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Good mate, real good. He's training with the backline, just came home from a bonding camping trip the backline boys organised for Friday night. He's looking much better then last years preseason. Took 13 seconds off his 2km PB, is within the top 5 at the club when it comes to lifting weights in the gym in certain categories (deadlifted over 200kgs before the Xmas break) and seems to be doing well. He also is trying to learn as much from the others as possible, especially Lever. Says whenever there is a one-on-one drill he always grabs Lever to test himself against. We'll have to wait and see if he gets a chance in the JLT games but so far it's going well.

A few comments, to add to the other reports from Friday’s training session. Considering the trying conditions, strong northerly wind and high temperatures the standard of skills exhibited was quite high, stamina and fitness levels overall were very good. Agree with positive comments made by a number of observers/posters here re: Bernie Vince, Max Gawn, Dom Tyson, Dean Kent, Billy Stretch, Christian Salem, Alex Neil-Bullen,Christian Petracca, Tom MacDonald, Jesse Hogan all were noticeable for a range of attributes from their physical conditioning through to their determination and skills exhibited during the training drills. Impressed that most participants maintained an admirable intensity throughout the session which was intelligently managed by the coaching staff. Observed numerous rotations to allow for recovery and plenty of opportunity provided for maintaining hydration levels. Of the new recruits Bailey Fritsch moved with poise and purpose, looked very neat skills wise, was able precisely pass the footy by foot and appears accurate over an extended distance despite the conditions. He judged the flight of the ball superbly and marked confidently despite the strong gusting wind. Close by he is deceptively strong around the hips and upper thighs. After all the training drills were completed and most players departed for what one assumes was a cool shower. Josh Wagner, Jayden Hunt and Neville Jetta did some extra-curricula work competing in pairs for the high kicked incoming ball. Their positioning/bodywork to spoil or mark the ball was terrific. Jettta despite giving up “inches” was the obvious master. Observations on the possible ‘game plan’ for the coming season. Competewith strength around the packs, gain possession and clear congestion by handball and reminiscent of Hawthorn maintain possession by short passing allowing forwards time to lead into space to receive an accurate footpass. Well at least that appears to be plan A. Final thought as a visitor to the centre of the footy universe from the top end, conditions were much tougher for footy than ever experienced in the ‘cooler’dry season evenings in Darwin. Ok will acknowledge pre-season training is not a fixtured AFL game. But training intensity and duration appear to mimic something of game conditions. In anticipation of a continued positive trend on Goody’s team performance graph for season 2018. Adios from your northern correspondent.?Go Demons!

Nah it's broken.

I think there are two reasons: 1- They are being ranked in relation to their peers, but their peers will develop more in their final year (or the latter half of it). As a result, any development of the injured player is invisible to recruiters, while the uninjured players continue to improve. So the recruiters need to extrapolate any potential development to be able to rank them equally with their peers. This represents a risk, especially for a player like Spargo who may have developed earlier than others. 2- It may actually be a really nasty injury that could affect the player. Burton was, Stringer was, Lever could have been (see Menzel). I agree that shoulders are unlikely to, but there are others. Will they be the same player again? Probably, but it is a genuine risk when you have invested a top 20 pick and a lot of money. I think the first is more relevant to Spargo. When you are 17, a year of development is a lot. So he may have been an earlier ranked player with his peers before he was injured, but the rest are now better players than Spargo was before he was injured. The risk is in the unknown.

yes ht, it's no glass and it's no mug either. It's a chamber-pot and it's overflowing

In this case there’s no glass... just a mug and one that’s more than a little full at that!

Billy must correct his running style if he is to make it. He takes his first 3 steps sideways, before he accelerates forward. You don't get that much time in AFL level football. As he is taking those first 3 steps he moves the ball in hand from side to side, and as a result cannot get a kick off. It's only when he has "stabilised" that he is able to deliver the ball.

How I miss him. His non stop pursuit of equality and moral superiority was the perfect antidote to my actual achievement of human perfection and unquestionable wisdom coupled with my spiritual and intellectual godliness.Sometime one needs a snivelling rat to kick into the gutter to reassure oneself of such a thing.

RB Stretch IMO does not hurt the opposition. What skill does he have that the other team fears? He moves well but does not have anything above average speed. He is not a goal kicker. He does not possess great defensive skills. He is not a high mark. He is not a ball extractor. Again IMO he is an average player in a group of 40+ He is a substitute when injuries mount up.

