Leaderboard

I went down for about an hour today, my first training session bar Grand Final Eve at Junction Oval in 88. As Deespencer mentioned, first thing I saw was JKH looking in a bit of discomfort holding his wrist and then being looked at, may well have been a finger but was clearly supporting his wrist and did not continue. 2 mins later I see the trainers run out to ANB where the mids were doing their drills. He was on the ground for a good 30 to 45 seconds but got up and slowly walked off straight past me looking more than despondent, shaking his head. I have no idea what the injury is. At the same time, J Watts walks over to the physio in discomfort with his back...his comment was ``gee there's a few going down today`` and was worked on for what would have been 10 mins. He had been with the backline doing their drills, however returned to the forward group where he seemed to just act as a decoy with little involvement for the last 20 mins of the session. He was running but certainly looked far from 100% in my mind. No joke that all happened in the first 5 mins of me being there and thought geez what sort of a jinx am I. Anyway onto my positives ... the morale and the skill in the backline was awesome. Anytime there was some good work done (multiple times) they were all cheering and encouraging. Very impressed with young Dion Johnstone, nice skills all round. He is a lot smaller than I expected though. Corey Maynard is a lot more solid than I was expecting, a great rig for footy. Hulett has a lovely set shot on him from 50. Robbo still has a nice roost on him too and my word Crossy is just a machine, such a positive role model to have around the group. He looks like he just wants to play! Tyson looks as fit as I`ve seen him. Really enjoyed being there despite the injuries at the start.

ANB as you know has an issue with his knee in the past, got a hit on exactly the wrong spot, nothing major, that was from Ben Mathews JKH did his finger Jeff Garlett got a belt on the nose Dean Kent tweaked his calf on the run at the beginning Jack Watts just a bit of tightening in the back, had it loosened up, from Jack No Nev Jetta or Col Garland, Melksham, Wagner and Brayshaw on light duties I finally got ask to Weed about his size, put on 4kg now at 94kg, they only want him to play at 95kg, matter of building a rig now, his words First up today 6 min run, Tommy Mc (of course) Hogan then Bugg

http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/trent-cotchins-show-of-respect-to-jobe-watson-before-2012-brownlow-medal-handover/news-story/efa34588fe750031ee718abcbe3503b6 An interesting piece of intrigue: "...as the AFL still refused to say where Watson’s medal was and whether he had given it back". That has a hollow ring of truth - if it was given back they would say so, right? Probably part of the 'deal', something like - no problem, Jobe, yeah just tell the media you will give it back but tuck Charlie away in a bottom draw for a while and keep it quiet. Set up right there for some future amnesty and 'return' of the medal to 'poor Jobe'...probably to coincide with his intro to he "Hall of Shame Fame". The AFL are truly a disgrace. Many of us have said it on DL, if it wasn't for the love of the Dees I would give AFL away.

Love Lewis rubbing his hands with glee at the end. So much to love about such a short video.

Nice list analysis Steve but you've completely missed the point. Saty was commenting on the increased physicality of training this year to previous and suggesting that Misso now had a more mature list which had benefited from 3 years of PS training. I have seen one training session this PS and also noticed this increase in physicality.

Just got here to see JKH sprain a finger and walk back to AAMI. Then ANB got caught up with Lewis diving for a loose ball in a beach flags type drill and immediately grabbed his knee and looked very upset. Walked off unaided back to AAMI. I wonder if his patella popped in and out again. No Jetta or Brayshaw here since I've been here

The highlight of the short bit of training I watched today was Petracca marking with a group of forwards. He'd take up front spot and a kick would come in and he'd go head to head with some of the other tall forwards, with the winner staying on. Tracc used his strength and athleticism to mark 3 in a row against Hulett, Watts and Weid (I think). There was a lot of cheering and hollering. Then he went against Gawn who had too much strength and reach and out marked him. Garlett was too strong/clever for Ben Ken and JKH.

Bloody fantastic mate, the observation skills of a bird watcher, the analytical skills of a boffin, and the enthusiasm of a child. Wonderful to read reports that are so detailed and without the smart arse comments and one-upmanship of past seasons.

Chris Dawes' time at the MFC served, if nothing else, to show that AFL footballers can be intelligent young men with integrity of the highest order. Not a bad example for our younger boys. Hopefully he has helped to dispel the self-perpetuating myth that AFL players are just one-dimensional meatheads.

No, I don't think I have. He has been banging on about what Misson and Neeld said when the bloke arrived at the club which was something along the lines of, "give me three pre-seasons and I'll have them up to scratch". And every year since, Satyricon has made mention of it. My point is that what we're seeing today simply cannot be the result of what Misson stated back in 2013 because only eleven players remain on the list from that time. It is nonsensical. The change in training on every level can be attributed to so many things. It is ridiculous to suggest otherwise.

could not make this stuff up

Notice how many times large packs form and players have to scramble to just kick to clear out under helter skelter pressure. It became a feature of play in 2016. If a player is comfortable both sides, it provides another option for short clearance kicks otherwise he risks turning into the pack and having the kick smothered. Cunningly clever - it is all about options to dispose to a teammate to advantage, not long NP passes lace out at eye level. Jones and Vince are naturals both sides. Watts can be hesitant and is not as effective. Brayshaw kicked a sausage roll this year from 50m on left foot after clever piece of evasion. Further Clarko recruited left footers for a reason - because they turn clockwise whereas the majority who are right footers turn anti-clockwise they have a natural advantge. Watch closely next season how Salem, Kent, Lewis Hibbert and the bi's have a advantage. The natural part is the turn, not the kick.

