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Just a couple of quick notes from training today Oscar Mac is now a healthy 99kg and is working on core strength, from the player Standout in running today that involved Trac, Clarry, Gus, Tyson, in other words the younger mids. was Salem Hogan was again a standout as was Vince, anybody who thinks Bern is just going to go quietly is mistaken Lewis' left foot is a thing of beauty Lot of craft drills today, including an interesting one where they were torping in from the square and the forwards were attempting to mark Viney was out in the fresh air today Kent is back with main group and looking really fit Pics on Insta later if Mr Demonland wants to move them over And the younger players are not involved in a boot camp, from Mr Mahoney, and the boot camp last year is showing the benefits this year

Main Points: * Will play forward in 2018 * Is currently in Rehab * Not dwelling on 2017 and moving on to 2018 * Brendan McCartney in charge of defence now. * Good impression of Jake Lever. Strong trainer, using voice from beginning. * New Kids - Charlie Spargo - nippy little small forward. in rehab and going well. Beautiful kick of the footy. Diligent hard working.

The constant negativity on here is one reason I feel like not posting again, whilst I can understand some of the angst, it is December, it is a new season, it is at least 2 months before we fire a shot in anger Read the reports, look at the photos, let's revisit Oscar, the fwd line, the game plan say around Rd 6, then we will have some data to go on At the moment, nearly all the squad hopefully will be ready to go Rd1, competition for spots will be ferocious, Goody does not play favourites From what I have seen at training, we will have a team of versatile men who can run all day and the skills are getting better each session

I suggested that this may turn out to be the case before the beginning of last season. A late starter with plenty of time off for injuries who has been improving year on year in the red and blue. It's worth also noting that he didn't face any injury concerns last year after surgery in the off-season (and a heavy senior work-load), and it seems (according to the training reports and photos) that he's reaching peak physical condition for the first time in his career - whether that's due to greater commitment, a longer, sustained period out of rehab, or, the re-modelling of his body shape (though probably a combination of each). On that last point, I find it highly intriguing that all of Hogan, Gawn and Pedders (our three primary talls beyond the defence - although it should be remembered that Pedo is only 193cm) have returned in a similar shape, slimmed-down but ultra-toned and fit - to me, a clear club directive and an obvious effort to increase their mobility and agility. The recruitment of Mark Bradtke only adds to the intrigue, and I get the sense that all three are being transformed into uber-utilities according to some new master-plan. Posters are rightly questioning the top-heavy nature of a forward-line containing all of Hogan, Tmac - who is perhaps already a model for the new body shapes of above (but could do with some extra agility - specifically in relation to his turning circle and reaction times) - and Pedo, with the latter slipping out of projected contention due to I think historical prejudice and the real-life fact that he doesn't kick enough goals as a permanent forward. Yet, he really did impact last year, and I can't see us throwing that potential away. But with Watts's departure, it clears the way for a bit of a rethink, and I've argued previously that we have an odd mix of small-to- mediums who play a bit taller, and talls who in effect lean toward the medium side. Pedo at the moment is the only one who I think can play tall tall up front (outside of Max when he shifts forward), as in can take a genuine pack-park and really out-muscle opponents, as well as also being the best of Hogan, Tomald and himself as regards to agility and applying forward pressure. It makes for an interesting mix. Right now I foresee Gawn and Pedo interchanging ruck and FF duties, Hogan and Pedo mixing it up in CHF/roaming wing roles, and Tmac in a leading-marking Jack Gunston role as a medium-forward (hopefully maintaining his goal-kicking accuracy from last season), taking on Watt's role somewhat as the third mobile tall (with the mids and HHF's inc. Salem to take up the slack and more responsibility in terms of delivery). But then how do you fit in the rest of our mediums and mid-forwards in the forward-line minus Garlett's slot as the only true pocket?

McGuane's prediction for us to make finals is a no brainer! Incremental improvement will happen from our talent, another preseason and increased experience of young guys in their 4th+ year. So the proverbial 'drover's dog' can get us into the finals. Simply scraping into the finals won't be enough to call the year a success, imv - as I said a 'drover's dog' will get us there. We need to achieve a quantum improvement and finish in or just outside the 4 and win at least one final. I hear people talk injuries. Yes, teams need luck with injury to win the GF but they aren't an excuse for not making the quantum improvement into the finals next year as we have an excellent top 30 which gives us plenty of depth. The want by players will determine how far we go.

