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Ahem... It’s been a while coming, but I’m finally back on the track. The last month and a bit I really apologise for not being able to make it down - firstly the Aus Open shifted training anyway, and then uni got really hectic. Summer school does that when you try to pack everything into a very short period of time. So yeah sorry for not being able to get a few reports down. Regardless, I’m finally at Gosch’s for the first time in a long time and the scene somewhat surprises, a couple of players are already into their rehab and there’s a few players here and there doing extras. It’s a credit to the work Roosy has done to ensure that players are a lot more thorough and professional in their training habits. It certainly would not have been seen under Neeld. One thing that maybe the club can perhaps invest in is a new cloth – the cloth used still has the old Schwab logo emblazoned all over it. Irrespective, I carry on. Jay Kennedy-Harris is the first player to walk past of those who isn’t doing any form of rehab – I would say that he’s somewhat more shredded than the last time I was here. Clearly the boys are putting in a lot, especially in their upper bodies, from everything I’ve read and seen. Looking further up and I notice Heritier Lumumba in the rehab group – even he’s looking a little bit slimmer than the last time I saw him train. Perhaps the most pleasing aspect of one of the first to arrive is the fact that there is an umpire walking across. Can’t work out who it is but that only means one thing – match simulation. You beauty. Not entirely unexpected because our first game is in 12 days, but that also means I get to have a serious look at what Goodwin has planned for us. That’s pretty exciting. So some Billy Stretch’s to get into it. Christian Petracca is having a bit of a kick-to-kick with Crossy and Max King over on the near side. Christian’s still looking fit and is starting to kick the ball around. I don’t realistically expect him to play in Round One to be honest. Not unless he absolutely kills it in whatever NAB Challenge game he’s slated to play. Expect him in the VFL to start with. Put him on your SuperCoach bench. The first drill is split up into two groups, one of them doing a handball drill where they have to work their way past a defender who’s wearing a bib, the other group doing some kicking drills. There’s a couple of things I notice. The first of which is Sammy Frost looking really strong on the training track, which is really pleasing – of course Sammy had his injury issues throughout all of 2015 with that toe of his and I’m really looking forward to him giving Hogan a chop out up forward this season. The other is Jack Trengove. Also a well-documented case in 2014/15, and I’m pretty sure regulars who’ve either gone to the track or seen photos of him circulate on social media know how ripped he is. It’s really promising to see him running at a good pace, using the ball as if he was never gone and backing himself to take on faux defenders as well. It’s really promising to see. The second drill is a full grounder and more or less I’m keeping my eye in on the new blokes more than the ones who were in the best 22 last season. Sammy Weideman is the first I’m keeping an eye on as part of our hopeful future forward line dynasty. The pleasing thing is Weideman’s looking really good out on the track to start with physically. He’s moving around really well after coming off that well documented five-month injury layoff. There’s still a bit to work on, and that combined with just getting some regular game time into the bloke means that Casey supporters will be seeing a lot of him to start off with. Which is understandable and I’m willing to wait. ‘Clarry’ Oliver is the next bloke who comes across over to the far side where I’ve found myself. Early indicators are everything I’ve expected from a bloke who’s been a rather late bloomer, but also one who has a truckload of potential. He does not miss a beat with his kicking. It is probably the definition of ‘low and hard’ which I hear on the regular. If there’s something I question about him it’s probably his explosiveness off the mark, but then again it’s the first time I’ve seen him in full training. I’m now happily convinced I might see him play a number of games this year. Not as many as Gus Brayshaw managed straight off the bat, but I’m expecting Neal-Bullen and Stretch-like amounts of games (so around 10 then). The next drill passes by and it’s a bit of a change up from what I’ve seen previously. There’s four groups – one which wears white vests, one which wears green, one in pink and one wearing their normal jumpers. The aim of the drill sees one team try to move the ball as quickly as possible through the ground, mostly incorporating good decision making and use through the middle. While the other group sits out, they are asked to sprint from the near-side wing to the goalsquare. Some things which are pretty evident – Tom McDonald continues to up his leadership game as he organises the defense, where he also makes some excellent tackles whilst defending. The drill also sees a bit of an injury scare for Dean Terlich, who lays a tackle then gets up relatively gingerly, holding his right ankle. After some consultation with a physio, Terlich is able to jog off, but it’s certainly the last thing he needs as he battles to get back into the side. The drill, irrespective, carries on. Another bloke who continues to impress with his decision making and ability is Salem. He always seems to find a bloke in space, even under pressure. It’s a very special ability he has and I’m hoping that he can make the most of what is hopefully a move to the midfield for