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Some observations delayed after watching a fascinating last hour or so of the cricket last night - I had promised the grandkids a special end-of-school year treat and what better than a late December visit to Gosch's Paddock for the Demons' last training session of 2016? The club laid it on for the large crowd - a sensational BBQ with the smell of snags and grilled onions wafting all the way to the bridge over the Yarra on our arrival, to the flies, to a Satyriconhome-like built Santa, to the flies, to Checker the big mascot and to the flies. Most of the players were there too, with the exception of our now regular absentee Heritier, ANB (patella tendon according to the real Saty) and I didn't see Dean Kent. I worked out that the rehab group (and there were quite a few but none looked seriously injured from my layman's viewpoint) were the ones not wearing numbers on their backs. I saw Cam Pedersen riding a bike on the sidelines and Jake Melksham running the boundary looking like an Olympic middle distance runner and some of the newbies like Flipper and Mitch Hannan getting acclimatised in the foreground. Josh Wagner and JKH were also doing some running and light work at the side. My 14 year old granddaughter who was once a fan of Jeremy Howe came expecting to see Jack Watts' platinum locks but was disappointed at the hair colour which didn't appear as extreme white as advertised in previous photo galleries released by the club. Her two younger brothers didn't last long. After picking out their favourites in Max Gawn and Jesse Hogan (not hard to do as they really stand out) it was off to the hot dog stand, followed by a kick to kick session which soon ended in the obligatory fisticuffs. I broke up the fight by pointing to the players on the nearby ground and telling the boys that they should follow the lead of their team who train like professionals and don't get involved in any argy bargy. It dawned on me then that this is the fundamental difference between the club now and what it has been in the past, for more or less fifty years. A club that intermittently seemed always divided about something with the rifts constantly leaving us unable to reach the professional standards we are last witnessing both on and off the field. The argy bargy is thankfully a thing of the past - the club's nameless, faceless men are now sad and irrelevant fossils. Peter Jackson, Paul Roos, Brendan McCartney and now Simon Goodwin (far more hands on at training than Roosy) have seen to that and a new spirit permeates the club now. You can sense it when watching training even though you can't see everything and you don't know what every individual drill is about. It feels good - I call it "the vibe" but it's much more than the vibe from The Castle. I guess the exception to the rule might be "the Heritier situation" but I think the club has that well covered. One of the work experience AFL Academy players wore #8 on his back in what appeared to be a message that like Heritier's namesake, Lumumba is gone. In all likelihood, he will soon be replaced by the son of Shaun Smith. Jesse Hogan looks and trains like a man ready to grab centre stage on the AFL scene. I heard that big Maxy is about to get a gig in Foxtel's superhero of the month series and I know that I'm prone to making big statements but look out next year because I reckon Jesse will be on that programme in a big way after his next season. He is moving beautifully, runs hard, looks solid and even cracked it for a smile at one stage. The story about extending his contract for a couple of years must be true because he looks like a man unburdened by the contract speculation, one who is now on a mission. Clayton Oliver also impressed me - he just has that something special about him, especially in close pouncing cat-like on the ball and dishing out handballs to players in space. He's one of a number of members of the young brigade ready to move on to a higher plane. Billy Stretch is no longer a skinny kid, Jayden Hunt looks solid and there's something about Sam Frost that suggests he will be one of those who will step up another notch. As the session went on, I couldn't help but think of poor Colin Sylvia recovering in hospital from a broken neck and other injuries sustained after falling from a balcony. If only the place was like this a dozen years ago when he arrived fresh from Merbein, he might truly have become one of the champions of our game. The team moves on to a break of a couple of weeks before it gets really serious. To my eye it looks as if there is great room for improvement and a move up the ladder, especially with the infusion of some seriously experienced talent in Jordan Lewis, Michael Hibberd and Jake Melksham. The question is whether, when the battles begin, our improvement can outmatch that of the others.