Hopefully no bricks involved.

Should've made the finals relatively easily this year so just making them next year doesn't thrill me much. Sixth with one finals win is a bare pass for me.

A boot camp is something you do once, keep doing it and the players 'relax' into it, knowing Goody and Macca they will have something 'unpleasant 'to replace it?

I was at the SCG that day, and will never forget it. Schwarta, Stinger and Stormboy (Charles), all outstanding, and all had their careers cruelled by injury. Cost us a flag I reckon. After the game Mrs Deeoldfart, myself and our three kids were in a bus full of very forlorn Sydney fans returning to Central Station. Five of us up the back singing the Grand Old Flag with gusto. Fond memories. Please excuse the nostalgia.

Oh no, looks like Lever can’t hold his feet.. Thanks for the photos and training reports, much appreciated.

Thanks Saty great stuff Just to clarify the younger/new players are on a 'getting to know each other' camp, last year they went to Adelaide and went fishing and swimming with sharks and things This year they've just gone out bush somewhere to do some fun stuff

In short, some of your "sick feeling" and concerns are based on one contest on a video clip ?

I must have missed this "footage" of Oscar's training drill failure vs Lever. The footage I saw looked like a positioning drill more than a true one-on-one contest.

Many would probably prefer Weid over Pedo, if and when he is ready, but I agree with those who think ‘gifting’ him games early 2017 was a mistake and may have cost us a game or so, thus finals. I hold out high hopes for him.

Who says his claims are "easily dismissed" ? U either have a preference for a structure, depending on matchups and injury, or you don't. There's no way I'm playing all of Gawn, Tom McDonald, Hogan, and Pedersen through the forward line. It won't be a structure Goodwin wants. Pedersen misses for me. I'd also preference Weideman over Pedersen because he's the future. His body hasn't been strong enough to compete at AFL level, but hopefully it will be after this preseason. But it's up to Pedersen. If his form demands selection it will be hard to overlook him. My money won't be on him lining up in round one if we have a full list to choose from. It's not "personal".

They might do some training on Gosch's but its not technically 'Open' since they havent advertised it. The young/new players are also away on a 3 day camping/getting to know each other trip out the bush somewhere, so it won't be a big session.

Jeez you guys are a bunch of haters. Loved watching the Ox. I like listening to his opinion but take it as just that. An opinion from one individual. I don't always agree.

Mostly with the backs from the sessions I have attended, the other interesting one is Salem, exclusively with the mids

I would suggest a little unfair to say he wasted his career. He was flying high before his multiple knee reconstructions and was still serviceable in between. Unfair also to deflect into his personal problems. If he kept his knees in good shape he would have been arguably better than Wayne Carey and we know about his personal issues. He was the best Melbourne player I have witnessed pre injuries. He was the type of player that if fully fit could have delivered us premierships.

I'd be talking to amazon

It is a training report thread, it is the only topic I am posting in, the rest degenerate into slanging matches and negativity If anybody wants to whinge and whine do it in one of those, let the rest of the readers read them in peace @DeeSpencer puts a lot of effort into his reports, read and enjoy, that's what I do and I am at the same sessions

A "quantum" of anything is the smallest possible unit of that thing, so I think we should be aiming for a bit more than that.

The Weideman one is interesting. I hope we're at the stage where we are focusing on wins now instead of a continual preparation for the future. If Weideman earns his spot through good performances at Casey and maintains it through good performances at senior level, great. But if not I would have Pedersen ahead of him until he can prove otherwise and I hope the FD learnt their lesson after the early part of lasts season where Weideman was a liability and Pedersen looked like he was on the outer until being forced into the side through injuries. Of course neither of them may be in our "best 22" come round 1 (injuries not withstanding). Weideman will be coming from a fair way back considering his form in 2017 and his late start to preseason following ankle surgery.

Oscar doesn't need to take on the 'gorilla' FF. They are quickly becoming extinct. The last few 'gorilla's (Buddy, Kennedy, Hawkins) will be gone in a few years. The new breed FF is tall and lanky (Daniher, Brown, Moore, Hipwood etc) with great overhead reach. Smarts will be just as important as braun. And Oscar is growing in both areas and is now starting his 4th year. He will be a fine addition to our defence. He doesn't need to be a star - consistently do the job asked of him will do.

