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Those two lines cover it for me Saty, you have my vote.

Speaking as somebody who has attended every session, yes Monday skill wise was a bit ordinary, it was meant to be a light session, most of the players with really good skills displayed them, some coming in from Rehab didn't, I am optimistic about this coming season, don't think we will be world beaters but Roos/Misson are getting the team to somewhere near where they would like them to be, listen to Roos every time he speaks, he is pleased where the team is at, but even he is not sure whether the mental scars are finally healed The input of new guys will obviously help, Frost is a monster who could be anything, raw but wonderfully athletic, Newton, solid soldier, Lumumba and Garlett X factor in abundance, Garlett is determined to repay the faith Roos showed in him, he told me, Vandenberg is already looking a good rookie pickup, his shoulder is fixed and then we have the new kids and JKH, Hunt, Hogan, Salem, Toumpas, King, Harmes all with a full pre season under their belts...so why not be at least a little bit optimistic We have only Trengove and unfortunately it looks like Neal Bullen under an injury cloud which is great, ANB happened right in front of myself and lady, he bounced off the bag that Miller was holding went to turn, screamed in pain and went down in a heap, the medicos popped it back in. Spoke to him during and after original injury, everything said it had healed properly and he was allowed to return to full training, obviously they will have to have a rethink...I think the original was patella, but not sure, only ever told 'knee'

I wanted to click "Like This" but somehow it seems like I'd be saying I like Neal-Bullen having this injury. So instead, I'll thank Webber for the info. On the basis that most 1st year players probably wouldn't get much if any game time in their first year, Neal-Bullen's absence for most of 2015 is unlikely to be noticed. Nevertheless, I hope he recovers well and as quickly as possible.

Was able to get along to my first training session today, and thought it's only fair to report my thoughts after all the good work by others keeps me updated each week! How the detailed reports are done I don't know, with all the players covering the full length of the ground it certainly is a challenge. The main overarching theme to training is Transition. The majority of the session revolved around drills that had each group working on moving the ball from the backline at pace, taking the best/first option as quickly as possible. Coupled with some contested clearance type work (at least on my side of the ground) it was good to see as it meant in my opinion we were focusing on two of the biggest weaknesses we had last year. After some warm up drills, they broke into a full ground drill, a person would start in the pocket, dodge some stationery metal characters and hit a leading target on the back 50. The lead would have quick hands to another person running the opposite direction out of the 50 and launch a long ball over the square to a player entering the forward 50 whom will run in and finish. Good kicks that enabled the finisher to not break stride were Neal-Bullen (same to hear about his dislocated knee), Salem, Watts, Toumpas and Newton. Next main drill was also full length drill with the same focus, It was more match simulation in feel and the group split into 3 groups. 2 groups would be on the ground at once. One team would need to move the ball again from the pocket taking the short options quickly as possible. Once the ball made it into the forward line the group on the side went onto the ground and some in the forward line would come off and jog around to the wing to wait. Each time a group went onto the ground, Rawlings would say 6 v 8 etc and they would change tops to work it out. Grimes, Jamar and Jones as you would expect were quite vocal, yelling at the team on the field. Petracca has some swagger and was also vocal, while Brayshaw was very reserved so the early comments ring true with those two. Next drill, was split into what appears to be forwards, mids and backs to some degree. In front of me (on opposite side to main crowd), we had a small group of the young mids, Toumpas, Salem, Riley, Brayshaw. Petracca and a ruckman who rotated through with the other group of older mids who were doing a larger scaled version. The ball would be lobbed in and one team had to get the tap, and clear it out of the surrounding area. Lastly, it was a match simulation, split into 2 teams. The ball would be kicked up into a teams back pocket and they would move it from end to end. If a decent mistake was made then Roosy would stop play, instruct and then it would reset and start with the same player down back to start again. There was clearly more a direction to switch the play quickly where possible. Newton was good here, he made space a couple of times and hit good options. Petracca was hesitant, but on one occasion when struggling screw a kick around and hit his target 30-40 metres away on the lead which was impressive. Grimes was good, other than that errant left footer. Left once the group was brought in. Call outs: Newton - was the stand out for me, he is ready to go – no doubt, knows how to find the footy consistently and users it well and didn't see him waste possession. Toumpas – thought he trained well, not sure what everyone expect every single player to stand out each week. He was energetic and encouraging whichever drill he was in and used the ball well from what I saw. But agree with not seeing where he will play but haven't lost belief he can develop into a good player. Hogan – most of his work was away from where I was but I did see him clunk a few after pushing his opponent out convincingly. Riley – most disappointing, wasn't clean at all, would fumble and mis-kick but followed up so hoping it was an off day. Michie – was tidy I thought, didn't see a lot but like his games just goes about his business quietly and before you know it has 20 possessions. Harmes – like his spirit, after reading the weekly updates I had the picture that he was progressing well and I can see it. Fights for everything and has good hands to clear. He and Hunt look so similar so hope it was him! Haha! Jamar – will be no.1 based on today, dominated Gawn and Spencer and looks in great nick as all previous reports have stated. Happy to comment on anyone else if anyone is interested. End novel.

