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I was over the far side at Casey yesterday watching the rehab group. (Viney, Tyson and Weideman) I was literally 2 m away. Dom was doing some fartlek running when he pulled up on the far side of the ground. He walked back to Crossy and said 'I felt something in my good calf' and pointed high up in the right calf. So Crossy asked him if he pinged it and Dom said no, but he definitely had awareness. They did some massage and a few more run throughs on it and then decided to send him inside. I don't think it is too bad at all. I watched JV very closely yesterday. He kicked over distance off both feet. He did straight line and lateral running, some bumping and ground ball drills and a lot of interval running around the boundary. Obviously conditioning may be an issue but unless he has a setback I'd say there's no way he's missing round 1.

From training:No LewisHarley Balic looked good around stoppages and used the ball cleverly.Nathan Jones a standout - will continue to play more an outside role this year.Jack Viney moving well, both laterally and straight line. Did a truckload of running, kicking over distance with both feet. Very confident he’ll play round 1. Quick ball movement the obvious game plan. Didn’t always come off but will be hard to counter when it does. Dean Kent not dead and buried yet. Won a heap of ball and moved well. Dom Tyson wasn’t sure if he did his good calf or not, but definitely had awareness in it. Clarry Oliver definitely instructed to kick the ball more and wasn’t always looking to give off by hand. He always make good decisions. Justin Plapp was the man in charge today. Goody patrolled the sidelines with Brendan McCartney offering advice and encouragement to players. Oskar Baker is a dasher. Christian Salem looked a class above with ball in hand. He’s slimmed right down and looks fit. Many of the Casey boys acquitted themselves well and took it right up to the Demon players. It was funny watching Jones run past players and not know their names.

As mentioned in my post above, the focus was mainly on match simulation involving fast movement and switch play but there were a variety of drills earlier and these included most of the available list bearing in mind that the squad of players from the victorious AFLX team were no doubt enjoying a morning off. The two important players who missed most of the first half of last year through injury and non-football related circumstances - Jesse Hogan and Max Gawn - both looked in good shape and ready to have a big impact in 2018. Others who impressed me were Michael Hibbberd and Christian Salem both in terms of looking fit and raring to go but also in their attack on the footy. Its interesting that although Hibberd and our AFLX star Jake Melksham (obviously, he wasn’t there yesterday) had good seasons in 2017, they both look ready to take giant steps up this year. Good signs. I mentioned the small rehab group of Jack Viney (looking huge and aggressive) and Sam Weideman who were joined by Joel Smith and Jeff Garlett. Dom Tyson’s injury was apparently to his calf. No sign of AVB. Nathan Jones was mopping things up coming out through defence and Mitch Hannan moved well. Of the newbies Harley Balic looked comfortable and at home with the group. Charlie Spargo looks a real goer and Oskar Baker is going to be a bit of a cult hero. I reckon Jake Lever might go ok this year. Clayton Oliver is looking in good shape and had enough sunblock on his face, arms and legs to convince me to take out a portfolio of shares in that industry.

The craziest I have done and continue to do is when overseas on holiday, get my photo taken in my Melbourne jumper in front of famous landmarks. At the colosseum whilst in my mfc jumper a shout came from a group of tourists GO DEES. It was unreal in that spot. Once I get home I have the photos printed on an A4 page and signed by No 13. Clarry signed my last one yesterday at the Casey training day. He was good about it after a bit of a laugh. Until my next holiday, Hawaii next February.

Slept outside the MCG from Prelim night till the following Saturday grand final back in 1964 to get the best position in "T" section. Best day and stayed on after the win till Sunday. They opened the "G" up for Melbourne supporters both Sat night and Sunday. Great time and great memories.

THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE HAWK IN THE NIGHT-TIME by Whispering Jack In the opening act, the theatre goers witnessed an animal on stage. It was quite dead, having been spiked at close quarters by a garden fork. The animal was a bird, a Hawk to be exact but it could easily have been a Magpie or even a Dog; it’s passing was a metaphor for the end of the Norm Smith Curse that began in the prehistoric prime number year of 1964 when they last held the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo and Dawn Fraser purloined an Olympic Flag in the dead of night from the Imperial Palace. As Dawn explained in her autobiography, Below the Surface, “... finally they pulled the flag loose. ‘Quick,’ said one of them. ‘Cop this.’ I took the flag. ‘Go for your life,’ said the other. ‘The demons are coming.’” The Demons were certainly coming. They won the premiership flag that year but soon after, it all went awry for them, for Dawn and for Norm. Many years later, the Americans came up with a television series called the X-Files in which the star of the show Special Agent Scully predicted that it would take young children of the future blessed with mathematical powers, an understanding of prime numbers and a rectangular field to put an end to the curse and so it turned out last night. They sat there near the forward pocket where monsters once ruled the earth, riveted to their bean bags, faces painted in red and blue colours, never once distracted by the acrobats, neon goalposts or the smoke machines. They were part of a now world record AFLX crowd of 22,585 fans, a small proportion of who even paid to get in to be part of history. Forget the Winter Olympics - we could never emulate the surprise appearance at the opening ceremony of Kim Jong Un’s sister and Director of the Propaganda and Agitation Department of the Workers' Party of Korea. The stars of this show were the kids. They are the consumers, not of the future but of the present and the only way to get their collective attention spans away from their iPads is an action packed game that doesn’t invade their safe spaces and where you need just two kicks from kick-off to Zoop in the time it takes to recognise the opening riff of a Justin Bieber number. The Demons were the big winners. They took home the blue AFLX Night Two Trophy - Australia’s equivalent of the Vince Lombardi Trophy. AFLX Night One doesn’t count after the Court of Arbitration in Sport ruled it ineligible due to the use of the illegal silver ball in Adelaide. Firstly, the Dees knocked off the kids from Carlton, then they destroyed their ancient hoodoo against the Kangaroos who blundered by selecting a ten foot tall slow moving dinosaur to play in a game made for intergalactic space age swiftness (notwithstanding the obviously staged WWE-style rag dolling of TMacX) and finally, they atoned for the ignominious annihilation by the Hawks back in football’s stone age with a Grand Final triumph for the ages. The memory of that 1988 debacle (an event that coincidentally also unfolded in the middle of another Olympic Games - and who could ever forget the jaundice-eyed juiced up Ben Johnson killing it on the screen at the G in the 100 metres final) was still in mind as the club song was sung and tears welled at the realisation of how fitting it was that Billy Stretch was in the team that finally brought home some silverware to Yarra Park. The name Craig Jennings was unknown to most of mankind just a few days ago but today, it’s bigger on the world scene than Karaoke. He’s the man who really broke the Norm Smith Curse in front of the kids as he coached the club to its first VFL/AFL premiership since 1964 (if you leave out the pre-season Ansett Cup of 1989 against Geelong - nobody knows what an Ansett is these days anyway). The Jennings strategy was obviously to work the prime numbers based on the theory of diminishing returns, to grind the opposition in a downwards mathematical progression. Hence, the scores of 82 (including 7 Zoopers) against Carlton, 70 (this time with 9 regulation goals) against North and finally just 56 points against Hawthorn which was enough to win the Big Blue X by that beautifully prime number of 10 points. The Dees worked those numbers with system, style and precision. They dominated their games and the result was never in doubt. They forked the Hawks and undoubtedly put an end to the Curse just as predicted by Scully in the X-Files so many years ago. The Craig Jennings Medalist by unanimous acclaim was born-again mathematical genius Jake Melksham who was taken out of defence and transmogrified last year into a forward with a rapier-like boot that homed in on the Zooper zone with precision all night. He scored Melbourne’s first three Zooper goals of the evening against the Blues, notched another against the Roos and his fifth in the granny. Otherwise, he was always in the game, up forward, down back, marshaling the troops with class and skill. There were plenty of other highlights, James Harmes’ physicality, some flashes of brilliance from Angus Brayshaw, skipper Neville Jetta’s control in defence, a very promising cameo from recruit goal sneak Bailey Fritsch, TMacX’s ability to find the goals, Corey Maynard’s strong attack on the footy, Josh Wagner’s improvement in defence, Tom Bugg’s in your face aggression (but get your disposal right please son) and AleX Neal-Bullen’s continued upward progression. And then there was TraX. This young lad Xtian Petracca is really something. He looked so impressive out there whether it was bullocking through packs, taking strong marks or winning the tip-off against the NBA size dinosaur. When the Summer Olympics roll around in Tokyo again in 2020, you can line him up in the Aussie basketball team with his old mate, Benjamin David Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers (and Dante Xum and Maynard and J Smith of course). Together they can take on the world and perhaps even knock off another flag from the Imperial Palace for the Demons. Most Melbourne fans would have been euphoric with the outcome. The premiership was in the bag, the Norm Smith Curse put to bed for good and the mystery of the curious incident of the Hawk in the night-time solved. The only thing I couldn’t work out is how this tattoo of a Demon appeared on my ankle. AFLX NIGHT TWO IN MELBOURNE 16 FEBRUARY 2018 - THE PRIME NUMBER SOLUTION GROUP 1 Melbourne 7.1.6.82 defeated Carlton 2.5.4.54 Goals: Melbourne Zooper goals: Melksham 3, Bugg, T.McDonald, Petracca, Wagner Goals: Harmes Goals: Carlton Zooper goals: Lamb, Williamson Goals: Dow, Lamb, O'Brien, Polson, Silvagni North Melbourne 5.4.9.83 defeated Carlton 5.2.6.68 Melbourne 1.9.6.70 defeated North Melbourne 3.2.4.46 Goals: Melbourne Zooper goals: Melksham Goals: Fritsch 3, T.McDonald 2, Bugg, Harmes, Jetta, Melksham Goals: North Melbourne Zooper goals: Hartung, Higgins, McDonald Goals: Preuss, Zurhaar GROUP 2 Hawthorn 3.6.7.73 defeated Essendon 3.3.6.54 St. Kilda 2.5.2.52 defeated Essendon 2.2.5.37 Hawthorn 4.5.7.77 defeated St Kilda 2.5.5.55 GRAND FINAL Melbourne 3.3.8.56 defeated Hawthorn 1.5.6.46 Goals: Melbourne Zooper goals: Harmes, Melksham, Neal-Bullen Goals: Bugg, T.McDonald, Neal-Bullen Goals: Hawthorn Zooper goals: Burton Goals: O’Hanrahan 2, Ross 2, Burton