Based on this clip, I predict that house prices are going to crash. Makes about as much sense as the rest of the analysis that has been provided about it so far.

You're not taking that photo in context. He was actually doing the can can.

Thanks Saty for the following pics.

Here it is again. Lever is clearly playing the defender in this contest, and Oscar a makeshift forward. Oscar is at the fall of the ball in time, and has no intention of spoiling, given that Lever "beat" him. I'm not an Oscar lover, but if you can't see that it's a positioning drill more than a full-blown contested contest, I can't help you. EDIT (Demonland): Here is the video.

@stevethemanjordan understand where you are coming from on Omac, but watched him do the same drill again today and he was fine, it is December and apart from building him physically as I posted, they are working hard on his craft and the coaches rate him

This is the one point of the rest that is harder to substantiate. As the season progressed and Oscar become more comfortable at AFL level his judgement around intercept marking / spoiling improved markedly. He is actually a strong mark and added intercept marking - through better positioning - to his game. He could work on spoiling to advantage - Lever is the competition benchmark for this - although he isn't poor in this facet of the game.

You've kept that quiet.

Great to hear that Dean Kent is back to fitness and can resume training seriously.

Keep them away from Richmond supporters. That should help.

This makes me happy. Thanks Saty

If we are dependent on this two to get us into the finals in 2018 we can safely book holidays For September. Oscar is a marginal AFL level Talent who has contributed in 2017 however I fear we wont see much improvement from here on. Lever should easily cover his place in the back line. The Weid has yet to demonstrate he can cut it at VFL level. I am hopeful he will become regularly amongst the best five at Casey in 2018. However don't book holidays before mid September as you will miss our first finals appearances for a long time.

It's getting to the stage where you just din't bother with this "DaveyDee", Rjay. They continually bang on about how much (or little) we spend compared to other clubs, then as soon as they are challenged to provide some form of proof, they run away and bang on about the same topic in a different thread. Collingwood is great proof that the quantity you invest into areas like Sport Science doesn't assure success, it's about the quality of the people you have at the club. Same with the FD. Do you have to pay more to get quality people? Quite possibly, but Collingwood are paying a lot for minimal return. But again, this doesn't help with "DeeDavey's" agenda, so don't expect a response.

My comments weren't meant as a slight on Oscar. I just happen to think Lever is a class above. Oscar improved throughout the year and I expect he will continue to improve. Lever, I believe, is on another level.

Finally. We need him to step up and IMO he is best suited to playing midfield. If he can put it together, he could be the outside polish we need.

The Petracca comment, that was part of the drill, a get out of jail ball, hence Hunt launching a torp at one point, it was a changeup with the kicks going the other way trying low flat passes

30 goals would be a great effort. I also question if we can fit Hogan, TMac and Pedo in the same forward line as it hasn't worked in the past. In saying this, I am sure it would work fine if they were all in form together.

2018 here we come! Premiership year.

It's gotta annoy and hurt a bit Dappa ... no soft landings on 'land Here's a couple of likely candidates ...

Milo Yiannopoulos: the alt right version of Corey Worthington

Hope it isn't so, od. If we make finals for next 5 years, play off in a few prelims and not get to nor win the big dance then we can all go to AA to get over our addiction and memberships be damned. Couldn't bear another rebuild...