A quick report card on my observations so far Hogan, content, elite fitness, standout most training sessions Watts, content, elite fitness, standout most training sessions Jones and Viney - what it says on the tin, Jones was driving the standards yesterday in front of the big crowd, joked with Viney about the fence incident from midweek "just thought I would try and get through it" Lewis, kicking is just a joy to watch, his constant talking on the training track a standout, took Clarry aside yesterday for a quick chat Hibberd, solid unit, left foot weapon Stretch, Hunt, Salem, now have men's bodies to go with the skills Harmes, gone up another level with his skills, has obviously worked his arse off on them, starting to look at ease on both feet Tyson, spoke to him yesterday, feeling fitter and stronger than last year, joked the right foot is getting there Garland, Trengove, both looking like they did from a few years ago, both have completed every session and are already feeling the benefit, adding to the competition for spots Brayshaw little hiccup in the last week or so, but looking primed for a big year, just looks more everything Petracca, loves the fact I call him lean and mean on Instagram, primed for a big year, close to marrying the fitness with the talent

Off-topic but I have been in the cardio unit of St Vincent's Hospital for the last ten days, kept alive be reading the training reports on Demonland by Saty and others. Imagine my joy when another passionate paid-up Melbourne supporter moved into the bed opposite yesterday (from Tanganbalanga)! ?

And congrats to the Demon Army - you guys do great work for the club week in week out throughout the year.

Enjoy. P==> https://www.smugmug.com/frame/slideshow?key=LMxKzJ&autoStart=1&captions=0&navigation=0&playButton=0&randomize=0&speed=3&transition=fade&transitionSpeed=1&clickable=1

Just a quick thank you for all those Demonlanders who partook of a sausage yesterday and those of you who donated generously. We raised the biggest amount to date for the Demon Army. This will go to covering some of the expense of new equipment for season 2017. Sorry but the brioche was off the menu.

Following on from what WJ has put, I have been going to training since they moved to Goschs, I was dubious three of four years ago when Misso came on board and said they would have to start from scratch and rebuild the whole fitness/medical/rehab area, there wasn't instantaneous results, but over time the whole standard has lifted and those at the club now are benefiting from the new regime/organisation that was put in place Everybody players/coaches/kit guys/trainers/medicos/media/analysts, me knows exactly what is going to occur during a session and each player knows exactly what he is required to do in that session. The coaches all have earpieces (except Macca) and two way radios so they can talk to each other during the session, to watch Macca prowl around the field, coaching the players, coaching the coaches, a little word here, a gesture there is a treat for the watchers A player has to report the slightest twinge/niggle immediately, it is assessed and a call made on whether they stay out on the field We have the new draftees and rookies training with the main group before Xmas and nearly doing the whole session The guys in rehab are given targets weekly to ensure that if and when they get out of the rehab group they can go straight into everything The morale of the players is the best I have seen,

That may well be so but my reasoning is that he needed to be set straight at the very beginning of his career which I'm sure would happen with his equivalent today given the personnel (think Brendan McCartney) we have at the club now.

BenKen and Bugg both training really well, not standing out for good or bad Keilty a big lump of a bloke, good leap, plenty of upside Smith the Bull, exactly what was reported from Casey Hannan rehabbing from shoulder op, watched his goalkicking, neat and tidy action VDB fully recovered from ankle surgery, another one ticking off sessions

Dear everyone, Don't worry about Clarry. He was the standout for me today. Hogan was also brilliant.

So for Foxtel suscribers, next Friday is a good day to start you Christmas leave early or queue up some recordings on the iQ for some classic big Maxy (and MFC wins) showing on the Fox Footy channel. Eight whole games in total starting with Rd 11, 2011 Vs Essendon, cumulating with Rd 20, 2016 Vs Hawthorn. ...hanging out big time!

I was watching the rehab group before the main session and was liking what I saw with Mitch King. He has certainly built up considerably, to the point of looking like he has a ruckmans body now. There is no doubt he has put on a couple of cm since being signed as he stood well above Filipovic when together. Can he kick, run and mark.....couldn't say as he only did rehab type work with the ball and not under pressure. One to watch in this space, and opportunities are open to him to serve a good apprenticeship under the best ruckman in the game at the moment.

A good article in the local paper, Warrnambool Standard this weekend about him. North Warrnambool Eagles export Dion Johnstone learning from Melbourne's Jack Viney

Well done, Jack! I knew you had it in you!

Huge thanks to all that contributed today and every other session. Being based in Perth makes me super jealous of not seeing the team move forward over the pre season so the reports are like crack to me. Fortunately for me, the lads will be playing WCE here during the NAB (or whatever it is now) and I look forward to sharing my observations when that happens. I think we can all agree that there's a certain feel to next season, one that I think us die-hards can only interpret and make sense of. I believe 2017 is going to be the birth of an incredible window of success for the MFC. Giddy up.