i seem to recall someone saying that jennings said post-aflx premiership glory that we'd be aiming to play close to our best 22 by the second jlt match against the saints at docklands, and a slightly lesser squad against north, so i ill go with this for the bigger tassie ground, which actually seems to suit playing a taller line-up due to the blustery conditions: B: Jetta - O Mac - Frost HB: Hunt - Lever - Brayshaw C: Salem - Petracca - Harmes HF: ANB - Hogan - Melksham F: Pedersen - T Mac - Fritsch Foll: Gawn - Oliver - Bugg I/C: Spargo - Stretch - Maynard - JKH - Baker - King - Wagner Rested / rehab: Jones - Lewis - Viney - Tyson - Hibberd - Kent - Hannan - vandenBerg - Vince - Weideman - Balic - Petty - Garlett - T Smith - McKenna - J Smith - Keilty - Filipovic

I would have thought that Spargo and/or Baker might get a run just to see what they’re capable of at this point.

I'm a teacher and I have let Melbourne supporting students out of the classroom five minutes earlier for lunch than the other kids. I have given Collingwood supporting kids yard duties and detentions just for the fun of it.( one who told me " youse are going down " just before a Queens birthday clash.) Hated that kid !!!!

1. Broke up with a guy because he badmouthed Demons. 2. Rented the 1988 grand final on tape, just to see us play in a grand final. 3. Dated incompatible guys because they were Demons supporters. 4. Actively tried to seek out tapes of our under 19’s/reserves premierships. 5. Walking out of the house during the 1998 final against St Kilda because it was too intense. 6. On having to work on the 2000 (preliminary final, I was fuming) recorded it. Came home. Tried to wait until it finished so I could watch it “live”. Eventually I succumbed to temptation and peeked on the result. 7. For the 2000 grand final, I got out all my old MFC merch and decorated the living room. 8. Numerous humiliating dares l had to do when losing games.