@layzie WHAT IS MINDFULNESS? In our sessions, we will talk about the role of awareness as a first step to helping us make changes that will be beneficial to our performance. In particular, we focus on a particular type of awareness called mindfulness. The term mindfulness has its roots in eastern spiritual and religious traditions, however psychology has recognized its importance, and has removed the spiritual and religious context to help improve physical and emotional well-being. This approach can be useful no matter your religious or spiritual (or non) preference. Mindfulness is nonjudgemental (compassionate) present-moment awareness of what is going on inside of us and around us. We often live our lives focused on something other than what is happening in the moment (in sport, focus is having your eyes and your mind attuned to the exact same task)- worrying about the future, ruminating about the past, focusing on what is coming up next, rather than our present task. Importantly, it is useful that we can do things without paying attention to them. We can walk without thinking about walking, which allows us to talk to the person we are walking with, without having to think. However this ability to do things automatically without awareness, also allows us to lose touch with what is happening right in front of us. We can develop habits (such as avoiding embarrassment), that we are not even aware of and that may not be in line with our broader goals. Sometimes though, when we DO pay close attention to our thoughts and feelings, we become very critical of our thoughts and feelings and either try to change them or to distract ourselves because judgemental awareness can be very painful. For example, we might notice while we are about to compete that we feel sweaty or that our heart is racing and then think “ I’m an idiot, what is wrong with me!! If I don’t calm down, I won’t be able to perform to my peak!!” Being mindful falls between these two extremes. We pay attention to what is happening inside and around us, we acknowledge events and experiences as what they are, and we allow things we cannot control to be as they are, while we focus our attention on the task at hand. For example, when competing we may notice the same feelings of stress/anxiety that came up earlier, take a moment to reflect, “There go my thoughts again,” and gently bring our attention back to our task. This second part of mindfulness – letting go of the need to critically judge and change our inner experience- is particularly tricky. In fact, often being mindful involves practicing being nonjudgemental about our tendency to be judgemental! A FEW KEY POINTS: Mindfulness is a process: We do not achieve a final and total state of mindfulness. It is a way of being in one moment that comes and goes. Mindfulness is losing our focus 100 times and returning to it 101 times. Mindfulness is a habit: Just like we learned to go on automatic pilot by practicing it over and over (like learning to ride a bike!), we can learn mindfulness through practice. The more we invest in time to practice it, the easier it becomes to have moments of mindfulness, especially in the crucial moments of your performance. Mindfulness activities come in many different forms: People engage in formal mindful practices like yoga, meditation or tai chi. Although these practices can take hours or days, we aim to make mindfulness easy to fit into your busy lifestyle. People can be mindful for a moment, attending to their breath at any point of the day and noticing their experiences. ALL FORMS of mindful practice in beneficial Mindfulness brings us more fully into our lives: Sometimes, especially early in treatment, we will practice mindfulness in ways that seem very relaxing and removed from the stressors of our daily lives, however the ultimate goal of mindfulness is to keep us more fully in our performance (and lives) and to improve our overall performance (and life satisfaction). Mindfulness can allow us to pause and ready ourselves for some event and bring us more fully into the task, so we perform at a higher and more consistent level, without being taken away by our thoughts and feelings.

@layzie Mindfulness can be practiced formally (setting time aside) and non-formally (during everyday activities). Below, is a list of activities that may be practiced mindfully. While doing these activities, practice the skills of mindfulness covered in session. · Notice internal and external events, trying to focus your attention on the things happening around you and the thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and images that come up and noticing when your attention wanders. · Practice patience with the present moment, staying in this moment and noticing the urge to rush ahead to the next thing. · Try to notice judgements of your experience and of yourself. Try to be compassionate in your awareness of your internal experience, practicing having your thoughts and feelings without labeling them as ‘good’ or ‘bad’. · Notice the urge to judge things based on past experiences. Attempt to bring beginners mind to the experience, observing things as they are rather than as you think they will be. · Notice the urge to hold onto certain feelings (eg: happiness, relaxation) and the urge to push other feelings away (eg: sadness, anxiety). Practice letting go of this struggle, just allowing thoughts and feelings to come and go as they will.

@layzie SKILLS OF MINDFULNESS These aspects of mindfulness require practice (it’s a skill, not a pill). We can continue to attend to these elements and develop them further throughout our lives. Keep them in mind as you develop your own practice and watch how they emerge, fade and reemerge. Awareness · Learning to focus your attention, rather than having it in many places at once · Becoming aware of thoughts, emotions and physical sensations as well as sights, sounds, smells and tastes Nonjudgemental Observation · Developing a sense of compassion towards your internal experiences. · Becoming aware of the constant judgements we make about our experiences · Stepping back and noticing experiences without labeling them as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ Staying in the Moment · Observing the here and now rather than focusing on the past or future · Practicing patience with the present moment rather than rushing to whatever is next · Participating in experiences as they occur Beginners Mind · Observing things as they really are, rather than letting what we think we ‘know’ to be true, cloud the experience that we are having. · Becoming open to new possibilities