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Turned up before 11 to catch 45 minutes or so. Rehab group: Tim Smith doing laps Joel Smith, Flippers, Hannan, McKenna and Tom McDonald with some simple handball drills, kick to kick and then some running. I'd say these 5 are all pretty advanced and just being taken along slowly after injuries. Hannan looks noticeably stronger - couldn't do weights after shoulder surgery before he was drafted. He looked very sharp in an in close handball weaving drill. McKenna another who looks to have done plenty in the gym. Lovely kick on both sides as well The main group were doing a bit of 3/4 ground ball movement, seemed to be about 8 on 9. 4 down back, 3 in the middle, 1 or 2 up forward and just moving the ball to score. As noted a couple of nice Brayshaw kicks were the highlights. Mitch King is another looking much stronger. Still has a bit of puppy fat to trim off his middle but that's probably the price to pay for getting extra bulk in the offseason. His running was decent and he took a nice leap at one stage. Keilty was walking laps around the oval as the main grouped trained. Looked a bit under the weather. Later joined in some of the running. Mainly Max, King and Keilty were in their own big man running group. The rest did runs first in shorter sprints and then some longer laps. Gus and Harmes led the boys off with ANB given something to chase, sometimes he got them, sometimes they were ahead. Rough order after that of Hunt, Salem, Stretch, Wagner, JKH, Oliver then not far back to Tracc, Frost, Vince, Oscar, Maynard, DJ and Balic usually towards the end. In the shorter runs they were all pretty well keeping up. In the longer runs Balic was with King and DJ and they were pushing each other along. ANB made a gap from a tight bunch with Tracc and JKH a little from the back in the longer main group. Around then Weids came out with the boxing coach I think and walked a lap before heading off again and that's about when I left. Takeways: - Good to have Max and Tom back on deck with both looking all clear from injuries - Salem looking strong and running towards the front - Hannan looking stronger - 18 or so in full training and another 5 doing a fair bit in rehab

So many of the great features of the game are gone. The features that made our game unique. The bounce is a wonderful thing that helps to make our game what it is. How exciting to see that first bounce of the day and to a slightly lesser extent the bounce at the beginning of each quarter. To see this replaced by a limp throw-up that hardly goes above the umpires head will be sad thing to witness. It will be a tragedy to see it go, and once it goes, it will never come back. It is unbelievable how our game is being systematically ruined. Just think of all those things that have changed, eliminated or disappeared due to the misguided attitude that the changes are for the better of the game. If anyone thinks it is for the better, you have rocks in your head. The bounce is unique, it is an iconic part of the game that tells you "ladies and gentlemen we have a contest on our hands", and we see two ruck man going head for head. God help me. God help the game.

Matt Balmer of AFL Draft Central has done us Demon fans a favour with his Final AFL Draft Power Rankings Part 1. The reason for that is he’s running down from 50 to 1 with this first lot therefore covering players ranked 26 to 50 which covers the range of all four MFC draft selections in 2017. I will link the less important ? power rankings when they come out next week.

No, he did it properly last time so rehab is all about ensuring it doesn't happen again only a week away from joining in

Re Maxie's ripping body. Many years ago, a St Kilda goal sneak named Lockett got fit and lost weight. Like Samson losing his hair, Lockett lost his strength and was a lesser player. If Maxie is to become ripped, then he should rely on his height, leap, speed and tank to dominate his opposition. Engaging in wrestling matches could see him rapidly becoming less effective. This was Jeff White's undoing.

Oh we won't be talking to you on the same phone as Jako. That phone has been retired and is in a hermetically sealed case.

The word from out at Casey is that recently retired MFC 141 gamer Colin Garland who will have coaching roles with the club’s AFLW and VFLW teams in 2018 could also turn out during the season with the Casey Demons. Delisted rookie Mitch White is also said to be a likely recruit. With the axing of the Development League, the Casey Demons’ VFL list will be reduced significantly. One player off to the Frankston Dolphins for their return season to the VFL is Jake Lovett.

