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Dee's training.. I arrived there and H, Watts, King, Petracca boxing ... TRENGOVE! in the main group. I got there about 10 ... they were doing lane work but with a guy in between so they would hit up spin and then stab ... Yes stab the ball hard!! And most were hitting targets ... mainly watched Trengove. He looks sharp! Hope he pulls up well. Hunt looks fast. The boys real revving into i about something.. Was funny.. Whilst there was lane work, there was a complicated 3 man weevish handball going.. Good intensity.. Macca yelling get the young kids a touch early, get them one in the first 30 seconds.. Then they went into circle work but would finish off with a goal at either end.. Kent moving well.. (Dawes took a mark) Hullet is a monster and could start Rd 1 based on size.. Don't know about his kicking though.. All skills good.. Only misses I saw were from Spencer, Vanders, Wagner and TMac.. Boys still boxing.. They then moved to a halfback/wing/fwd drill.. Quick hands, play on at all costs.. Where my favourite part of the session happened. Viney just ripped TMac to the ground, smashed his head face first ala Ablett tackles.. Tmac grab his neck and told him that's stupid.. Viney "you're a sook go play netball" God I love Viney!! Atm Dawes currently working with King (#34) and Weiderman.. Teaching them how to use their body in marking contests.. Oliver running laps.. Notes: Grimes is looking the fittest I've seen him and didn't miss a target or drop a mark.. Jones looks 100%.. Bugg is small.. But fast.. Kent looks to have that arrogance of a Dane Swan.. Didn't see Vince.. And Goodwin pretty much ran training.. (There are still going)

At least he cares about the club. He trains his guts out week in, week out and doesn't have much luck. Yes, he needs to kick more goals. Yes, he needs to improve his marking. But if we had a team full of blokes that trained as hard as he does and give everything they had for the club as he does then we wouldn't go far wrong. It's hardly his fault his body has betrayed him, nor is it his fault that we splashed the cash to get him. We thought he was worth it at the time. Regardless of his status in the side I think it's sad to see him break down again.

Went today and took some happy snaps, http://imgur.com/a/7VAEs My favourite is this one.

Interesting session. I watched from about 10:15 to 12:15 No Vince, Stretch, O Mc. Watts, Petracca, Newton, Smith, Lumumba, Max King doing boxing only Salem doing sprints and agility stuff ie. approx 50m timed runs and zig zag leading then marking. Nothing appeared taped or restricted. Oliver doing more distance/interval running and kick to kick with Crossy. He needs to work on his short kicking, the ball didn't come off his boot at all well today, maybe a combination of fatigue, technique changes etc. Trengove in the main group for some simple drills, then back having a kick and finally over to the paddock for some intensive drills with Crossy and another couple of staff members. All about getting him used to footy drills but without tackling/taking a tackle or other uncontrolled movement at this stage. He looked good. Weideman was part of the first full ground match simulation, before going over to the paddock and doing the same sort of stuff Trengove had been doing. Whilst Mitch King and Hulett sat out the first larger match simulation but took part in the second drill. The first match simulation was about 14 a side full ground match practice. Spencer or Gawn would be given the hit out and from there the play would flow. Both sides set up with a man behind the ball. Gawn, Brayshaw, Tyson, Viney, Kent all found a lot of it. Frost was used at both ends. Different talls were swapped. It was scratchy but willing. They then moved in to 3 groups - blue, white, green. With 9 guys coming out with the ball from the backline opposed to 7 defenders, working it up inside 50, receiving the ball back from a coach and going again back to score a goal at the other end. Really the point of this drill was to move the ball very quickly and to get out and spread on the rebound/defend on transition. They went for 20-30 minutes rotating the teams and some of the boys were pretty tired at the end. ANB impressed me with his work rate. Ben Kennedy with his ability to take off quickly and keep the ball moving. Brayshaw with his attacking running. Matt Jones did a few nice things. Frost gets separation on the lead and in space so easily, just has to hold his marks and work on his kicking. Michie was kicking long and in to space accurately and with nicely weighted kicks. Hulett handballs and works well with the ball through congestion. And as I said earlier Wagner was very impressive.

I'm currently watching Tregove train with what looks to be the main group! Moving really well! Twisting and pivoting then stabbing 20 metre passes!

