Leaderboard

Didn't stay for all that long. Later start to let the ground dry out a bit. Tyson back. In the rehab group doing run throughs with Viney (brief appearance), Vanders, Melksham, Hibberd, Mitch King, JKH, Tom McDonald. Kent and Petracca joined them after the warm up with the main group. Casey young boys back training. They did what looked like a 10 minute run time trial. ANB (in ripping shape) pulled away from Mitch White late. With a decent gap to Smith ahead of Salem. Then Weideman who isn't exactly bulked up but might be a little more solid and has a big frame to fill, he stuck on well. Then another 30m or so to Oliver who batted around unfortunately. Then the same to Hulett. Vince was back and in the main group and moving beautifully. They were doing a lot of in close ball movement drills as always. Gathering the ball under pressure then 6 on 3 getting the ball in a 40 by 40 square over to another coach. Brayshaw looked like a standout, clean below his knees and making quick decisions. Maynard impressed with some basketball style vision on a long looping handball. Watts, Gawn, Garlett, Garland, Pedersen, Lumumba, Trengove the only guys I've yet to see on deck at some stage. Nath Jones the only other who wasn't there today. Edit: And some mature recruit bloke by the name of Lewis. Yet to see him either.

I'm glad Goodwin has made his gambling issues public. Like Schwartz, it does not make you a weaker person.Quite the opposite. I am trying to control my own gambling currently and am going ok so far.The main driver also being that compulsive punting takes up so much of life's most precious commodity- TIME. When I played cricket it was never an issue but my Saturdays soon became wasted on the punt. Former sport players are probably the most vulnerable as they look to "win" in something at which they no longer can influence. I urge any others out there to cap their punt in time and a fixed amount they can afford. "treat the markets like a cold shower- get in and out quickly." Or don't get into it at all. Thanks for sharing Goody!!

I'm staggered no-one has posted this on here yet. Extremely deserving recipient of this award is Neale Daniher. A truly remarkable man who is walking a horrible journey, and doing it with dignity. Well done, Neale. And congratulations on the award!

Weideman and Oscar both look a bit stronger to me, not a heap but a difference. ANB is in ripping knick, he definitely looks stronger. Brayshaw looks a lot leaner. Hunt a little bigger but he made a big transformation last summer. Wagner a bit more cut. Hogan looks great, so does Dom. Mitch King is more defined and looks like a young colt now. Stretch was very fit and presumably isn't growing taller. Any muscle added to his skinny frame would stand out. Otherwise going through the list we just don't have a lot of skinny kids who need to add muscle. There might be some impatience with fans towards Oscar and Weid but I think they are making progress. Weid's about to do his first preseason and fitness and core strength is more important that bulk. Oscar could do with a few more kilos but Tom doesn't get pushed around and he isn't a heavy key defender, assuming similar strength with a similar body type the McDonald's might be the strong lean type of athlete. Given the way footy is going and our game plan for zone defending I think the coaches would be happy with Oscar getting fitter and stronger in the core than too worried about bulk.

if you want a strong indication that Watson is in no way contrite, you just have to read that.

I know we have had (and probably will continue to have) our differences, but this is a great post and despite the characters we sometimes play on 'Land I wish you all the best with this.

Not sure if grouping Garlett with Garland and Lumumba is exactly fair. Played some fantastic games, consistency perhaps an issue but far from in the gun in my opinion

rigged a system, that sounds a little like a certain tribunal that used an incorrect standard of proof seemingly in the hope that it would make the issue go away, and since then every other court has found the opposite outcome. ASADA were really up against it in this case, absolutely nobody wanted them to get to the bottom of it and unleash the dirty secrets into the light of day, they haven't been perfect but they got the job done and in my opinion got the correct result despite the tip off, constant leaking to cause a media storm against them which is a big part of why people say things about ASADA and the AFL tribunal which in my opinion used the wrong standard of proof to get a result.