I have been watching our game, aussie rules footy, for over 60 years and I will lament the loss of the bounce as a further unique feature of our beloved game is abandoned in the pursuit of some supposed benefit. One of the most endearing features of our game (and note to the AFL - the game it belongs to us, the people, not them) has always been it's unpredictability arising from the bounce of an oval ball. Umpires throwing a ball in the air removes that wonderful element of our game. For those who can, go back in time and watch replays of the game as it was played in the 80s. Not much slower and umpires were quick to blow the whistle when the ball was contested and bounce the ball before packs formed. The game was speeded up without the ugly rugby mauls and reluctance to blow the whistle. If it must be, then let's at least ensure that the umpires learn to throw the ball for the benefit of the game. Straight up and with some decent height so that the ruckmen have a chance to run at the contest, not just stand still and engage in an ugly wrestle. Many of the ball ups this year were little dinky throws at odd angles. Bounces were straighter and higher. I want to see Maxie jump over the top of his rivals. I fear for our beloved and beautiful game.

Milan is a wonderful city and the stadium has tours and a museum. I was there in August but it was just too hot. The club websites are well used to foreign ticket enquiries so that could be a good place to start. You may find the big clubs have a local supporters club in Australia which could also be a great source of leads. Sounds like a great trip. Don't forget the Lords cricket museum. Not very big but some very special exhibits.

Hardly...the game is more congested than ever. Throwing the ball up is too predictable and all you do is get numbers around the contest. Go back to bouncing around the ground and let the game go...less predictability and less packs.

heard he failed a mindfulness test, but keep it under your hat

It's only a matter of time before we start using a round ball. The end is nigh...

He stuffed our recruiting moved to Richmond and stuffed theirs, GWS should be celebrating that he has gone.

Colin Garland is what footy ought a be about. Have we had any better a clubman, then Garlo? Takes the train to the footy. just a great fella I reckon. A real community spirited person imo.

Great to have your input again this off-season DeeS. Really appreciate it!

Balic was there today for the person that asked, seemed to be doing it a little tough with all the running but kept going. Was only there for the second half of training but was interestingly to see the varying fitness levels of the players, some as mentioned like Nibbler were just smashing it but then many others plodding along toward the end of the session and really doing it tough like Petracca and Oliver, and Oscar Mac just kinda cruising a little at the rear. But yes, context required, it is November I know Tommy Mac and I think Josh Smith were doing lots of running and looking pretty good, Tommy post the ankle issues seemed to be travelling well. As for Max well yes he sure was looking sharp and very trim, my only isssue with this is that yes it will certainly enable him to get to many many contests in a game but he seemed to be pushed off the ball in the contest quite easily at times last year as he doesn’t really have the bulk and perhaps strength of some of the other bigger ruckman, just my thoughts though. Anyway, a lovely morning to be outside and having a look at our boys.