We only have ourselves to blame. In the first quarter we had 15 inside 50's to their zero. Our conversion of those i50's was abysmal. We should have put them away in the first quarter when we had 6 shots at goal for 1.5. Freo had 6 shots for goal for the whole game and kicked 6.0. Our final tally of 4.7 isn't good enough. On the ladder, we are now 2nd, back with the pack on 2 wins and a %age roughly equal to Bulldogs and Lions. Last year we missed the GF by % after a horror game vs GWS when we kicked 1.9 to their 3.2. Let's hope the terrible kicking today does not cost a top two spot and a GF berth again.

Wore my Melbourne jumper around England in 1965 (see me pictures at a Butlins Holiday Camp in red and blue.). Recorded kicks, marks and goals from radio commentaries as a kid. Lou Richards was the best commentator. In the old days we used to run round the ground each quarter so we could be at the end Melbourne were kicking to.

Great news as it cuts out one long haul flight at a critical time of 3 games in 13 days. The Perth weather today isn't too bad with the temp being in the high 20's for the game. So by staying in Perth we should be quite fresh for the Alice game next Saturday. Unfortunately, the weather there will be in the very high 30's. Win today and we will a game and decent percentage clear on top of the ladder For those interested in seeing today's game it is on 7Mate

nobody really thinks it is of any significance....just taking the pizz

Updated team: In: Grierson Out: Mifsud (omitted) Also apparently the team is staying west between the Freo game and the next one against Collingwood in Alice Springs.

Please don't present speculation as fact, as you did in your previous post. You would be surprised at how quickly garbage can get traction in the cesspit of the football media.

For all those whinging about umpiring ffs cop on. Bad kicking cost us that game. The failure to convert in the 1st and the continous long bombs into the forward pocket in the 3rd instead of the dangerzone at the top of the square. You make your own luck in footy blaming the umpires is a convenient excuse

I could do with a Singapore Sling right now after that effort Wadda! What was the jockey thinking on NothingILikeMore? I had 4 of the first 5 but not the winner obviously. I've got cable so the race was on Sky Thoroughbred Central. Racing.com sometimes covers the races from HK but not tonight. Anyway, you win some you lose some and there's always next week - which sees 3 Group 1's at Caulfield ... Australian Group & Listed Races

Every Freo goal is a fluke

Strange ride on the favourite?? Joey?? A friend of mines husband is part owner in Wicklow Brave. They had Moirera on him in last years cup. It was a pretty bad ride by all accounts, although the horse finished off ok. They said he was so in love with himself, he would even really talk to them.

This team is gutsy as. Love them to bits.

Does seem overs....Im on the 1 one out and the 2,6 to come second, field for 3rd. Is it on anywhere? apart from radio?? Singapore Sling just got out to 10/1

I marked the short priced favourite on top as well as 'Morethanlucky' - either of those 2 to win although the 6 seems overs at those odds - fingers crossed

Also wouldn't mind this on the main board as a game day thread.

It's just a matter of working out how it can all work for us Wadda ... I've just about figured out how to go about it but each to their own I say. We have all got something to work with at least. As previously stated, if Cliff's Edge & Redzel both win I would have won in the mid 3 figures range. But there's a lot of if's & but's when punting. Win, lose or otherwise I'm going to try and post up the replays of the Group 1's. As much as we all want to win I'm always happy to acknowledge the winners even if I wasn't on them. Throughout the decades the Hayes clan have always had a habit of getting the big win with a good each-way shot (and they did it again with 'Redkirk Warrior') Anyway, I saved a bit for Sha Tin and there is a big feature race on later that I've had a small trifecta on. Sha Tin Race 9 The Hong Kong Classic Cup 1800m 4yo's only $1.7Million AUD (7.40pm)

That is actually very very good.

Thanks Macca, 1st race ive seen from yesterday, i was on Redzel as well, but there wasa word around for Redkirk earlier in the afternoon.......still dont see how it beat it? Came from nowhere wasnt even in the call till the last 20m. Tough day.