First time I have been to training this pre season and must admit that I was mostly impressed and just a little disappointed in how some of the players went about it today. We'll begin with the positives; - All of our new recruits and draftees impressed in different patches. Ben Kennedy is quick off and on the ball, Tom Bugg seems to be always working pretty hard, Oliver seemed to run lap after lap and could've gone all day, Hulett is a big boy who again is working hard and I could really say the same things about the rest of the newbies. - I thought our skills have improved again. Players who weren't renowned for their high level of skills (Grimes, Tom Mac) seemed to be hitting target after target. - We have a better understanding of structures. Players were running into space and defenders knew the space they had to try and protect. - Intensity was high. People have mentioned the clashes above but even in some drills Goody was making players sprint towards him after kicking the ball to a leading forward. He was letting gawny know that his sprinting effort wasn't good enough at one point and he was really the only bloke not putting in 100% to those sprints. And now negatives; - Still think there is a "point the finger" type culture happening around the club with some of the blokes who came during the Neeld era. I saw Kent rip shreds off JKH for not delivering the ball to him. Kent was correct as he was the right option but I don't think yelling at him and waving his arms around was necessary. - I don't know if it was due to where I was standing but I thought the group was lacking a bit of talk. I heard Vanders, Dunny, Jonesy and maybe Hulett but honestly not many others voices. This is more in relation to talk and encouragement off the ball rather than yelling for a lead. The stand out performer for me was Josh Wagner. Not because he was the best out there but because he just totally surprised me with his skill level. I think he can become a versatile player for us. His ability to read the play makes him perfect for the backline (off half-back with the run he has) but he has a great leap and mark on him as well and that could cause a threat up forward for us. Viney, Chunk, Ben Kennedy, Kent, Brayshaw and Nifty also stood out.

I just posted some footage on Twitter..

This photo... the smiles... *swoon*

Last passage I watched. Hunt kicked out long to Gawn pack mark. Played on hit ANB, who turned and hit Brayshaw done the middle. Handed off to ? Who hit Garlett in a pocket over the top. Play on goal.. No fumbles clean from defence! Pow!!

How about you put yourself in his shoes and attempt to understand how frustrated the bloke must be. He clearly wants to perform and help the team ffs. I don't get the vindictiveness against players who break down through injury.

Another snippet.. McCartney was asked by a track watcher on the boundary line how he thinks they'll go this year, his reply - "they'll be better than last year, they'll be better next year, and if you're not hard at it you won't be getting a game."

I arrived just before 10 and saw Watts and Trac rolling the ball around the body, between the legs, behind the back, neck then handball. good drill. Then handball drills and boxing. Trac is a strong lad. He also has some choice comments for those around him. Watts had his quad taped. Viney, god help anyone who gets in his way in a game. He has the skill, aggression and position we need. Tmac was a little surprised by the intensity, Dunn was laughing. The sound of Tmac's head hitting the ground wasn't good. I was a little surprised by Viney going on with it. Its good to have some intensity and the boys are working on it. Tmac was later on Hogan in the match simulation. It was like watching two greats go for it. Hogan's hands are really good, Tmac's stretch and positioning and strength are something to watch this year. Oliver and Salem running laps. I didn't see my son's favourite Bernie Vince out there, maybe I missed him. It was different in match simulation from those who did well in drills. Captain Chunk was great in the sims with Gawn. Viney took the first two taps away, then Captain Chunk. Garlett has a switch that knows when to go. Dom Tyson is moving well, he has confidence and looked really good. First time I really saw White and liked his prospects for Round 1. The low kicking in the forward line looked great. They hit the target without the forward deviating from the line too much. This was really exciting. Kicking to a lead. ANB looks better than last year, more size and conditioning. Richie VB will dominate again, lock him in for round 1. he has learnt positioning and will only get better. Dawes looks more comfortable leading up the ground, CHF and wing and centre. he has clean hands off the deck and the kick handball or kick is a good option for him. He also had the two young forwards with him on the side for about 20 mins showing them lead and mark. The highlight of the session was seeing No.9 J.Trengove running and kicking. He participated in the full field drills and he still knows how to mark, kick and pick up a ball. He has bulked up and is learning to run with speed again. It was great to see! Left around 11.30am, just before set shots. Stretch left early. There

I was watching Dawes closely today and thought he was going well. He goes out of his way to educate the younger players such as Weiderman and King and when you consider that both these guys are his potential replacements/competitors for his position that shows a whole lot of class . He took a couple of good grabs and was running hard until the injury.He did the calf pretty close to where I was standing and he knew immediately that it was serious. Gotta feel for the guy.