season 2016 which is exactly what I want to see. Hopefully he stays injury-free. Additionally, a bloke who’s really flying under the radar as a candidate to see more gametime in 2016 is Oscar McDonald. What I’ve really noticed is that his improvement has been every bit as rapid as brother Tom’s. His running and ball use in this drill is very good. I think he certainly has the ability to win a spot in that Melbourne defense, particularly now that Melksham is out for the year. When you look back at his performance against the Giants in Round 23, I’d back him in for sure. The next drill is a bit of a change up, similar in nature to the previous drill but now much more tightly confined to one area of the ground and split into three groups. Both the group in front of the faithful and the one on the wing are trying to clear the ball either end – the one in the 50 are either trying to kick a goal (white vests) or are trying to get a clearing kick (jumpers), whereas the one on the far-side wing encourages more handball when trying to clear the area. On the near-side wing there’s an interesting quartet – Tom McDonald, Sam Weideman, Mitch King and Cam Pedersen. All four are working on their one-on-ones. The inclusion of Pedersen as a defender intrigues me in a sense, given that a lot of our supporters rate him as a forward higher than even Dawes. Then again, with Frost coming in and Pedersen still (in my eyes anyway) a member of the best 22, you have to put him somewhere. Anyway, I can’t help but admit that it’s pretty exciting seeing Weideman manage to beat McDonald in a one-on-one. As for King, he is regularly outpointed by McDonald, highlighting how much development he needs to get games. It’s a very eye-opening experience seeing the difference between a developing forward and a top-line defender. As the groups chop and change, there’s some pretty ordinary news with the sight of Tom Bugg heavily limping. It appears to be a right ankle injury, and seriously struggles to stay upright when he puts pressure on his foot with his boot off. Bugg leaves the track, his NAB Challenge campaign somewhat clouded at the moment. Bit of a highlight and reinforced confidence comes when Kent pursues a high ball which was kicked as the boys move off to their next drill, and marks at full tilt. Quickly, he then delivers a low sort-of chizzler to Harmes. Maybe not massive in the scheme of things normally but remember Kenty is coming off a hamstring tear which completely ruined his 2015 season, and he’s looking good out on the track. Pretty significant in terms of his fitness if you ask me. This next drill that I mention is a little closer to match simulation but there’s a great big flood of about 30 players trying to get the ball in one half of the ground, perhaps even only inside the forward 50. The jumpers have the ball first and work their way to about 20 out where Alex Neal-Bullen takes a good mark under pressure, and converts. The green vests side works their way up in a far more unconventional manner, which sees short kicks and switches aplenty. In particular, there’s a really good switch from Oliver which is rather impressive. The boys then get into a boundary throw in situation, and what impresses me is Vandenberg winning the ball from a Max Gawn tap, then progressing to work about 60-65 metres to win the ball on the opposite wing, delivering a good ball inside 50. Another instance seems to be bringing out the weird and wonderful today – Gawn CRUMBS a marking contest and gets the hands to Viney. Yep, it’s all happening. Speaking of Viney, he has been everywhere in this drill, collecting seven touches, a couple of clearances and a goal to boot in this drill. He has really taken his second half of the season by the scruff of the neck and looks to be building to an even bigger 2016. Remember, he played 16 games. He missed out on the B&F by just one votes to Vince who we all thought was a dead set machine all season. Viney is an animal. As the sides are changed around a little to even things up (the jumpers have provided much of the play), Kennedy and Vandenberg (who has also gathered plenty of the footy in this drill) combine for a svelte Kennedy snap around the body for a goal. While Kennedy still has a knock on his decision making which has again been fairly evident today, that kind of goal sense will be handy for us this year and it’s enough to see him in my SuperCoach side at the moment – albeit on the bench. Another couple of things I take out of this drill is that Gus Brayshaw looks to be carrying on his solid debut season, and collects around about nine touches and kicks a goal. Hogan (I surprisingly haven’t mentioned his name a lot, if at all) has had a very solid session, and although Dunn manages to get a hand on a marking attempt, Hogan’s cat-like reflexes allow him to outpoint Dunn on the ground. He still very much looks the player he was last season – set shot still on point, and really getting into a really good rhythm now. The only true difference you see with big Hoges’ is his electric green boots which are slightly less fluoro than mine – or so I’d like to think anyway. I’m just hoping I have something over him which isn’t our ages. Annoyingly, despite the boys heading off into match simulation, a combination of my mother returning from the Harbour City and Mernda starting training at 6 meant that I had to bugger off. Nevertheless, I remain very happy with the improvements the boys have shown since I last saw them train in December. Couple of other things I take out of it -There is an intraclub on Friday at Casey Fields at around 9:45 in the morning -Following the Dees/Dogs game at Craigieburn on the 6th of March there will be a practise match involving the women’s teams

