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Yeah, but I really have my doubts about how he will go as a forward... no matter how hardened they say he is. I've heard of small forwards and goal sneaks, but this may be taking it a little too far: 3. AARON VANDENBERG (Melbourne), 22 H: 188cm W: 90kg Drafted: No.2, 2014 rookie draft Ready-made ball winner could step straight into the Demons’ forward line, if he is promoted, after averaging 31 touches in the NEAFL last season. Roosy loves his reliable, hardened midfielders and Vandenberg could give the Dees some extra depth. Had 56 possessions against Eastlake. Nice size at 88cm.

wow, that means hird's future must be numbered for sure i wonder if little hired him to speed things up?

Being a tad unfair here. Ablett is telling you what you don't know, that he experienced. No vocation is like that of an athlete that is in a well known sport - it is not for everybody, it is not all that it promises to be, and it is still a pedestal on which we place these people and tell them to look happy being up there. I have seen teenagers cry at their first training, I have seen intimidation from 'senior' players at the club, I have heard awful vulgarities, I know that the 'Hollywood Blvd' exists at all clubs and that the life we think is the norm for an AFL is the life of maybe a quarter of those that our on the lists we dissect. I would have loved to have had a chance to give this life a go, but don't tell me they can't whinge. So if all you got from that was a whinge - then that is fine, but I got other insights from it.

The captain must above all else lead on the field. Watts is no captain!

Just another one, with your indulgence. "The proof is in the pudding." And the proof is not in the pudding. The proof (i.e. the test) of the pudding is in the eating.

Not Fletcher, surely.

I read no whinging or complaining in the article just an account of his experience and observations and a well written one at that. The footballers life is a peculiar one. Just look at all the comments they cop here. I read stuff and I really hope our players have nothing to do with this site. Any one of us could write of our personal experience and it would include sacrifice and reward bur rarely would it include intense public scrutiny and judgement, potentially crippling physical demands and such a short and uncertain professional time span. You are never more than a second away from an injury that could destroy your career. We have all seen the stretcher leave the ground and wondered just what the outcome will be. I am not arguing that they deserve sympathy but a little empathy would not be inappropriate.

Agreed. With the amount it gets drilled into us by respected coaches and players in the league on the importance of leaders and player driven standards, not sure how anyone could still dismiss it. If Roos thought as much, he wouldn't do it. He isn't one to jump through hoops. If Clarkson thought as much, he wouldn't have spoken of the important role the leadership group played during his absence through illness. If football people of their ilk deem it important, that's good enough for me. What you speak of remains the club's toughest challenge ahead. Past decisions on the handling of senior players combined with widespread stunted development of our would-be leaders has had a significant flow on effect. We can nail as many drafts as we like, with as much top end talent as we wish. What we continue to lack is a raft of quality players closer to the pointy end of their careers to help guide the youngsters. This exercise is a perfect illustration. The midfielders most are placing in this group are Jones and Cross. That alone speaks volumes. Jones the sole hand for the past 3 years, and Cross the honest workhorse who we plucked from another club on the verge of retirement. You can make an argument for Vince but with the ongoing setbacks to Trengove and now Grimes, once again it becomes a jump down to the younger players in terms of the likely types to lead the club forward: Viney, Tyson, Brayshaw, Kennedy-Harris, Salem, Neale-Bullen. Petracca may have been nervous in his interview, but when he is asked which players he feels he can learn from, and the one name he comes up with is Christian Salem, it can be a bit of an eye opener. Players like Brayshaw and ANB do come across as extremely confident, almost self sufficient, and that is clearly not by accident. But all players need hands on guidance in the early stages of their career, no matter what their naturally ability. Let's hope we have the resources to provide that.

Demonland is built on the same philosophy.

