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Some more info At end of session when players split into groups for more running, Jones, Salem, JKH and Gawn went for a run around the Tan KK looked like the new boy out to impress, sharp in every drill, easy guy to talk to as well Looking forward to post Xmas when Gawny and Preuss do some one on one on training, might rival the Petracca/Oliver Jones/Brayshaw for intensity Billy Stretch is fully recovered from toe injury, same with Maynard and hips, now a slow build up before Xmas ready to fully participate after Fritsch is still built like a stick, but has obviously worked on his base over the break, easily outrunning the other first years in Spargo and Petty Lever is bigger in the arms and shoulders, so has obviously taken the opportunity to do some weight work when off legs, don't think he doubts for a second he will be ready to go Rd 1 All the players knew exactly what was required of them for the session, it was no [censored] farting about between drills, run like a well oiled machine, carrying on from last year No sign of Austin Bradtke, Guy Walker was working away, sometimes on his own, other times with the rehabbers From what I could glean, others were inside getting physio etc, Oskar Baker came out for a walk and a look around The rehab as such was mainly Lever, others like Viney, Stretch, Tim Smith, Oscar Mac, Walker, Maynard did bits and pieces, assume once full squad sessions start, there will a more structured 'rehab' group There was no Goodwin or McCartney, all other coaches in attendance

@Nick_Bowen Former Kangaroo small forward Corey Wagner expected to get to Melbourne under new pre-season selection rule I didn't see much of Corey this year but the Casey Demons have mentioned he's been a good player down there. I know some of his games he was winning big numbers in the midfield. Outside midfielder who has a big motor and can see him slotting in well on the wing position.

Good stuff. Played some pretty amazing games for Casey this year that made me think that North should never have delisted him. Glad he's getting another shot at it.

Labor is hopeless, the Greens are insane, and the Liberals are pathetic. Great choices.

Reckon this will be a nice get. Liked Corey in his draft year, had zip and made things happen, should be good depth in an area where we need it (outside run). Ended up going the pick after Mitch King in 2015. Another tick for the Casey partnership as well. VFL: Corey Wagner’s AFL journey

must be Tasmanian!

Will be depth at best. If either of the Wagner's jump in to our 22, it will mean some players have gone significantly backwards, and I will worry about our finals chances, let alone a flag chance.

Totally agree, injury riddled time at Roos, reckon we said have a year or 2 at Casey and we will have a close look Already knows game plan and systems

Or... one of the Wagners has gone significantly forwards...

I hope their gym is called Pig Milk. ??

Thanks you to all who were able to make it to training, for the great pics and info as well?

Jason Taylor on the Inside Melbourne podcast never went in to specifics on players but was asked about whether we needed a key forward. Can't read too much in to his response which was basically if they're good enough we'll look at the key forwards, but he did mention we've got Austin Bradke coming on to the list and it might be a case of reassessing the tall talent in 12 months time. I wouldn't hold your breath expecting Williams to be picked at either of our early picks.

I'd prefer to reserve my judgement on any player like Corey and give them a chance without making instant prognostications. A few years ago we might have said that about James Harmes and Neville Jetta.,

He can't even spell. Briiighton has three x i

You have onions under your sausage?

I'm struggling with the story, particularly as the first sentence states "...due to the [AFL's] strict rules and regulations". Since when did the AFL ever have "strict rules and regulations"? I thought the whole idea was to have a fluid set of rules which could be bent whenever it is deemed necessary by Gil, Hocking and the whole Commission.

He's a big unit. I'd be happy to start him in the team up forward and see how he goes. Will be hard to match up on. Without Jesse I wouldn't want TMac or Weid having to leave us a big man short in the forward line when Maxy is resting on the pine.

Good to hear about stretch. Really hoping he can nail preseason and push for one those wing roles we seem to struggle with next year.

They will in a few years Macca, when they see the following we have. Well be on radio by then.

Yes it’s mids at 23 and 28 or 29 and 32 adjusted after father sons and academy selections Hoping for O’halloran and/or Sturt. Thinking more likely Jacob Kennerley, Tom McKenzie, Fraser Turner and Will Hamill will get called at one of our picks.

I'm with you Wadda ... we need to put in a submission for the greater good. And that 'greater good' is more of the folding stuff for the A Day at the Races crew.

Ah i see, there's a catch. Well, what if you are actually a non profit charity such as A Day at the Races crew? Surely they can hand over a ticket in that instance?