There was an amazing moment at training today where, during a full team kick-in simulation, Trengrove, cleverly intercepted the ball and fired the ball back over the head of the defender for a goal. The boys all stopped, grinned at each other and gave a loud cheer. There was an electric excitement that shot across the group. Optimism felt high.

I went today from 2 till 3:00 maybe later. I havent really read all previous reports. I was looking for leading and kicking skills and they did that on my side coming out of the back 50 hitting up a player coming from the pocket to the wing. Lucky we are good at grabbing half volleys as sometimes it was the lead and other times it was the kick. it was 50-50 successful/good, there was no pressure. The good players were good, but thats about 8 or 10. Hogan whose body is like a 200 cm version of Leigh Mathews, short legs, long body; is just outstanding. Could play in the middle. Kicks long low passes to a spot where he expects his teammate to be. Watching him kick he pushes the ball out and connects with the very point beautifully. Or else boots it truly from 50 or so. Next is Trengove, ANB Brayshaw Garlett and Garland who hit targets and lead with timing and took hard fast one grabbers. Ppl cheered Garlo for something when I 1st got there. He was very good to my eye. Viney, Gawn and Salem were ok but I prob missed the good sh!t. Too many others were hit and miss. Watts sh!ts me. He is the nicest guy Ive ever seen. The love was all around. Id swap him for Robbie Muir. If you dropped a mark (im counting 2 grabs as a drop) or lead wrong or kicked a softy under no pressure to a player who had to stand under it, you still got a high 5 from the dude at CHF. His hands will be sore right now but Im sure he has lots of lanolin. Im happy with inside work and defense. Dunn and big Mac are grouse. I perked up watching Tom and Jesse toy with the kids in a push and mark, when they battled each other it was a bull fight for a second or 2. i had them 5/3 Hoges way. Forwards and delivery to them is however, my pet hobby horse. We arent good as we could be. It may have been an easier run day after harder days but seeing North belt the suitcase out of the under 25s - well thats the little papers story, it seemed half a ballarat. Everyone looked very fit. It was my 1st training session this summer and by 3:20 I jumped back on the scooter. Everyone seemed happier than me.

Can't wait for the first bounce of the ball.

Loved hearing Jade Rawlings speak about Jesse Hogan in Casey but also having a good chat about it. The emphasis being put on things that he has been taught and coached well to be able to implement them in his game consistently. Jade Rawlings talking about how they spent a substantial amount of time, especially early on, teaching him to use his hips more than his arms, pretty obvious progression but alot of unders key forward rely on being bigger and stronger and pushing players out of position or beating them on the lead rather than moving them out of the way in the simplest form. He highlighted how competitive he was as a person and how frustrated he got while it was not working for him in training, obviously the effort paid off.

Sorry, bad pun. Still, according the the Herald-Sun, he's having a great pre-season and with Roughy out may well be in their starting 22 in round 1. Honestly, I really hope he does do well with them.

The Crowd: Melbourne Demons AFL 2016 pre-season training session report I just saw something pretty familiar on foxsports. Well done on the publication!

I am quite happy for Robbo to have his opinion and the fact that he and other journos keep thinking we are crap, can't recruit, can't develop will actually help how we go as if they think that, so do our opponents. That sort of thinking is just So 2013! I reckon our draw is hard but if we are up early things will fall into place. For instance if we get over GWS in Rd 1, we could actually string about seven of the first nine before we hit the hard stretch - starting with Port. I was bordering on bullish last year when we went after pace and added Garlett, Lumumba, Frost and Vandenberg to overcome what was in 2014 the slowest side in the competition. Sadly Frost, VB and Kent - three of our quickest six - all got injured fairly early in the season and reduced our transition capabilities. This year we are quicker again - Kennedy on top of Frost, VB and Kent back - and maybe later in the season we can see why we went for Oliver and not Parish. We also have a quicker Rd 1 ruckman (Gawn v Jamar) and we may even play Terlich or Hunt (although I suspect that will happen later in year). I also think we have so much more depth than last year that we cannot go backwards. The other positive is that we now have three genuine arrogant stars to go with a very hard-working, tight-marking and strong-tackling midfield. Like every team, our three stars - Gawn, Hogan and CP5 - are crucial to the team and we will need a bit of luck to go our way when they miss. But how many sides have a midfield that flows as deep as ours or as young as ours and how many have six genuine tacklers like Viney, VB, Angus, Vince (when tagging), Bugg, Stretch and that doesn't include Jonesy who is a good tackler but is so heavily tagged these days that he is blocked out of most tackling situations. The key however to our rise is whether Roosy/Goody have been able to institute a more attacking game plan - although that is the same at almost every club except the Eagles, Dogs and maybe the Crows. The Hawks ditched three of their oldies last year because Clarko could see where the game was headed and knew he would have problems in 2016 - hence Hartung will now be a regular defender. North added Anderson for example - although I don't think he can save them becoming an even grumpier bunch of old men. In our case, it's the confidence to take the game on when it becomes available that is lacking. It's what worries me everytime Col gets the ball. Does he always have to go to the 50/50 contest? Melksham would have helped our run, Salem helps our precision and you can see that if Hunt's game was more rounded, he'd add a spark off the backline that's been missing since Allen Johnson retired. In my view, on paper we are now a top 8 side with the most promising bunch of youngsters outside of GWS and maybe the Dogs. But getting that winning confidence (arrogant mentality) into our list, with a gameplan that works, is still the question. If our big three play most weeks, we'll have enough of it up forward to make the eight. If they don't, then we'll have to rely on our ability to frustrate at the stoppages with a rabid bunch of hardworkers.