I was contemplating the recent trade ins, draftees and now rookies, and its apparent that competition for a spot in our team has gone up several notches and will be hard to earn. That Lumumba, Gartlett, Frost, Hogan, are coming into the team, with the loss of just Frawley (Clarke we never really had) means several 2014 regulars won't get a regular game. That what many reported to be the hardest day of training at the MFC occured on the same day as our high pick recruits arrived was no co-incidence. It was intended to give them a rapid reality check that simply being a high draft pick won't get you into this team in 2015 - A mental and physical shock' for Demon draftees after brutal running session, that both our two prize pick in Petracca and Brayshaw were suitably humbled was the intention. That we just picked up two new rookies Aaron Vandenberg (aged 22, 188 cm, 90 kgs) and Mitchel White (aged 18, 188 cm, 85kg), both competing for midfield and flankers spots. That Grimes reliquished the Captaincy to focus on his football, read, staying in our best 22. All indicates that Roo's is consciously creating an high performance environment with intense competition for spots in the MFC 22, and that the bar is high and getting higher. It feels different to anything I've seen at this club for a long time, and bodes well.

I don't think Ablett is trying to make the case that being an AFL footballer is a harder life or more difficult than the more traditional pathways followed by those unfortunate not to be selected on draft day - in fact he recognises that it is something that thousands of young men would happily do. Rather he is providing a glimpse into the strange and unique life of an AFL footballer for all its glory and pitfalls. We all have to make sacrifices in life, particularly when pursuing a career, and the point of Ablett's article isn't to compare the difficultly or intensity of those sacrifices but merely give more understanding about how those sacrifices - made at a very young and naive age of 18 - can shape the lives of these young boys. The main point of the article seemed to be that the structured life of an AFL footballer removes individuality and limits personal growth because everything is provided for you, meaning that you define yourself through football, the football club and the people within those circles. You eat what you are told to eat, exercise when you are told to exercise, who to talk too, what to say etc. etc. Combine that structured lifestyle with the incredible ego trip provided through the celebrity of AFL football and most 18yo's will probably struggle to ever explore a life outside of that bubble. When that structure and celebrity is taken away, either due to retirement or delisting, it would be incredibly confronting - I imagine that many ex-footballers have to question and explore who they are outside of football for the first time once they stop playing footy. Of course people make bigger sacrifices and live harder lives, that isn't the point. The point is that the emotion, fanfare and life of an AFL footballer can often have unnoticed consequences and that even though these kids (sometimes) get paid big money to kick a ball around it doesn't make those consequences any less difficult.

the guy was an absolute sham. May he never show his face anywhere near the MFC again.

Kinda girls I bring home from the local on a Friday night....Edit: it's just a joke, stay calm

Melbourne Demons highlights for the 2014 season, Hope you enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeTqBCG5T7k Thanks.

http://www.essendonfc.com.au/news/2014-12-01/whelan-joins-the-bombers Our favorite player that is well known for shirt fronting James Hird has joined his mob. Loved the Wrecker he was one of my all time favorite players! All the best to him.

I must say that I do find referring to any player who has made it to an AFL list a "dud"or a "spud" particularly offensive. Sure many (at all clubs, not just ours) never really make the grade, but they have got a hell of a lot further than most if not all of the posters on this site. And even the most "timid"appearing in my view show great courage just venturing out onto the field. I wonder how many of the keyboard warriors would have the guts to go out there on match day?

"it all goes well for the future" . This was a magnificent linguistic [censored] up. It came from augurs well ( like the future looks good) not augers well (which is like drilling a hole). Illiterate footballer after illiterate footballer would confidently claim "it all goes well for the future". The coodabeens got years out of this.

I think finally we have "decent" people working for the club. Whether they are ex players or not is immaterial to me. I just want the best people.

Please say it isn't so ~ not to Essendon of all clubs.

Sorry if it's already been said but not a fan of "so and so say's hi"!!!

Good on him, he is still playing footy for Nth Ringwood Veterans in the Eastern Football Leauge a over 32's competition. We beat them in the GF, he still hits hard though!!! For the record his son is a gun for Nth Ringwood seniors won the comp B&F.

the best examples of leadership is how you play on the ground a winning team always looks to be full of "leaders" the number 1, 2 and 3 priority of a football club should be the focus on football anything else is a lower priority and just a nice to have i don't care how roundedly developed the players are, just that they win premierships winners are grinners and its all about football coaches are there to teach them about football and how to focus on being the best footballers they can. this is not the job of the leadership group. totally over-rated and can be a distracting influence from the real job at hand just another nanny state construct

At 88cm he could also be the John Holmes of the AFL.

