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Got there just before 11, left around an hour later. Very muggy. No sign of Dunn, Vanders, Brayshaw, Newton, Dawes, Spencer, Terlich, ANB, Weed, Hulett, King, King or White by the time I arrived. Maybe a separate Casey training group this week? Everyone else who was on track was involved fully as far as I could tell. Including Petracca and Trengove. Usual group drills focussing on quick hands, spread and kicking. Then more positional drills. Talls doing marking. A group of backs doing kicking. Midfielders practising quick handballs up with pressure approaching. The forwards had to lead up for a mark with token defensive pressure before doubling back in an arc and leaping for a mark on top of the speccy bag. Petracca had a hell of a ride pretty much sitting on top of the poor coach with the bag which had everyone laughing. High fives all around for the poor coach who was squished. Was the highlight of the session aside from seeing Bernie Vince sail a drop punt goal through from about 60 on his left. 8 or so players finished with session with boxing. Hogan, Lumumba and Wagner went with Rawlings for a drill where they led in to space either side of the 50. Was more to get Lumumba and Hogan some extra work I think. Kent did goal kicking with Brett Allison. Very much a focus on keeping balance and a straight line through the ball. The first few was rusty but after that he seemed to find his confidence. Tyson, Jetta and Ben Ken did a series of 200m sprints. Kennedy led them out early before Tyson took over as the repeat efforts continued but Jetta and Kennedy weren't too far behind. Oscar Mc and then later his brother were doing extra kicking practise. A focus on fast feet getting some agility around cones before steadying and kicking low to a target. Oscar struggled, not sure why he's kicking is down, but then got better. Tom was kicking fine, it's just not the same pressure as game day. Gawn spent most of the session just with Stafford doing ruckwork before Frost and Pedo joined him a bit.

At the 2016 season launch on a table with Max Gawn, Mitch King and Josh Wagner which makes this virtually the main table. A lot of greats of the club are here including RDB, Noel McMahon, Stan Alves and ... Neale Daniher?

We're screwed..

Yep. 30 second mark. After he did that, some Carlton fans behind us WOULD. NOT. SHUT. UP. They carried on for the next two quarters. They were giving so much [censored] to Melbourne and Melbourne supporters all day. At three-quarter time they were just yelling out to us, giving us crap because Carlton was 4 goals up. In the final moments with us being home, this young Carlton supporter, maybe 15-16, stood up, went over to them and just sprayed them for making the Blues fans around them look like such flogs. Carlton supporters turning on each other. It was glorious.

Late entry but some observations nonetheless. It was my first training session other than a brief squiz way back when at the Junction oval. Stayed for about an hour so only caught a few different drills and chose to concentrate on Petracca, Trengove and Hogan mainly. Trengove - Body shape and general physical appearance is top notch. He looks like he's spent a long time building his fitness and rebuilding his body. Stood out with voice, skills and general football smarts. Which is why I've always loved him. Just a smart footballer. Speed is hard to tell at training and I think we all know he was never explosive off the mark but he was gliding over the ground today and just looked smooth. Petracca - It's especially hard to talk about Trengove's 'speed' when this guy is around him. First time I've seen him in the flesh and he clearly has some gears. At some stages during drills he'd just turn it on and break through or accelerate past a defender. A very special trait to have. His kicking also has an explosive quality to it. During some of the kicking drills, he'd really punch the footy hard and it would zip through the air to his team-mate with a lot of power. Those quads. Monstrous I tell you. And as a poster previously said, his contested marking and vertical jumping were pretty damn impressive. He'll be a nightmare to handle as that mid-sized forward. Hogan - Just an unbelievable presence on the field. He's special. Any questions, feel free.

err he was playing with injury....

My Brother told me this afternoon that he'd pay to watch Petracca train (he was at Gosch's today) and that he's the most exciting talent he's seen come to Melbourne since Jakovich. Best of all, they're all different and will complement each other. Petracca, Oliver, Brayshaw and Viney will be as good as it gets in 4 years time.

I think the AFL should demolish Etihad and build a Big Stadium at Waverley.... oh wait....

How dare you post nothing after all of this time waiting! I opened this thread like a seagull hits a chip.

With the likes of Petracca, Hogan Oliver and already with Viney , Vince and the Bearded one we have not only players that dont fear the opposition but players who actually relish taking them on ( and apart ) This is a very different Melbourne we're seeing emerge

Had to smirk at the Herald-Scum headline - Maria Shara-doper. No idea of hypocrisy at that rag.

Sms just received: "It is seriously exciting to see Petracca training". Looking forward to reading the training report thread later on.