Don't know about that #32. I might put pen to paper (or the equivalent on my iphone) but there's so much going on at training and I'm in awe of those who regularly report on the training sessions here because it's not possible to take everything in - well done to all of our correspondents for filling us in with so much good information. I will say that after last night's AGM and today's training, I think we're light years ahead of the club we have been in the past decade. It seems that we've stepped up several notches in terms of the professionalism, the attitude and the culture of the place - not to mention the depth of quality of player on our list these days. That's not to deride those who have worked for the club in the past - it's just that we've moved forward so much in such a short space of time. Can I take off my rose coloured glasses now?

A few observations from today... Crossy is a gun, had the rehab group working before the main group came out. Just professional in his approach, well organised and you can see he has the respect of the players...funny thing, when the players were coming in early in the session Trac (sure he has ADD) was calling for a ball from Crossy, just turned his back and ignored him. A few polite words from Trac...then he found a ball to play with. The 2 big rucks in development (King & Flip) working with Crossy handle the ball well but both are a bit awkward with their kicking style. Frosty is a great athlete, really hard to get away from as Hibbo found out but really has a problem with kicking, decision making or maybe both. As soon as he stops to think he's done. He needs to go with his first option, but if it doesn't come off it may do him in for confidence. As for Clarry, he worked pretty hard but did get chipped from one of the coaches at one point for not pushing up into the action. They're making sure he doesn't sit back and admire his work. He's still a kid and at times still trains like one...but he is a gun in the making, no doubt about that and the FD will leave no stone unturned to get him there. Skills look up across the group as far as my memory of previous year goes which is good. A thought on the np kicking, and I hope 'Sat' gets to ask 'Macca' about this. Just looking at how this session was going, and I left before it finished. Players were still coming around onto there kicking foot so it's doesn't seem to be a rule to kick on np if you are on that side. I noticed a couple of times some quick kicks on the np and it seemed to be when covered on the mark instead of trying to get a looping handball over the top there was a quick kick on the np if necessary in place of a long handball to get play moving...just a thought. Edit: forgot this.... Every now and then I would notice some nice work by a player, seemed quite composed and professional in how he went about it...who is number 9? looks pretty good. Whether Trenners makes it back as a regular who knows but he doesn't look out of place.

Very well stated. I hope that CS recovers well but he had his chance. However the club wasn't run as it is now and Col is part of the unfortunate past. I've been a part of this since '64. About every 20 years or so we rise... but this is different. Everything from the board, admin, player welfare, coaches & assistants, support staff (oh abtw the current talented playing group) is on the same page. And yes the smokie will appear

We'll never know and tbh i dont really care. Nasty fall hope he mends, other than that hes just a blot on the mfc landscape. What we have now is a professional club, not a basketcase and a list wants to succeed not just turn up...if that. Is going to be a hard fought battle for a quite a few positions. As it should be. Think theres more than one smokie lurking

Makes his story even more tragic IMO

I know he had a great first year but I get the feeling the coming season will be Hogan's break out year, the year he puts to rest the debate about who the best young forward in the game is. He looks fit, happy, content and ready to go...

Just had to drag the old coat and have a look , loved it , wish they still wore them added some atmosphere. The Victoria cheer squad was different with all cheer squads combined,was fun but not the same as your own team, no tribalism

Mitch King has grown to 202cm tall. Source is from a former bushies coach.

That's a bit of a harsh assessment of Hunt after two fluffed kicks DS, overall through all the sessions I thought his kicking had actually improved Same with Garlett, last year we had games where he had managed to shake off his opponent and get free out the back, we either turned it over or slowed down to such an extent that he was marked again and the ball went sideways, how is he expected to apply defensive pressure in those situations? It appears that he has drifted out of the game when in fact he is working his arse off to create space. Two moments yesterday, one, where he picked up the ball at full flight in the middle of the field, three bounces and a lovely low flat kick to a leading forward, secondly during the tackling drill, he tackled Jack Watts and pinned his arm beautifully, comment from Macca, "take note boys, that is how you tackle", that is the real Jeff Garlett, how a bloke who averages just under 2 goals and 3 tackles a game can also be called lazy (not your comment) is beyond me

Maybe, but being Liverpudlian we major in sarcasm, as for Garland misconceptions he is a typical Taswegian quiet with a dry sense of humour, I just find it staggering he has played with pain for four years, club first principal maybe why he is still here He is running really well and seems to have his leap back again as well, I don't care who is in the 22 each week as long as the coaching panel regards them as the most in form for that game On the running I joked with Tommy Mc that Jesse Hogan is getting closer to him on the runs, I said Jesse might be the next king of the 3k, Tommy said it ain't gonna happen I am going early reckon Dion Johnstone is good bet for smokey of the year