Good grief. People are now linking that vile creature Clementine Ford.

He always reminded me of watching a new born giraffe falling about. Cult hero.

I'm looking for these two improvements and a bit of injury relief from the footy gods . If we get them the sky's the limit. 1. Improved running and spreading. My observation last year of why we fell apart in games was that our boys stopped running. When we were competitive we were running hard defensively to cut off attacks and running hard offensively to set up attacks. When put under pressure by better teams or late in games the first thing that went was the two way running as they lost confidence, dropped their bundles and went back into their shells. This meant that in our worst games we weren't going to climb out of the hole. Since these rebuilds started it appears our list hasn't had the conditioning to be able to maintain competitive running. A few of the coaches have said the fitness levels are there now which has enabled them to concentrate on executing the game plan this pre season. This is a major step forward. 2. Reduced turnovers. These have been absolute momentum killers over this era. They are also partly caused by a lack of 1 above. I believe turnovers are caused as much by players not knowing what to do as they are by lack of skill. If a player gets a ball looks down the field and there are no clear targets then they are going to be forced to hold on to the ball too long and are forced to send it to questionable options which cause turnovers. Hopefully all the game plan work that has been done over the summer is going to lead to a lot more clear options which will lead to a lot less turnovers. This comes down to being taught where to run to and then actually doing the running. It sounds like this pre season has been based around improving these two factors. If the training has worked I expect to see a significant improvement onfield. I don't have any idea what that will translate to in wins. I call 9 wins a pass, however, my main interest in the number of wins is how many will be needed to convince Hoges to stay and attract someone like Prestia or O'Meara. I think that may be at least 10 but probably 11. If the footy gods finally smile on us and we have close to our best 22 on the field most of the season anything will be possible.

Still waiting for one flag in my lifetime...just one

I would've paid Dawes out and kept fitzy could never understand the decision Dawes is always injured and fitzy won Casey's BF no brainer.

What?

Jollies! You've got to be joking. Like many here I've been a very long time supporter, I've helped the club as I could both financially and with time and I've never asked for anything in return. There are no jollies in seeing the inept management and decision making that has gone on. Seeing Schwab and his Board hopelessly flawed in their management and seeing blokes like Lyon fiddling where they had no right to - "I'll have to ring my mate Jimmy" after the 186 thrashing which was largely caused by a bitterly divided club who had their head in the sand and didn't understand their roles. They are not "jollies" mo. They are the painful reminders of where we came from and Lyon played a starring role. And then we have someone suggesting he should be made an assistant coach. Some never learn. Give me a break. Lyon was a fantastic footballer for this club and he has given his time at functions and the such. But he's also meddled in affairs that were none of his business and while I will acknowledge his contribution on the one hand I'll recognize his failures on the other.

I was surprised how big VDB is. Up close he looked nearly as tall as Dunn and has a strong frame. He is the Freo type mid, the type Roos loves. Another thing I noted, was just how fit these guys are and how much they run. They look much fitter as a group, than I have seen over the last 10 or so years.

Not as quick as Garlett who I thought trained as hard as he could, which shattered a preconception of mine. He looked quick but Lumumba looked like Usain Bolt at 3 quarter pace! Jack led fast to the right spot for Kent and I think ANB to kick it past the 50 and he accelerated and it was a one grab out high in front. Twice. He also seemed to be leading his sprints past me back to goal mouth. I could be wrong and I missed others or it may have just been "his day" at training. Sometimes that happens. He looks like he is on a mission and he must be close.