I don't think you can dismiss his non appearance at training that easily Stu, he would have had a very honest end of season interview with Goody who wasn't there when Roosey did the deal to bring him in (from a Collingwood who were very pleased to see him go) and won't feel at all obligated to him. Goody has seen Harry play two very unproductive seasons for us and recognizes he isn't one for the contested ball. My suspicion (based on what public information is available) is he's lost his passion for the game and this year is superannuation. He's nowhere near "best 22" for me, probably outside top 30 and I reckon if he was really committed to the cause he'd be down there making it plain to all that he's serious about getting his spot back.

I hope Collingwood's mountain has an active volcano at its peak. Keep running lads, nearly there!

Exactly.. if he was returning the medal for as he claims " the integrity of the award and what it stands for" he would understand it should be awarded to the most deserving player or players instead of him, and he's also admitting a level of guilt and that he doesn't fit that bill, this is close to proof in my eyes that he's been given a nudge to hand it back rather than actually wanting to do the right thing.

It's only $800k a year... Love his endeavour though; he's certainly aspirational if he thinks he can take Richmond to September. If nothing else he'll fit in with all the other delusional people at that club.

Is the insinuation that he lied in his stat dec? Isn't that an indictable criminal offence?

It was particularly stupid of the Pies to lose Balme. A stat dec is not going to make for a very good football manager.

Not to derail the thread, but as much I agree with your sentiment on drug cheats, that flippant throwaway comment about gay marriage being a waste of money is really unnecessary. They'll lead you to think otherwise, but governments can focus on more than one issue at a time, regardless of where it ranks on your priority list. One is an issue which could be resolved overnight if they so desired, the other deserves far more government funding to ensure clean sport, if we want to have any integrity on the world stage. I'd certainly hope almost everyone agrees on the latter, at least (unless you work in the AFL Integrity department, of course).

I think it's great we are using the footy from day 1, where on the news tonight I see Collingwood have gone away to run up a mountain, I know what I would rather be doing

avoiding a test has almost always had the same result as "failing" the test. A good example is avoiding a drink driving test. Does not matter if you didn't have one drink the penalty is heavy. If you consider it the reasons for this approach have merit.

If they don't then they can't blame people for thinking they are toothless. Starts with ASADA. Back to you Ben.

Jab exhibits all the integrity of.......the AFL !!

Beveridge probably wasnt the doggies first choice either. Carlton got Malthouse as their first choice and before that they got Pagan. So you need a bit of luck in these things ...not simply access to "first choice" . Dew was obviously his prime pick but I wonder now if he isnt at home wishing he taken the position now. Imo he blew that. That ex collingwood dude was rejected by a couple of other clubs and we just fell into Mathouses egotistic desire for a legacy. Goodwin on the other hand would probably be coaching Adelaide now if we hadnt grabbed him. I agree that its hard to imagine dee success anymore.....but Im as hopeful as Ive been since 1988 coming into a season,

No its not, its awesome. Winners, winners, winners. I will exclusively buy New Balance gear from now.

I think it's a more than valid point that you made and I was a bit disappointed as well. We know Weid's didn't have a huge tank before being draft and he was running well and put a gap to Clarry and never ended up too far from Salem. The trade off for Oliver battling is that big Sam is running well. We also know Oliver had a long season starting the first NAB challenge game and going all the way through until being our best in the Casey VFL grand final in late September. So he's only had about 6 weeks and he deserves a mental and physical break in that time. He can do a lot between now and March to improve and it may have just been an off day. Last year Brayshaw came off a big first year injured and then struggled with more injuries and his weight and lost most of the season really. This off season he got things together and seems to be in far better condition. Hogan is looking fit. Petracca is training instead of rehabbing a foot/knee injury. I think these kids are on the right track and Oliver will get there too.

The Age is reporting that Allen will likely lose his job at the Pies and not return after the suspension. Apparently he signed a 'stat declaration over his role in the Whitfield matter' (the Age didn't say what it said). I recall Eddie went ballistic when the Shaw brothers and Didak lied to him to him over some off-field matter. Eddie doesn't take being lied to very well which is quite admirable. It was rather smart of the Pies getting that stat dec and really, really dumb of Allen to sign it.

