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Just back from training. I got there at 9.12 but I was late. They were already out there doing some warm up drills and gentle kicking. The first person I saw was Vanders. He did all the drills other than the match sims and a few of the specialist drills at the end where instead he ran 300m at a fair pace with Harry Petty. He looks in good shape. Petty also completed some of the drills at one stage taking a great grab over Preuss. Bennell and Tomlinson joined the rehab group at about 10 but I don't know what they did as I was on the other side of the ground. After a few handball keepings off type drills where unlike Wednesday there was "respectful tackling" they did match sims. It wasn't full on in terms of tackling but it was in terms of pace. And the news from the sims is "Jack's back". Vines was absolutely outstanding, got leather poisoning, was hard at it and added blind turns, good kicking, clean hand and great balance and agility to the sim. Melk had a great patch where he had it on a string, Fritter was on the end of a few, TMac marked very well and Weed held some good grabs. May's kicking is outstanding and Lever was also busy down back. Jackson and Rivers played the first sim and Jackson is so agile, found the ball in play and moves like a mid with good vision and execution including one blind turn and give off highlighting his work. Rivers looks likely particularly early. Clean, agile and a lovely kick. Neita and Hunt were opposed on my wing. Both were involved and Neita reminds me of a young Langdon with a better kick. I like what I'm seeing of him as he looks a natural winger to me (if there is such a position) and it will be interesting to see how he goes this year. One to watch. Another who impressed was Chandler. He's got a lot of good attributes with speed and agility being the standouts. He can kick too. The downer was Brayshaw leaving early although he didn't look too distressed. It wasn't a leg injury so I really can't add much. Hannan and KK were in rehab and not working very hard. These two don't look close to me. Jones wasn't there when I was but apparently walked some laps before I got there. After the second match sim selected groups did different things. But there were a number who literally ran off to AAMI not to be seen again. There was a clear emphasis on tackling again, Lewis was working with different players on goal kicking snaps and Stafford was working with Jackson on his kicking which looked pretty good to me. I could confirm what we know. Weed has really filled out and looks good taking some nice marks and kicking well. Oh, the other to be really involved was Hibbo. Ran well, defended and had a heap of it but for a lovely looking kick can he miss targets. He's done it his whole career with us so nothing much has changed. Lockhart was also impressive in patches and JJ also was involved. I left at about 11.50 when I decided the footy's were away but they were still going after 12. A long hard session with many of the players looking spent.

Dropped by for an hour, and gossiped with BB for most of that time...and everything he has reported on is spot on. Viney was just in everything. Previous concerns about his footwear/feet couldn't be justified given his outrageous attack on the ball and his running all over the ground. Vanders, as others have noted, can't be all that far away from joining the main group. The interesting thing about the match simulation is that this year we can actually DO match simulation. We can put 36 players ( and more if needed) on the oval. I wanted to see what all the hype was about Jackson, and now I understand. The kid has the vision of Clarry and the agility and ability to find space that is the trademark of the top echelon of players. Will he play ruck? Will he play forward? With his capabilities he might finish up playing midfield. There has a tendency for increasing height in the mids ( Fyfe, Cripps) and this could be the next step. There was one beautiful piece executed between him and Clarry when I first got there. Jackson took possession in the pack, danced past a couple without being touched, and fired off a handball to Clarry who did exactly the same. All the others were flat-footed as the ball sailed down the other end, without them laying a hand on either. Keep an eye on Harry Petty. The glimpses we saw briefly last year point to a real gem. His hands are first class in the air, and poor Brayden Preuss found that out when Petty outjumped him, to take the grab in a marking contest. No mean feat.

I popped down for the fifth time this pre-season (sad i know). Across all those sessions, three players have stood out. 1) Bayley Fritsch - He's impressed every time and today he had a birthday - torched Joel Smith early and then made Stephen May look second rate in match practice beating him in the air and on the ground. Goody now has to decide whether he plays him out of the goalsquare - which is what he did against the Roos in Rd 23 last year. Only proviso I'll make with him is that he also trained the lights out last pre-season and when the real stuff came on, spent the first six weeks struggling before stepping up to the semi-elite level. 2) Alex Neal-Bullen - This guy is putting in a huge summer without his best mate Billy. He made a few big tackles today and read the ball off the pack beautifully. He kicked a nice goal from 45m today as well. And it's been the same every session. He even threw in a 400m lesson to Jackson and Lever at one point today. ANB has been high intensity from the outset and only injury will cost him a spot in our Rd 1 team. Whether he stays in will be determined by the results in our first two games, small forwards invariably struggle in losses. 3) Jay Lockhart - Those of you over 50 will remember how nimble and clever Alan Johnson was as a defender. Well Jay has been almost up to that level with great evasiveness and an ability to get the ball moving quickly. He's a very accurate and long kick which makes him ideal as our set up man and watching him use his voice to direct others made me aware he's got the nous as well as nerve. The issue of course is that to get into the side he has to show why he should be picked ahead of Lord Nev. Jay has more rebound than Nev, but yet to see whether he cam match Nev's prowess in one-on-one battles. The other player he has to get past to play Rd 1 is Nathan Jones, who more than likely will play half-back, subject to injury. So I'm not about to say he's in for Rd 1, but Jay is certainly putting together an impressive body of work that will make him an easy inclusion down back once there's an injury or two. There's been plenty of others who have caught my eye so far and it's really pleasing to see T.Mac, Melky, Joel Smith and even Weid so far down the track after injuries last year.