From the Facebook page: Training Report #2 A.K.A the Max Gawn show It’s Max Gawn’s world. We’re just living in it. I turned up 40 minutes late to training, kept guessing by the inability of the open training times page to load. Feel like I don’t miss a lot though. Guessing I would have missed stretches, warm-ups and a kicking drill here and there, so that’s okay. What does happen when I show up is I have a shocked expression on my face. There’s about 26 players here but the quality of those has improved on last week. For instance, Maxy Gawn is here after a trip to New Orleans, Dom Tyson makes an appearance, as does Tom McDonald. For a large part of the session, Tyson and McDonald are rehabbing, doing a lot of running drills. Gawn, however, joins in with the main group on occasion. More on his progress later. First part of business when I get here is the group put in some quick drills when they run in twos. For instance, you’d see Brayshaw and Harmes running together (and looking good), while Harley Balic is improving. The vibe is much more competitive than last week. They’re after good times. This was only brief – a lot of focus, interestingly enough, was on ball skills this morning. After that, the Dees set up a full ground drill. One group working on stoppage work here and there, another small group trying to take marks from a kick up forward. Gus is one of the players up forward (interestingly enough – he spends plenty of time as a forward in these drills) and looks okay again. Clearly the drill is of good quality judging by the applause at the end. After that is quite a red-hot drill – a full-grounder which almost resembles an intraclub at times. The primary focus is ball movement here. It’s also here where Maxy captures the eye for the first time. Bit of a footnote – there’s a piece on the SEN Facebook page with Tim Watson talking about Maxy and how fit he is. He reckons he’s in as good a shape as you’ll ever see from a ruckman. From what I saw out there – he’s pretty close to the mark. Not only is he looking VERY trim, but he’s also moving incredibly well. It’s probably characterised by Maxy taking advantage of an intercepted ball from a teammate, then setting up another with a brilliant handball which eventually finds its way to Petracca who kicks a ‘goal’ in this drill. The prowess of the other ruckman in this side – Mitch King – is also going swimmingly. This is realistically one of his first chances to show the Dees how far he’s come post-ACL and the evidence looks pretty good. Kingy clunks a contested mark over Hunt – not overly impressive on paper but the method of his madness looks extremely impressive – hitting the ball at speed, and holding on to it while his body is at all these different contorted angles… if that makes any sense. Anyway, it’s impressive. He might get game time this season. In fact, he probably will with our ruck situation. The other bloke who impresses me with his field kicking is – again – Angus Brayshaw. Playing as a forward in this drill (as mentioned), Gussy finds space to get a couple of marks after some good ball movement. First kick – absolutely threads the eye of the needle, perfectly weighted to (I think) Maynard who is running back towards goal, going over a defender in the process. It’s an excellent kick. Just to rub it in a bit, Brayshaw then gets another kick. Same spot, same method, rolls around quickly, looks again and takes even more risks with this kick. Again, it’s spot on, except it’s dropped this time around. Seriously, this kid is legit this time around. The boys then revert back to the two-by-two running drills. Gawn, Tyson, McDonald are doing separate running activities. At this point, Gawny has his shirt off, almost as if he genuinely wants to rub in how good a shape he’s in. Honestly don’t blame him. Again, Brayshaw and Harmes are constantly up the front. Good areas. After that, the Dees decide it’s time to do some set shots. The change up has been intriguing. All eyes on Gus as one proclaims ‘safe as houses Gussy’. He doesn’t let them down. In the meantime, Trac is cracking it after every snap shot he does, dropping quite a few f-bombs here and there. That’s November for you. More running to finish off – this time it’s more in the form of set time running – they’ll start off with a two-minute run, followed by 90 seconds, one minute and then a very quick run at the end. Again, Nibs looks good. He’s constantly up the front. This time, Maynard is also setting a very good place, sticking with Nibs most of the way. Billy Stretch looks good too, again. What startles me during the last run, however, is Maxy – randomly joining in – and keeping a very good pace with Nibs and Maynard. I’m shook. It’s just one session but that was a hell of a statement sesh from Gawny. He wants his All-Australian spot back. You can tell. Training finished up after that. A rather quick one this time around, but quite a spirited one. I might be able to make my way down on Friday. Let’s see how that goes.

I'm going to be in Melbourne from Thursday, heading back to Sydney on Monday evening... so I will post some photos of both the Friday 17th and Monday 20th sessions to a Facebook album and put a link in here once done. Does anyone know if Jake Lever and Harley Balic will be training on either of those days? I'm hoping to get a jersey and have it signed for my son to help with the mental side of his knee reco recovery - I know he would dearly love to see Lever's autograph on there as he's already achieved the status of favourite Dees player

My initial post was could mindfulness help our consistency within games and from week to week. As it seemed from the article to have made a significant difference to the Tiggers! Maybe, maybe not but well worth investigating. If we could consistently repeat mid 2nd quarter - end match performance vs Crows away, finals here come! I would also be interested in threads on: 1. How do we improve our backline 2. How do we improve our forward line 3. Suggestions on changing our gameplan There are a lot of supporters on Demonland who seem very astute observers of the game, and get to see the Demons play every game and train. As someone who gets to about 5 games a year and maybe sees another 5 on TV, Demonland contributors help round out my understanding of our team.

Does that Shiraz have a cork requiring a corkscrew procedure or is it a Spalvins cap pandering to soft corkers?

Well this idea of scrapping the bounce is bullshite. It's a quirky part of our game that should be sacrosanct. [censored] me, umpires are getting sore backs! Well find another [censored] job! Teachers get mentally [censored] up from dealing with out of control kids. What are they told? It's your fault for not engaging the little [censored] heads -FMD! Plumbers get sore backs! Furniture removalists get sore backs! Well let's not move house. What a soft [censored] society we have become! [censored] , I hope my heart surgeon doesn't feint from the site of blood and walk of the job. Have a designated bouncer or make being able to bounce a condition of employment. Stop pandering to soft [censored]. Next thing we'll have to stop throw ins because boundary umps are overextending their elbows! [censored] me! I'm going to open another shiraz.