What 'tilly18' says is right... The theory was that you were much more reliable on your preferred foot and much, much more likely to turn over a kick on the np. So like the drop kick of old the np was all but banned by coaches (became a team rule). Jeans was a big one on this...and even the current Hawk teams rarely (apart from Mitchell) used or could kick well on the np. The thinking was that if the team was functioning as it should then there should always be a teammate/s in support and you shouldn't run into trouble. I would be interested in why Goodie is training up the np, maybe 'Sat' could ask Macca the reasoning behind it. I could almost guarantee it's not as simple as getting out of trouble. Maybe the wheel has turned...

im still staggered that these elite juniors that come through cant kick on their NP. what kind of junior coaches would they have they wouldn't include NP kicking at training? you want to be at the very least servicable on your NP amateur stuff

11 players are still on the list from our 2013 squad. Eleven. That is less than a third of a primary squad list which doesn't include rookies. Only 7 of those 11 players are best 22 right now. David Misson and Jade Rawlings are the only two coaches that still hold their positions today. We employed an entirely new recruiting team that year as well as a president and CEO by year's end/beginning of 2014. But the difference this year is that Misso's program has worked it's magic over 3 years.... I find that very hard to believe.

100% of the reason I am still interested LH. Otherwise I would be following the Amos.

I think that is a good point saty. We can now reap the benefits of the program Misson has put in place, not least being able to get going earlier in the pre season on footy stuff as opposed to having to build base fitness. The other point is as you suggest our list is getting older and so stronger boys to men. By the by we are also reaping the benefit of players like hunt and omac getting 20 odd games of afl footy. Add in that it looks like vanders and Jones will get a full preseason (and hopefully Salem and Brayshaw for that matter, though my point is Vanders and Jones are both strong bodied older players), we have some new mid twenty robust players in hibberd and melksham, mckenna is no longer a teenager, Hannan is early 20s (albeit pretty slight at this stage) and two of our rookies are not teenagers and it all augurs well for a team that might finally make Neeld's dream of the hardest team to play against a reality

Decisions dont need to be perfect. They just need to be the best decision you can make at the time. Hindsight is a privilege of those not there at the time the decision was required. Dawes, and Lamumba; were the best decisions we could have made at the time. We were coming from a long way back, I absolutely agree with those who are suggesting while he didn't quite win the Brownlow, we are much better club for Dawes having been with us. He is a fine fellow, tried his hardest, and is welcome back anytime Sorrento is lucky to have him

Are we supporters to take it that a Brownlow Medal is missing, not insured presumably, and the AFL does not care. Thereby making it probably the most infamous Medal in History. Our Footy forefathers would be pleased especially the memories of those War time connections on Anzac Days. Getting close to a time that a certain Commemorative Foundation should review its participation maybe....

So Jobe's refusing to give back the actual medal? Makes his pathetic pontificating about how much he was a man of honour and intergrity even more vomit-worthy, if he cut one of Gil's famous deals to keep the medal in exchange for a PR statement. And makes the AFL even more pathetic. To echo the above, I'd give this corrupt corporation (barely consider it a sport anymore) away were it not for the Dees.

From my experience coaching juniors, training on the non-preferred foot seems to automatically improve your kicking on the preferred side. Stuffed if I know why!

I'll be putting some pics on Instagram later Trac was mainly training with the forward group again today, he is another one that looks better and better each session They had them practicing non preferred goalkicking on the move today, some of the efforts were 'interesting' Of the other 'wounded' both Tommy Mc and Pedo did a lot of the session but no contact work of course Mitch King did bits and pieces, reckons at least another few weeks away from full training Only two in rehab group Mitch Hannan and Luke from the Academy. Melksham Brayshaw and Wagner walked some laps, did a bit of handball and left

I will believe it when it happens until then I will remain a sceptic

You're probably right there DC. Sometimes it takes a while to brew up a big steaming pile of [censored].

6 pages in today's hun on the brownlow (re)awards. not one article by the chief hun football writer, slobbo..........expect he's working on a big jobe sympathy piece

A first rounder that got used on Brody Grundy. I will never forget the tackle Dawes laid in Adelaide and sprinting across the middle of the MCG past Watts to apply defensive pressure while Watts stood idle.

I'm was a big fan of Dawes because of his second and third efforts , his commitment to the contest and what seemed to be his not stop endeavor. But by by his own admission "he was embarrassed" about his time at Melbourne. His body definitely did not let him get the best out of himself, and at the time of trading him in we were struggling to get anyone to come to the club but the inescapable truth is that he was not a good buy for us.

