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Dropped by training for 30 minutes this morning in beautiful sunny and calm conditions. Neville was running laps endlessly with Crossy, OMac running laps as well and AVB walking around a little. Viney showed up late and did some close in ball work with Hannan but not much else. Didn’t sight Lever while I was there. The others were going hard at it with numerous drills moving the ball by foot, kicking low 30m passes to a player on the lead. It wasn’t perfect but I thought most players were hitting their targets. These 30 meter passes are the ones we seem to be over cooking on the few occasions that our mids lower their eyes when delivering to a target in our forward line. There were also numerous drills where a player had to move through heavy traffic to get the ball with other players armed with the big pads,so there were some heavy hits as players tried to crash through. Harmes, JKH, KK, Stretch and Jeffy were involved in all the quick ball movement drills, moving well and delivering to targets. There was a lot going on around the ground so it was hard to take it all in. Training finished with the usual freestyle goal kicking practice at the northern end where players practiced whatever they needed to I suppose, set shots from 40 m for some, running snap shots for others. i have mentioned previously that given our abysmal set shot accuracy this year why aren’t our forwards working on technique and routine with a specialist coach to iron out their issues. So it was interesting when at the end of training Brendan McCartney came over for a chat and said he was not happy with the standard of training, that there is still a lot of work needed if we are to improve and the playing group, although young had to understand this. I asked him about our goal kicking yips and shouldn’t we be working on our technique more and developing routines. His response was interesting, yes they are spooked on setshots but no we have done all that technique stuff, it will only turn around when they stop thinking about it. By which I think he means to stop thinking about the mechanics of it all because that is self defeating. This makes sense when I think about it because no matter what level of sport you played you will at some stage executed something well above your normal level and I bet when you did you were not thinking much about technique, more likely you were thinking of outcomes and the rest was just happening subconsciously.

ABSOLUTE GARBAGE ( Where is the DRILL) Training finished with the usual freestyle goal kicking practice at the northern end where players practiced whatever they needed to I suppose, set shots from 40 m for some, running snap shots for others. MORE GARBAGE ( Even more so) I asked him about our goal kicking yips and shouldn’t we be working on our technique more and developing routines. His response was interesting, yes they are spooked on setshots but no we have done all that technique stuff, it will only turn around when they stop thinking about it. By which I think he means to stop thinking about the mechanics of it all because that is self defeating. Well ... my response to this is ... We really DO have our heads in the sand.. Goal kicking is an art and needs SPECIALIST instruction. PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE under Match conditions "STOP THINKING ABOUT IT... SERIOUSLY???? THINK MORE ABOUT IT AND FIX THE PROBLEM Nup GARBAGE, And the worst is the Club STILL STILL cannot see and remedy a problem!! Hnmmm Thanks for Observations Earl Hood!

I have no problem with Crowd Violence at all. What i do object to is some no name Behavioral Officer telling me to stop yelling loudly for my team, which i do and have done for 48 years so far. I will not put up with that under any circumstance

May is old and slowing in the same way that Gawn is old and slowing. Mays 'limited' future takes us through to 2023-2025 depending on his health. There's a lot of water to go under the bridge between now and then. Brian Lake only played 3 years for Hawthorn... May won't be our games record holder but he is more than capable of helping us get some silverware.

The Melbourne thing to do would be win the next 9 on the trot then lose R23 to North to fall short on %age.

Geez, I hope this situation leads to segregation of opposition fans at footy matches. For years I haven't wanted to sit next to some ill educated boofhead supporting the opposition, especially ill eductaed Magpie or bomber fans. Bring it on !!! If my wife brings in the Behavioural Awareness Officers into my lounge room when I'm watching the footy, I'm stuffed !!!!

I had to explain to my 10 year old what the C bomb was after a game sitting next to @Bitter but optimistic. Most unpleasant, though he claims his presence is "educational"...

I must admit I drop the occasional f word, not directed at anyone, but just in frustration at missing the easy goal, or missing the team mate who is 30 metres in the clear by 10 metres.

You could not script the timing of this one. What did he think he was going to do?

Thanks for the report. Wanted to avoid turning this in to a goal kicking thread but I think that's the way it will go anyway, so here's my two cents. Players have to have a routine and they have to have a workable repeatable technique. It doesn't have to be perfect but it does have to get the basics right - namely the ball drop has to be smooth, as low as possible and consistent with the motion of the kick. It's probably not practical to have every goal kicking session slowed down to feature a coach working with the players. At some stage they need to just practice goal kicking by themselves and not be coached through it. As long as it's monitored to make sure they are sticking to a routine and keeping their technique that's fine by me. And yes, when it comes to game day you have to be in your routine and in a clear head space. Focusing on technique never works, just ask any golfer. The focus has to be on the routine which should be a series of mental and physical processes.

He struggled at the start of this year playing forward, it's only when they swapped him and Libba that his form took off. Good player but not what we need based on the cost. Yeah he'd be great for us but it would mean moving Brayshaw or Viney and I'd rather just get those guys right. Viney hasn't been nearly as bad as some around here think and Brayshaw should come good even though I'm not a huge believer in him as a superstar. 2018 might be his peak but it's a matter of getting him back to that level with a better defensive game and cleaner kicking. In terms of improving midfield and high half forward depth we should develop Kyle Dunkley, Sparrow and Spargo. James Jordon played forward/mid for Casey before the bye as well and had some nice moments. And I still want to see Lockhart with a preseason up around the ball more. Trade for needs, draft for depth.

