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I know Saty is a fan boy. I can read his reports and not need to attack him for his positivity, his enthusiasm or love of his team. I welcome his reports- I get a different insight. If he has stopped posting because the crap he cops to do so, then we are the poorer for it.

To clear up any confusion, I have stopped posting training reports because I got bored with the constant negativity displayed by some posters and decided not to feed them anymore I will continue to post pics on Instagram 2 notes to leave you with Tyson is now pain free in his knees for first time since arriving at the Club and is running his best times Bradtke is there to develop big man agility, Stafford will continue with ruck craft

Swung by for a quick look. It was unbearably hot in the sun. Forwards: Hogan, Pedersen, Fritsch, Bugg, DJ, ANB, JKH Doing some kicking to position and blocking Mids: Huge group with the 3 rucks - Jones, Oliver, Petracca, Brayshaw, Harmes, Balic, Maynard, Tyson, Stretch, Salem, Baker Doing a stoppage and spread drill Backs: Oscar, Frost, Lever, Wagner, Keilty, Lewis, Vince, Jetta Some kicking and also some lightly contested marking or spoiling. Really the focus was on early body work and movement not on the contest Not sighted: Vanders, Viney, Weeds, Hannan, McKenna, J Smith, T Smith, Hunt, Garlett, T Mc, Hibberd, Melksham, Kent, Spargo, Perry Troy Chaplin was coaching the backs. Max Rooke the forwards. Benny Matthews the mids with Egan watching on I believe. Macca and Goody floating around. They broke in to a talls group who practiced contested marking and in close agility and and a couple of groups of smalls who did some kicking work. I left when they started to do running. Looked like Stretch, ANB, Wagner got an icy pole and were excused from the running. Maynard and I think Hogan as well. I think all of the midfield group aside from Balic and maybe Baker went and formed the best running group, plus Vince, Lewis, Jetta, Bugg, JKH. The first few runs looked like a good pace and the groups stayed together.

Aside from one off specials like interviews with Jason Taylor the best thing about Demonland at this time of year is the training reports. I understand that Satyr can rub people up the wrong way but if that’s the case then chuck him on ignore and forget about him. That way those, like me, who want to read his reports can do so and also the Facebook ones too. The more reports the merrier

Mods will be taking a more no tolerance stance when it comes to poster abuse. Particularly when it involves abuse towards those offering a service like training reports. Please use the report function if you witness this behaviour.

Played with a crook toe for the first half of the year. I would be prepared to cut him some slack. I actually think Vince may be one who improves significantly next year. Had a poor year this year but improved towards the end.

Was very interested to see Luke Hodge mic'ed up last year during a match. He spent the entire game barking orders and instructions to all of the players around him. He was constantly organising and positioning his teammates and placing himself between the ball and the next kick. The experience and concentration it would take to do this, in addition to playing you own game, is immense and I would suggest that's what's being asked of Lewis.

Welcome back, Saty, and for that info. Old farts like me wouldn't have a clue what Instagram is, and don't particularly want to know. Please ignore the riff raff and return to feeding the hunger of those of us stuck in such far flung places as the Northern Colonies...! (Andy has your back...!)

Lewis finished equal third in our B&F this year. And, as everyone knows, he missed games through suspension. Had he played in those, I reckon we would've won some of them, especially the Fremantle game, and those games would've translated into more votes. In short, Lewis is not past it. He remains a super important player for us. I will be stunned if he does not (at the very least) play out his entire contract at the Dees i.e. barring serious injury, he will absolutely play next year. Like Hibberd, such a valuable pick up for this list.

Spargo will be a massive addition to us. The main reasons why he dropped down the draft order was due to his height, and shoulder issues. This kid is an absolute jet, I know talent when I see it. Watch him play predominantly forward early in his career, not only kicking goals and applying much needed forward pressure but even taking contested marks (think Jamie Elliott). His vision and kicking are elite also. When he develops more of a tank, will be pressed into the midfield as his delivery inside 50 will be a weapon. Watch this space folks.

Seems to be an element of altruistic superiority amongst some of our forum contributors. Noticed it several times - and it is not even 'black' humour, more like arrogance. Saty writes well and meaningfully. His opinion is respected and contributory.

