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Got to training late this morning. Petty was walking off to the rooms early; didnt sight Lever, nor Angus, Viney or Lewis; competitive drills where they had to clear the ball from a stoppage and get the ball to an outside runner who would deliver a pass to the leading forward coming out of the goal square, closely checked by a defender. Pruess vs May for much of the drill. Does that mean anything? May trained strongly, Oscar B was impressive in a contested drill where you had to work the ball through heavy traffic, get the ball to a coach and then try to smother his kick. Got the smother in everytime. While the key backs practiced punching high ball kicked into Rawlings with a pad on his back, the others did a session of goal kicking. It seemed to be just a free for all of set shots and snaps, no inkling of any coach working on set shot technique! I haven’t seen anyone working with our key forwards on technique and routine etc. must be old school. I watch Weid out 2 ones straight through from 45 dead in front, no issues there at practice but game day.... and watching the key backs in the punching drill there was no emphasis on punching the ball to the boundary side on the contest. They got complimented whether they punched it inboard or straight ahead...again I must be old school, (where is Anthony Ingerson these days)? That was about it for observations.

Lewis on Retirement “I’m going to leave the game at the end of the year feeling really fulfilled in what I’ve achieved". He seems happy to finish in the the VFL. He will keep teaching the young guys. He seems genuine in this: “We’re going through a bit of a tough period at the moment, so I need to be there support these young kids and hopefully prolong their careers and make sure they understand the learnings you can get through the bad times can obviously help during the good times as well.” I'm very happy he came to the Dees. He has taught our players a lot. He kept them hungry after the first final last year. They have a better understanding of how to be a professional player. Gave us leadership when sorely needed. He may get to play off against his best mate Roughy, in the VFL. One to watch!

Heard he's been magnificent internally, particularly with the younger players. Hope he stays on in a coaching capacity.

Yyyaaaawwwnnnnn

TMac has played some of his best games when Hogan was not in the team even tho he got the best defender. Hogan injury in 2017 was the reason Tom went forward. His support in 2017 (iirc) was Pederson as Watts was also injured. Weid was his support last year when Hogan was absent. imv the absence of an experienced side kick doesn't explain Tom's alarming half season long form slump. If Tom is injured he should be rested. If not we should play him and Sam for the rest of the season so they get experience playing together. They both need to be up and about for our 2020 campaign.

The normal suspects have bagged him hard, please don't speak for everybody, he was brought to the club for lots of reasons, the positives have far outweighed the perceived negatives

Must have been 10 ripping "OK" games since he won the Hawthorn B&F in 2014 and finished 2nd in 2016.

Earl as you probably know I have not been a big fan of the Weid however I have watched him closely a number of times at Casey and AFL level. IMO the one thing I do not doubt is his kicking ability, he is a good kick. He missed that last kick IMO simply because of the pressure situation. Whatever his inabilities are kicking for goal is not one of them. At the recent Willy game he kicked three goals from good distances in crappy wind conditions.

I was thrilled personally that the late, great Trevor Barker was on the list. I coached the Cheltenham High Football team in the 70's and Trevor was in the team. No, he was not a star but a borderline selection week by week. He was a great kid nevertheless. When I heard that Trevor was playing for St Kilda seconds after he left school I thought that was a fantastic effort, Little did I know he was to become a super star in his own right. So sad he passed away at the age of just 39. Watching some Barker highlights I couldn't help comparing him with the also late, great Robbie Flower. They were both such spectacular fearless players. What do others think?

If Weideman was at another club I guarantee a lot on this board would be calling for us to chase him. We saw his potential at the end of last season, he showed improvement on the weekend barring the obvious miss. Also people crying we've had no first round draft picks yet calling for us to trade it for a key forward this year... Please. TMac & Weideman are not alone on their output from the back end of last year. Chill the F/%k out and give the 11 remaining games a go before calling for these changes

Can see where your coming from in regards to Trac, However I think we need to lower our expectations of him. Having a knee reco at a young age wouldn't of helped his development and unfortunately we've now discovered he doesn't have the tank to play in the middle. This will effect his disposal numbers. He hasn't been his best this year no doubt, but he's doing some really key things in our forward line which stacks up well against the comp. - Leading the comp for ground ball gets inside fwd 50, something we really lack from other players. - 6th in the comp for goal assists. - 14th for tackles inside fwd 50 (highest demon) Hopefully he can clean up his goal kicking and have a big second half of year.