When we lost to the Bombers top up team in Round 2, 2016, I wrote an essay on instagram to express my frustration and may have used some choice words to describe some of the players. I also tagged every player that played that day in the post I think 3 or 4 players have now blocked me on instragram because of that

I was walking around the ground and also watched JV closely and agree. I would add that, when watching him from close quarters, you can see and feel the intensity in everything he attempts. He was pretty aggro yesterday and is going to be a real weapon when he eventually gets himself fit.

I drove around Subiaco Oval in 2004 after we beat Fremantle hurling abuse at Dockers supporters. I had a 12 pack of eggs on me so I decided to egg a few of them. One guy chased me down and tried to grab me through the window so I put the window up and got his arm stuck. I drove pretty slowly and he had to walk next to the car. My mate in the back put a Demons scarf down the back of his pants.

I often find the games super stressful and don’t like to be overly social when I’m at the ground. I like to watch intently and listen to the commentary through headphones. If my mates are considering coming to a game and they’re a 50/50 chance of going, I’ll often tell them I’m not able to make it so then they don’t go. Then I go anyway so I can soak all it in without having to chat!

The 60's and 70's were like that, it become more of a running game in the 80's, 90's was the best footy

"This (AFLX) concept ... we train that stuff all the time. The game is not that foreign, the only difference is the scoring. JLT 1, you probably play your best 24, 25 and JLT 2 you play your best 23 and then you are into round one. I think there is a really nice flow to the season now." Craig Jennings https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/melbourne-demons-face-tight-selection-squeeze-inside-attacking-50-20180217-h0w8ls.html

I once flew to Canberra and back in a day to watch us play North in a pre season game....it was about 38 degrees and I almost collapsed of heatstroke at Manuka oval

Buggy is the perfect player for us - he may only be pushing on the fringes of our best 22, but he's a super depth player to have on our list. After his indiscretion last year it sounds as though he has done nothing but work hard over the summer to regain the respect and trust of the FD and the players. It's easy to forget that he was in terrific form for us in the middle part of the year and I see no reason why he can't do that again this year. If others have moved passed him then that's great, but when he does play you can be assured of a few goals and 100% effort all the time. He's a handy player to have at the club.

Our intensity around the contest dropped off significantly once he left the squad last year. Not saying he's the difference but he brings it and can be our Didak equivalent. Maybe not an outstanding player but if he finds form he can be a game breaker. imo he's going to surprise a lot here this year just as Nibbler did last year.

I still hate our club for not picking him and I'm not even related to Ollie.

Best logo ever got to tell the late great Jim Stynes the major reason im a demon to this day he loved it the big fella.

I'm more concerned that things from the 90s are now considered "retro".

