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Somewhat ironic that so many words have been written on this thread about the meaning of 'laconic'.

Having watched the replays of AFLX Wagner made 1 bad mistake deep in the backline that coughed up a goal but otherwise was very good with the ball, with his spoils/intercepts and with what I saw of his positioning (which isn't easy to see on tv). He's looked very good on the training track this summer and got some harsh criticism for games he played out of position on the wing last year. He's no world beater but I think he pushes for round 1. Not surprised to see him picked for this.

I'll remind people that this is a training discussion thread and should be treated as such. The spelling, grammar and word origin and meaning thread can be continued on the General Board.

I actually think it's a good thing neither have been selected - it shows that the bulk of our list is fit and that we don't need to blood any young players before they need to. It's a far cry from 2013 when all we did was play the younger guys as we had little else.

Whilst his chasing and pressuring when the ball hit the deck inside 50 hasn't been good his work rate getting up the ground has been exceptional since his first game. You don't kick 40 goals in your first season and be right up at the top of marks taken if you don't work bloody hard. That said, a leap up CHF - no matter how good - is very predictable these days. You put a good key defender on them and allow other defenders to block the leading lanes and it limits their impact. Tex Walker might be the best - especially due to his precision kicking - and even he is a disappointing player at times. Jack Riewoldt is very handy but it's his work for the team - both work rate and defensively that gives him value not his possessions and goals. The really dangerous key forwards are either bigger (Brown, Daniher) or faster (Buddy) or exceptional at leading in confined spaces (Kennedy). To have a reliable mark on the lead go in to the midfield you then open up a lot of opportunities with the ball. Say you've got the ball on a back flank - Gawn can get down the line for the long kick and Hogan can lead up the middle and either get used or draw attention. In case people haven't noticed our game plan is based around kicking and moving on angles and creating space. At our best we don't bomb it long nor do we madly run and carry. So I like Hogan in the midfield because it suits our game plan and I like him in the midfield to get him involved if the ball isn't coming to him. It's a win win if used properly.

I know Garlett might not be everyone's cup of tea, but you'd think an All Australian squad of 40 player would be a notable absentee...

I really like this idea. Jesse has the ability to run all day and having such a big boy playing as a mid, even just for short periods, will upset the opposition in match ups both mid and forward. Most importantly though the guy has a really footy IQ and it wouldn’t surprise to find out that he could be bloody good around the ball. Jesse is a natural footballer