No..No we are the Melbourne FOOTBALL Club. We exist for no other reason, it is enshrined in our Constitution. "...preserving and fostering the ideals and traditions of the AFL ...promoting the playing of Australian Rules football in general, including maintaining, providing, supporting and controlling a team or teams of footballers to compete in the AFL competition.....or any other football competition." No mention of basketball, netball or anything else. Leave that to Eddie who thinks he can attract followers of netball to a completely different sport while spending bucketloads of football supporters money to do so. Stick to our knitting.

Some people will do anything to eliminate Big Max's influence. Why not just toss the ball to a Demon's opponent? That is what happens in the Port Adelaide forward line, regularly.

No. No. No. And no again. I love our dees, and only our dees, and could not care less about the other sports and the other teams. In such a group we will lose our identity and be forced to feign an interest in inferior sports. No. No. No. And no again.

I caught some of the Switzerland - Nth Ireland match in Basel the other night and the pitch there was as bad as the one in Honduras. Hard to fathom in this day and age, especially in Europe. The North London Derby is on this weekend at the very respectable time of 11.30pm Saturday night on SBS. Incredibly, Optus have got yet another free trial going, which means at least half of the season to date has been a give-away. I'm actually weighing up a quick, bucket list soccer trip to Europe in the new year. I figure with Spurs playing at Wembley this season, it will never be so easy to see them live again. Would try to go to matches at San Siro and the Camp Nou while I'm over there. Anyone done such a trip and have any advice?

Yep, if we had the likes of Viduka, Kewell & a 26 year old Cahill, we wouldn't have to concern ourselves with a do or die clash with Honduras. Italy have just found out the hard way that in order to win, you have to score goals. To be kept goalless for 2 games against Sweden is unacceptable for a powerhouse like the Azzurri. And we need to score early tomorrow night ... the good news is that that is entirely possible with the way the team is coached and with Cahill back. Leckie returning is a huge plus as well. It's all to play for DJ. I want to see the team go at Honduras, especially early. If we don't, we're asking for trouble.

The point is that an iconic part of our game is going to get thrown into the rubbish bin. I think it will be sad to see the bounce go and for all I care the officianados changing the rules of our game can get knotted.

A lot of overreaction if you ask me. It's bounced in the middle at the commencement of qtr's and after a goal is scored. All the other stoppages ball-ups far outweigh the bounce-downs. I think by the sounds of it Jeff White might've been over-processing it by quite a margin too.

A good reason to keep it if you ask me...

Max must have had a bigger impression than we thought, poor b.....

Ours is the only game in the world that requires a match official to execute a difficult skill to begin proceedings. Get rid of it and nobody will even notice the difference.

No bounce No 3rd man up No straight arm block (recall the 'Max Tax' - 5 frees vs Saints) So, very little tactical nouse required by ruckman these days! Days of the great ruck duels are numbered...as Jeff White said: Sad... Wish they would leave the game alone!

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2017/11/13/gaz's-demons-training-report-who-were-his-standouts/ “The first to fourth year players were doing their 200 metre runs,” Lyon said. “Angus Brayshaw and Alex Neal-Bullen were the two standouts, along with Jayden Hunt. Christian Petracca looked good, but by the very last one he had the tongue out. They all looked really fine. “Clayton Oliver has come back in good shape, he is flying around. Corey Maynard, I keep telling you, he is the one. He is powerful and had a ripping VFL finals. He will be there. “Harley Balic was there running around, he didn’t look as fit as the other couple, but he looked fine. He is still finding his way in the caper.”

One disaster to another...