Don’t we all...

We are the “Special Needs” Club. Look at The Filth last year, Backline decimated by injuries, but they make the GF and were very stiff to lose, and in 2019 where are they? after starting a week later than us, they are again well entrenched in the 8. We just make up F$&@ing excuses....

We must win as many games as possible to lead us into next season in a good spot. Also needed if we are to continue increasing membership next year. And finally if players are playing hurt then give them extended rests and have a look as more of the kids to see if they can cut it for next season.

I would like to see Preuss in like I have for the last 3 weeks but I ain’t holding my breath.

Because we are playing like 5hit!

Seen some people trying to tie criticism of the heavy handed over zealousness by the AFL with the policing of violent fools who start fights at matches. They are obviously two separate issues. Everyone wants violent thugse kicked out of stadiums. If I had my way they would be banned for life. It is a totally separate issue to the policing of speech and cheering supporters who may or may not say some rude words and shout loudly at games. Violence, physical intimidation, serious threats etc etc = automatic eviction and ban Screaming loudly, yelling at incompetent umpires, booing opposition players etc etc = normal crowd behaviour

For full clarity though, let's remember the full trade scenario ended up being: OUT: Hogan, Pick 65 (which they didn't use) IN: May, Kolodjashnij, Sparrow

Let's not be too depressed. Though some will doubtless improve, in the nature of things some will also go backwards. Other clubs just have to look at us and say Richmond to see this is the case.

This is my worry.... We need 'another this' and 'another that' - tell me, whilst all this is going on, the other clubs remain stagnant?

Michael Gleeson, whom I respect greatly as a footy journo, put it really well in this section of his article this evening: "Fans are thus now better prepared to accept the word of the thrown-out loudmouth when they protest (very quickly on social media replete with videos of the incident and just as quickly on talkback radio) that they did nothing, than they are to accept the assurances of the officials that the person deserved to be thrown out. The loud and ejected have been allowed to be turned into the victims because the AFL has allowed itself to be cast as the aloof bureaucracy trying to take the game away from the people. If you are going to do it, be honest and tell people why. People want to be condescended to by officials about as much as they want to sit near an offensive supporter behaving badly." 4 Points: How the AFL alienated its fans

An excellent question to which the answer is " I have no idea".

Dunkley to debut this week is my take!!

Be better not to now in my opinion. Similar to the Swans in 2017, I think we'd use up all our tickets getting there and it would end up a pointless endeavor. We'd then be starting behind again, just like last preseason, with worn down players needing surgery/rehab and we'd be staring down the barrel of an underprepared 2020. I personally think we should treat the rest of 2019 as a preseason for 2020. Get the surgeries done now, be extra conservative with rehab and fitness, workshop our game plan and structures, and make some hard decisions about senior players who may need to be dropped to work on weak areas of their games. All about 2020 now. Get a head start so we can have clear air going into preseason.

Of course I did. Don't be so condescending. And I watched his impressive 2016 finals. Stats are incredibly useful, clubs put a lot of time into gathering them. Do you not take any notice of numbers? Josh Dunkley is only 22. Had a ripper of a finals series in his first year at 19. He's a tackling, goal kicking mid that is still learning and from what I understand is very teachable. He averages nearly 6 tackles in his short career, ffs! He certainly wouldn't be our best mid, but offers more than many of our mids/small forwards, perhaps except Clarry, Gus, Harmes, Melk and Trac. Based on this year's form, it could easily be argued that he has more to offer than Viney. Of course he's different than Viney, not apples with apples. Dunkley would get a game in 2019 above Jones, Spargo, Jeffy, ANB, Stretch, JKH and Hannan. If he had more time in the f50 he would kick goals, something our mids and small forwards are not doing. His brother being at the club is of little relevance, other than a drawcard should we sound him out

Dunkley and Melksham are nothing alike as players. This joint is as much of a shambles as our side atm.

Hogan has 72. Melksham alone has 48. Then Tom Mac 43, Hunt 40 etc. etc. Just nonsense.

I'm sure Buckley would've been near the bottom of such a ridiculous list before last year. Does a person's IQ change that dramatically over 18 months? Does it matter? Yeah, nah... Fagan has a brilliant football mind, whatever his IQ. I'd be much happier with the former rather than the later. Rating coach IQs is the ultimate in fan vanity. Nothing surprises me, though.

Pathetic thread, Hysterical supporters of a football club trying to gauge a coach's IQ.

"Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously , and accepting both of them." - George Orwell "1984". "The AFL's message to everyone is clear-come to the footy, barrack as loud as you can, enjoy the game and do so in a responsible manner". - Gil McLachlan. "The fans ultimately decide what that looks like, not me or you, it's the people around you." - Gil McLachlan. "I was on level 3 and it was very awkward. Security was staring anyone down who became animated and several fans were warned for just barracking. It was like we were being spied on." - Nat Edwards. Something may be clear to Gil but not to anyone else. We are all confused. And not happy.

Mathematically yes. Realistically no.

I watched May fairly closely, and thought he had a really good game. He added leadership to the back half, did a lot of little things, used his body well, positioned himself well and attacked the contests. For a first game (I’m discounting the quarter he played earlier in the year), he gets a big tick from me.