G'day all! Dropped by Gosch's to watch the lads in action for an hour or so. Easily the biggest news to come out of today's session is that Viney is now training in the main group! Here are the rough notes I took while watching. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ When I arrived, Gawn was just finishing up some ruck drills with Mitch King while some forwards and defenders practiced one on one drills. Match ups included Frost/Weideman, Wagner/Hannan and Kent(possible role change?)/Hannan. Some standard warm ups then followed. Great to see Pedders keeping up with TMac during the 50-100m sprints. He looks in ripping touch. Noticed very quickly that Jack Viney was running with the main group. Promising! A quick side note Nev Jetta is in rehab to start off the session. He joined some group drills later then ran laps without much fuss. Doesn’t appear to be anything too serious. May’ve pulled up a bit sore from AFLX. The first main drill involved the players being split into two groups. These two groups where then split in half again and began separate green vs blue match simulation drills on their respective half of the oval. It looked like there was a real emphasis on moving the ball inside 50 from the midfield. Here are a few quick notes regarding the simulation that unfolded closest to me. - Hogan was leading really well while Lever was very vocal and frustrated when Fritsch got out the back to take an almost uncontested mark. On that topic, there's something about Fristch. I enjoyed his work against North in AFLX. To put it simply, things just happen when he gets close to the ball. His tackling pressure was also on display with a rundown of a full pace Dean Kent. Its still a month away, but he seems a high chance for round 1. - JKH looked to be moving well through the centre and Frost's spoiling seems to have come a long way. There were many times last year where his fist would land the ball in the arms an opposition player so it's nice to see some improvement in this area. - The groups then swapped. Harmes' kicking was an early standout in this group while OMac looked composed during the times the ball came to ground. He was surprisingly clean below his knees. - Viney was in this group and while he didn't see much of the Sherrin, he didn't look in any discomfort. Brayshaw also continued his handy AFLX form with a great tackle on Pedders. Here's hoping for a 22 game season from Gus A few separate drills around Gosch's then followed with players rotating between them every five minutes or so. - The drill closest to me involved players kicking around the man standing on the mark to a teammate standing near an opposition player. The kicking was a real highlight here, particularly from the likes of Hogan and Maynard. - The second drill focused on clean hands with players being required to crumb a loose ball and hand passing it to a teammate, who would then kick to a loose player. I didn’t see much of this drill so I can’t pick out many stand out players. - The third drill involved players finding a target amongst those 'fake player' stands. The wind was fairly strong at this point which meant for some occasional missed targets. Lewis and surprisingly Mitch King were those I don’t remember missing a target in the gale. The next drill involved all players and was a kicking drill where players could practice their 30-40 meter passes. Not too much too report here aside from some lovely bullet passes from Hibberd and the Zooper specialist Melksham. Dion Johnston also has a handy kicking action and didn't miss many targets. Some more green vs blue match simulation drills then followed. Some more observations. - Hannan was everywhere in the first few minutes, kicking two goals including one with a lovely snap from the boundary (Edit from five minutes later: fantastic bit of play where he stepped around two players and passed it beautifully to Bugg in the pocket. Second edit: Hannan kicks another with a straightforward set shot. Absolutely on fire! - A perfect Garlett pass from the boundary then finds Tommy Bugg who kicks truly from 20m out. - One player who caught my eye was our prized recruit Jake Lever. He moves incredibly well for someone his size and his defensive pressure his first class. We've picked up a good one here. - A training highlight then followed as Gus unloaded from 60m with a massive bomb to bring up six points. I honestly didn't know that he had that in him! Players then split into three groups (Defenders, Midfielders and Forwards) and began working through some separate drills. I left fairly soon afterwards. Also, from what I could see. There was no Tyson, Vandenburg. McKenna, Baker or Spargo. Happy to fill in any blanks if anyone has any questions.

Max Gawn told a Demon Army function tonight that Fritsch will play this weekend.

Meanwhile, the equivalent discussion on the Collingwood supporters' discussion board is whether Centrelink payments have kept pace with the price of ready to drink Southern Comfort and Coke.

Just got back from taking the kids to see training, very impressed with the skills and professionalism on show. Was great for my daughter to see some professional sportswomen in this part of Australia, she got a real buzz out of watching them train! huge thing for club, must be some 50 people all up, on the road for over a week. Hope the team smash the filth this week.

Tyson 2017 4th Disposals 5th kicks 4th handballs 4th contested poss 4th uncontested poss 4th clearances 5th tackles 3rd inside 50's And with a great pre season I think he will play most games

Sooooo verbose.

Thanks to all who have provided reports and photos. Your efforts are greatly appreciated by us hardcore supporters!

https://thewest.com.au/sport/melbourne-demons/melbourne-reveal-plans-to-unleash-jesse-hogan-into-midfield-mix-ng-b88752769z Hulking forward Jesse Hogan has been earmarked for longer stints in the midfield throughout 2018 as Melbourne look to end a finals drought that stretches back more than a decade.

Here is squad for Saturday: MELBOURNE B: J.Wagner 42, O.McDonald 28, J.Lewis 6 HB: J.Lever 8, M.Hibberd 14, B.Vince 23 C: J.Hunt 29, J.Harmes 4, B.Stretch 15 HF: C.Oliver 13, T.McDonald 25, N.Jones 2 F: C.Petracca 5, J.Hogan 1, M.Hannan 19 Foll: M.Gawn 11, J.Melksham 18, A.Neal-Bullen 30 I/C: D.Keilty 45, C.Salem 3, H.Balic 27, A.Brayshaw 10, T.Bugg 32, H.Petty 35, B.Fritsch 31, S.Frost 17, J.Kennedy Harris 24, C.Maynard 20, T.Smith 38, C.Pedersen 21 Notable absentees: Neville Jetta, Jack Viney, Dom Tyson

They all mythed games

I'd trade them both for a victory in Round 3 but I do understand your sentiment.