Fully agree - particularly with Jack Watts' contribution to our side and the aspirations of the coaching panels. Sometimes I think these two things were in conflict, given the changing nature of our coaching panels across the last 12 years or so. Watts was close to being the most skillful forward around and given a team with genuine momentum, would have ideally suited the emerging Demons in all regards, and now, must adapt (yet again) to another, alien set of coaches and teammates, considerable egos and anxieties. Boy, I would still like to see Jack in Attack Watts with the Demons, in our best 22. Particularly now that there are signs of smarter, more quick thinking young players making progress with a defined development. The speed of Watts' thinking and execution were always highly regarded on-field and supported by his great team play, and was often too quick for 'developing' players. Thank heavens for a duplicate quick thinker and mover - Clarry - who added great similarities in play-making to the team as Watts tried to do for so many seasons. I really think that Nathan Jones was the only other player who could 'read' what Watts was doing, could do and often did in attack. Pedo was on to it as well, whenever he had 'game time' . Watts' legacy will last for years at our club. We are going to miss him as a footballing asset, not just as a sentimental 'favourite' battered from pillar to post.

Thank you, and it would be an honour to tread the same stage as Jako.

Even in this draft, Hamish still feels like one for the rookie draft. Probably doesn't have the tricks to compensate for his lack of pace at the highest level. Has a big body, is competitive and can win his own ball (was an over ager this year), is handy overhead, but haven't seen the standout trait that puts him ahead of others I think would be available at 47.

Cameron loves swapping clubs. Melbourne, Richmond, GWS, Gold Coast, a stint in horse racing.

ANB.

In fairness it was bloody hot today.

Pedo is one of our best and certainly, most reliable, when needed. He lifts, and lifts, and lifts. The Weed worries me. With a great heritage and all the physical attributes (other than those for which he must be working out in the gym every day) to further his skills set and endeavour. It is as if he cannot read the play and if he does, he does nothing about it. The great Ox and even Lyon should be taking him aside after team training and working on him - teaching him - motivating him - and supervising his pre-season very closely, as two individual coaches working together from their experience(s) to bring this possibly great young player to some modicum of importance to our side with a role and a potential to excel. What'cha reckon, guys?

I suppose we define "excitement" differently, but for me R. Flower was it. During some very dark days for the MFC, I only went to the footy to watch Robbie. If he was out injured, I went to the boozer. We were getting flogged more often than not but you just knew Robbie would produce something that would make you stand proud as a Demons supporter and even draw admiration from the oppo. He might take the ball and run and bounce - excitement. He might beat an opponent (or two ) in a contest. - excitement He might take a beautifully timed mark and then goal - excitement He could do it all. For me, Robbie Flower was unforgettable.

Friend of mine thinks with the addition of these discards, they are going to have one Hell of a SANFL side.

This never gets old ...

Except for Schwarz, Jakovich, Woewodin, T Johnstone, Bennett and Wight...

A little out of date Earl. I should update my bio, but I don't want to give my cover away. For that reason, I avoid Facebook, Linked In and all those other sites for pretenders and boasters. In that case, why do I post on this site? I find myself surrounded by a bunch of amiable folks who share a passion whilst at the same time share their eccentricities. . Sure there are the the boasters, the self-opinionated, the egotists, the argumentative, the grumpy, the depressed, the whingers, the crazy optimists, the dwellers of the cellars of the past, and indeed ,the psychotic, but overall a like able bunch of ratbags. I have found it much easier to pretend that I someone else to avoid editors, revengeful women, drinkers, no-hopers, pretenders, neo- fascists, last ditch commos and simply those who want to do me harm. One day we will run into one another and I will buy you a lemon squash.