... and after watching Lance Armstrong's performance on tv tonight, I wonder if he and James Hird were separated at birth?

Correction, real hipster's SAY they've visited places such as Machu Pichu,Mexican beer factories and Scottish archeological digs.

I'll admit to being a glass half full guy up front. Headed down to training for the first time in ages today, the persistent rain didn't help for viewing, or training for that matter. I'm not seeing all the poor skills Clint is talking about, felt like I saw 25-30 kicks in a row hit a leading forward nicely. In match simulation grimes did miss the target on his left.....but he only had it as Salem got caught and he had followed up from deep defence, the grimes story! Really liked what I saw, a lot, I mean a lot of fit healthy, sharp looking players. Toumpas was much faster than I thought. Pedo looked good forward and higher up the ground, kick it well and clunked it. Lead and clean grab out in front of the day for me was big Maxy Gawn, he might just be very intimidating deep forward. We have plenty who can play tall forward with Gawn, Hogan, Pedo, Fitzy, Jamar and Watts all doing it today. Rawlings was teaching a group how to body off when deep forward with your shoulder, and then likewise how to prevent a forward doing this to you......cross very good at this as was Garland. I really liked the look of Newton throughout, from today he would be my pick as an unassuming player who slots 18+ games of good intensity and skill. The defenders (from memory Grimes, tmac, frost, garlo, Harmes, hunt, Terlich, Jetta, Dunn) did some impressive clearing the ball from defence, and after hitting a player about 50-70m out wide on the flank centered in board to Rawlings and then had runners storming past. Grimes excelled at this, Harmes looked good and wow, gee wow isn't hunt super super quick. If he can get on the end of handball running through the middle look out opposition, even if that is Port Melbourne not Richmond. Didn't see a lot of the new young ones, though Petracca did some nice things, Dunny was really pushing him in the ground simulation a few times....."get forward Track, get forward, go.....". Funny moment was when tmac sold viney a huge dummy in the goal square and kicked a goal, boys had a real chuckle. There is some real depth now. A bright year awaits. No Howe, and Vince ran 50 laps.

Missing out on Hannath wasn't a disaster. Watching Stef Martin dominate last year was.

Good luck with the 'think before typing' advice, Goag. Standard management for dislocated patella is to allow soft tissue recovery after the first one, build the strength back up, strap to protect the patella as best as possible, then send them back out there to see what happens. ANB has now re dislocated by all reports, so he'll have patella stabilisation surgery, of which there are a few methods, depending on any biomechanical predispositions he has. He'll be a few months gone whichever way it goes, so expect him back mid seasonish.