Hi everyone! Although a bit blustery, It was a beautiful sunny morning at Gosch's. When I arrived at around 10:00 (apologises to those who live off of the warm up reports of 'kicking the ball around') there were three main training groups: forwards, midfielders and defenders. The group closest to me were the forwards. One notable participant in this group was Clayton Oliver. I honestly wouldn't mind Clarry occasionally resting forward (ala Dangerfield) as he's a fantastic one-on-one player and a lovely kick. Melksham was another player who caught my eye. It looks like he's put on a bit of size during the off-season. While this was happening Viney and Weideman ran laps with the former showing no signs of discomfort. The first drill I saw was the forwards fending off their opponents and snapping for goal. Dion Johnstone an early standout with some sharp twists and turns. Pedders also had a great moment when he was wrapped up by Bayley Fristch and was somehow able to drop the ball to his boot Mitch Hannan style and dribble it into the open goal. I then walked over to the midfielders who were practicing 20-30m passes. I noticed future cult hero Oskar Baker was training in this group. By the way, he's a lovely kick and a good size. I think we'll see him in the side at some point this season. Joel Smith (who doesn't look too far off being a key position player) was another who caught the eye with some bullet passes. When I made it to the defenders, they were in the middle of practicing some one on one drills. Not too much too report here except for the one time Lever (who won 80% of his one on ones) vs Jetta match up. Unsurprisingly, Neville was somehow able to break even against the larger opposition. Nev also took a few moments between drills showing Wagner some tackling tips. Great leadership. Back to the forwards, and they had just started a two vs two keepings off style drill. TMac was a stand out here by being able to chase down Bayley Fristch and directing his partner (I think it was Spargo) where to stand in preparation for a quick opposition handpass. The drill then evolved into one that had more of an emphasis on first beating your man and kicking to the loose player 20m out. Bugg (who by all reports, has had a fantastic pre-season) was a highlight here. I can't remember him losing a contest against his opponent or missing a kick to the clear player. It'll be interesting to see if there's a spot in the team for him as I believe we played our best football last year when he was niggling opposition as a forward. Meanwhile there's some four vs four match simulation style drills with the midfield group. Kudos on Clarry for bursting into clear space, receiving the hand ball and unleashing a 60m torpedo that landed right between the big sticks. All the players then gathered in the middle started prepping a good old fashioned blue team vs white team match simulation with an emphasis on transitioning from the backline to the forward line (play started from the kick in). There was a great moment in the opening 30 seconds with a fantastic contested mark by Lever. This was shortly followed by a brilliant Petracca moment (who largely trained with the midfield group) when he punched the incoming ball straight into the arms of a teammate. Oscar McDonald stood out with his kicking....yes you read correctly and Charlie Spargo popped up inside 50 once or twice where he somehow found the space to take an uncontested mark. One from a beautiful kick from Mitch Hannan. Max Gawn was also in vintage contested marking touch today. At the same time, Smith was in the middle of competing against Cross (who still looks like he could compete for a spot in the round 1 side if he really wanted to) in some one on one drills. A large group of players along with myself then left, leaving what I assume is the AFLX squad to run through some more drills. Feel free to ask any questions regarding some details I may've missed. I'll do my best to fill in the blanks

You can eat the horse crap

Yeah it's still not footy, but it was a world of improvement on last night.Partly the balls changing to yellow... but mostly because the demons actually went and had a crack on some level while everyone else did training drills. Not much to see here. Bugg has started aggressively, but is still blue collar. He'll play plenty of footy this year. Tracca was the most class we saw all night. Just needs more of the pill. He is unbelievable in the contest. Jetta didn't put a foot wrong. When does he. Fritsch was ok, popped up and showed the type of player he is. Will be very much in the running for the Hannan/Harmes roles and is right now a ways off. Very Cale Morton type physically. That will need to be fixed before we see 22 games. I'd have liked to have seen more from Stretch, TBH. Wagner is Wagner. What I like is that the early-mid age guys (21-23) are owning their space now. Regardless of the effort by the opposition, guys like Harmes and ANB create opportunities from nothing when the ball's in their area. Aggressive choices that ask questions of their opponents. That's what you want to see from players who are coming up to 50 games. And I don't reckon the type of game or the lack of fight by opposition dictates their results here. They're just good habits. Skills started poor but really surprised me by the end. Easily the most skilled side of all 6 teams. Easily deserved to win it.

player ratings time? 6 - melksham: will his nickname change from milkshake to zooper 5 - t mac: being ragdolled by preuss was hilarious, but he looks like he'll be good forward this year 4 - harmes: excellent in the air and with defensive intent 3 - jetta: only gets the three votes cos he only played in two games 2 - petracca: everything he does just oozes class 1 - bugg: he gets to the right spots and he works hard but he can't kick

On a more serious note, it's hard to take much from a Mickey Mouse game of 'footy', but a few things stood out. a) Petracca made me nervous every time he changed direction or went air born, but his ability to keep his feet is outrageous. b) Melksham and TMac have a vortex like ability to split the middle of the big sticks. c) Bugg has a distinct lack of ability by foot and will struggle for games as such. d) Seeing a blonde #4 with tattoos and some mongrel was a refreshing change.

No white on any logo ever again thanks We are red and blue Melbourne Demons, not Footscray!! Dave Larkin’s logo = best logo

He's a terific set shot for goal. As a backman his decision making and dinky kicks are heart-in-mouth stuff. Will be difficut for other teams to match up again this year.

Just looks a natural forward doesn't he? A lot of similarities to Josh Kennedy in terms of style.