Bit surprised by the lack of importance placed on a strong leadership group. Demonland has discussed the notion of culture at length. How does a club develop a strong culture? It's certainly not driven by a coaching group telling the players what they will be all about. It must be player driven and a leadership group is integral to this. Young men are more likely to learn through the examples of their on-field leaders than the words, feedback, analysis and video summaries of their coaches. It's all important but I know which type of learning I've found to be most effective with this generation.

AFL footballers are highly skilled practitioners that happen to work at a profession that we call a sport. To them its a business. Its no different from a law, medical or building practitioner that gets paid well for their skills that they have developed. But there is a big difference in the lifespan of these professions. An AFL footballer's employment is, on average, only 6 years. Most other careers can span over half a century. An AFL footballer works extremely hard but unlike most other professions they know that they have a very short time to achieve their goals. I saw it first hand last Monday at how hard they train. Its tough. Very tough. And its tough for almost 12 months a year. They need to be paid well to make it worthwhile. If they weren't the AFL would not be the AFL of today but would be like any other suburban league. Athletes would be attracted to other sports that may be less physically demanding and have a longer career span. Public interest and membership levels would be dramatically lower and more than likely we would be doing something else than writing on a football forum. The physical demands of our game are so high that the majority of players retire early or get delisted because their bodies / mind can't take it anymore or are just not physically / mentally up to it. In most cases the extreme running, constant physical contact and emotional demands take a lasting toll on their bodies / mind for the rest of their lives. Just ask Gary Lyon. He can hardly walk. The life expectancy of a NFL player in the US is just 55. As mentioned in the article, many players find it difficult to re-adjust to life beyond football. Who knows what path Rohan Bail's health will take after he retires. I certainly do not have a problem with how much AFL players are paid and how much they are looked after. Each week I marvel at their skill and often wish that I could have been that good but know that I did not have the drive, discipline and skill to even get on a list let alone excel at it.

Fail..Fail and again...fail!

He'll be the Muggsy Bogues of the AFL.

I'd be tempted to swap Pedersen and Watts... this year Pedersen did some nice things in defence and with good delivery to the forwards and with Watts being an accurate shot on goal, I think it could be worth the gamble.

On my Twitter account Demonpk

And Godders was an extremely honourable, self effacing team player. Most underated and good quality person.

He is suspended for Round 1. it is not a matter of room!

will never forget being spat on and abused for the temerity of being a GF opponent. They are pure scum.They die is fine by me.

Definitely. Salem, JKH, Tyson, Viney, Hogan, Toumpas, Kent, Brayshaw, Petracca. So much young talent to look forward to next year. I know we've been here before but this feels different.

Naturally. They're Russians and they all cheat. Not like our dinky di, true blue, Aussie footballers. We don't do performance enhancing drugs.

Got this off Saty's Twitter.

I haven't found Toumpas to be completely deficient at the contest from a physicality point of view. Sure he's no Byron Picket and he can improve but his problem with contests that I have observed is getting to them. He's just been way too slow. And when he has made it to the contest he's a bit like a deer in the headlights unsure of what to do. Rather than instinctive crisp decision making and execution. If he has any fear it's seems more to me about fear of making a mistake and doubting his ability. Not sitting outside the contest scared of body contact. He has gone back with the flight of the ball and been crunched a few times without flinching and marking the ball and getting back on his feet. He has also made some decent tackles when he's been quick enough. But if he is getting his running back up he should make it to more contests and if he gets his confidence up he should do better when he is in them. Encouraging signs.