Good afternoon, fellow attendees, optimists, hair shirt wearers, lemon suckers and innocent bystanders The other posters have covered most of the drills, some was good, some was sloppy, depends on who and what you were watching, watched one run where the ball hit the deck or missed the target throughout, but it still got upfield Roos very vocal today Sad bit, near end of session Alex Neal Bullen was doing some innocuous bag work with Brad Miller and dislocated his knee again, went straight back on, but was carried off on golf cart, not a happy chap. Got 'tightness' out of Howie for his hamstring and a 'wait and see' from Dave Misson, assume they are still testing/scanning. Only others missing were King and Trengove. Spoke to a few players, all said they had been hammered at the camp in Maroochydore, today was light easy session. Hogan is still on a modified program, hates having to stop, doing the same session as Hunt today, who is also returning from back issues. Had a good chat to JKH, sadly lacking in confidence NOT, agreed Nev Jetta is constantly in his ear about improving, another one who has not missed a beat pre season. Bernie Vince seemed to be the only one in rehab, was running laps, got a big thumbs up, so don't think there is a problem there. Somebody a few topics ago asked about Jordie McKenzie and his fitness, full pre seasons etc, this is not his first full pre season, he thinks, but has never been fitter. And for a few that have been asking, asked Nev about Jeff Garlett, he is now regarded as one of the best two way runners at the club, sets the standard, absolutely carved them up in match sim at Maroochydore. Some pics will be on my Twitter Demonpk tomorrow, got other things to do today.

I hope the AFL are stupid enough to allow players to compete in the NAB cup, thus preventing backdating of sentences once they're handed out by ASADA, meaning players will end up missing the season proper instead. Would be gold.

Once a duke always a duke but I have found that once a knight just about does me in.

Best of luck Hirdy. Still living in your narcissistic dreamworld I notice. I'm starting to think he really does believe his own spin. If true, it will mean Essendon will be TOTALLY unprepared for what is coming, which will make it considerably worse for them in the longer term.

I don't think it's been possible to hide away from the controversy that's been dominating discussion at Demonland over the selection of Jimmy Toumpas two years ago ahead of Ollie Wines. This year, our first two picks are big bodied midfielders Christian Petracca and Angus Brayshaw, both in the Wines mould and the questions being asked by some were whether they are the man child types who dominate less developed kids and will they prosper at AFL level? They both looked good to me today - they ran well and moved smoothly. Along with the SA brothers in arms ANB and Billy Stretch they showed a fair amount of skill for newbies. I missed ANB's mishap at the end and I'm not so sure that any of our young midfield recruits are going to be instant successes. Petracca impressed me the most. You can see his basketball background shining through and he reminded me of the old Beatles number - there's definitely something in the way he moves. If you want a comparison with a past player, then it's probably Adelaide's Mark Ricciuto.

Some of you turkeys like nothing better than to pour cold water on every feel good story. I feel sorry for you! Lighten up and smell the roses!!

Much of the discussion about the MFC usually is.

On ANB's injury ~ Demon down again with knee injury. Sounds like he got lucky although it wouldn't surprise if the club took a conservative approach because of the fact that he reinjured the patella so soon after coming back the first time.

It simply amazes me how impaired people's judgement and perspective can become when the subject is football. You have to really wonder in which universe can a suspension be overturned in the manner suggested in this article? When is a suspension not a suspension? Essendon’s 2015 preparation won’t be disrupted by AFL anti-doping hearing, says James Hird

this is one of those laugh/cry threads sammy blease and tom scully just like luke tapscott and jack trengove were great mates, that was supposed to translate into good footy for the MFC...somehow (details were fuzzy on how exactly) if I recall correctly that idiot Bailey actually openly talked about having 'a team of mates' and there were several more examples of this in who we drafted around that time that worked out brilliantly didn't it (oh wait it worked out so poorly we were one of the worst sides to ever play the game in 150 years) None of this carp matters. Who they're mates with and where they're from and even what pick they were taken at. It's about developing the players you have properly and having them work hard and play as a unit - this is what the good teams are able to manage and we are not

He'll probably make more money at Sorrento.

So while he was rolling around on the ground screaming in pain you were asking him about his injury? Might have to reassess my opinion of you Saty.

Gee, don't they read Saty's training reports!?

Look, I have to agree with you on this. The word 'disaster' is clearly hyperbolic and an overstatement. But I think he'd be a good back up for Jamar and Gawn - and it is a missed opportunity given that we picked Nicholson and Evans ahead of him, and Stark in the rookie draft with the pick to be used on him, all of whom are no longer on the list. Had we picked Hannath very, very late in the draft, I expect he'd still be on the list. That said, he's clearly not another Brodie Grundy selected for the bargain pick at number 18.