I'll go out on a limb and say if we improve our ladder position from last year we play finals.

finals are the expectation in 2018 1 geelong 2 sydney 3 port adelaide 4 footscray 5 richmond 6 melbourne 7 adelaide 8 gw$ ----------------------- 9 peptides 10 meth coke 11 hawthorn 12 fremantle 13 bears 14 the filth 15 st. kilda 16 gc17 17 north melbourne 18 carlton but who knows, it's such a chook lotto as to what will happen

Picket - you just wasted all that credibility you've been building up all these years.

I just don't understand supporters who revel in predicting the clubs demise. Definitition of "Supporter " is "a person who approves of and encourages a public figure, political party, policy, etc." Based on that the MFC is the "etc" and Picket, you seem to be doing niether of those things. As the saying goes, "with friends like you....." I know people will say this is a "Fan Forum" but once again, I am not sure where you sit within the "Fan" part of the forum, more a detractor than a Fan. Good luck to you and Go Dees!!! Salems Lot - Melbourne Supporter for 54 years!

Hopefully 2 outta 3 won't be bad then my friend.

not to mention the glass is chipped and cracked

TMac to kick 65 for season. Hogan 50. We make top 4 and a finals win.

Good to know that we were resting players in last quarter. Another good opportunity to identify weaknesses (and strengths) in either structure or execution. Stinear & co. would expect the game plan to be followed irrespective of the players on field. Not too worried about last kick of game, though always better to win.

At least after 17 hours the Ghan can stay on track ! Plaudits to the Wanna on NITV football tonight

Great summary Ron, any chance we could get Gerry’s thoughts on the squad’s performance as well!

There is great literary, philosophic and extremely esoteric meaning in these words, and these come from a long way back in a time when most things were quite straight forward, including umpiring, Well said, Dedogtor. ...breaking a Tom Scully tackle and his leg to kick the winning goal?

It's now or never, really. The way our list has been built and developed over the last 4 years suggests that finals is the next step. Granted, it should have been what happened last year but we missed the boat and I'm in no doubt that the players will be using that as a driving force for this year - they won't want to go through that ever again. I know some will demand more than just finals, and that's okay too, but I think breaking our finals drought and putting to bed further demons (pardon the pun) from our past (that some of our supporter base still can't let go of) will play a massive role in the success we can enjoy in the years to come.

You're kidding yourself DA. We could be 10 goals up and the usuals will still find something to complain about. My wishlist is simple - finals. Anything less and it's a failed season.

And talking of Jordan Lewis:

Much like Daniel Cross before him, Lewis is our on-field coach. We would not have lost that Freo game last year had he not been suspended. He remains a super important player for us.

Thanks for the reports - they provide oxygen to those of us who don’t live in MLB. Stretch is a super neat and tidy footballer. I’m surprised he didn’t have more of an impact last year, but I think he might this year - he’s the type of footballer that I expect Goodwin likes. I reckon Bernie will have a big year this year. He’s not past it. Not remotely. The toe injury he suffered last year affected him more than I think many here realise. I also think Lewis will have a big year (once again). These two still have plenty to offer IMO. I’m super excited about Spargo. I reckon he’ll prove to be an absolute gem for pick 29. I’m just hoping we have a decent run with injuries. And Viney back - he’s critical. Then it’s simply up to us, as I reckon we’re now good enough to win more games than we lose.

One of my greatest hopes with the team is that Billy Stretch can emulate a reasonable percentage of the fine running, ball-carrying and disposal that his father, Stephen, was able to achieve on all grounds.

Turned up today. Always go to one or two sessions. Definitely about skills ATM. Intensity will come later in pre season. Disposal in general was the best I have seen from a D's team in preseason. In the past players built endurance and fitness during drills chasing mongrel kicks and handpasses all around the park!! It used to be ordinary at best. Those who play or have played lower level footy will know what I mean. Now its all about getting it right - disposal and decision making - all the time. O Mc and Hannan have built up a bit. In general the players close up are way bigger than they look at games, TV or pics. Oliver would be an exception but he is naturally powerful and does not need to carry gym muscle. The usual in rehab. Did not see Weid. Trac over his issues and trained well. Was very vocal and confident during drills. Players called into line groups at one stage. In these groups players would give feedback to the group. Feedback I heard was all positive. As you can image big Max was not short of a word. Trac also chimed in as did most.