Yeah but from the Melb website and was what I hear from a realiable source "The final list will be reduced to a 24-man team 90 minutes prior to the match." Dec hasn't stated packing for Hobart yet so I don't think he'll be playing

@Drunkn167 might be better placed, but Kielty nearly debuted last year, versatility, he can ruck, defend or go forward, his fitness has gone to another level, would not surprise me to see him included

If he comes back too early and hurts his foot again I'll spew up.

I like the move simply for the unpredictability of it. 5 minutes in the middle keeps the forward line fresh, gets Jesse in the action and gives us some more X-Factor through the middle. Maybe during these stints we stick Trac deep at full forward with Garlett at his toes?

Tyson has had his best preseason since arriving at the club. He looks leaner and according to one track watcher I know he was moving better than he's seen him. I doubt a minor calf niggle will greatly impact his year.

laconic ləˈkɒnɪk/ adjective adjective: laconic (of a person, speech, or style of writing) using very few words.

Being managed, did full session today

In one of the contested forward drills where the ball was lobbed in high to T Smith and Weid vs Keilty, Hibberd and OMac with smalls running in for the crumbs and snap on goal, Tim took a blinder, chest mark on top of the pack, contender for mark of the season, except it hasn’t started yet! Both Tim and Keilty took a couple of clean marks in packs under pressure. I watched Weid closely and he doesn’t seem to be able to work his way into position in that type of situation, didn’t take a mark, got one defensive fist in from behind and kneeing Hibberd in the head in the process. They did a number of tackling drills, very entertaining where a player has to pick up a rolling ball and get past the tackler who was instructed on how to wrap the ball carrier up. Very physical stuff. A later drill focused on how not to get wrapped up and we saw a lot of Dusty don’t argues being dished out to ward off the tackler. I think it was Bugg who putJones flat on his back with a straight arm to the chest much to everyone’s amusement. If we tackle with the intent like I saw today in these drills we will break open a lot games. Re injuries - Harley Balic who is looking much fitter than when I first saw him train seemed to strain something at one stage, got some treatment on upper thigh and retired from the drills to do laps. Nothing serious. Nev running laps, everyone else present was involved in the drills.

All sorts of good news for those of us going to watch the JLT game in Kingston on Saturday, 20k+ wind and 90% chance of rain from 11 am to 5 pm is the cheery forecast. Expect a small crowd as there is very limited shelter from either wind or rain at the twin ovals. Better select the team most likely to play on a heavy track. https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/Twin+Ovals+Rd,+Kingston+TAS+7050/@-42.9753434,147.2859031,401m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0xaa6dd82c2c5cdf01:0x181876d4ffff8eee!8m2!3d-42.9735461!4d147.2853323

No, it's not. Someone who is laconic is one who says very little. A man of few words if you like. 'Laconic' is one of those words that most, including journalists, consistently get wrong. They (and you) seem to think it means the same as laid-back, low-key or lackadaisical.

Considering the Demonland medicos had him pencilled in to return in June, this is terrific news. I must admit I'm surprised the Demonland medicos got it wrong, as that's never happened before...

Rory Sloane got the same treatment.

It does seem early Wadda but we only play the 2 practice games and they are 11-12 days apart ... the other game is against the Saints on the 8th March (@ Casey - Evening) I liked The Taj Mahal's run in the Zipping Classic back in November. As you said, the race is a terrific way to finish the days program. Edit: The Taj Mahal scratched. I've nearly always preferred to back horses to win at Rosehill, Randwick or Warwick Farm D77. The fields are generally smaller so the horses often don't have any excuses (held up for a run, got too far back etc etc) And as you said, it's a very difficult assignment for 'Written By' in the Blue Diamond drawing the 18 barrier in a quality 1200m race. However, it did win the Blue Diamond Prelude from barrier 13 after showing good early speed.

I believe that was cut and pasted from the afl.com.au article so make of that what you will.