My Brother just rang me because he had to tell me how well Trengove was moving. He was moving so well he had to ask one of the assistants if it was actually Trengove.

It doesn't have to become a big thing but I am of the view that the Viney tackle was over the line. It was arms pinned and slammed on a shoulder. Better to save those ones for game day. But I'm also of the opinion that Tom McDonald needs to sharpen up or he'll become a liability. He's still too indecisive with the ball and not up to scratch with his kicking. Maybe a few Viney tackles will sharpen him up. I loved the little push and shove they had after, which was quickly defused by team mates.

For Jeremy Howe to incur a freak injury like this suggests to me that he's still a Demon at heart because it's the type of injury that you would usually expect a MFC player to suffer.

Went along for 30 mins at 11.45. Thought that I may have missed the best of it but arrived just as they were doing an intense end to end transition drill. Divided into 3 groups and rotating off the boundary every couple of minutes. It seemed to be about getting to the point of exhaustion whilst still maintaining a high work load. Whilst the overall standard was very good it became obvious that fatigue did start to affect skill levels. Great voice from the onlooking group each time with lots of high fives, encouragement and general input. They seem like a really tight group of young fellows on a mission. Great to see. The sound that Brayshaw and Vanders made when they collided was extremely loud. The group watching in front of me gasped and went quiet until Brayshaw got up and moving again.

Great to have someone who can forecast injuries. Let's see your list for the coming year so we can plan around it.

Even numbers makes it difficult to move the ball, only have to watch a Melbourne game to know that. Think of how many stoppages and turnovers there are in a standard game, or how many contests. Giving an extra number to the defensive team would be near on impossible to move the ball. You'd go man on man and have a spare floating a kick ahead. 9-7 gives a good chance to practice running to space and clean ball movement whilst making the 7 work hard and smart when defending. You have to zone when out numbered. If we are planning more zone on the back end of our defending this is good practice for it, and then come match day you'll have 2 extras at the contest. The point of the drill was to get fast ball movement up and transitioning back much more than it was to test it against even numbers, they do smaller drills, particularly by hand with even numbers, then train to run and spread and hopefully outnumber opponents in space.

ironic that Howe didn't give a yelp when playing at the Dees...

This worries me ... Hogan's jumper looks a lot more purple then the others ... more "Docker" purple ... and why's he the only one wearing zinc cream ... only place I can think of where you need zinc cream is WA or Qld.

What was Macca's chat ? "How about you two @#%$ off !! "

You can see what's going through their minds... "Damn, they're going to kick our arse this year...."

I've avoided getting to hyped up over the pre-season this year to simmer expectations but geee this training report has got me thinking that maybe wheel has finally turned.

Yeah.. I mean flat and hard.. Not quite like the Ox.. But they were fast and off two steps.. Like short hit up stuff that the good teams like Hawthorn and the Eagles do with out thinking!

No I only saw a right foot.. And he trained for about an hour.. And then went to the (mobile rehab group) with Salem & Oliver.. He was taking marks on a body bag and practicing marking one on one with it..

comparing what happened to Petracca with Howe is a bit ruff ( I apologise in advance for that poor attempt at humor)

My name is going to give me a way to some on this one, but I know a fair bit of the background on Kaspersky and the sponsorship. A bit harsh to call it out as a "odd" short term sponsor. There was no major sponsor heading into the AFL season and a MFC member stood up and did something about it. It wasn't looked at as a 10 year opportunity, more how can a member and company support the club in a time of need. Energy Watch on the other hand..........

Based on averages I'd have to give this one to Watts

Viney just ripped TMac to the ground, smashed his head face first ala Ablett tackles.. Tmac grabbed Vineys neck and told him that's stupid.. Viney "your a sook go play netball" God I love Viney

Yes, it certainly has some legs. Bearing in mind that this is the off season and as soon as a footy is kicked in anger all (most) attention will be on that. But this is the damage that EFC have done to the game. This is bringing the game into disrepute. When even followers of the game are disgusted and offended. While EFC supporters are grappling with their 5 stages of grief, the rest of us are grappling with the 12 stages of disgust and offence. Stage 3, posting to the internet, is the longest stage.