Taken from a post on Facebook: Jack Viney, the consummate professional that he is, is here. I wouldn’t blame the bloke if he wanted to go overseas for a bit and enjoy some time off. However, he looks like he’s a man on a mission as he walks into the café. Gave away the game by deciding he’s wearing shorts and wants to get rehab off to a strong start. Likewise, Cam Pedersen and Dean Kent show up. Full kit training gear, maybe doing their own thing but also maybe training. Can’t confirm as yet. After an hour – boys finally make their way over. Little media here so if something happens I’ll be breaking it. Good areas, personally. Park myself at centre wing for this one, might go over elsewhere and keep looking for more spots. Here today: Hunt, Hannan, ANB, Harmes, Oscar, Stretch, Clarry (third season, remember???), JKH, Johnstone, Balic, Maynard, Keilty, Brayshaw, J Smith, McKenna, T Smith, Vandenberg, Weideman, Petracca, King, Salem, Filopovic, Wagner, Frost The absolute photography king, Wayne Ludbey, is here taking photos. He’s the main source of media right now. Few run-throughs to kick things off. Petracca and Brayshaw leading one group through, Balic and Nibbler leading another. There’s three separate groups here. One is doing handball drills on the Swan Street end, a small group of six (including Hunt, Hannan (I think) and J Smith) are seemingly doing light running drills, whereas there is also a main group consisting of roughly 15 or 16 players. Run-throughs decidedly light as I kinda expected. Can only imagine the slog this pre-season will be like this year to be honest with the way we finished off 2017. Main group doing running straight away. It’s not a pace that takes down the surrounds of the Coles Express across the road just yet and the reason for that is the boys are running more than just one lap. Early going has Nibbler leading the way from Stretch and Oliver, however the latter starts to fall behind a little bit after one lap. JKH assumes third, while Frost brings up the rear of the field, falling away a little bit behind the rest of the group. Nibbler is motoring. Third lap of the oval and he has a solid 20m gap on Stretch. The gap that covers the players by the end of the second lap is roughly 80 metres. Harley Balic is second last in this field, locked behind Keilty and King, who’s about 15 metres further up the ground. Four laps of the ground done. Nibbler looks super impressive with his running pattern – something to monitor throughout pre-season, absolutely smacking the field. Footballs are out. Let’s see who has the most capability here to genuinely bring down the entire state of the houses around the Richmond area. First drill is a casual kick around drill which lasts around two minutes, and then the boys go into a zig-zag formation in two groups. One group is doing slightly different work – the one nearest to me actually screws up the drill on the first kick which is… yeah. Lot of kicks from here which are short, which is what you kinda expect at this time of season considering that they haven’t picked up a footy for a little while. Just getting the rust out by the looks of things. Crossy working the rehab group pretty hard. Likes of Hunt and Hannan getting their monies’ worth with the footy. In the main group, there’s a lot of faster, frentic ball movement going on. Most players are spending not much more than half a second with ball in hand. The patter is literally mark/pick the ball up and use it, either by hands or by foot. Few contest-based drills in front. One thing that’s noticeable (perhaps because of the matchup) is Gussy’s upper-body strength matched up on Harmes. If he doesn’t win the footy, he’s making it hard for Harmes to win it. Another group is doing some loose-ball get work, while the group on the far side of the ground are doing contests while the ball is on the ground… if what I said just makes sense. Think the most pleasing thing – even if it is only the first session – is seeing Gussy just be so clean every time the ball is around. Looks composed and looks ready to make a point about making 2018 his year after such a tough run. I think every Melbourne supporter wants to see him not only be on the park consistently, but put in a huge season as well. I expect him to play off half-back at the moment, be a bit of a ball carrier and creator, while also pushing Hunt a bit further up the ground. That’s my expectation, anyway. Next up, boys swap their footy boots for running shoes again. In one group – Nibs, Stretch, JKH, Clarry, Maynard and Gus; in another – Pedersen, Keilty, Kent, Oscar, Frost, King; in the third group, Harmes, Salem, Trac, Johnstone, Balic, Wagner. Meantime, rehab group currently consists of Hunt, McKenna and Smith doing some reasonably-paced running, while Filipovic is doing some work up forward along with Hannan. Mitchy seems to have had a bit of a change of hair colour since our last correspondence in Round 22 (let’s be honest here). Yet again Nibs looking very good in the running drills, constantly leading the way. Something to keep in mind a bit later on, especially if he has a good pre-season.

Both GWS and Adelaide played the flanks and gave Richmond the corridor. The traditional forward delivery to the pocket seems to be the easiest to zone against as it allows the ball to be taken out of bounds as well as rebounded. Of course the empty forward line also slows delivery which does not help the traditional forward. Will be interesting to see if the traditional teams change their game plan to counter the scrum or as I call it helter skelter. Would love to see a permanent forward about 70 metres out from goal trialled.

I think the only thing you’ve botched is saying Pedersen isn’t starting 22. He is ?% starting 22. Hands are as good as Hogan’s reliable Kick has a massive tank and can play ruck. Hope he starts rd1 and makes Weiderman warm his spot. If the Weid starts rd1 on potential again I’ll be annoyed.