Great discussion guys, enjoyed it very much. Hannan came into the round 1 team last season on the back of one Casey game. From memory it was the week before the opening game.

I'm a Dom Tyson fan, but these stats are a little misleading - yes, he is terrific at getting his hands on the footy. It's what he sometimes does with it that hurts.

Sorry folks, I have been out of action for the past week. I will try to get the code out in the next day or so.

Just had a listen, great show.

In 2015 and 2016 he regularly beat opponents in one on one situations. I'll give him a pass for 2017 with everything that occurred. He is actually rather clever in those situations, although last year he used it as an 'out' rather than as a way to beat his opponents when he didn't want to get on his bike and run.

If Tyson doesn't make the best 22 then it's a sign that we have a number of midfielders who have gone past him. Which can only be a good sign for our list and our prospects. No passengers and no free games.

It's hardly news. We've done this previously, albeit intermittently, with some success. In the past it seems to have been Plan B when Hogan isn't otherwise getting near the ball.

No that was Tony Burke's staffer who he spent $450k of our money on taking her around the world before making her Chief of Staff with no job advertised etc. They're all hypocrites and until we demand that all those doing this garbage get booted out of parliament then sadly we will continue to get monkeys representing us. As I said its not the side of politics its the hypocrisy and they are as bad as each other.

Weid is probably still just getting his feel back for the contest and finding the drop of the ball at the minute. He hasn’t done much with the group his preseason.

I asked him, just a tweak, session over, nothing serious

I sometimes name my products after our players... the Bernie skirt is a current best seller

Viney did most of the session including a box on with Harmes, Gawn and Brayshaw On Weids, spoke to him, did whole main session, ankle was leftover from Junior days, just wouldn't behave so op, no ongoing issue, apart from strapping it up, absolutely cherry ripe after being 'looked after' by Crossy

Enjoy the pub.

You cop heaps of rubbish but luv your work. Saty you're much appreciated by the guys and gals that can't be there. And when you report your insights we're much better for it. Thanks heaps,, another old phart!.

Rode my bike past training this morning about 10.30 and they finished at 11.20 so I guess I missed the first hour. Saw Lewis and melch walking off as I arrived and Hogan, Keilty and the Weid arriving late. Did not see Brayshaw, Tracca, Tyson, Stretch, AVB, ANB, Neville, Maynard, Wagner, Or Fritsch, thought I saw TMac early on. Didn’t notice McKenna. they were changing gear when I arrived so maybe the first hour was running drills. The hour I saw was fairly light on, two groups, each split into 4 groups practicing picking up a rolling ball, baulking a coach and short passing 25 meters to the next group one of which would mark the ball, handball to a running player who kicked to a target and so on. They swung it around to kick left foot, then right foot. They then played some game to lighten things up with groups facing each other inside an area with cones. A player would handball to a team mate, another handball then one would do a dribble kick straight at the one of the opposing team. He then had to take the ball cleanly or it was deemed a point to the opposition. No juggling allowed. Oscar Baker showed some very clean hands and quick reflexes. Indeed the few times I have seen him he has ticked the boxes with sure ball handling. i spent a lot of time watching Viney who was working away from the main group with 4 assistant coaches who were kicking balls to on the lead out of the goal square, mark, swing onto his left and snap at goal. Later the coaches were playing keeping off with Viney trying to intercept rapid handballs forcing him to weave from side to side, intercept, then snap on goal. All this went on continuously with little time to recover. Viney looked unimpeded to me and was working at a much higher intensity than the main group. Later he was running laps and repeat sprints. Maybe he is cherry ripe but they need to [censored] him harder so he makes round 1. Finished with everyone lining up in the pocket needing to slot a goal through on the angle with a stiff breeze bending to ball toward the Near point post so you had to aim at the far goal post to have any chance. Most got it through first time but Frost, King and J Smith I think took a couple of goes under a lot of pressure from their peers. And that was it. No standouts that I noticed apart from Viney. I then rode over the park to watch a bit of Storm training, Billy S and Cam Smith looked in good nick.

Thank you. Nothing will ever top that. I knew it would be all down hill from there ..... that is until we get to do a show on the first Wednesday in October.