I went along today and arrived during the beep test. On the whole quite a long training day with some pretty entertaining contact/tackling and ball movement drills. Most went pretty hard in the contact drills - it was great to see the competitiveness, though I did cringe with some of the tackles as we don't want any injuries yet..! Jetta got up cradling his arm after one but shook it off thankfully. Other things I noticed include: Garlett struggled in the beep test and some of the running, however in the full length 5 vs 5 (I think?) he burnt off Bail and kicked a beauty inside 50. Hogan's just good at everything ... Gawn did tap to rover work with Harmes for a while, then lots of laps and bike. Also did some running, kicking, marking drills with Kent. Watts, Dawes and Kent also did lots of laps and bike work Trengove was there today with his cast, pushing himself around on some kneeling tricycle contraption. He was shouting encouragement to all the boys out there. Vandenberg is quite a tall, solid unit but being first day might've done half the drills. Too early to tell much. Didn't see White. Dawes looks very fit and lean, probably that diet but I wouldn't want him losing much too much more! Running well though. Petracca is so solid through the legs and hips. In one of the full length drills he had the ball and busted through one tackle and stood up in the second to pass to a team mate. Didn't see much of Brayshaw today, did some laps with Kent early. Hogan, King and Jamar did some speccie marks over a pad. Jamar is also looking in great shape, had a bit of spring, though he did tire during the running. Spencer was there early but then disappeared. Terlich and Vince were continuing rehabbing. McKenzie ran a lot of laps and then did time on the bikes. Bail seemed to be on lighter duties today, not joining in all drills. Neal-Bullen has been impressive with his running. Kept up with all our better runners during the beep test, only beaten by M Jones and Grimes. Toump pushed himself pretty hard. Salem lay some good tackles during contact drills. You can't hold Jones and Viney back either, it's like they're out to hurt their opponents. Garland was struggling to keep up, he's clearly still building up from his low base but hopefully gets a good run at it. There was also a drill involving a ruckman trying to tap to a team mate while another midfielder was tagging/defensive. Tyson was a class above in this drill, read the ball beautifully. Cross hasn't lost any speed, constantly running through all drills. Lumumba also impressive, leading and pushing people. JKH has definitely put on muscle but running really well too. Hopefully we'll see much more of him next season! The new fellas did some ball pick up drills towards the end with Byrnes, who would randomly pass a ball on the ground, low or high around the semi circle. I think the idea was if you fumble you go to the end. Neal-Bullen spent a bit of time at the end ... Stretch looked good as did Petracca.

It occurs to me that one of the rationales for the recruiting on "mature" mids in Riley, Mitchie, Vandenburg, Cross, Vince over the past couple of years is to relieve the pressure on our high draft pick mids having to play and perform before they are ready or at the expense of their medium term fitness and confidence in their talent. My opinion is that its rare for a kid to walk into an AFL list and be fit and resilient enough to play a season in the middle. I think it takes until their third season (third pre-season) for them to be at AFL level fitness without inducing a injury, or form drop that affects their confidence. Trengove - pushed too hard too early, developed foot issues then confidence drop Toumpas - pushed too hard too early, developed hip issues then confidence drop Tapscott - hip issues never able to impose on field, confidence drop Watts - pushed too hard too early, unable to impose then confidence drop With JKH, Salem, Viney, Hogan and now the new crop of kids we have and now should be able to give them time to develop their bodies to AFL level before they are expected to step up to AFL level intensity and performance. Hogan, through a training related injury has had two years of development at the club in the reserves or in rehabilitation, and while him playing in 2014 would have been great, it may have hindered his medium and long term ability. When we talk about getting development right its having the depth of list such that your talented kids have to be properly physically and mentally prepared BEFORE they play at AFL level, simply because if they're not others will take their spots.

I recall Nathan Jones when he first started and i was disappointed with his lack of chase. Now he is a warrrior. I feel that there are a number of Demonlanders who will be surprised in the improvements of Salem and Toumpas this year, some may even be disappointed by the slow start of Petracca and Brayshaw and others by the football being played by Mitchie, Vandenberg and Neal-Bullen. Hogan will be a star and Jones, Tyson and Vince will be even more productive than ever. Underestimate the current depth of our list at peril and drop the idea that we need x number of A-Graders to compete! I would be happy to have the lowest number of players in Sheahan's Top 50 again this year as long as it is compensated by us being in the Top 4 on the AFL Ladder!

I noticed that as well, and was somewhat astonished (understatement) that out of all the draftees of the last couple of years who are ready to make their marks, they included an unheard of rookie from Canberra. I would have thought there would be 50 players ahead of Vandenberg - but would be very happy to be proved wrong. Great time of the year - the good news just keeps on coming. (I'm actually not sure Petracca will do all that much this year, I don't know that he has the tank to do an Ollie Wines. Brayshaw is another story though.)