No Kent, no ANB as far as I saw. Rehab: Hannan, Wagner, JKH, King, Flippers, Melksham. Pedda and McDonald for some. Joel Smith and Mitch White did runs throughs instead of the final drills. Lots of full ground ball movement v opposition after some lighter drills earlier. Observations: - Frost is a hard one. Half the list couldn't get near tackling him today, not even close. But his disposal is a worry. - Oliver was certainly training hard. Sprinting passed team mates in drills on the spread. - Garlett's lack of brains with forward pressure continues to annoy me and he's not the only one who seems to switch off as a forward or not quite get the zoning right as a defender. They are working on them and some get it better than others. - Hibberd seems very good across half back at reading the play. - Lewis looks well versed at where to go as a mid. He'll often just sit inside and infront of a target down the line. Today was the most impressed I've been by him. Super sharp quick decisions and kicked well. - Vanders back up forward makes a difference to the work rate both ways, his skills might not be perfect but he works hard - All of the first year draftees were held out of the final match sim but Tim Smith impressed earlier, the tempo doesn't look too fast for him and Keilty took a nice grab and kicked well - Viney makes a noticeable difference to the pressure around the midfield. Players just know they can't run around or through him. Frost was running passed everyone but stopped with Viney. - Brayshaw was heavily involved in several of the drills. His ability to intercept and burst was really noticeable. Some of his kicks were picked off but other times his direct style of play led to getting out the back - Tyson is just better. Faster. Smoother on both feet.

I arrived at 10:00am and took up position on the fence where the players rested before rejoining the action. For that reason quite a bit of what was happening onfield was blocked, but the conversation of the resting players was a real insight to their focus and commitment to the drill. Too much to mention in detail but Gawn, Lewis, Watts and Jones were central to giving feedback and adjusting the tactics to be more competitive. I snapped away with my iPhone, being so close, and I will try to post a few here. In general, the training session was grueling in the already balmy atmosphere. There were many turnovers but I put that down to the growing awareness and application of defensive skills and the clear understanding of the gameplan. The players were going at full pace and the run and spread was exceptional. There were so many standout moments by the regular stars that I will only make mention of those that are on the rise. Oliver is going to take the next step in 2017. In one tackle routine he took on Max, who had no hesitation in thrusting a forearm in Clarrie's face. Oliver hung on like a terrier and Max continued to roughhouse him. Oliver seemed a little pizzed off with this treatment, but he won't take a backward step! Salem is back to his 'smooth-as-silk' best. Brayshaw is set for 22 games plus finals! Petracca will live up to the promise. Prepare to be pleasantly surprised by Johnstone's belief, skill and forward pressure. Oscar is looking sharp, more defined and more confident.

In looking around about the Redlegs i stumbled on this brilliant website. Worth a look if you a footy history fan: http://australianfootball.com/

Btw.keep that heart beating true CBDees

I suppose it all depends where you live . I love them being at Casey only because it is close to home but i agree the wind can be bloody shocking and it would have been smart to take the Glasshouse before Collingwood as we ARE Melbourne but i am not going to moan about being at Casey , only 20 min away and a potential huge supporter base plus i have been going in to the city for 40 years to see the team. its good every now & then to have them conveniently close to home

I think the one you're thinking of is from 2012. I don't think we'd won a game up to that point while Essendon were close to the top of the ladder. We came out and played the scrappiest game of football of all time and somehow found a way to win. I think that was Neeld's first win as coach as well. Maxy didn't play that game either.

I've never agreed with this Casey affiliation. By going that far south the club is turning it's back on 45 % of it's supporter base that wont travel there. Also letting collingwood occupy the centre of Melbourne, where we should be, is a huge tactical error. Surely Port Melbourne is our natural sphere of influence.

I chug a keg in Yarra Park before the game so it's really a non-issue.

He looked like he might be a capable forward in training yesterday. I love the way he moves. He is very mobile for a big man.

You need to give MT64 a bit of slack, he is not as fast as some on a computer and he is worried that the silver emulsion on the pics will stick to his computer screen when he posts them. You also need to remember the photos are in a shoe box and not on a stick just takes time for an old bloke. His memory is pretty good though for things 40 years ago maybe not for last week !