Agree PSD I watched him at Willy a couple of weeks ago and he was sticking up for the kids who were getting mauled by much more mature Willy players. Ended up getting report and if I am correct he got caught retaliating. Numerous Willy players did much worse. We have had our monies worth, a pity he could not have got us to a GF last year.

Pruess becomes first ruck option if Gawn is injured Pruess does not have the mobility to play as a permanent forward whilst giving Gawn a chop out nor is he that good a mark to play that role Pruess does not have the tank to run out an AFL game as first ruck option Forget the SCG it isn't big enough a ground to expose his weaknesses You will see a trimmer Pruess next season and beyond

Love this kid. Three games in and he already looks the goods. Dont forget to smash that Like button if you agree.

TIL (Today I Learned) Clarko showed Lewis the door by offeringg him a 1 year deal and telling him if he wanted longer he should explore other options. He didn't see the writing on the wall when he performed badly in their Bulldogs semi final. he offered him 1 more year. It was the non-offer of the Hawthorn captaincy that had Lewis slamming the door on his way out. And the week before the semi in 2016, Jordan was BOG with 40 disposals and 153 AF points against Geelong. You don't show someone the door after a performance like that, you're trying to re-write history. You don't rate B&F's? How about grand finals? 2015 GF: 26 disp, 9 marks. 7 clearance. 114 AF points. 2nd highest 2014 GF: 37 disp, 8 marks, 139 AF points. 3rd highest 2013 GF 26 disp, 11 marks, 111 AF points, 1st highest 2012 GF: 20 disp, 1 mark, 86 AF points, 5th highest 2008 GF: 30disp, 7 mark, 93 AF points, 6th highest (22 years old) Lewis is the exact kind of player we needed to bring in for premiership experience, leadership, and to get that 1 year that Clarko thought he had left AND the extra 2 years to lure him to make the move. We all knew he'd slow down in his 2nd year. Making the prelim and expecting May & Lever to make a difference that would provide him the padding to sit back and provide us with disposal out of defence, was our big error this year. If only May had not come back unfit.

I think the opposite, I’d play them both in the forward line for the rest of the season. The seasons a write-off so nothing to lose. Let them get some continuity working together and hope they gel and find form. There’s a good chance we won’t land a big forward over the off-season who will solve our forward line woes so they may be all we have again next season.

I was checking to see if there were any images online from Training today and found this gem from a few months back. Always nice to have a free portrait taken by a professional photographer @Satyriconhome.

absolute rubbish. Our backline instantly improved when he came back in. he is very good at impacting a game. go back and look at the hawks final last year. His first 2 years were invaluable to us as a team. he accelerated Olivers transition from an inside clearance player to a 30 possession star every week. He helped gel a backline that was average at best when he came in. and hes still the best kick in our backline. 2 years ago he was instrumental in helping us break those woeful hoodoos against the saints, north etc. no-one was standing up and he made a difference. He was without doubt a bit tick in our recruitment to help us get to finals. He was the cool head under pressure in close games. tell me else was going to help us break through those barriers ?

Agree with Hunt but can't agree with Petracca as most disappointing. I think there are aspects of his game that are disappointing particularly his set shot goal kicking from inside 30 and his fading in and out of games but he is far from the most disappointing.

Been a good player for the club, played a role in setting standards and expectations. On field was a leader and helped get us over the line in games we previously lost. Haters going to hate and never admit they might be wrong. Showing there lack of class to the end I expected he'd spend the second half of his 3rd year at Casey but thought it would be under a different set of circumstances. Cheers Lewy and all the best to you and your family in whatever path you choose

I’ve been a big fan. We got him across with the 3-year carrot knowing full well that, on field, his third year would be a diminishing return. (I still would like him in the team to take kick-outs though, and was perplexed he wasn’t selected when Salem was a late out v Giants.) Leaving aside the off-field benefits he clearly has brought to the club, let’s not forget that we gave up next to nothing for him and, in his first two years as we rose up the ladder, he played 43 of a possible 47 games, finishing top 3, then top 10, in the B&F.