Beating Eagles and Dockers at Subi and going home with a grin on my face! (Might find my tyres slashed though). Breaking the drought at Etihad would be great too.

How are ya GTB? Well the Scorpions name was from the previous Springvale football club. In my opinion they should do whatever it takes to make it work in the area. If that means a re-branding to Casey Demons so be it. However I don't think the naming is the real issue. Local competitions would be a good idea. I know that when I was a junior we had similar lightning premiership Under 9's but it was through the DDJFL (Dandenong Districts Junior Football League). Casey could endeavour to do the same on the grounds they have available at Casey Fields if available. I think a large issue is that Casey is standing alone & apart from the junior clubs. Once a youth prospect gets to around 18 they would be just as likely to leave their junior club & to try out with say Box Hill, Frankston or Sandringham as they would with Casey. I think they should pay some close attention to this & make it evident that there is a pathway to develop through playing at Casey & that they have just as good prospects there than anywhere else. Perhaps this is something both Casey & Melbourne could put some money into. An important thing to remember is there are so many kids in the area. I know through a friend that takes their kid to Auskick that they didn't bother taking their kid to Casey fields for Auskick as there was something like 400 kids participating & it was too over crowded. Too many kids participate & it effected how their own child participated in Auskick. They had to take their child to Narre Warren where there were less numbers. There are another 3 Auskick clinics in Cranbourne so I guess you can get an idea of the growth in the area & why it is in my opinion really important for Casey & the MFC to work on this relationship. We have a small supporter base in numbers & we will only improve this by doing similar to what Hawthorn did in the 80's - 90's. They built relationships in the Sth East & focused in on the growth areas & winning flags helped a lot of course. I think for the alignment to work, Casey & MFC need to be likeable. I know that sounds simplistic but that is the reality of it. The club has been spending a lot of time in the local schools, perhaps they need to start looking at doing the same at the local footy clubs. They have to continue building relationships with all stakeholders, actively participate in the community, schools, local footy & start to play some football that people want to watch.

Sorry Jack but that is a bad idea. Changing the name to cranbourne or associating with only cranbourne will cause them to lose following from other areas. There are many strong junior & senior clubs in the area including narre warren, berwick, hallam, hampton park, endeavour hills, lynbrook etc etc. The problem is that all areas associate with their own local teams & not so much with Casey. Perhaps the scorpions need to have a bigger presence at the local clubs & start using these local clubs as a feeder system. I don't think there is a problem with the overall structure but more the way they interact with the local community. Another issue is that springvale folded & became casey. Casey is not the local football team. As you know before that we had the dandenong redlegs who folded. I think you will find most locals would identify more with the redlegs than casey or springvale. Perhaps they should rebrand themselves as the redlegs or merge with the dandenong stingrays as this is where all the local talent ends up playing their junior footy. There is a disconnect between junior footy & casey. I think aligning themselves with the stingrays would be a good idea & create a closer bond with junior footy.

Plus I remember reading that they have been doing a bit of recruiting for their VFL team in preparation for any "doomsday scenario" Players will be banned, the AFL and the Drugs are obviously hoping to avoid such doomsday scenarios, but preparing for it is admitting theyre expecting it. The only group that will be blind sighted by such an occurrence are the supporter group- the poor, stupid and gullible supporters who think they've done nothing wrong, ASADA and the AFL have it in for them and the sun still shines out of Hird's arse. I can't wait to see the shock on their stupid faces when come round 1 their team will comprise 60% VFL players, and the rest of the footballing community lay the boots into their smashed egos as their arrogance turns to hubris very quickly.

Q30, I may have missed something in your arguments, but why do you think Hird's potential to sue the pants off EFC is relevant? If the AFL throws him out for being a drug pusher or whatever, who does he sue? Not the EFC. And on what grounds could he sue the AFL? It would be like a convicted criminal suing the court for loss of earnings while he is in jail and loss of future income because no one will employ him afterwards.

Definitely the filth on queens bday

He won't play a game....

Or 'end of an error'

Chiefs Niners Pats

I believe this is what we call, "depth".