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Got down for a look and was impressed at what was on display. No good at these things but since there's no reports so far I'll try put a few things down. I was about 20 min late and walked into a fast paced ball movement/decision making drill. I try get to a few training sessions each pre season and haven't seen this before. I should mention that Goodwin and McCarthy were running training and I didn't see Roo's all day. It was play on at all cost with sharp decisions which were generally hitting there targets. It was a great drill cause not only was it teaching the boys about ball movement it was teaching the defending group about guarding space or when to fully commit to the ball carrier. A couple of other notes from today. - I'm a Kent fan and he was running the boundary and he's a beast. Big thighs, thick through his chest. If fully fit come round 1 should be in starting 22. - they did simply things like goal kicking for 10 min. Garlett was doing dribble kicks, Hogan leading and marking, mid field clearance work. Backs intercept marking. Rucks tap work then tackle and spread. It was just the little things but to be honest things we need to make instinct and not stop and think oh yeah I need to be doing this. - loved the banter in the goal kicking. Gawn most vocal and pretty funny. Watts had a bit to say and you can see his very well liked by the boys. - running drill at the end was 2 sets of 10 x 100m sprints. Getting to the last couple you could see a few boys struggle then McCarthy yells out "talk and help each other through" to which a few boys piped up. Gus was struggling and Watts was tapping him on the back until the last one Watts almost run the last with his arm around Gus's waist encouraging/helping him through. They crossed the line and the two embraced for a while, nice touch. - Track said its a small fracture and not as bad as first thought, said media made it bigger than it is. - The team is looking big as in height and size. At one stage midfield was Vanders, Gus, Tyson and Gawn. I could only think that it would be a little imposing with the size. I've been writing this for over an hour and can't recall what I've said but that's what happens with 3 kids. Hope someone can take a little from this. Cheers

As it is a training thread, after speaking to the coaches and the players, and in line with Jack Viney's recent comments, everybody seems to be finally on the same page, the focus at training is sharper, the communication is clearer etc etc, McCartney has gone to another level this year (the players love him), you can see the development happening in front of your eyes Another comment from the players, we have 40+players on the list, whoever is fit and in form will play and they all want to accept the challenge And if Hulett can play in a game as good as he shows at training, he is my pick for the smokey this year, he is super aggressive and has the size already to go with it Other good signs Hunt and Kent basically doing every session, like having 2 new extra recruits, one bit from training a week or so back, Ben Kennedy who is renowned for his speed tried to burn Hunt off, Hunt had him in about 10 metres

I had a really good chat to Jason Taylor about him, first picked him up at under 14 level and have been keeping tabs on him, because of his physique, felt that the missing year would not be a problem, had a couple of games at the end of this season and showed no ill effects and the same attributes he showed at under 16s, so picking him up was not an issue, scares a few of the boys in the boxing ring so I am told......Roos is also a big fan

To all, no the hair and beard at the last training before Xmas was a little joke with Brendan McCartney, work at a fun place now, colour the old ash blonde now and again, forgot I had it in one day and went to training, the players 'loved' it of course, McCartney asked me to colour it and the beard for last training session, and why not Other observations from training to keep thread on track, the reporting of even the slightest twinge has gone to another level again, Nev Jetta felt a bit of a pinch in his hip flexor about 15 minutes into a session and that was it, told to go back inside and get it looked at, next week or so in rehab. Reason Dom Tyson is still rehabbing, had a bit of an issue over the break and into first couple of weeks of training, so has to catch up before he gets back in main group, also his engine still needs a bit of work The reason Nathan Jones did so well in 3k was he was told to improve his running ability, so not just the kids being put on notice, and with the neck injury it was the opportunity to work on it, he is also another that has 'slimmed down' Hunt would also be a good pick for a smokey, although Mitch White has every intention of banging the door down as well, as seen by the 3km last week, Max King if he keeps up his consistency could be another

Here are some pics from todays session ! I reckon my gf did a pretty good job, considering 1. She's never been to a training session in her life and 2. She's not a photographer. Enjoy guys! https://deestraining.smugmug.com/Dees-Training-Casey-Fields/

Me leaning on fence........ McCartney to players "which bit of stay of out the f*****g corridor don't you get" McCartney to me "a bit of constructive development there"