Dropped into training for a quick 20 minutes, my observations: – Piping hot in the sun but it looked like the players were well looked after with refuge in the shade at fairly regular intervals – Clarry with a full face of Zinc cream – I was really impressed with the clinical skills on show – most kicks hitting their target with players kicking very quickly after receiving the ball and kicking to players leading all over the place, both towards the kicker and away into space and with the opposition player on most occasions given no chance to intercept. The quality of our skills are miles and miles ahead of where we were a few years ago. – Very impressed by Petty. For a tall defender he moves really quickly, has some hustle and bustle about him and reads the ball well. Looked really intent and his skills were looking good. – Thought Tyson looked to be a step quicker than the last two years. Might have just been wishful thinking on my behalf but if he finally is completely niggle free then I think he’s set for a big year. – Jones and Garlett doing sprints and looking fresh – same with Tim Smith albeit at a different pace. – Overall I came away thinking that the list is in a very very good place, particularly with the inclusion of the quicker skinnier types such as Fritsch and Baker (as well as Hannan) who add the balance we need to mix with our core group of stronger burst and endurance players.

I posted this in another thread, but I can tell you, I was given info from a person connected to the MFC that suggested that the White clash while be done away with and that the new clash jumper will be "as traditional as it could be'. Make of that what you will. I pushed the guy for more details or for a release date, but he was tight lipped...which is fair enough. Based on what he told me, I am excited to see the design.

Simple really 'Tough'... It's a no lose position. If we miss out he can say "told you so" If we make finals, well as a true Melbourne man he would be happy to be proven wrong.

To be honest we can seriously finish between 4th and 10th. Competition is so close hence why we need to win the tight ones.

I'd back us in to beat the Cats. Norf, though? They could field a team of 10 year old's and they would still be a chance to roll us.

Solid Gold Mr. Faulty

[censored] Norf Beat Geelong round 1 Read an entire thread with seeing wisebloods infernal whining about "negativity"

Let the season begin and revisit when appropriate. Happy to see what other Demonlanders predict as ladder. Please indulge!

Two wishes from me........Win our first game well, and what it will mean, against Cats, and then start turning around the win/loss ratio that absolutely annoys me......

Go back to what i said before, if we start ready to kill, we will be five spots up at year's end......

time to dich that antique oija board, fency and get a nice shiny modern one that works.

There's a few things, but I'll keep it simple, make the finals and be apart of it for longer than one match.

Good wish list but beat north by a kick after the siren please i want those [censored] on toast 60 pts plus please.

Nought to finally move to the Gold Coast. That would make my year!!!

If we ever were fortunate enough find ourselves as needing to wear a clash strip in a grand final id be happy enough to wear that. Way better than some white monstrosity and eliminates a clash v the likes of port, essendon, carlton and the saints. Laura dureya (spelling) put a post on instagram pre xmas and i swear she had an inverted jumper on too.... ill find it Thats a hint of red on the front yeah? Perfect set would be normal, inverted and royal blue imho

Go read my post on the Charlie Spargo thread.. He is light years ahead of the Bleases, Maric's and Strauss types.

This is a 'negative for negative's sake' sort of post. George didn't say he was going to be a superstar. He simple passed on his opinion from training that he was impressed with Spargo's ability to kick off both feet and that, in the future, this could make him a viable option in the midfield and we need to see how he develops. There's nothing over the top about that, nor did he say he looked like a star. Some people on here can't see anything in a positive light anymore. It's such a shame.

When I was at training not long after the new recruits arrived, I watched Spargo and Petty doing kick to kick. They are different players for different roles, but what stood out for me was the ability of Spargo to hit Petty time and time again on the chest. But not just that, he was doing it both left and right foot. If he is to play mid-field, then the ability to deliver accurately by foot is essential, and it gives the player options on how he does it when they are fluent on either foot ( ala Sam Mitchell). At pick 29 a genuine footballer who can kick is a very viable option. We now have to see how he develops.

It's just an abbreviation for idgaf. (Actually, IG is a stockbroker.)

First and foremost as a Demon I support the Casey Demons as it stands now. As an Australian Rules follower of some 66 years I support the game foremost As a result of the Frankston Dolphins online appeal for memberships to support their 2018 readmission to the 2018 VFL I joined. An outlay if I recall of about $70 , which I considered to be in a really good cause. I,m wrapped that they're in for 2018 as a traditional VFL club and that the support they've received from 2 legendary Hawks Long live what remains of the VFL and a POX on the AFL

Today I renewed 14 family memberships and signed up 3 new family members. You can add 17 to the 2018 tally.