Is there any player Jason was particularly disappointed another club ‘stole’ ahead of a planned pick? Is there a smokey Jason is most proud of? Which of the draftees does Jason think will be ready for an AFL game next year? Are there any potential future father-son picks Jason is keeping an eye on? Are there any prior year draftees Jason is bullish on making an impact in 2018? Why was adding a ruckman not a priority for the club in the offseason? Do we think King/Filipovic would be ready in the event of a Gawn injury? Should we expect Balic to be a regular in the AFL side? Is Jason tracking other category B rookie possibilities given the recent Maynard and Smith successes? How far ahead of time did Jason determine Oliver was out target for pick 4?

I still would prefer to see Vince play off the half forward line. I think he is more dangerous to opposition in front of our goals.

I read it more as Lewis is too slow for the midfield so will now just sit across half-back and get cheap kicks. That's a role he played for much of 2017 anyway so nothing is really changing.

Agreed - we need a variety of perspectives and points of view, especially with training reports. In addition, sometimes the attitudes of a few can make this a pretty intimidating place for newcomers to post. If we only ever hear from a few 'approved' voices, then we are definitely the poorer for it. But the fact of the matter is, this is an internet fan forum - we are all fanboys (and girls). The fact that there are the 'cool kids' and the 'not cool kids' is bizarre. I love visiting and posting on Demonland, but lets not pretend that anything that goes on here is 'normal' behaviour.

There's only one reason to offload weightbearing for that period of time, and that's bone pathology. Best case is he had a hotspot in his foot (the lead up to a stress fracture), in which case they've taken a very conservative, long term approach, worst case is a frank stress fracture, which spells a lot more trouble. Fingers crossed. The club is being oddly elusive about it.

Yeah and they know where Jessie is at. He averaged only 3 votes out of 10. Hunt - 2.9 votes, Watts - 2.6. Even Clarrie averaged only 6 votes out of 10.

Maybe its to get first dibs on his son Austin - who is supposedly a promising footballer, and Category B rookie list eligible

Hope that drill is meant to be non competitive.

Always have had mixed feelings about Caro. I often read her articles because unlike many of the journos they are well written and provide entertaining reading. She is smart, wily and can write well and is able to analyse an issue. More often than not, her conclusions are highly subjective and reflect the angle she has decided to take. She manipulates the facts to suit her story line. Her articles are usually a mixture of footy politics, personalities, club infighting, disharmony, rumours and scuttlebutt. She rarely writes a positive story unless its about something or somebody she likes. She is opinionated and melodramatic but knows how to write a good article. Hence all the media awards. I give her credit for her attack on some holy cows and for not backing down to personal attack. Her scathing criticism of the EFC and James Hird is the best example over recent years. Compare that to the journos of other media outlets that helped run the EFC PR campaign and Hird defence. Yet she is full of prejudices and biases that influence her articles, reduce her objectivity and make one query the truth of what she writes about. As Nutbean pointed out, her articles are a mixture of fact and fiction but with a strong angle or story line that can produce a conclusion that is debatable, overblown and sometimes unfair. Anyway, it sounds like she is going to continue to write weekly articles so she will continue to provoke comment and argument. I have no doubt that she will dredge up dirt on Goodwin or the MFC if we have a poor 2018.

Apparently before a big session one of the boys will get up in front of everyone (changes each week) and give an inspirational quote or something to get everyone fired up In this instance however, ANB reportedly decedied to freestyle a song, which a few boys joined in on Just a bit of fun before the hard stuff

http://m.melbournefc.com.au/news/2017-11-29/eight-new-guernsey-holders-for-2018 My info was solid except the Baker/Petty mistake

2017* and there's some truth in this. The AFL app actually had Lewis as one of our hardest attacking runners so he was constantly working to get in to space, but clearly his defensive running was badly lacking. I like the idea of him setting up the defenders, especially if he's got 3 weapons in Lever, Hunt and Hibberd to work with across half back. It probably means Salem and Brayshaw in particular have to get super fit so they can play midfield and rotate forward if Lewis gets the half back role.