Thanks everybody for your comments, especially DeePick's report and Die Hard Demons girlfriend's photos. I also managed to take in Proper Gander's partly completed and somewhat esoteric report on Bigfooty. Dazzle, I know it wasn't up to your expectations but there's a bit to read between the lines and apparently more to come. The good news is that Tasmanlvr hasn't left the scene entirely; rather, he's doing summer school at uni (I did that myself one year and it was fascinating) and will probably be back in action after the Aussie Open. My observation is that we've come a long way from pre season training in the last 50 years (in those days it started in late February) since the late, great Norm Smith ordered full back Bernie Massey to shave off his mustache. If he were still coach today and given that he would be the oldest coach in the competition at 100 that's unlikely, the old disciplinarian would surely be bewildered at the amount of facial hair young Roos is permitting his players to get away with (and I mean you in particular Gawny). Not long ago when I wrote that piece on the Weidemans, I checked out some stats and I was amazed that key forwards like Murray Weideman and Norm Smith were barely taller than 6 foot in the old scale and shorter than many of the midfielders running out there at Casey yesterday morning. Blokes of that height never had to do so much running in an entire season, let alone what they have to in January these days. And on top of the running, there's a lot of strength work to be done as well which was demonstrated by some pictures I saw from earlier in the week of young Sam contesting a mark against 20 year old Jesse Hogan. Smithy's teams were always imposing in terms of height and size, not to mention skills and discipline so it was good reading that part of DeePick's report. I did make it down to Casey Fields at this time two years ago with my grandson on a very hot summer's morning (the only other people there were from the Salem family) and I don't remember as much evidence of the height and size factor then, yet I came away wearing the same rose coloured glasses that I have at this point in every season. Perhaps, it might be justified this time around.

Being a defender for Melbourne over the last few years would have been a bloody tough gig. Sure he has made a few stuff ups but in most games he would be under constant pressure as Melbourne received its usual belting. He has stuck it out honourably and honestly. Good on him!!

Finger injury doesn't stop running, cycling, swimming etc, yes, boxing but ffs, he is a veteran, he should be coming back in tip top shape every year.

Athletes the world over will be telling their coach to inject when what ever they like but will make sure no one tells them what it is or keeps records. Unfortunately the precedent will have been set

What I don't like is that our club still try's to get itself up for certain games. I'm sick of hearing that the Collingwood game is our biggest game of the year. We have players who still don't come to play every week. We need to set ourselves for every game, when did we last beat Hawthorn/North/Port/Eagles?? We can't simply wait until these teams slide before we think we're a chance. Any player should debut when he is ready not be held back for some trivial reason. If it just so happens to be against Collingwood or should we make finals this year or next so be it. I'd rather play a first year player who has earned the right rather than go with a senior player who has had years to perform and deliver nothing. 90% of talent on this list is 23 or younger.

Not exactly back, thought I would add a bit of context, from what I have observed at the training I have attended, most of what is written in the reports on the club website is pretty accurate, stand out for me by a mile this year is Kent May post a couple things going forward, but no training reports

Curtain raiser is a great idea. But it needs to finish closer to the start of the main game. Not finish 90 minutes before!

Different personalities and diversity of views make this an interesting site as long as the egos and personal sledging does not detract from the information provided by track side watchers. So far the varied reports this pre-season have been great but let's make sure the standards remain and that mutual respect prevails.

Seems to me Mr Pickering is not saying anything profound but stating the bleeding obvious. It's not even headline worthy just another bit of click bait for the Hun.

and if this finger excuse was considered to be a satisfactory one, Roosy wouldn't have made mention of it and cast him in a bad light

Good to see you back, mate.

Going to be a bloody interesting year. The bit that about playing on at all costs gets my attention and seems to be a shift from Roos to Goody.

Love Col in the background of that shot. Definitely a stoner.

His radio show is apalling... i would expect nothing less...

I think Mitch White will make it. He is another one of those competitors that Roos bangs on about. Comments from his last season read for a lesson in football development. Started in the VFL 2nds, promoted to the VFL senior team and got progressively better through the year finally making an AFL debut in the last round. 2015 Season 1 - 2 - 3 VFL Kicked a goal in development league. Went OK. - 4 Didn’t play for Casey. 5 VFL Did some nice things but wasn’t a big factor. - 6 VFL Did some nice things down back but is still learning. - 7 VFL Better than last week in defence. 21 possessions. - 8 VFL Used ball well and looks a likely type down back. - 9 VFL Bye. - 10 VFL Solid enough down back and used ball fairly well. - 11 VFL Good two-way performance in the back half. - 12 VFL Continues to learn craft in defence. Making good strides. - 13 VFL Bye. - 14 VFL Rested. - 15 VFL Rebounded well from defence in win over Port. - 16 VFL Used ball well coming out of defence and is a good size. - 17 VFL OK down back and bobbed up for two goals at other end. - 18 VFL Rebounded well at stages in tricky wind. Going OK. - 19 VFL Five rebounds among 14 touches in defence. Fair. - 20 VFL Casey’s best in defence. Coming along well as rebounder. - 21 VFL Continues to make strides as a rebounding defender. - 22 VFL Tried hard down back but had little support in end. - 23 GWS Impressive debut from the ex-Stingray in back half. One to watch in 2016. 6