Ha ha ha! The concept has certainly been a huge talking point over the last 2 days ... the whole thing kicks off sometime in January but the entry fee for any of the potential horses is a one-off $500 fee with no additional fees and all the money raised from the entry fees goes to charity. They have obviously thought the whole thing through properly and a host of trainers, jockeys & owners are fully endorsing the concept.

Wow, what a great idea! Get the fans involved. Perhaps we can extend this to the Demons when you get a player running around for you. You get to talk to him during the match and yell and scream why is nobody forward! You can also pay his match fees while your at it!! Where do i sign up Macca!??

Might happen, but I think your left nut should be very nervous mate

The latest Cal Twomey Phantom draft seems to have missed our first pick (23) or am I missing something? http://m.afl.com.au/news/2018-11-20/callum-twomeys-2018-phantom-draft

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/from-coffees-to-kicks-wagner-to-join-dees-under-new-rules-20181120-p50h4g.html

The voting is Australia-wide, you have to register to vote and you get 1 vote only. And that vote enables you a chance at having the horse you voted for to be running around for you. Acting like the owner for the day. The additional $500k prizemoney is to be shared amongst 14 fans who are lucky enough to a horse running for them. Pays right down to 14th.

Or a VFL player like Fritsch.

Negative

Tend to agree, although I think Tyson's spot is there for the taking. One of Kolodjashnij or Hunt could step straight in, but Wagner could keep them honest. Probably better suited to that role than Tyson in a direct comparison.

I'm happy with that, important to have the depth with his type. Was likely to get drafted so it's a good swift move.

Corey Wagner is a very good inclusion to our list as IMO is better than an average player and that is what we need . Adding players that can make the grade and make us a better team with very good depth. The Roos delisted him in 2017 which was a surprise delisting.

Now that Jake Melksham and Michael Hibberd have their own gym, the players not back yet will have somewhere to train if they don't want to come into the club before they have to Alex, the high performance/rehab guy also has a gym where they go Except Harmes of course, who is still enjoying Bali???

In his inimitable style, Titus O'Reilly has commented on the AFL Rule Changes in his summary of the Worst Ideas of AFL Season 2018 (and mentioned a few other things, too).

I assume he was wearing it for the time trial and forgot to take it off. Or he wanted to make sure he got all his steps in for the day. Fitbit/Apple watch users will know what I mean.

Yes i agree re The Australian Cup. Could be a good race, but they need to smarten it up. Im not really sure what you mean by a lottery? Im also good at tinning things!

Mitch got his surname tattoed on his back. Only problem was that he got it done in old english cursive and the artist did an E instead of a C. So Mitch has a tattoo which says 'Elark'

Well we might happen to snag one of the horses in the lottery ... 14 horses so 14 people who are lucky enough to have a horse running for them share in a prize pool of $500k. Good dosh. I'll be getting a few entries in but I've got a mate who is tinny when it comes to landing these sort of prizes ... I'll have to let him know although he might already know about it. The Australian Cup has lost a bit of its lustre of late so the new race might reignite that race as well ... it's run the week before but it is a 2000m race so it attracts more of the staying types. But the Mile race suits the types of horses we breed these days so it all makes sense to me at least. I reckon a lot of the increased prizemoney should be directed at the 1200m to 1600m Group 1's anyway ... the Everest being a case in point. Aussie races for Aussie horses & Aussie connections.

Gotta love this!!!!

I think this is actually a good rule because it rewards clubs that put some initiative into recruiting for their second tier clubs. In the case of Corey Wagner there was the fact that his brother was already at the club but we clearly gave him the chance to play at state league level and he performed by having a consistent season and by winning the B & F at Casey. From what I saw of him, he was better than some of our depth players in the VFL and, had he been on our list, might have snuck in some games at senior level. I hope we offer him a contract and he becomes our first SPP on December 1.

Looks like initial reports were incorrect and it will be just for previously AFL listed players. In which case Corey Wagner might be the most obvious candidate for Melbourne. A watch this space for the next few days and maybe a move will be made after the national draft but prior to the rookie draft if it's possible to do so that late.

