne 11 wins At Adelaide Oval Adelaide 0 wins Melbourne 0 wins Past five years Adelaide 4 wins Melbourne 1 wins The Coaches Sanderson 0 wins Roos 0 wins MEDIA TV - Fox Footy Channel @ 4.30pm (live) RADIO - Triple M SEN ABC ABC Grandstand THE BETTING Adelaide - $1.07 Melbourne to win - $9.00 THE LAST TIME THEY MET Adelaide 18.12.120 defeated Melbourne 7.10.52 Round 22, 2013 at AAMI Stadium Scott Thompson starred against his former club in a one team race from start to end that was a game best remembered for boring the living suitcases out of anyone who watched it. THE TEAMS Adelaide Crows B: Sam Shaw, Daniel Talia, Matthew Jaensch HB: Brodie Smith, Kyle Hartigan, Luke Brown C: Sam Kerridge, Patrick Dangerfield, David Mackay HF: Eddie Betts, James Podsiadly, Jared Petrenko F: Tom Lynch, Josh Jenkins, Matthew Wright FOLL: Sam Jacobs, Scott Thompson, Rory Sloane I/C: Brent Reilly, Mitch Grigg, Rory Laird, Matt Crouch EMG: Brodie Martin, Andy Otten, Ben Rutten No Change Melbourne B: Tom McDonald, Lynden Dunn, Alex Georgiou HB: Jack Grimes, James Frawley, Dean Terlich C: Dom Tyson, Bernie Vince, Jack Watts HF: Rohan Bail, Cameron Pedersen, Matt Jones F: Jack Viney, Chris Dawes, Jeremy Howe FOLL: Mark Jamar, Daniel Cross, Nathan Jones I/C: Christian Salem, Neville Jetta, Jay Kennedy-Harris, Shannon Byrnes EMG: Mitchell Clisby, Max Gawn, Aidan Riley No Change Preview It almost seems forever since a Melbourne team ventured across the South Australian border into Adelaide and returned home unscathed. In fact, it's been so long that I can't even recall a match preview of a Demons' game played over there that doesn't include a mention of the curse of the city of churches or the fact that it was way back in 2001 that Andrew Leoncelli accepted a David Schwartz knock on and kicked a last gasp goal to beat the Crows at Adelaide's Football Park. So there you go ... it's been mentioned but the ground more lately known as AAMI Stadium is no longer in commission as an AFL venue and this week's game is taking place at the Adelaide Oval and the home side has never beaten Melbourne there so let's just forget this 17 defeats in a row thing and concentrate on the game at hand. Young Adelaide star Patrick Dangerfield was asked earlier in the week why his team had made such a dramatic improvement after a poor start when it lost the opening three games of the season. His response was that the team was now sticking to the game plan and executing the plan better. He might also have added that they've also played much weaker opposition over the last these weeks than during the period in which they were losing but his point still holds good. It's all about staying the course. If there's one thing that we can expect from Melbourne coach Paul Roos it is that the style of game and the effort demanded of his players will remain constant in this phase of development. In the short term this means that supporters need to lower their expectations - there will be the odd win here or there (perhaps even a surprise), some fighting losses and the really tough days at the office when the team gets thrashed. We've seen it all already this year and there will be more but the course has been set and it's not likely that we'll see a departure for the sake of producing a high scoring quarter of pretty football here or there as you will see from some coaches. This is why it was so important for Melbourne to import the likes of Vince, Cross, Tyson, Georgiou and co who provide the extra depth and steel the club lacked in recent years. They are among the players expected to lift yet another notch if the team is to remain competitive against the surging Crows in front of their home crowd as they strive to emulate the top of the ladder local foe for home state popularity. Melbourne needs to get more drive from its ruck division. Mark Jamar will relish the fact that he now has a run under his belt but he needs to hit his onball brigade more often in the ruck duels and the team can't afford a repeat of Scott Thompson's midfield dominance from their last outing. It won't be an easy task keeping up with the Crows on their home turf but if the Demons stay the course, it could be an interesting evening. I think that in the end, Adelaide will have too much class and experience and therefore give ammunition for those who promote the curse of the city of churches but one day soon, all that talk will come to an end and, when the day comes, Melbourne will give them hell. But not this time ... Adelaide by 25 points.