My first visit to a session this pre season. Petracca looked fantastic. He was in everything and using the ball magnificently. If he could develop any more musculature, I don't know how. Absolute beast. Jackson looked eager. He was trailing Max all over the place in the match sim. He kicked a drop punt from a flank at one stage and it went 55-60 metres comfortably. Vandenberg was moving freely and seems as if he could return to it soon ( can't be soon enough for us !!! ) Couple of nice leads and grabs by Weid. He seems to be stronger in the upper body. Oliver looked impressive in most of his involvements. He's a slippery customer and he'll be hard to counter next year. At one point he dispossessed one opponent and evaded close attention from two others in the pocket to score a sneaky goal. Harley Bennell has a funny type of gait but he was running comfortably around he boundary.

Some notes from match simulation - Langdon used the ball nicely. Not nessceraliy accurate, but he had a knack of finding players in space. - Petracca dominant in the middle. He just demands the footy. - Absolute bullet of kick coming from the boot of....OMac, lands smack bang in the chest of Jayden Hunt. - Beautiful one handed mark by the birthday boy, Bayley Fritsch, who played on and snapped truly. EDIT: two for the birthday boy! On fire at the moment!

Not too much happening now. Mainly just some more running drills and a bit of kick to kick. I might leave it there for today! Thanks for tuning in, so until next time...

Just as a summary this is a list of the players not in full training due to some level of injury Jones Spargo Brayshaw?? KK Hannan Baker Petty AVB Bennell As far as I can tell that's about it. Of those, AVB and Petty are very close and Brayshaw is probably okay. Oh, and just another comment. I was very impressed with Tom Sparrow today. Was in everything and really looked the part. He's a solid boy and looks to have the body to play AFL now, he's aggressive at the ball and he kicks it quite well. There was a fair bit to like today.

They'll start at 10.30 now...

Not familiar with Melb streets yet, and took a wrong turn on his way to Gosch's?

G'day all! Just arrived at Goschs on what's a pretty gloomy morning. Sketchy descriptions of drills and new players to follow. Just caught the end of what looked like a defender drill where players would attempt to spoil the mighty Maximus Gawn. Some nice efforts by Lockhart. Read the ball flight well and got his fist in before Maxy had a look in. Maxy just copped a nasty Jake Lever spoil in the eye. Ouch. Looks like he's shaken it off though.

Watched early part of training. Jackson showed skill and determination both in tapping ball in ruck situations as well as at ground level. This was a solid season including all of the ruckman involving continuous repeat situations. Pruess also impressed covering the ground muck quicker than last year. In match situation I was impressed with Rivers. His disposal was good. Gus left early. He appeared to be rubbing his lower back

Can't wait to see him in the backline.

Best of luck Jeff.

We're into some pretty fierce match simulation now. Players look like they're working hard. Not sure if this has been mentioned but Joel Smith is in full training. Just pulled off a nice pick up and handpass in the backline.

Trac, Melksham, Clarry, Lever, Bedford and Harmes are in the middle of some tackling drills. Not much to report here except for the fact that I wouldn't want to be holding a football in a dark alley with Trac lurking nearby.

You can bet on Mason Cox for the Coleman at $251 but you can't get on Frisky! Outrageous. With our stinky fwd line, and him permanent forward he's our leading goal kicked by a country mile.

Vanders and Petty in rehab. Might just be a hopeful observation, but Vanders doesn't look took far away from full training. Moving very freely at the moment.

Jackson (number 17) and i presume Rivers (number 24) doing some hip and shoulder drills an the sidelines.

I am definitely one who bemoans our lack of outside skill, scoring power and 'x factor'. And it remains a huge issue for us, which is why i really love the drafting of kozzie and jackson and the chance Benell might play for us. That said as much as much as i was a huge jeffy fan he lost his will for the contest somewhere and his delisting was an inevitability.

Defensive ability will be crucial but fitness might be just as important for Lockhart. Because I see him playing pretty high up as a flanker and having to cover the ground. I don't expect him to really compete with Nev. Salem and Harmes have been positioned for that job but if Lockhart takes it up a notch we then get to move one of those 2 around. Most likely Harmes back in to the midfield mix. Nath Jones is down to start the year with the forwards as a high half forward.

Thanks for the excellent report.

Yes, Fritsch looked like a fish out of water when they inexplicably threw him up forward late in the season,

Appreciate the posts @Demon Jack

This is what keeps Omac on teh list ahead of Frost in my opinion. He is a lovely kick Omac..if he can find some desire i still think there might be a place for him.

I hate the old school, fixed mindset talk about players being unable to fix skill execution once they are in the AFL system, it is complete rubbish. Skills can be learned and improved at any age and at virtually any level of skill. If we perceive our players to have skill deficiencies then it is absolutely the right thing to develop drills and training aids to assist players to improve. Doing anything but this would be crazy.