Has someone got a face palm or just a head shaking gif for this? Please just think a fraction longer before typing next time.

OMFG, I thought we delisted Sam Blease?

Hird needs to just STFU. Fancy dragging him out to hold a press conference at a time like this. Nobody... literally nobody at that club has a bloody clue.

Fitzpatrick is still far too skinny and awkward to play as a key forward, Dawes consistently outmuscled him (however he too struggled with his marks)....he is nearly 98K now, Fitzy tends not to involve himself in wrestling when playing, he uses his speed and agility to get free, he has not scored many goals as yet, but check out the vision of the ones he has, you don't want 3 or four guys wrestling their opponents in the forward 50 Toumpas continues to sound like a concern. No he is not, his kicking is fine, he hardly misses a target, watched every session since November Michie Has done nearly every session, never hear Roos pull him up for anything, good solid soldier Here is an interesting bit on the mindset of the players at the moment, Nev Jetta had gastro the day before the 3k, still ran it, so as not to fall behind everybody else

This is WJ's report from the ground but he stresses it's not a training report and will make some comments later. THE GAME IS NOT THE SAME by Whispering Jack The doyen of Australian cricket commentators Alan McGilvray often had difficulty coming to terms with the changes in the game as it adapted to the realities of commercialism in the era of colour television. He even wrote a book entitled, "The Game is Not the Same" in the wake of the Packer World Series Cricket circus. I was thinking of him as I made my way to watch Melbourne footballers training this morning on Australia Day, 2015 at Gosch's Paddock. The pre season is already into its third month, having begun in November last year. The NAB Challenge matches are a month away and the premiership season starts in a little over two month's time. In McGilvray's era, the footballers would have been more than a month away from gathering to prepare for the year ahead with the obligatory first up lap or two of the Tan. There would have been a Test Match in session over in Adelaide with players wearing whites and baggy caps instead of the pastel coloured gear they wore at last night's T20 semi-final between the Perth Scorchers and the Melbourne Stars (I can sense Alan turning in his grave). No tennis across the road at Flinders Park; the Open was played at Kooyong and at a different time of the year. As for soccer, you couldn't get two men and a dog to the Showgrounds in mid winter to watch that; never mind tens of thousands for the Asian Cup. Footy training began in earnest late in the Sheffield Shield cricket season with balls flying around the MCG and players avoiding injury by staying away from the cordoned off pitch in the centre of the ground. And you might have heard some of the names of your team's recruits from newspaper despatches but you would rarely put a face to those names unless you turned up in late March to a practice match somewhere in the bush or at the G if it wasn't required by the cricketers. Today, the game is not the same. We know almost everything there is to know about the team thanks to an exponentially expanded media in this electronic age. We've seen you tube action of our favourite players at training, of the new recruits from other clubs and of the fresh faced youngsters. Not only that but we know how fast they can cover 20 metres from a standing start, how they can leap tall buildings in a single bound and the names of their pet cats and dogs. We've read every report from every training session to date, every drill and every movement at training's been covered including those eleven days on camp at Maroochydore, so what brings us to Gosch's Paddock so early on this Australia Day morning to watch them go around? I suppose it's because for all of the marvels and wizardry of the electronic age, the film, the videos and the graphics, the game is not the same when you view it that way and it's still better to witness sport (be it practice or the real thing) in person even when it's raining where you feel more a part of the action and you can better gauge the people and the personalities who you come to watch.

I'll probably be going out on a limb here, but Tyson could be a player.

Saty's here already, looking sharp. You can tell he's hardly missed a session this pre season.

I've read all of your opinions and I still say reverse cowgirl.

All looks about right except for Richmond at $23.00. It's like people are willing them to be good. They're not good.

First mistake I've had all day is reading one of your comments. I Only got half way before I wanted to shoot myself.

I thought he was going to be our Chapman and Trengove our Bartell.