It was huge when it surfaced he was joining MFC. The same year Hogan extended. We’ve all bagged him pretty hard at times, some fair, some not so fair. Still, not many in the game can walk away with 300+ games and 4 premiership wins to brag about.

Never brought into the hype when he was drafted.. didn’t get excited when he was talked up in the VFL.. have since watched his first 3 games at AFL level and I’m sold!!

A lot's been said about our terrible inaccuracy this year and it's directly cost us games v's West Coast and Adelaide. But what about our opposition's incredible accuracy this year: Geelong 20.6 Essendon 20.10 St Kilda 15.5 Hawthorn 11.8 GC 9.6 WC 13.7 GWS 14.10 Adelaide 14.6 We have currently conceded an aggregate total of 150.98 which is an accuracy of 61%, a full 2 per cent ahead of St Kilda and a whopping 16 per cent ahead of Adelaide, the team that incidentally benefited from our gross inaccuracy on the weekend. If this kind of accuracy continues, we are on pace to concede 301.196 which is a 60.6% conversion - which would be the most accurate against/conceded score in a season since 2000 (I didn't research any earlier). Brisbane hold the highest opposition accuracy of 59% in 2017. Is this a coincidence or there something in our game plan or lack of execution of it, that is allowing us to concede such accurate scores? Will Lever and May assist in our opposition kicking less accurately? Will the data correct itself and we can enjoy more sides kicking inaccurately against us, and hence win some more games on the run home. The opposition's accuracy cost us wins over West Coast and Adelaide. We had equal scoring shots to St Kilda (15.5.95) in a 40 point loss and Hawthorn and GC were in the game in the last minute due to their accuracy.

You do realise the current year is 2019?

Roughy is finished

So you don’t want to take a risk with Weed and T Mac but want to bring in a bloke who has 3 knee recos and achieved nothing of note when playing. I’d be sticking with what we have got if Patton is our only option.

Sure you can, but as the greats have said (Dunstall being a main one) what you practice is what you revert to in game. Otherwise why train anything ever.

Actually I believe that coaching and selection (unseparated) have been the biggest disappointment, leading to limited skills depth in a young brigade that should be full of running and a threshold of performance standards. The greatest upside of the season for me is the stabilisation of Frosty and the presence of Hore to assist in the backline intercepts.

Better players than Lewis have done this - Simon Madden and Terry Daniher are two who spring immediately to mind and it looks like his old mate Rough will be doing the same too. Just guys who love playing footy and enjoy everything about being in a footy club. It says a lot about him as a bloke I think. If anything, it probably enhances his legacy.

That’s a bit sad. Why bother posting this? The guy’s retiring after a great career in football. That’s all really.

An excellent investment. I hope he sticks around to help get the club up again. He knows how to do that.

Leaves the game having achieved what few have. 4 times. He was a good get for us when we were needing guidance in how to win and how to train and how to be professional. Will be interesting to see if he stays on in a coaching capacity.

He was doing some coaching on the weekend with Casey also which is a great effort.

Surely by now we recognise that this type of thinking is fools gold. Much better to get our best side on the park and build some momentum and confidence going into next year.

It’ll be interesting to see if he goes straight down the coaching path or diverts to media He has an incredible football brain He’s been okay for us - our backline looks far more organized with him instructing His experience in the finals last year was invaluable

Can't argue with much of that, except I will say that even though Petracca hasn't hit consistent output yet, this is still his best season to date (which I guess is pretty uninspiring in itself at this stage of his career). But from my view his improvement over the last few years appears to be linear if you look at it holistically. His trouble is he is still prone to going missing for entire games, which is incredibly frustrating given his abilities and potential. And of course his set shot kicking. On the positive side, he is asserting himself more in the contest, using his strong body to his advantage and has set up many scoring opportunities this year. Tmac on the other hand I agree getting a bit exposed this year. Whilst he has shown patches of dominance over the last few years up forward, even when Hogan was injured and he was #1 target, he has proven himself to not be such a natural forward this year. Whether that's because he is carrying an injury remains to be seen, I certainly hope that's the case or else we are in desperate need of an established key forward over the trade period.