Training report from Facebook: TRAINING REPORT: It's training time - and what a time of year it is, especially if you're just coming off an impressive year that saw us make a prelim! Hard to believe it's only been around 10 weeks since then, yet so much has changed. First off - it's quite different going to training knowing that Dom Tyson, Dean Kent, Jesse Hogan, Bernie Vince and Cam Pedersen won't be there. All five have been mainstays since I was a relative regular at training. At the same time, it's exciting knowing that the likes of Braydon Preuss, Kade Kolodjashnij and Steven May will potentially join us on the track. As is the possibility of Jake Lever also joining us on the track - Lever might have already been with us but his presence was so sorely missed during the back end of the season. Anyway, the boys show up 20 minutes larer than expected, but a few guys worth keeping an eye on who is here: -Preuss: Like holy shit he's a big unit. I could tell who he was from the other side of the ground. He is bloody tall and still has a bit of development to do. Exciting times. -Viney: has returned early, which is good, genuinely wants to set more of a standard which he set during the finals. -Lever: back up and running and on track to return early in the season if early signs are to go by. Rather light workload at the moment - not that it's much of a surprise - but just a good boost to see him out there. Doing light stuff with Oscar McDonald. -Jones: Chunk is out there likewise, which again I think makes the younger lads a fair bit more comfortable settling back in with his influence. -Gawn: Famously set the track alight last year and is back for another go at maintaining his status as the best ruckman in the game. -ANB: The marathon man is back to set the track on fire again as he always does. As good a runner as I have ever seen in football. -Brayshaw: Fresh off 3rd in the Brownlow in 2018, he's also here to try and win it from the outset. -May: On track for the first time in a Melbourne jumper which is fantastic. The boys start off with a few running drills - small groups are the order of the day as they just run around the ground, doing small sprints here and there and just general 'keep running' stuff. A few of the impressive runners early (even though it's pretty straightforward stuff until the footy's come out - which is what I'm generally more interested in seeing who has kept sharp) - Kolodjashnij leads a group of runners, Gawn - in a group including Salem, Jones, JKH and others - stays up the front of his group. In a genuine group of runners, Preuss and May bring up the rear, but when you have an athletic group including KK, ANB, Smith, Brayshaw and the like that's no bad thing. Anyway, say what you like about May being at the back - he isn't here for his long-distance running ability. In any case - ANB genuinely takes the piss. He stays up front the whole time, before turning the jets on and putting about 40m on second-placed Joel Smith over the last lap alone. He really is a running freak of nature. Never seen anyone like him running around. Looks like the footy's are out. The first genuine test of pre-season is here (never mind the running) - let's see who is clean. Early doors sees a little 20m kicking drill - it is largely clean save for a few sloppy kicks here and there. Another drill happens at the other end of the ground - one of the groups has a chain of handballs before finishing with a goal, while the other group does likewise but it's a clearing kick from defense in effect. Skills seem quite sharp at the moment - all handballs are hitting the target, no loose balls on the ground, the running patterns are flowing and the kicks are hitting their targets on the run. Keeping a close eye on Kolo for a bit, given his status as a clean ball-user. He shows it early on. His second shoe - off a step, gloriously hits JKH straight on the chest. It's a bullet. Marking/one-on-one drill going on afterwards. Group nearest to me has Preuss and May in a one-on-one and it's clear that you can see May's one-on-one ability when it's his time to get it as he expertly creates space for himself. He is most certainly going to be an asset. The group is split into three for more running drills - with the time trial done and dusted, it's clear they split the group into top-tier runners (ANB, Smith, Kolo, Brayshaw, Wagner), mid-tier runners (Fritsch, Spargo, Maynard, Petty) and bottom-tier runners (Weideman, Keilty, Frost, Preuss, May). Meantime, the senior players have made their way off, content with their work. Running goes to schedule, Nibs leads the way of course, boys are done with their work but it's been a solid session nevertheless.

vandenBerg is definitely best 22. I know Hunt's faults, but it would be great if he has a big year. Oscar Baker has the outside size and traits we need. It will be an interesting summer for him.

I wonder if anyone knows anyone in the group. Everyone has a skeleton or two in the closet. I’m not saying we should blackmail them, but we should blackmail them.

Ok well I’m pretty sick of talking to you about it too and don’t wish to take it any further. Done with it.

Totally worth it mate. Will be a great experience. Looking forward to hearing about it!

Where's the beard? I thought he wanted to learn from the best.

Mrs Leg and Mrs OD would be impressed. Different tastes perhaps.

When we played in 88, it had been as long for us since our last flag as what it has been for Carlton now. Hope that those role have been reversed in another 31 years with us having several more flags on the clubroom walls and Carlton yet to win another.