That awkward moment when you find out there's a 9-page Demonland thread telling you to take a good hard look at yourself.

Not always but in your case we'll make an exception. Please stick to the rules and stop aggravating everyone else if you still want to be seen in the first half of the season.

sorry if posted elsewhere, I didn't see it anywhere very rare opportunity to read some nice things about us http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/could-melbourne-have-western-bulldogslike-resurgence-in-2016/news-story/ba64fbba636e590dde6e152c13f29b07

One retired, 2 have spent the off season injured, one was there before they came and Dunn is the other. Mostly out of their control, but nice try.

For those who mistakenly believe that Maria was taking a huge gamble, think again. The testing procedures and standards in tennis are poor - she was actually fairly unlucky to be caught (in a sense) I'm absolutely convinced that numerous athletes in a variety of sports take the same low-risk approach - many performance enhancing drugs are not actually tested for by the sporting bodies - they'll do a token urine test and most times the athletes will know when the tests are going to occur (especially in the USA but soccer definitely flies under the radar) Many PED's can only be shown up in blood tests and often a blood "passport" is needed to nail the cheats. Urine tests will show up "certain" drugs but almost certainly not the PED's the athletes are using. On top of that, many PED's are out of an athlete's system in 2 or 3 days (sometimes earlier than that) The bottom line is that many governing bodies of the major sports have no real interest in exposing their own drug cheats. The brand and money is of paramount importance. The worldwide PED issue is a monumental one - and WADA are hopelessly underfunded - they are shut out by most of the large sporting bodies and even if they were welcomed into the fray, they'd need a huge boost in funding - probably 20-30 times their current annual income (or more) - and where would that money come from anyway? - there's no money in it for a rich benefactor. It's a sad, sorry tale ... and it's only going to get worse. However, the time is ripe for a major sporting body to get absolutely serious about PED use in their sport ... sadly, it won't be the AFL - it could have been but Gil and his cronies have taken a weak approach. We've missed our opportunity to set a great example.

From Club Twittter: Roos: We need a strong leadership group but we also need strong leaders in the team who aren't in that group.Leadership Group Roos: These six men lead the way in terms of how we want to be as a club. Captain: Jones LG: Colin Garland, Max Gawn, Tom McDonald, Bernie Vince and Jack Viney. Out: Cross, Grimes, Dawes, Lumumba, Dunn WOW! Glad to see my smokey tip (Big Maxy) got in. Nice balance of experience and Youth - 3 of each!. For mine we didn't get the on-field leadership when needed from the players that were in the LG. Very happy with this team. Very well deserved by the new guys. And great to see Garland back in!! This is a major overhaul. Only the Captain kept his spot. Quite a message by the club. I think it took some courage for the club to do this so cudos to them for that.

I disagree. The Boyd contract isn't great, but they have a fantastic young midfield and Stringer is an absolute freak who hasn't yet reached his ceiling. Murphy, Morris & Boyd are obviously near the end, but their leadership will be replaced by their young brigade. I think the questions lie in their backline, but I liked what I saw from Collins on the weekend and I think they'll be able to top up with other pieces. I really don't mind the Dogs. They've suffered as much as we have, so it's hard to not have a bit of a soft spot for them, IMO.

Was there for an hour, first training I've been to. Particularly strong in the air and noticed his power/explosiveness on several occasions. Would love to see him play a half for Casey this weekend as part of this 'block of training' that he needs to complete. He just looks keen as mustard to play.

Meldomodulin?

Glad you said that! i didn't want Stuie attacking me for 3 days...!

I prefer to call that period the Schwab era, Neeld was just an inexperienced pawn of the highly paid, master of incompetence!

I find it hard to think he won't at least be a good AFL player if he doesn't break down. He's way too good to be just a VFL player and will be an absolute bonus off HF or HB. Balanced & skilful there is always a shortage of.

A week ago the AFL was prepared to allow Port, StK, WB, Melbourne, to get salary cap relief for their suspend ex EFC players. Some 'power' clubs vehemently objected. In true AFL style it is ready to do a back flip. But first it will 'wait and see', 'for a deal to be struck between Essendon and the suspended players over payment of their wages before ruling on whether the four non-Essendon clubs can receive a salary cap windfall for not having paid their former Bombers this year': http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/essendon-34-afl-to-rule-on-salary-cap-help-on-banned-bombers-20160309-gnepms.html#ixzz42OA13uhg This is despite the fact that: "The league's investigations officer Ken Wood and head of integrity Andrew Dillon have indicated to clubs a first reading of the rules and how they have been applied in the past would indicate the money should not be in the clubs' salary caps if they have not paid the players...The league has pointed to the fact Collingwood did not pay banned pair Lachlan Keeffe and Josh Thomas a portion of their contracts last year and that amount was also excluded from their salary cap". It is now perfectly set up for the AFL to say something like: now that we have all the facts and all positions have been considered the 4 clubs will have to include the salaries they do not pay in their salary caps! Or if it takes a few years for EFC to strike a deal it will all be forgotten. Oh for the day when the AFL has the b_lls to actually make a decision or stick to its own rules. The rule now is if you a favoured club and squeal loud enough we will bend our rubbery rules for you!