The moment they found out Howe broke his hand playing frisbee with his dog......

It was sight for sore eyes. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face.

We need to get our nicknames right. Surely 'truck' should be used for Petracca and 'van' for VandenBerg. And I'll accept Mack Truck for the two McDonalds.

Also Frost playing the Full Ground Praccy as a CHF.

Nailing targets at full speed! Let's hope he pulls up well tomorrow!

"half the salary cap each" ...laughing....

I totally agree. Tom Mac had time to make a decision but he was too late in the end. Viney's tackle probably over stepped the mark but we need to get that idea that making a mistake is a horrible thing. Too many of our guys are worried about making these mistakes when they have the ball that they sit there with it and take there sweet time. It lets the opposition set up down ground and lay a tackle on the player who has the ball or the player who receives the ball.

I'm of a similar train of thinking The idea that someone's twigged that the quickest way to move the ball is hard thinking LOW kicks to an awaiting teammate bodes well. Such new thinking

I went to a training session last year and about 30 seconds after I got there, Pedo did his ankle, or was it his knee. The forwards were doing some light marking practice and Pedo went up by himself, came down awkwardly, and that was his season. Can happen to anyone anytime. It's just bad luck. Yes, more likely to happen if everyone's hammer and tongs at it, but no matter what you do, you will cop some injuries at training. Rather it be when the boys are going at it hammer and tongs. Let's see them make hammer and tongs a normal practice. I don't want their first time to be when they're getting ready to go up against Hawthorn or Freo. I think Tommy's attitude is more revealing than JV's. "Hey man, what are you doing???" (said in slightly hysterical tones) Everyone knows JV is hard at it. Let them all be hard at it, all the time. Not in terms of throwing themselves at the ball like madmen, but in terms of being determined and unforgiving to the opposition.

Hawthorn will pick the eyes out of that zone. Essendon will draft their female swimmers.

exactly... i guess the old adage of training like you want play unfortunately also extends to tackling. I did make me laugh that 178cm/ 80kg Viney told 194cm/ 92kg McDonald to stop sooking.. - it aint netball.

Theres a difference between training like game day situation and trying to literally injure your own teamate to the point he misses a couple of weeks through concussion. Again you want competitiveness out on the track but not to the point your trying to kill a teammate. If Tom Mac got a serious injury out of this then i would bet every dollar coaches would not be impressed.

I love Viney, but TMac is actually correct It is stupid if Viney gives TMac a concussion, or worse, a neck injury. Then we are screwed!

*Getting emotional*

Agree. The guy is unhinged. I don't know why they take him on on bigfooty. It doesn't do their cause any good, and can't be healthy for him.

"introduced"? liam came from a community literally wallowing in alcohol, not to mention other undesirable substances. he didn't see anything on that trip he hadn't seen a hundredfold in the NT or in any other social gathering in melbourne. it might well have been a starting point for his drinking, i don't know, but to suggest it was somehow an introduction to alcohol is drawing a very long bow

I don't know if you were at that game, dieter, but it was absolutely p*ssing down. I thought the guys played good, hard footy in the conditions and certainly played them better than Ninthmond (especially when it got really wet). Agree with your observations in general (although I don't think Watts is a waste, but could do better). Can't wait for this year's Anzac Day/Eve game..it was really well done last year.

The problem now for the players is that as more evidence comes to light revealing their duplicity in the saga, the clearer it becomes that key parties are likely withholding smoking-gun evidence as an insurance policy. Essendon won't touch Dank because they know he would tear EFC and Hird's narrative to shreds if he were pushed. Similarly, the players are probably scared to go after Essendon knowing how well-connected the club is to senior media figures who drive public opinion. Within days all kinds of dirt would start being flung to any player who dared turn against the cult; just look at the appalling campaigns against Carlisle and Ryder. Everyone's walking on eggshells after 4 years of lies, mistruths and outright deceit. The likely truth is that all were complicit in the illegality of the program and "being duped" simply became the convenient narrative once they got caught. As more evidence has come to light, the clearer it's become just how far from innocent these players are.