Have any of you considered how long the queue for a beer will become if we crack 45 - 50 K members?

Thats gold... lewis imparting upon Clarry. Good stuff

Agree absolutely- we employ the coach ~ Plapp is on our payroll - and our development coaches are heavily involved on match day.It sounds like a similar structure to the Box Hill Hawks - which is effectively a subsidiary of the Hawthorn FC The Casey name gives a community flavour - at the entrance to Gippsland. The team will wear our Jumper - and the cry will be "Go Dees" Sounds like it's getting very close to the ideal mix Really positive long term development .Well done PJ , again !

Thanks everyone for the run downs of the evening, it's nice to be entering the AGM with hope and positive feelings. Fantastic that PJ has re-signed for another year, I do wonder if he has some kind of exit strategy in place where when he feels it's appropriate he will look at a replacement or grooming a replacement. For now I'm just really happy he's still with us. The Casey announcement was a surprise but one I've felt needed to happen. Prior to PJ and Roosy it felt like we were only half in it with Casey, like they were almost a burden we needed to put up with. The links have since grown a lot stronger and them being rebranded the Casey Demons will hopefully mean more Dees fans feel a tighter connection to them. I don't feel that getting our own stand alone VFL is necessary to our success so for the near future this is the next best thing. The AGM sounds like it was a positive bookend to an improved year all round.

Well Hunt tried to break Jack Watts' leg at training, "I got the ball didn't I" he is looking better than last year I asked both Goody and Macca they want a team that can kick both sides to keep ball going forward, non preferred practice will be staying Col Garland looks in top shape, asked him how he was travelling, first time in four years he is pain free in ankles, able to complete every session Also Trengove trained really well today said he is now able to do whatever he wants on the field without 'worrying' about his body More later, pics are up on Instagram and treat time later Six was there taking heaps of photos

Yes, nothing like sacrificing your face for the back of your neck!

This is a subject that I've thought about a lot over the years and my answer might surprise a few but I think the renaming might be the best thing to happen for the Casey Scorpions Demons. The club originated in Springvale which underwent significant population changes from the 1980s and as such would have struggled to survive at this level had the decision to relocate not been made a decade ago. However, the move to Casey Fields was also problematic because Casey had little identity at the time. The Casey municipality was created in the 1990s as part of Jeff Kennett's overhaul of local councils. It essentially merged two councils - Cranbourne and Berwick and the club found itself located just outside Cranbourne which already had its own strong local club with an identity of its own and some natural resistance to embracing the relocated club. What we've seen in my view at Casey is a club with declining support from the old Springvale following and not enough local support although that should change because the closer residential environment around Casey Fields is growing at a substantial rate. It's good to see that with the new name there will still be recognition and respect for the Springvale tradition while the club moves forward into the future and will continue to foster the game for both men and now women in the area. There will be some old Springvale supporters who are not happy but you have to be realistic and embrace the future. Casey Scorpions set to drop name and jumper and tighten links with Melbourne Demons Ironically, yesterday's announcement came on the same day on which the 2017 fixture was announced with the club shown on it as "Casey" rather than "Casey Scorpions". Perhaps somebody knew?

There's nothing tragic about being a lazy glamour boy. Sylvia proved to everyone he couldn't handle an elite environment when he failed at Fremantle. To think that he may have succeeded in the current development system is just wrong in my opinion.

.....also amazing to see Robby Flower interviewed just at the end of half time......

ANB until he got the bang on the knee this week was looking good Mitch King nearly ready to join main group as noted by others could be anything with size and athleticism Josh Wagner has had a grumbly quad that has taken time to settle Kent after slow first week was looking really good tweaked his calf Filipovic has been restricted to laps mainly post Xmas better idea Dion Johnstone will be keeping Jeff Garlett honest already, my smokey Mitch White another box ticker hasn't missed a session Tommy Mc still the running king will be early Feb before he is back doing contact work Pedo not the running king same shoulder issue as Tommy Mc

Tbh, the most frustrating thing on the night was the simple mistakes. And on the first two drives, it killed us and any hope of getting momentum. The D was pretty good all day and really kept us in it innthe first half before getting tired.

Alongside training reports by the sounds of things it's the most positive AGM in recent memory.

Woohoo. Whilst respecting the history of the Scorps i think this is a prudent move.

PJ - Casey Scorpions to become Casey Demons in 2017 and wear the Melbourne jumper.

Frost is our Gorilla Tamer I would say. He has the power to go with them and the pace to run off them.