But he is always right

Gone to support Freo in the W.A Derby i think. Very passionate fan, he is.

speaking from experience I Take

How else?Camel?

If the club issues a press release citing depression or any other heretofore unsuspected setback, I will officially begin the search for an exorcist for the club's demons.

He's a more!

Turned up around 11 (no sign of Clark). Stayed til 5 past 12. Pretty full compliment out there as far as I could tell. No Spencer, King, Harmes, Trengove or Hogan but the rest did most of everything. Garland moving well and involved in everything. No sign of a knee complaint. Tappy left early but after some good work. Jamar sat out some match simulation but then rejoined. Drills Started with a few stations of different drills mainly working on short kicking. Then in to their customary full ground ball movement drill in groups of 5 or 6 moving the ball from backline to forward and in for a goal Then in to a 16 on 16 drill with the starters in blue, back ups in vest working on moving the ball from a half back stoppage. After that the same kind of drill but either from a kick out or from a man at half back Then in to positional groups. Midfield working on stoppages. Forwards on kicking to leading targets. Backs on ball movement out of the back half Notes Watts training as a forward, RIP the midfield experiment? Bail and Salem in with the midfielders Strauss with the forwards. Blease with the backs, Possibly a desperation move to save their careers? Howe training with the backs Clisby spend some of the drills with the 1's group, but then back in a bib Garland was in a bib the entire time, maybe Casey for him again Kent looked good but was also mainly in the seconds line up The early drills were pretty fluent. But the second match simulation drill was a dogs breakfast. JKH playing for the 2nds team (not many forwards in the 1's team wouldn't read much in to it) kicked a couple of goals from turnovers. Howe getting too creative through the middle and missing a leading Watts. Terlich kicking long from a kick out to McDonald but not too his advantage. Roos stopped the drill to ask Terlich who he was kicking too and why it wasn't the ruckman. Watts actually had some moments as a leading forward where he got on his bike and found space. Who knows if him forward again will help. I have my doubts. Roos stopped the drill for a good 5 minutes to work out why on Earth from a starting position of N. Jones from the half back flank he couldn't get 18 on 18 (a couple had headed to the bench to even up the numbers) and why the players weren't in the right spots. Eventually he got the forwards down the line in the right spot and 60-100 from the ball. The midfielders bunched inwards about 40m from the ball, the defenders fanned out for the switch and the forwards guarding them in the right configuration. I heard him scream "No your role, play your role". It was dispiriting that 36 of them couldn't work out the right spots and be there. From the right spots the play actually moved forward pretty well. Roos brought them in for a big chat after that, clearly not impressed. But he was coaching and directing them. One piece of play right in front of me frustrated me. The ball was kicked to Frawley out at half forward who drops back to mark with space from his opponent. But Pedersen leading up tries to call Frawley out. Frawley rightly stands his ground and marks with a quick 'call me back' to Pedo. Then Chip gave him the death stare after the play was over. Just a simple error from Pedo not to call Frawley in and protect him, but a fundamental none the less.

Was thrilled to see Mitch there, looked well, not that I can tell, but took it as a positive for him that he was dropping in to watch his mates train

Strewth, how did I miss that? I was down at training this morning, actually that is me in the background of one of the photos, the guy at the back wearing a bike helmet. Obviously focussing too much on Garland. He took part in everything and looks to be moving well. He did a couple of drills where he and T Mac had to jostle with Chip and Dawes as balls were kicked high to them. Garland looked very good in that drill. Is he ready though after so much time out? Spencer walked a few laps and disappeared. Fitzy, Pedo, Max and Jamar did a lot of ruck drills. Max played well in the magoos but Jamar went OK last week, so could we afford to take Max in as well? The others were split into 2 sides and were doing a lot of drills where the ball is moved constantly by foot to leading players who must get clear of there opponent to get a mark. This is what we would like to see more of on game day, players moving and presenting all over the field ahead of the ball carrier. Mitchie was training well and Riley was in everything, he could be a chance. Tapscott and Blease both look like can play, if only they would! For a change just about everyone was involved in the drills, there were no groups doing laps etc. Had to leave early unfortunately.

There is massive improvement in contested possies, inside 50s, and uncontested possies, but relative to the league we are terrible, terrible, and middle of the road in those categories. lol All you can do is laugh... Sigh.