Looking at his size beside Gawnie, I'd suggest we add him to the playing list and make him 1st Ruck...!!

Another great interview boys. Demonland podcast is the best form of MFC media. I thought Taylor's comments on Petty were a bit ambiguous. He said if there is "a jet" available at your pick you need to take them but otherwise player type and list needs comes into it. he started realing off all the similar player types to Petty as if we had a surplus and therefore had to take Petty because we rate him as a jet. Then he seemed to play it down and say we needed that type of player. Did anyone else read it like that?

I'm just excited that we've got some terrific young talls on our list who can develop over the next 2-3 years and potentially play plenty of games together in our backline. It's bloody great stuff!

In the grand scheme of things I think that can be forgiven - you were right on the money, mate. Cheers for the info. Harmes taking the #4 guernsey is a big ball - I like his confidence in asking for it and backing himself in, but there will be some pressure that comes with it. Hopefully he can rise to that.

Gebus he is a big unit?! Look at how small the pill looks in his hand.

Mark Bradke (former basketballer) is now an assistant ruck coach at Melbourne according to a photo on Twitter by Wayne Ludbey. https://twitter.com/WLudbey/status/935704472080154624

Warner??? The bloke that said ASADA was 0 for 400 in the first innings in their case against Essendon? Yep he's a gun.

If highlight reels were worthless recruiters wouldn't pore over them for hours. And yes, they watch them countless times live, speak to coaches, family, conduct interviews, etc. Petty was drafted earlier than Oscar; Petty was named most valuable player for his state in the under 18 carnival; Petty was named in the under 18 AA team (Oscar didn't make it). I don't think it's a stretch to say that Petty has a higher ceiling than Oscar. I think Petty, Oscar and Lever will be able to team well together in 2-3 years.

That is the face of social media too many wa@kers, posters attack him because many have a set view on certain players and if you say something postive about that player then they have to put down that positivity.

Luxury.

Oh, Ron will be happy ... one of our own, at No.31

How hard is it to specify what the [censored] injury is? Seriously?

MFCSS coming out already. From years of watching training, every week not in full training after Christmas is a week less for start of the season. For a mid who can't get in the running miles done in the pre-season, it affects their endurance come the real game.

Well done DL, that's another great landing - keep it up!

Was Round 23 our Red Wedding? Too soon?

'Summer lovin, had me a blast'???

You are. But that’s cool.

Agree, who knows maybe James Harmes wore #4 regularly as a junior , maybe it's his lucky number , maybe he thinks he can run faster with less weight on his back Who cares - good on him for asking and thank goodness we didn't leave it vacant in some pathetic gesture to honour the departure of someone who is no longer on our list I for one think Harmes can be a regular member of a very competitive football team - don't remember not putting in when it was his time to go - hope he has a blinder of a season

That makes sense I was unsure about who was 33 and who was 35 so I just went by draft order, but the rest as far as my info goes should be right

She's had her moments but I'm not sure she's as biased as some are making out here. Mostly gave it to those who deserved it, without fear or favour. That said, she was very heavily a politics in football writer and that was her strong suit. Personally I'm not sure the political side of the game deserved as much coverage as it got and therefore you had regular articles that were based on rumour or opinion pieces. There were times that the game went through great scandals and drama that required heavy coverage but a lot of the time I felt like Caro could've held out for the bigger stories. Clearly she had fantastic sources in the Essendon saga, maybe a bit too fantastic. Jake Niall will make a good head football writer because he has the understanding and interest in all facets of footy - politics, business, trades, drafts, scandals and most importantly in the actual games themselves with a nice mix of new age and old school break downs of games.

I got a letter re. AFL Membership that gave me a few weeks notice regarding automatic renewal. Debits start this week i believe.

My MFCSS Pavlovian conditioning: Minor delay reported on a return from foot injury during early pre-season = Persistent feelings of deep unease characterised by sharper periods of anguish, anger, despair and self-pity prior to a settled recurrent state of weary fatalistic acceptance.

I don't have work till 2pm Friday so I'll be there then do a write up when I get home

These highlights might have been posted earlier.

Could we compare Spargo to Sandilands? I have free time this weekend.