There didn't seem to be too much trouble sighting the players at the training session that I went to this afternoon. Apparently the lights were on so it was all on display to see. Injured and missing first: Jones not there. Dawes neither (not unexpectedly). Rehab group: Vince, Lamumba, Max King, JKH?, Petracca, Newton. All the rest were training with the main group including Trengove. * Petracca bandage on knee, which I didn't see last week. * JKH ran a lot of laps but didn't seem to have anything wrong, maybe just a training load situation. * Newton with tape on achilles. * Lamumba and Vince must be very close as both seem to be moving very freely. Lamumba putting in a 3.9 for 50m. Hope I don't jinx him because Dawes did a 3.6 last week, and look what happened to him. * Petracca complaining about having to do the continuous sprints. " there must be an easier way to do this apart from 30 times over..." * King must be just building up condition as there doesn't seem too much wrong with him either. The Rest: * Trengove moving freely and while I didn't see a left-foot kick, neither did he have to in the drills I watched. But he looks comfortable and is back in the game. * Hunt can move and as one of the conditioning coaches said: " he now has the body which can tolerate what the coaches want him to do". His speed will be a real asset come the main event. * I can't describe how good Max Gawn is with his mobility and quick hands. Then he is a mountain to get around when he sits in the goal-square. Watch out Todd Goldstein! * Joel Smith is a chip off the old man's block. He has a really good spring on him, and once the body is up to AFL standard, we might have something special * Hogan, Hogan, Hogan. What can you say! He is just seriously good, as if anyone didn't know that already. He owns the whole forward half and demands the ball when it comes his way. Poor Weideman had to take him one-on-one in a drill. What a lesson for the kid. * But Weideman was with the main group and while Hogan showed him how to play, he is like Smith someone who will develop quickly and has that something special. Never dropped the head, and knows how to get his own ball. * Oliver is already playing with the mids, and has trimmed down so much from his U18 days, he now needs to build up some muscle mass up top. Has the legs already and has the smarts and toughness. Might get a game at the end of the season, but then also nice to have him developing while Petracca and Kennedy and Trengove take up spots in the middle this year. * Kennedy showing plenty in the middle and will be up there for selection. Didn't see enough of Bugg to draw any conclusions. * Dunn is an absolute lock at FB and Col and Tom his permanent henchmen. Just solid all three. There is nothing like these older strong bodies when it comes to contests, and each of them holds their own. Not much more to add, but it would be nice to see Vince, Petracca and Lamumba back with the main group soon. It would give us nearly a full list going into round 1.

Cheers mate. I went on Fox Sports last night after posting it on the Facey page. Turns out they were keeping an eye on me for a little bit (following me and all) and wanted me to post in The Crowd. Hopefully I can get a few more posts in in the near future.

I see the ability to kick on his left foot as only a small objective in his recovery. As anyone who's played the game knows, your feet get stood on, fallen on and kicked quite a bit - particularly when you're playing on the ball. I tend to think that's going to pose a greater obstacle and obviously we won't know until he plays competition footy.

I normally like Clementine's articles, her stuff on MRAs for example is fantastic, but I reckon this one misses the mark. I think people are focusing on Garry and Bill because they're the media personalities, not because they're men. They're in the spotlight, they're household names. The stories are told with them in the centre because of their visibility. She says in there that if they were female, would we be saying the same things? I think we would. I can't remember reading anything that suggests that Billy is a victim because Garry 'cut his lunch', implying Billy has 'ownership' of Nicky. The articles I've read have stated that all parties were separated at the time. I don't think it's 'bloke culture' that condemns sleeping with your mate's wife, nor does it suggest ownership. I think people in general, men and women, wouldn't be pleased if a close friend of theirs slept with an ex. I can however get behind what she says here: " Whatever hurt is being felt by the parties involved here, it's nobody else's business and it's certainly not for anyone else to judge. " Now here's where I'm going to stray into possibly dangerous territory. I think Clementine's view on this is coloured by her view of society. Yes, patriarchal society is unfair. Yes, there are many examples of it (especially in the football world). I just don't think that this particular issue is an example of it. I think she's overlaid the story of "two famous mates torn apart" with "example of how the media and society favour men and remove agency from women". She's right in that this does happen. Society does do this and so does the media. I just don't think it has occurred in this instance. Here's a quote that irks me: " And it's interesting how sidelined Nicky Brownless and Melissa Lyon have been in all this. If mentioned at all, any distress felt by the latter has been dealt with as an afterthought to the real tragedy here of Lyon betraying his best mate. " I just don't agree. Nicky and Melissa aren't sidelined because they're the women in this story. They're sidelined because the two males involved are in the media. If this story didn't involve visible media personalities, it wouldn't be a story at all. It'd be some random family issue that wouldn't be newsworthy. The story IS Lyan and Brownless because that's what's interesting to the public. It is the only thing that elevates this story from a private family issue to something publishable. And yes, again, if the roles were reversed and it was two famous sportswomen, I think the story would be exactly the same. The no-name male partners would be sidelined in favour of the story focusing on the more visible female media personalities. The Lyon equivalent female would be riled for betraying the trust of her mate, and accusations of the use of a mental health condition as a cover would fly around (just as it has here). It would still be a 'dog act'.