He is the lead singer of Rose Tattoo

seriously was ONE positive thread too much to ask?

Could Melbourne will have Western Bulldogs-like resurgence in 2016? FIXED !!

Even though he's off to Port next year.

If he was such a liability in the eyes of the coaches and the players then he wouldn't be selected. I'll trust Roos, Goodwin, Macca and the players on this one. Good to see him straight back in the LG.

Even photoshop won't let Tom and Jack get too close just yet.

Would love to know what they know that we don't. Goodwin said weeks ago they could see improvement in "meetings". Wonder what that means. Whatever it all is they all seem to be seeing it. I suspect its that we are coming from such a low base, they are finally seeing players who are discussing the game plan in a way that indicates that they actually understand it for the first time since that Freo final in '06 ended any semblance of understanding the game plan.

Peter Jackson at the 2016 Season Launch: From twitter: Jackson: We've finished the rebuilding and restructuring of this club. There's no more excuses. Jackson: We know from a football point of view the journey we're on. We're committed to it and it's going to be a great journey. Its up to the players now! As the boss says: no more excuses!

lids off.. Melbourne FC ‏@melbournefc 2m2 minutes ago PJ: Without wanting to resort to hyperbole, this is one of the best pre-seasons I've seen in my 20 years in football.

Oliver got 30/30 in the goal kicking test at the combine. So if he is continuing as noted above then the combine results weren't a one off fluke. :-)

SWYL, I get the feeling the kid isn't afraid of anyone, let alone Essundone.

I was thinking the same And I was thinking that Jordie's kicking has improved And I was thinking that Jordie has gained a fair few yards in pace And I was thinking that Jordie has learned to extricate himself from tight contests brilliantly And I was thinking that Jordie has learned how to take a great grab.

I agree, and it's been on display this pre-season BUT when you realise there are a few not yet on the track, and the real squad is shortened by 4, you look at our best 22 and for me personally I don't see too many remaining weak spots at all. Our spine is strong and we have some real tough ball winners in the middle. If for ONCE in our lives we can have a decent run with injuries this year there shouldn't be too many Matt Joneses running around out there. To your second point you are spot on - Salem, Viney, Tyson, Petracca, Oliver, Brayshaw, Hogan etc these guys are just oozing potential but to expect them to consistently do real damage on game day is asking too much too soon. I also expect about 10 wins which will do me just fine as I expect a few more wins each year until we are right up there, say 2018.

I think the answer is NO. While I expect we will show some worthwhile improvement I am not expecting Miracles. We still have a number ordinary players and a lot of kids who are still wet behind the ears.

Reading demonland at 3/4Q time on Sunday, you would've thought we'd be fighting it out for the spoon...

It was a cheap shot , simple as that. Was a dog act and he got collared.

This kid's gunna be a gun. Shows that we need to back the judgement of Jason Taylor every day of the week over the blokes who pick the under 18s rep teams. Jason Taylor has been another stellar recruit for this club.

I believe that Jobe should not have any future in playing football after he serves his suspension and the sooner he gives back his ill-gotten Brownlow the better. I do not want him anywhere near the Demons.

Leader of the drug cheats who currently has in his possession an illegally obtained Brownlow medal which should be in the hands of those who won it cleanly. The man has had 3 years to do what sharapova did inside a month and take responsibility, and has so far failed to do so.

I have it on good authority that the club haven't open discussions yet with Jack as he's been smiling too much at training.....

One thing Watts can't be criticised for is his love of the club. I have never seen a happier player after a win and I have heard in several interviews how Jack contributes to morale - is always upbeat and lightens the atmosphere around the place. I think he is highly likely to stay if offered a reasonable deal.

What a ridiculous post. If you actually read his comments it is evident that his intention is to stay at the club.

That's because Herr Schwartz was an inmate at Salesian College Rupertswood. It's in Sunbury, there's a railway bridge which passes over a lake on the school grounds. Menscehn's kinder, now there was a footballer. And then there was Herr Nietz. man, I tell you, we Germans could have conquered the world.

A gig i cut for Ross Hannaford In '92