nice to have you back saty

The Satynator in back in action! Haha In all seriousness I'm very intrigued with Liam Hulett. Drafted on the basis of 3 TAC Cup games in 2 years. A lot of injuries but apparently was a serious up and coming gun in the under 16s champs for Vic Country. Big solid unit who has already played senior footy for Bonbeach so maybe he could be a smokey for an early debut before the likes of Sam Weideman? Glad my boy Mitch White is having a ripper summer. Huge upside.

Umm Yes unless they are paying six figure sums

Offensive drive is not his role. Being a lockdown defender, something he does very well, is his role. I agree, even as a Garland fan, that he is still prone to the odd brainfade but we have plenty of players who are prone to those as well. We all love Tom McDonald but how often do we have our hearts in our mouths when he looks to switch play? Garland has a role in our side and one he plays well. I disagree that he doesn't make the effort to drive and educate our young players. How would you know that he isn't doing that? I know you've focused on his on-field deeds, but from all reports he is a highly committed trainer who has put plenty of extra hours to get around and work with the younger players on our list. That's a darn good effort in my book.

WJ Yes,new employment involves shift work, so been to a few training sessions, you will find pics on Twitter, still talking to the players, and still having my scooter stolen/moved by Max Gawn Had a break from this place

Tuesday 12th January is the answer, it seems ... http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news-essendon-decision-date-set-by-court-of-arbitration-for-sport-20160109-gm2f34.html

I think this sums up Roos' thinking at the present moment:- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plZRe1kPWZw&sns=em

I spoke to Jeff about this, he had a finger injury and couldn't get as much boxing in as he usually does during the break, so his overall fitness dropped a bit, nothing more than that

Agree. Roos talks about not wanting to put too much pressure on young players, and for an MFC player, the Queen's Birthday is about the most pressure-filled environment that a young player could debut in.

Ah what an awesome tackle. I just can't stop watching it. What a joke number 2 was.... He clearly handballed it. It was just the "Cyril" factor the umpire got sucked in by...

That is pretty much the human equivalent of a lion taking down an antelope.

Maybe "gravity" should be #6's new nickname.

Praising bringing the ball to the ground always makes me laugh, gravity has always been good at that.

And, if you remove the word "fair", you also have to remove the "oxy" component of the last word.

Girlfriend got down there for her first training session after I successfully convinced her over the xmas break to change from the Saints to the Dees. She's still learning all the players, but she took some great snaps! I will upload them at some stage this afternoon!

Wow.....The overreaction to this injury is mind blowing. We have posters wanting to fine a player for an injury, other posters stating he must have been doing something stupid without knowing the circumstances. Posters writing off the career of a player.....Posters becoming Doctors with diagrams of feet. And I say how DARE he go outside when not required to by the footy club. Doesn't he know that all 20 year old footballers sit on the couch and play X box, I just don't know what he was thinking. Doesn't he know that it's a dangerous world out there? Seriously, I jagged my hamstring walking the dog 3 days ago. That's it never walking him again. (It had nothing to do with my age ....Honest) You cannot wrap players in cotton wool and they have to have other interests than football 24/7.

I have the facts. Petracca is out for 4-6 weeks with a busted up fifth metatarsal. He did it playing basketball in his backyard. A selection of posters think he is a bit of an idiot. A selection of posters think it's just one of those things. I'm not bothered. It is what it is. I'm a Zen buddhist though.

You're making a very big assumption that his role is simply a lockdown defender. You don't know that. Very few players have a singular role like that. I could name plenty that can lockdown a player and give offensive drive. They are not mutually exclusive.