To be fair, alot of players nowdays will use the outside of their preffered foot to hit targets than using their opposite. Obviously not all Sam Mitchell and Brayshaw are two really good examples of using both sides of the body, Rohan Bail was another who was never afraid to use his left but it was much worse than his preferred. Trengove does not need to use his left foot yet and everyone is putting undue emphasis on the use of this foot. He will be unlikely to use it at training, especially in drills where time and space is plenty and would not be in full training if there was even the slight worry about him being in a position where he would need to use his left and it would deteriorate his condition from looking promising back on the sidelines

They only sell International Roast therefore Jesse is a monty to stay in Melbourne.

Not sure If I am more excited about the debut of Petracca or the return of Trenners. Lots of reasons to be pumped for this season.

Couldn't resist dropping into Gosch's this afternoon to see if the rumours about Trengove recently returning to full training were true. H, JKH, Newton, Max King and Vince were all in rehab although most looked unhindered by their respective aliments and should hopefully be back in full training soon. Newton seems to be moving pretty well at the moment. Still has strapping on his ankle but was running laps with no obvious discomfort. H was doing some 100m sprints. Ran at a good pace and looked sharp, it really looked like he was galloping across the ground. Petracca seemed to switch between the rehab group and full training a couple times. Had his knee strapped as well (although this might be for his injury last year). Not sure where he is in terms of his fitness and if a NAB Challenge game or Round 1 are possibilities. In the main group, Captain Jones was the only noticeable absentee. As mentioned in earlier reports, today's drills were heavily focused on efficient ball movement. An early drill I took note of involved an in-close game of 'keepings off' where one group would quickly hand pass to each other while being pressured by the other group. O McDonald and Weideman made a couple blues here where their hand passes were smothered. Frost impressed me here. For a big lad, he has fast hands and can hit a target. He also nonchalantly hammered a 60m torp through the big sticks while waiting for the next round to start. Neal-Bullen also looked really sharp here. Next drill involved the full ground and players leading and kicking the ball to each other around the oval. Players would rotate around the oval as they completed their kick. Players in the forward group would lead up to the ball and then have a shot. There was a great moment when Stretch nailed a bullet pass to Weideman who subsequently played on, straightened, and kicked the goal through the big sticks. Kent, Dunn and Salem all looked especially classy here. For those wondering (like myself), yes, Trengove is in full training at the moment. Looks completely at home with no discomfort whatsoever. He kicked with his right foot. There was also some one on one training where Mitch King, T. McDonald, Hogan, Hulett and Weideman would pair up and compete to mark or spoil the ball. Although Weideman looked a bit out of his depth against McDonald, at times he showed great signs of his one on one ability. At one stage he completely out manoeuvred McDonald and marked in front of him. The final drill I stayed for was general match simulation practice. Jayden Hunt looked absolutely brilliant here, he has a real knack for breaking away from the pack with his speed (think Sam Blease but with more muscle and grunt). Laid some fantastic tackles and at one stage completely outplayed his opponent by spoiling his mark, subsequently crumbling the ball and delivering a brilliant pass to Sam Weideman who proceeded to kick the goal from a tight angle. I left soon after. All in all, the group is looking classy and starting to knuckle down for their first NAB Challenge match in 12 days time.

....it's what he knows.....

Schools warned not to use banned players "Victorian schools have been warned not to use the banned 34 Essendon players in any coaching or mentoring capacity even if it is unpaid work...The warning to schools came after one leading grammar school in Melbourne sought clarification from the AFL if they could use one of the 34 players in their football program". WOW! I'm gobsmacked! What symbolic message is this so called 'leading' school giving students: its ok to cheat, its ok to take drugs! Can they not see the danger? I wonder what the parents think? Crickey, I'm beginning to wonder if it is only DL's who keep fighting the good fight, for drug free sport!

I don't understand this action. Stumping up money to protect originally, I understand. But he lost. He is disgraced. There is no longer a benefit to your club. Why waste the money?

Garry was a great player. nothing has changed.

Redleg, I'm just trying to decode your little hint about the mystery benefactor. Surely "white knight" isn't code for Matthew Knights?

Footy is coming.