Mark Fine Teeing off hardcore to AFL/ASADA and this pathetic penalty...

I think you've answered your own question there, fr_ap. The bolded part of your response is what we need to remember - not only is it very early days in his career, but it's early days in the second pre-season of his career. He lost quite a bit of weight in the final season of his TAC Cup career, something he worked incredibly hard to do, so getting a 'tank' is something that may take him some time. I have every confidence he will reach the levels that we all know we can, it might just take a little patience.

"It's Brownlow madness at Charlie Shark's Easy Money Emporium! If your selected player leads the vote count but loses the medal as a drug cheat four years later ... CASH BACK! Up to fifty bucks! Conditionsapplyandgambleresponsibly."

They won't be announced until December....which OMG will be after they get to skim the cream again this year. After all, they were very disappointed last season.

Whitfield has reportedly been banned for 6 months while the two other officials got 12 months. All bans under the AFL's disrepute rules, not anti doping violations. When will the bloody AFL learn to leave anti doping matters to ASADA and stop trying to cover things up early! Bloody embarrasing. Will be interested to see if ASADA/WADA come in over the top again and slap the lot of them with bigger bans!

In the giddy new spirit of Demondland congeniality I find myself compelled to agree with your post Stu, particularly the last paragraph. (compliment) It is a make or break year for H and I reckon no one knows it more than him. I hope he still has a valuable role to play. Goodwin is building his team for the future and will want about 30 players ready to put their hand up each week. If, for whatever reason, any one player cannot get on the park regularly enough, they'll get overtaken by our hungry youth.

I think it did.

Every time he seems to be edging towards the truth, and therefore the realisation that his heroes have feet of clay, he retreats to his standard duped/rogue scientist/good blokes defence. The guy must be on the edge of sanity. It would be enough to drive a lesser man to drink.

Asked whether 2012 runners-up Mitchell and Cotchin should be recognised as winners, Watson added: “No I don’t.” i Can't understand why the two fairest and best players of 2012 don't deserve medals, Watson cheated and they shouldn't miss out on the best individual award in the game and any extras it provides because he's only just started doing the right thing.

I am not really a believer of the big man upstairs - but if I was I would tell him that over the last couple of years he has assembled one hell of a band - he can stop now - he has taken quite enough of the great ones. RIP Leon Russell.

My fears when it was decided that Goody was going to be the next coach was that they rushed into it as they were running out of time. I do not believe he was their first choice but he was the best of the rest. I felt this was because of what most of us have read, Roos was pretty blase about the meeting with him, but afterwards was convinced he would be the successor. Didn't instil me with confidence, still doesn't. We hear the guys love him and he gets a long with everyone so well with such a great support group, all sounds too familiar to me. I even remember hearing a certain ex-collingwood coach being loved by the players. The cynic in me will never let me enjoy our future success without a fight.

Oh for sure, there is a lot of unknowns here, i personally just think H would be really keen to get out there and set himself for a huge year given this year hasn't gone the way he would have been hoping that it would. i see this as a very big year for him, if he doesn't lock down a spot in the best 22 he probably won't be at the club in 2018, in my opinion.

DC, the new library is magnificent, sometimes we need to bulldoze the old to make way for the new. We have had NBN wifi for ages in sunny outer Mansfield, inner Mansfield suffers with broadband?

I get annoyed when I visit the two large NB shops in Melbourne, Chadstone and DFO South WHarf, and find that there is not one piece of MFC apparel on display or being sold anywhere in the shop. They have to do better than that. There is Liverpool stuff everywhere and it sells. The fact is, the should be contributing to our marketing, they're not

I knew that Zacha take from years ago. One of the reasons this whole disgraceful saga makes me so angry.

Zaharakis's 'needle phobia' has been discussed at several different stages of the Essendon saga.