Re. ANB - his role is there, it is clear and not many on the list can play it. I posted this in the Pickett thread. So sick of people ignoring his value: "What you're describing is exactly what ANB was to us in 2018. He was a big, non-spectacular part of our success with a number of games hitting the exact numbers you'd be looking for out of your high half forward: Rd 2 - 21d 1g Rd 4 - 22d 1g 6t Rd 8 - 23d 2.2g Rd 9 - 17 d 4g 5t Rd 10 - 23d 3g 6t Rd 11 - 25d 1.2g 5t Rd 12 - 19d 1.1g 6t Rd 17 - 17d 2g 5t Rd 19 - 22d 1.1g 12t Rd 20 - 22d 2g EF v Cats - 20d 1.3g 9t (and if you rewatch this game, he brought the heat very early and was key to our big 1st Q) For the year he kicked 27.19, averaging 1.1 goals a game at 17 disposals and 4.7 tackles. For an undersized roaming HFF, that is high output. Does he make perfect decisions? Far from it, but his ability to move from contest to contest and use his endurance to get goal scoring opportunities is unmatched in our side. Like many others, his demise in '19 was another reason we couldn't replicate our 2018 form. He needs to bring this form again and make it consistent over a period of years, but I do not understand the constant criticism of him and why people cannot see his value. "

As someone just over 50 he was one of my all time favorite dees. I just loved the way he played footy.

1 Dee, 1 Pie, 1 Blue and 1 undecided in my house = 4 Continuous Dees members year after year. Might have to look at signing the Dog and a couple of chooks up

Thanks for the update DJ. Good to see the resident negative comedians haven't improved over the break

THANKS for the reports Demon Jack - much appreciated!

Bedford takes on Clarry and beats him with a classy pirouette out of danger.

That was my observations regarding Langdon too. He's not the most accurate kick but got a lot of the ball on the wing, is quick and often kicked to a player running into space.

A large chunk of players look done for the day. Petty and Vanders now running laps.

Off of ! Cannot understand that when butchering the language, shortening and misspelling words the Americans decided to double up, off of. One gets off the horse. Not off of the horse.

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I'm not being smarty pants but i woulkd have thought the reason is clear. They wanted Jackson and ran the risk of not getting him if GWS called our bluff and letr us have Green. A secondary reason would be as good as Green might be we have plenty of inside bulls and no athletic freaks capable of playing as mid, forward and ruck.

Russell Robertson is one big example.

This post rekindles some memories from the 2008 National Draft which Demon fans would know for better or for worse as the “Jack Watts Draft”. It was during the National Under 18 Championships of that year when Watts from Brighton Grammar and the Sandringham Dragons starred on the MCG at centre half forward for Vic Metro against Vic Country. Late in the game with mark a minute-and-a-half left he was three or four deep in the pack but clunked the mark and kicked the goal that won the game. From that point on, Watts was regarded as one of the likely number 1 prospects for the national draft, jockeying for that position with WA ruckman Nic Naitanui. During that period, he had a rival in schoolboy ranks in another key forward draft prospect Mitchell Brown who was also at the Dragons but attended Mentone Grammar. In August, 2008, it was Brown representing the Associated Grammar Schools who upstaged Watts for the Associated Public Schools in the annual match between the two schoolboy competition representative teams. The AGS won easily and the star of the game was Brown with 8 goals at full forward. It has been claimed that over the preceding 12 months, he has grown from rover size to 193cm. Early in the season he missed the cut for the Dragons and even played for Old Mentonians in the VAFA. His goal tallies for Mentone Grammar before the APS/AGS game were 7, 7, 6, 8 and 7 and he was eventually invited to join the Dragons in mid-season playing with them for the last five games. The eight goal haul pushed him to the forefront of recruiters’ minds and, after originally not being considered by most as a top-20 selection, Brown was selected by Geelong with their first round selection 15th overall in the 2008 AFL Draft.

totally meaningless.

I was there early and he was walking laps. Didn’t see him doing anything else before I had to leave.

Interesting to note that the official site now lists the training start times as 9:45am. Thank you MFC.

Jason said that Jackson was the first player they interviewed back in February. Safe to say they have been into him for a long time.

Has it?

I’ve used the Precision Footy at my footy club and it’s a really good training aid .... and I’m well into my 30s! It’s deliberate practice, especially at times where you are just doing a simple kicking drill (or warming up) and you can just focus on technique. Then, after repitition, this will feel more natural and will naturally transfer into time where you are not focusing on technique. I think the golf analogy is a really good one. Look at the best golfers do their warm ups. They have any number of training aids, from mirrors that they putt on, to poles to align their stance. Would you go up to Jon Rahm and tell him that it’s ridiculous to warm up with an alignment stick, since any decent golfer would already know where he’s hitting it?

Getting Taylor for the podcast is a brilliant score boys particularly right after the draft. Demonland at its best. Thanks

We only need to worry if Kane Cornes predicts us to win the flag.

It’s just sad. He must have gone off the rails after his fine work at Geelong.