Stuck between a rock and a hard place to a degree. Ideally they don't want to change leaders but they may be left with no choice if they want to avoid annihilation. The difference in circumstances is that whilst Rudd was on the nose within party ranks he still had a solid core of voters. His approval rating was 60% at one point and his dumping was largely unexpected in the electorate. Abbott has never had popularity nor would it be unexpected anymore, so the long term backlash may not be as great. Gillard still managed to get over the line after their game of knifey spooney, just, so Abbott's successor would still have a fighting chance. Bishop is my guess. Generally recognised as someone who has done an okay job in her portfolio and from memory has the highest approval of any Minister. Morrison is another possibility as he has clout, but may be seen as cut too much from the same far right cloth. I can't see them returning to Turnbull. He's Seen as someone who appeases the left but as you point out, his popularity isn't as wide ranging as some would suggest. But he remains a contender. One term governments are incredibly rare, but this mob are doing everything they can to achieve it. It's been great fun to watch, if you can park the reminder that it's the country that's ultimately suffering because of it. The only thing that surprises me is when someone says they are surprised at what a debacle it has been.

Nevermind Frawley being gone rd 2 last year. A few years ago I was behind the goals at Etihad against the Roos when Juice Newton thought he was Nick Riewold for the 1st qr. I looked into Frawleys eyes when the game had turned for the worst as he retrieved a ball from the bag to kick out after a behind. He was gone then.

I'll have a go at my preNAB team for round one. B: GARLAND DUNN JETTA HB: GRIMES MCDONALD HOWE C: WATTS JONES LAMUMBA HF: VINCE PEDERSEN KENT F: GARLETT HOGAN GAWN Foll: JAMAR TYSON VINEY Int: TOUMPAS NEWTON CROSS Sub: SALEM (it is very frustrating that Dawes had that brain-fart at the end of last year. He plays an important role in the team and he's going to be missed in round one, where we'll be looking to make a strong start to the year)

Not being mainstream is so mainstream these days.

The question is, who would they bring in to replace him? The obvious answer for many would be Malcolm Turnbull, but he has very little appeal beyond inner-city Sydney and Melbourne. Bishop? Maybe. Given the way Rudd / Gillard / Rudd worked out, it would be a very brave Government that replaces its leader again, no matter how bad things get. Having said that, it's getting pretty bad for Abbott.. with each day and each new drama it is looking increasingly like he is not up to the job. As nut asked earlier - where the hell were his advisers on this one?

Lions: Leuenberger and Stef Martin. Both bordering on AA. Notwithstanding my earlier overstated hyperbole, trading Martin has turned out to be a disaster. PS. Clearly I want to say something's a disaster.

Poor Nibbler, really hope he doesn't need surgery.

Pot. Kettle. Black?

So Toumpas is wiping, windscreens? Hart?

His kicking has improved then???

yeah....and there was jack viney and ollie wines..................oh wait a minute

B: JETTA, T.MCDONALD, DUNN HB: GRIMES, GARLAND, HOWE C: VINCE, N.JONES, LUMUMBA HF: KENT, PEDERSEN, WATTS F: KENNEDY-HARRIS, HOGAN, GARLETT FOLL: JAMAR, TYSON, VINEY IC: CROSS, NEWTON, TOUMPAS SUB: SALEM EMERG: BAIL, FROST, GAWN Lumumba is training with the mids so Howe can replace him in the back half. I find it hard to fit the 4 talls all in the back half so Frost misses out, it will be interesting to see if they can fit the 4 talls in the same team. Pedersen will be a replacement for Dawes. I'm not convinced Gawn can play up forward, drops too many marks and is a liability at ground level hopefully his NAB challenge form can change my mind. I can't see M.Jones getting a game. He had a really poor last half of the year and with the recruitment of Lumumba and Newton I see them squeezing out M.Jones, I think Bail and Michie are also ahead of him and I would also like to see our 2 high draft picks Petracca and Brayshaw get a game in front of M.Jones as his skill level is not up to AFL standard.

By having it at Casey

Your uncle is the Wilmer McLean of the AFL. The US Civil War started on his property at Manassas, just outside Washington DC, and finished with the surrender meeting in the living room of the house that he'd moved to 200 km away.

I could accept that, but I don't think it fully accounts for someone who had mentally left the building from the outset. Anyhow, he's gone now and we got Pick 3, so c'est la vie. Nah no fight. I enjoy WYL's posts, even if I frequently disagree with him.

Corky for Dawes equals 3 months recovery