Cotchin and Mitchell are now the official 2012 Brownlow medalists. http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/sam-mitchell-and-trent-cotchin-get-2012-brownlow-medals-20161213-gt9u65.html Interesting that Crotchin contacted Jobe: "I've reached out to Jobe. I thought that was the right thing to do," Mitchell on the hand: 'Mitchell was even briefer when asked if he was thinking of Watson..."No, I'm going to leave that," Mitchell said'. Its pretty clear what Mitchell thinks! His silence backs up his syringe in the arm 'mime' of a few years ago. Good on him for not giving credence to the 'poor Jobe' charade that seems to have infected most in the wider AFL world. Edit: Sam McClure is making a strong case for Jobe to actually hand back the medal http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/sam-mitchell-and-trent-cotchin-have-their-2012-brownlow-medals-jobe-its-time-to-hand-yours-back-20161214-gtb3pr.html Quotes: The AFL doesn't have it. Essendon say they don't want to know where it is. Watson himself is telling people he's unsure of its exact location. In fact, the AFL is adamant that the location of the medal is of no interest to it. So Jobe keeps his medal after all. Rather insulting to Crotchin and Mitchell.

Great reports from DS and Hell Bent, although the slight injury concerns aren't great. We've seemingly had a pretty good run until now, so hopefully each injury is only something minor or a niggle and there is plenty of time to get over that through the Xmas break.

Agree with HB, Dion Johnstone is getting better each session Good sessions today from Viney?Jones, Vince, Lewis Salem is definitely training as a mid

Not the greatest news to start off.

Here's an update on the new business of Joel MacDonald, James Strauss and Rohan Bail. They've successfully floated their company on the ASX. It's great to see ex-players making a success of their post-football lives.

Jeez that's a strong reaction. Saying he Misson has worked his magic over 3 years does not mean only on the players at the club 3 years ago. Every player in those 3 years has reapped the benfit of Missos program. How many are still on the list from two years ago? I don't know but i'd reckon half and probably 80% from one year ago. All of these players will have derived great benefit from Missons fitness program and in turn the club has derived great benefit. Saty didn't say the only reason where we are tat is because of Misson but there's no doubt he has played a big role. The fact that he and Mahoney are the only two coaches who have kept their positions should give you an idea of the esteem he is held in at the MFC.

Misso could be worth a topic on his own. I have been a little critical of Misso's methods in the past - he seemed to be concentrating too much on 400m/60sec reps, rather than speed work and most of us have noted that we lacked pace. The bigger question though was whether we did when he arrived and whether he inherited a slow list that was too late to mend. My view in the past was that we needed a specialist sprints coach on top of Misso to help young guys like Trenners and Salem and Petracca and Tyson and Brayshaw and before that Toump and Michie. But based on what I saw at training on Monday, and also two other sessions this year, Misso seems to have corrected this a bit this year. Training was broken up with a switch to Misso and he did leg-speed drills with them - emphasising the first leg push off with short steps - has Misso been to see Matt Shirvington? Most of the reps they did later were about 50m in length - a clear speed emphasis. The rehab group has been doing a lot more 100m type progression sprints - with their efforts often being timed. It seems we are going down the path of getting them fit, then working on their speed and at the same time making sure all the footy fundamentals are being covered by Goody and his team. So far no one (that I know) has broken down with a hammy tear - but we are in peak summer and that's more likely to happen at start of season or in May when it gets cold. But for those of you who have also been at training this season, have you noticed the speed emphasis that I have witnessed? And if so, do you agree that Misso has altered his modus operandi this season?

During the recent down years I developed the end of season tradition of feeding my scarf to my dogs to rip apart, which I found quite cathartic, but now we're on the improve, I'm starting to accumulate and keep them again... Would it be too big a stretch for the club to offer members a choice?

Yes I remember that too. Not Watts finest moment. Those days are long gone, inshallah !!!

Makes me ill too.. Sorry Gill - when the man is right - the man is right! If Hird's puppets have to be allowed back , they should have to sneak down the race under cover of darkness. Switch the lights off when they run out for the first game and ban the theme song!

Gws is the afl The afl is gws Do the math !!

A balcony doesn't take your house when you try to leave it.

I agree DS, the physicality of the sessions has been a standout, Wednesdays are normally craft days, but there is still a bit of banging bodies, believe the plan for Friday is 'to put on a show for the supporters' so assume it will be more of the same, I hope so anyway, Difference this year is Misso's program has worked it's magic over 3 years and we have men clashing with men, as somebody has already said you do can do an ACL turning too quickly, think they just want to train as they will play I think the pics of Pencil and Hulett wrestling sums up the training, and Kent, trying to bring down Max, if you can stick them here

nothing to see here... keep the coin and chase Josh Kelly from GWS

Very humble from the big fella. A gentleman.

Just to let you all know, I've officially refunded my Geelong membership and have order my Melbourne membership ? Carn the Dee's!

Melbournes newest member seems to like the scarves

Just saw it now. Makes me ill i shall hate and despise Essendon till i am long dead. This shlt will not be forgotten. They are getting Gold Class treatment now for lying and cheating Gill. You to are a disgrace

Rod Grinters beautician or LJ's PR man ?