I've never found her to be hypocritical. Can you provide examples? Similarly I don't find her writing to be spiteful at all. In fact I find her point of view interesting and a lot of what she says is valid. I don't agree with her on this particular issue, but on the whole I think she's an excellent writer.

I wouldn't have thought so. Most of the stuff she writes would not get past the DLand filter. She is a hypocritical feminazi of the highest order.

Must be right if Craig said so.

I agree with all you've said but it didn't address my point. Or maybe I've missed it. Jones stayed when the trajectory was down. He stayed when we were a hopelessly managed basket case. So did Watts by the way and he was subject to the worst of the "bad management". Who says Jesse won't do the same? Who says wins are his criteria? They don't seem to be for Cripps who could have sort much greener pastures. I just don't like putting a tag on Jesse who signed a contract extension well before the current improvement was evident and he doesn't deserve the tag that goes with RPFC's comments.

Its sad state of affairs that story has got so much media time, I mean really who gives a toss? It's gossip not news, and as gossip goes not particularly interesting. The news seems to be that GL is a dog for deigning to have a relationship with a mates ex partner. Geez Louise. And as this excellent article points out there has been precious little consideration of how wither of the women involved (or their children) might be feeling. Bro's not hoes as Clementine Ford puts it: http://www.dailylife.com.au/news-and-views/dl-opinion/what-footys-outrage-double-standard-reveals-about-attitudes-to-women-20160215-gmuma2.html The story though has given me one good laugh. An news.com articel that talked about Slobbo's anger Channel 9 had shown care to GL and none to Billy (who apparently loves a frothy according to Slobbo, the wives not mentioned of course) described him as Australia's most respected football journalist. Seriously. Now that's funny.

A good insight into how well the club is managing his rehab and expectations: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/melbourne-demons-jack-trengove-takes-step-to-afl-comeback-20160215-gmv0gx.html "Melbourne will still not publicly discuss a timeline for Trengove to come back as an AFL player. But if the next few weeks go without incident, Trengove will return to full training". My favourite part: "Melbourne are daring to think, not dream, that former co-captain Jack Trengove will resume his AFL career." Its a journo comment not from the club nonetheless some real reason to be optimistic.

SEN is reporting that Hawthorn are looking for Fitzy to replace Roughead. He is another guy who will be better for being in a high quality team. He can enjoy some wins, heaven knows any player who battled away with the Dees during the hard times then let go, deserves everything the game can give him. I fully understand and support why we let him go but he has always been one of my faves and would love for him to get a long run in the seniors with the Hawks.

Two late observations: I saw Viney kick one with the right foot! In the full field drill Spencer twice ran half the field to gather in the goal square. OK, maybe loped rather than ran but it happened.

For once people are not overly excited about a first round pick (Clayton Oliver) debut. This was always the main talk of the topic around the Bailey and Neeld years if i remember.

Now these might be big ifs BUT, if Kent stays fit, if Petracca comes good, if Tyson and Brayshaw stay fit, if Gawn stays injury free, if Tommy Mac can hold the backline together, if Salem's injury problems cease, if Hogan plays 20 games, if Garlett kicks straight, you know what, we might win more games than we lose in 2016. I haven't even mentioned Vandenberg, Frost, Harmes, Stretch, Neal-Bullen, Vince, Jetta or any of the new lads. This could be good.

I think it was actually Hulett in this drill tasman, but I can understand the confusion because he's a man child and almost as big as Pedersen already. It's worth noting that Hulett's competitiveness shone through. He doesn't like to get beaten

As mentioned in anothr thread was having a big footy convo with two of my brothers in law at a family wedding over the weekend. Both are filth supporters ( most of wifes family IS !! ) one an ex afl player. Besides the 34 debacle talk got around to where we saw the season going. Both agreed EFC and CFC will fight out for spoon. Neither could see the Aints going very far ( me neither ) I was interested to hear that they seem to think Bucks isnt all that flavour of the month at Filthland. Both seemed to think 8th or 9th was about right for the Maggies this year.. ( fighting it out with Richmond no doubt !! ) Both thought Melbourne about right for massive improvement if, IF we can keep injuries to main players to a managable few ) Neither think Howe is worth a zac, amazed they took him but both acknowledged my prediction that they will struggle to score big as they have limited options...their fwd line is there weakness, even with Elliot. Neither rely on Cloke. Both see a massive difficulty in teams matching up on Hogan. If we can surround him with even a couple of so-so helpers other teams are in for a torrid afternoon ( yep, knew that !! ) Both thought wed go 50-50 for the year Made the comment we have to play with the big boys for 4 qtrs to really go anywhere and thought that might be 2017 and not this year....fair enough I said Neither would put up for my bet on QB !!! lol wusses

I think its a bit rich derailing this thread with an actual training report....