I am still quite hopeful H can get back and play a role, if nothing else he's a smart guy and great clubman and the sort of guy who if not in the best 22 you know can step up to AFL level and play a role whenever he's needed. in modern footy i reckon top 4 teams have between 30-35 players ready to come in and play a role at any one time, the long term projects seem to be a bit more rare. worst case scenario provides good depth and a wealth of experience to the casey boys, having a former premiership player and i think he has been All Australian before? working with the young guys at casey is a very handy bonus.

I have posted on here before that i know players who write down the serial numbers and take photos of the bottles of any substances they take for their records, this is strongly encouraged by their management and taught at under age level. i find it extremely hard to believe that 34 Essendon players didn't know exactly what they were taking, if they were lied to that's a different thing but the evidence and results in the cases doesn't at all point to that being the case, it points to a whole club effort to muddy the waters to the point no one can be sure what happened, and hope that means no one can be found guilty. lets remember that if any 1 of the 34 players could have produced compelling recorded evidence that they took something other than TB4 they would have been found not guilty, but clearly they had absolutely no idea, or they did and they hid it, either way it's the same outcome, they miss a year of footy and they're known as drug cheats, Jobe has handed down the brownlow, so i'd say they've served their time.

Without prejudice or malice but... How do we know he's not doing considerable running, swimming, gym work or the like off the training track to present in tip top shape with the other senior players when their PA award says they should? Maybe he's been told what to do and when to show up on the track and he's following it. Perhaps we should give him the benifit of waiting until he hits the track with the remaining senior players?

Ok! my Spin, The assistants are assisting in the development of the assistants that need assisting so that they can assist those that need that assisatnce to do the Job/Role of assisting!! Everyone got It?? Luv it! Fence!

Bollocks. Have bought plenty of gear from them and the quality is no different from Nike or Adidas. The Melbourne windbreaker jacket has been one of my favourite purchases of the year. Never thought I'd wear it anywhere but the footy, but I wear it pretty often.

Hope they stay, the 70% Discount last year was outstanding, and encouraged me to go back and get other stuff,

Yes, hard to believe but it may just happen: 'Whitfield, Allan and Lambert all want assurances from ASADA and theWorld Anti-Doping Agency that they would not face separate charges under the anti-doping code if they pleaded guilty to the conduct unbecoming charge". GWS face loss of draft picks over Lachie Whitfield affair Its a slippery slope when ASADA start doing deals like this. To my mind it is one thing for ASADA to deal on penalties related to an anti-doping violation and a totally different thing for them to substitute lesser non anti-doping charges to avoid applying their rules. As I've said above - if they were guilty apply the regulated penalties, if not let them go scott free. BTW - not sure where 'conduct unbecoming' came from - Is that a watered down version of 'bringing the game into disrepute'? Sounds like the convoluted wording the MRP comes up with when it suits them. Just very sad if ASADA/WADA would be a party to this.

Saad (suspended for 18 months for drinking an energy drink), Keeffe and Thomas (2 years for clenbuterol), all the Essendon guinea pigs (1 year for Thymosin beta-4) = all were ignorant yet probably not deliberate in their consumption............................yet Whitfield deliberately avoids potential drug testing (breaking up with gf my @ss), and could get off with only missing potentially 7-8 games. Corruption within the ranks of the AFL (particularly at the top), put FIFA and Sepp Blatter to shame.

Hawks won in 08 with a couple of home breeds in Robbie Campbell and Brent Renouf. Max Bailey was crucial in 2013. After that in the middle of a flag window they topped up with McEvoy for 2014/15. Ceglar had done a couple of years at Collingwood but was still a young developing ruck when he went to Hawthorn. If/when we get in a flag window we should look to trade if need be, but for the time being there's no reason not to keep adding young rucks with late picks or rookie picks.

Lol Chucked in the towel after round 2 - check Worst football report card ever written - check Game preparation involves beer - check Arrested for making death threats - double check Delisted by the wooden spooners after 1 year - check Yep let's sign him up

Agreed. I've got to wonder if PJ just threw that in for a laugh; I can't see any other motivation. Who hasn't on occasion got some kicks from throwing a hand grenade at someone known to be volatile? I have visions of PJ sitting in his office just having a chuckle after hearing Ed's comments.