The value of Lewis is shown by the fact that even in his third year which was always going to be a stretch he is being forced out of the team not by form but by the fact that because we cannot make the finals the sensible thing is to play the newcomers. Unfortunately we probably need another Lewis like recruit to replace him given that we don't have a surfeit of experienced players. Thanks Jordan... you delivered what was asked.

I'll leave this post up as a public warning for baiting. People complained about @Matsuo Basho yesterday and he was warned. It's only fair that you don't bait him. Enough. General warning to everyone.

TMac is averaging almost 5 possessions less a game and hasn't had half the impact Tracca has at various times. Couldn't disagree with this more.

Felt the same mate but so far he's stepped up to the level and looks at home. We could have a good one here.

Personally, I think he should come in as a way to ease the load on Gawn a bit each game, since it isn't really practical to rest big Max outright. Even if Preuss is only barely adequate in the role, it is worth it if Gawn getting a slightly easier run at it for half a season in 2019 means he is a bit fresher and, for want of a better word, younger, in years to come. Plus, it might just be that what Preuss needs most is a good run at AFL level. At least nobody will be left wondering what the real options are for 2020. If he goes well, then good, if he doesn't, then now we know.

Give the big lad a chance to develop. Like many posters have pointed out, he’s got access to the best player in the league for what he’s aspiring to become.

he's barely fit enough to run out three-quarters of a vfl game and blows up after a half of afl his fitness level is coming from a long, long way back

Another year goes by where Garry Lyon is once again shafted.

The joke ________ Your head

Preuss is our backup 1st ruck (as opposed to our 2nd ruckman). We have the best 1st ruck in the competition. Question answered I'd say. On a completely unrelated note, man our forward line sucks. I wish we had some more tall timber on our list.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/128-118+Olympic+Blvd,+Melbourne+VIC+3004/@-37.8244731,144.9860747,623m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m12!1m6!3m5!1s0x0:0xd863a9874864d7dd!2sGoschs+Paddock!8m2!3d-37.8259367!4d144.9872096!3m4!1s0x6ad642941484cdf3:0x904f90eaab90b398!8m2!3d-37.8244752!4d144.987169 Gosch's Paddock is large enough for Two footy ovals... If the rectangular pitch is moved to another location. When the Punt Rd widening works start, we could even build above and across Punt Rd to property on the eastern side of the road.? ... see 371 Punt Rd, the corner site. https://www.google.com/maps/place/371+Punt+Rd,+Cremorne+VIC+3121/@-37.8250266,144.9878863,623m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x6ad64293f4738ffb:0x8adae4c4318d5e65!8m2!3d-37.8250287!4d144.9889806 ... This site, we could build above and across Swan Street to abut the Richmond Station... ... see also the Petrol station site, 399-411 Punt Rd https://www.google.com/maps/place/399-411+Punt+Rd,+Cremorne+VIC+3121/@-37.8264328,144.9877542,623m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x6ad64296ad4bdc49:0xe81586c52c6c3b9e!8m2!3d-37.8264349!4d144.9888485 ... again we could build above and over Punt Rd having our buildings either side of Punt Rd. ... and another possible site, but further from the station... 449 Punt Rd... https://www.google.com/maps/place/4%2F449+Punt+Rd,+Cremorne+VIC+3121/@-37.8284228,144.9883268,21z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x6ad64296d5861663:0x7ff4937bfe9fabe9!8m2!3d-37.8284228!4d144.9884636 ............................................................................ I still prefer taking over the land across from from Gosch's Paddock, 112 -158 Olympic Blvd. ... the green space adjacent to the Richmond Station entry... and the adjacent land, with the 4 Clay Tennis-Courts on it. seen here. >>> https://www.google.com/maps/place/Goschs+Paddock,+112-158+Olympic+Blvd,+Melbourne+VIC+3004/@-37.8245843,144.9846351,1247m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x6ad642943affc621:0xb57f9feca28eebda!8m2!3d-37.8245886!4d144.9868238 .

His tap work is sublime, his marking is magnificent and for a guy that is well over 2m tall, he picks the ball up off the deck better than some rovers of a fraction his height. The guy is a freak. Love his sense of humor, love his compeditiveness, but beyond all else, I love his passion and loyalty to the red and blue jumper. Go Maxy - long live the bearded warrior.

This guy will be a fantastic player. Next week on the MCG, he begins the journey to making those wings his own. Watch this space!