Jesse grew up in Scarborough and is a Marist/Claremont zone boy, certainly wouldn't be heading into Northbridge, with a long list of friends from the Western suburbs. He still keeps in regular contact with a lot of the Claremont and Marist boys and catches up with them whilst he is back in Perth. I know a few of the lads he knocks about with and families he grew up with. In case you hadn't heard they have coffee here, Freo is well known for it. A lot of what I hear does little to concern me as to wanting to return to Perth, but until he signs there is always that doubt, there are some circumstances which concern me but whatever happens, it happens. I don't believe for 1 minute this nonsense he didn't like growing up in Perth. His family no longer lives in Perth but he spends a lot of his off season and in season his breaks back in Perth. He spends that time here, heading out with mates from his childhood. The main reason he would want to stay in melbourne is to stay with the new mates he has formed bonds with and to be part of something with them Jesse and his manager are playing this game perfectly he has 2 more years to run and barring a shocking injury his price will rise and rise. Currently you have Freo being talked about, they wont be throwing the kitchen sink money wise at Macarthy just more than GWS were offering, but don't think for one minute if there is any talk of him wishing to return that Meth Coast wont also be in the race. Josh Kennedy will be 30 next year so hardly commanding massive dollars or a long term contract. We currently have him and since Roos and co came on board we are certainly in the box seat and IMO he is ours to lose, we just need to keep this momentum going and keep heading in the right direction with this young core we have and not rest on our laurels. We will know by early 2017 what Jesse's intentions are

To anybody who thinks we will eventually lose Jesse back to WA, he really likes Melbourne, didn't think much of Perth growing up, has settled well into the Melbourne lifestyle, especially the live music and coffee culture...has established really good friendships with JKH, James Harmes and Petracca....has total respect for one Nathan Jones and wants to give him the success he craves.........and wants to payback the club for the way they have looked after him during his back issues...don't think the money would be an issue with him....just got the feeling back in my arm after shaking hands with him and wishing him Happy Birthday on Friday

A norm smith 3 time grand finalist? Yay in my lifetime!!

And how much more amazing would / will it be if he does that in a match!!?

I see him as our Paul Chapman.

Just got back from training too, got there from about 2.15pm when the warm up drills were finishing. The first part of training consisted of standard drills and not much to report, but a few things caught the eye. I noticed that a few of the younger key position talls (Wiedeman, King, Hulett etc) were doing some contest work and it was mostly about body positioning and jostling, but that the actual mark was pretty much left uncontested. I thought this was strange as surely it would be useful to practice marking with more pressure on the mark itself. But Tom McDonald came over and showed how it was done and later on Hogan also got involved in this drill. His spinning moves and jostling really are great to watch, he tries everything to get space on his opponent. Also noticed a handball drill where players would handball sideways 3-4 times either towards the boundary or into the centre square. It seemed the emphasis was on switching the play but not necessarily handballing backwards. There was still an offensive feel to it. I also thought that handballing was used quite a bit over the top to break a press, which worked half the time, but relied on good long handpasses and also would fall apart if an opponent pressed up onto the next contest from the other direction. Hunt really does catch the eye with his athletism and his run down on Harmes was great to see, which was a follow up from a spilled mark, so it was good to see him make amends. He also broke the pack nicely in a match simulation later, although I feel that sometimes he kicks in hope rather than finding and drilling to a target. Plenty of others were giving him encouragement and challenging him and I can see why, because if he becomes a proper 'footballer' rather than just a great athlete and an OK footballer, then he could be anything. The match simulation with two umpires later on in the session was pretty good. Plenty of stoppages held up play, but also some good breakaways too. Viney seemed to be in everything and Stretch is great to watch when he gets some space. Brayshaw just seems to know where to go and Gawn gets to so many contests and was doing well in some of the close in work by getting his hands free and the handball away. He really is hard to tackle to the ground. I though there was an overall attacking intent and plenty of mistakes were made, but the ball was generally moving forward and everyone was working hard to follow up on any mistakes. I think this will improve in actual games with our best 22 on the park, because keep in mind that the whole list was out there and most of the mistakes came from the inexperienced players. N Jones was a no show (should have taken the chance to ask Misson why) and Terlich seemed to hurt his ankle halfway through (Vanders tackle?), then got some treatment and left the track. He seemed to be walking ok so maybe just a rolled ankle. Some ladies nearby asked Petracca what the 'problem' was with him, but he laughed that off and said nothing, just need to put a few more weeks on the leg again after the moon boot came off. No issue with the knee or toe. He joked and said he'd be back by Round 22, but then said he'll be fine for Round 1 or at least that was the aim. Go Dees