I think you are forgetting the mass appeal of cricket through the more than 1 billion people in India, not to mention the rest of the sub continent and Africa. In terms of support and participation it is second only to Soccer on a global scale. You are right about the individual dollars for the clubs but the ones you list are very geographically limited which limits numbers of supporters. The only reason they get more dollars is due to the demographics of the country they are in, not the sheer number of supporters.

Interestingly appropriate that the Finish line comes on Tuesday....I'll be in Helsinki

Be nice if they have the power to also make Hird (in particular) repay his entire 2014-2015 earnings derived from football.

We have a good laugh? Either way, I'll be accepting of the outcome. A not guilty verdict won't mean that they won't have paid some sort of price ... as it stands, the 3 year saga has damaged the EFC to quite a degree anyway. It will take that club quite some time to become properly relevant again regardless of the outcome. They are coming from a long way back and their list is below average.

Great to have you back Satyr! Hunt is my smokey to have a big year. Look forward to your future training reports.

He could also be one of the players who actually refused to take part in the program, when asked he plays a straight bat, which he has to to protect the identity of the 34, he wasn't getting games when Hird was in charge, could be one of the reasons why, and he/we won't be impacted by the decision at all

I am tipping the entire 2016 season for all 34 players Not sure what management should get. Doc Reid should be struck off i know that!!

Not as much love for Col as some initially thought. I don't see his new 3 year contract as proof that he's a part of the future and a guaranteed starter. I see it more as shoring up depth while Oscar learns his trade and Frost tried to get on the park. With 18 clubs real depth becomes very important. I think we've hedged our bets and signed him for a modest amount. If he can recapture his best form we do well out of the deal if he doesn't then he hasn't cost us much but he is ready to go. Like many others needs to get over the past and now. We have been heading in the right path for a couple of years now, and as I've stated before you don't just simply loose your ability. I think what will help Garland a lot along with Tmac and Dunn is two weapons off half back. We need both Salem and Melksham (or a combination of attacking players) on the back flanks. We can't be so arrogant to think we can just play one and have Grimes on the other because the opposition will only need to try and shut one player down. We need two options off half back. This way players like Garland can concentrate on defending and not trying to be too creative when we have the ball. People bag Tmac for trying to do to much but can we blame him for trying to create something. Surround these players with elite ball users and their game will grow.

Sorry Hells, he was on the other side most of the time. When the group did the run through's, the new guys were on the far side doing 200m sprints. He was running quite well. Looks to have dropped most of his puppy fat. Well FWIW, this is what Proper Gander said about him in Bigfooty:- "Looks pretty good - like a big white work-in-progress. He's done something weird with the hair though, No 1 back and sides, throwing his ears into prominence, then the ginger top longer and sprouting in a 360. It's an interesting look that is all his own - he kind of resembles a live volcano that has sparked up on an alpine mountain. Bits and pieces of his play look promising though. He works well and matches up in drills, and his kicking is decent and can travel pretty well. He even snuck in a couple of bounces running for goal which look a million times less terrifying than those included in his highlights package."

Hangin' for Sunday ... ideally, a couple of games every Sunday (our time) would be fabulous. All the road teams are favoured but any of the games could go down to the wire ... next week, all the home teams will probably be favourites. If Seattle win they will go to Carolina and if Pittsburgh win they will go to Denver - it's been said before but the NFL playoff system works really well However, there is still a good chance that 2 more teams will be added to the current 12 playoff teams with only the 1 seeds subsequently receiving the bye - I'm not against adding the 2 teams even though I like things as they are now. The new 'point after' distance seems to have been received well too although only Pittsburgh looked to have attempted the 2 point conversion on a regular basis ... will they continue to do so on Sunday? The Steelers & Cinci match-up is probably the game of the weekend and it may well be real bruising affair given the recent history between these 2 teams. The Vikings/Seahawks game could be a must-see too - for all sorts of reasons not the least being the weather forecast for the game ... -3° celsius is forecast for the start of the game rising to a maximum of 1° celsius by the end of the game - plus, winds gusting up to 30km/h are predicted. That's rather chilly! Edit: 7mate are showing all 4 of this weekend's games live - I suppose we can assume that 7mate will be showing all the playoff games.

Most of the time, I'm a fan, but he still exhibits too much of what is now the typical MFC senior player "baggage", if you will. Goes missing when we need leaders in games against lowly sides, gap between his best and worst is too large for a senior player, at times has the worst body language on the field you'll ever see (again, in the context of being a leader, not good enough). Be that all as it may, I do rate his work in defence and I think he played some outstanding football at times in 2015.