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Just another voice of thanks for the great training reports. As an interstater I obviously can’t go watch training but even if I did I doubt I’d pick up on the detail you guys do. Awesome stuff. I’ve seen a few calls for balance in the reports - personally at this time I’m looking for all the reasons we’re going to be awesome. Reality may or may not kick in later, and that’s fine, but it’s not what I’m interested in in the off season.

Got there at 10:10 by which time Jones, KK, Petty, Tomlinson, Baker were finishing up. So no idea how much or how little they did. Joel Smith was in the proper match jumper but he was done by then as well. No Spargo, no Vanders, no Kade Chandler as far as I could tell. Viney in runners and sat out the match sim and the running, but was walking from side to side as the mids did 300m repeats runs to pump them up. Dunkley another to miss the match sim and running. Salem was also on light duties and sat out the match sim and just did some touch work with the 3 draftees. And May and Lever finished up before the running. Hopefully just a matter of taking it easy with a lot of guys now they've banked some decent training. Lots of grappling work in different groups. Fritsch again sat it out - assuming due to a taped shoulder - and did double goal kicking. A couple of extended forward groups including Preuss, Gawn and Oliver did goal kicking. In pairs, one kicks to the lead then mans the mark whilst the other takes the set shot. Pickett has a lovely kick to a lead and is a nice goal kicker despite enjoying shuffle steps and looping the ball around. Jackson has a nice simple set shot routine that seems to work well for him. Defenders did some kicking drills and I was impressed by Hore kicking low and hard on his preferred left boot and Rivers also nicely hitting targets. Nietschke certainly not as pretty but under minimal pressure it gets to where it needs to go. They were rotating through some pretty willing handball drills when I first got there, about 7 on 7, aiming to move the ball about 60m to then score a goal before it went back the other way. Missed handball or anyone touched and it was a turnover. Petracca and Oliver the standouts in various teams. Bedford had some errors but also a few nice moments when he could show his elusiveness. Jetta was heavily involved. Lockhart was busy. This was the type of drill that was just completely missing from last year and whilst there were plenty of moments where the ball was turned over it was nice to see at other times the players really hustling up and back. We might just have some midfield transition this year! Match sim was done in 2 groups - blue v green, with 2 players - Melksham and Corey Wagner in the white bibs going both ways. The blues were the starters and had Lever, May and Jetta down back and Fritsch, T Mc, ANB forward, Gawn, Oliver, Petracca mid and some others. Melksham was standout - unsurprisingly given he was going both ways - but he had a number of nice kicks on both sides. The aim was to get a mark inside 15m and Fritsch was the number 1 target, got on the end of a few but Hore and Hibberd made nice spoils at other times. At the other end Steve May went fairly and not recklessly through poor Bradtke at one stage which got a nice high 5 from Lever. Petracca was busy and went on a number of quality runs. Nice to see him bouncing with his left hand. Nietschke had a number of smart intercepts dropping back from a wing/flank position. I watched a few repeats of the running. With the mids doing repeat 300's (or whatever about 3/4's of Gosch's is maybe 250) Jordon and Sparrow again led the way with Petracca, Gus, Gawn, Oliver not far behind then a bit of a gap to big Preussy who was clearly feeling it. From the backs and forwards who were going end to end there were plenty - Nietschke, ANB, Fritsch, C Wagner, Bedford, T Mc pushing hard. Lockhart was one who wasn't exactly getting dropped but fitness probably isn't his strong suit. Trent Rivers casually loaded up a nice torp for a bit of fun from about 65-70 out off a couple of steps that landed on the goal line. Kozzy had a go that finished about 15m short.

No coincidence that a lot has started to go right for the club, since Jetta has been involved. Grateful to have him and hope we keep him on in his career after footy to build stronger indigenous roots.

Well 640, there were skill errors. Not every handball found its mark, not every kick found a target, not every tackle stuck but overall the standard was pretty good. No player looks really out of it. Some aren't natural athletes in the way of ANB or Bedford. Clarry, Trac and Brayshaw wouldn't match Robert Harvey. But they are so far ahead of last year it's amazing. Last year they didn't have players to make up a drill. This year they stand on the sidelines because just about everyone is there. The disappointments for me are KK, who is still just running and Harry Petty who is the same. I worry for KK. I don't know what the problem is but he hasn't played since June and if it's still a concussion issue that's really sad for him. But I don't think anyone is overstating the ability of the draftees. Jackson and Pickett both have some real X factor, but it's not the real thing yet so we can only hope it translates. There is no reason why it shouldn't as they seem to have all the attributes. Jackson particularly has surprised me. He's quick. He's quick over the ground but he's quick to recover, he's competitive in the drills and he's got surprising skills. When I first heard we were thinking of drafting him I was disappointed. I couldn't be more the opposite now. It's the time of excitement. We have the basic 18 or so we know will play if fit. But we've got so many that could surprise. Jordan, Sparrow, Neita, Chandler and Bedford from last year's draft have all shown something. Not all will make it but we don't need that, we just need two or three to really push. And this year's lot look terrific. That's about 8 that we didn't have as realistic players last year.

Went along with all the other "retirees" BB, Deepositive, Saty, although some would claim they still work! If there is one thing that we can count on for season 2020 is that this side will be fit. I wonder how many players would be cheering the arrival of Burgess today, because the exercises that he sets test them to the limits of physical endurance. There was little match practice, but all the exercises today were about running with footballs and simulation of match scenarios in terms of fitness e.g touch football for 15 minutes across 1/2 the ground. Then do it again. Then do it again and again. 4 quarters of back and forward. By then end the bodies are wilting. But ( and this is a credit to Burgess), it isn't 50 100's back and forth rather something which retains interest and concentration combined with the agility and game level endurance. The side-line observers just oo'ed and aah'ed at Kickett in these exercises. No-one seemed capable of getting a hand on him as he danced left, right and then around player after player. I hope the crowd gets to see him this year, because he is one exciting fellow to watch in action. After all this, there is no stop. It's straight into the next bit, be that the small match simulation, but then even after that, it's into the next Burgess designed gut buster......5 minutes of wrestling, usually with someone of equal weight/strength/height...but poor Kosi got matched up against Gawn!!! Hardly fair, but you had to admire Kosi, because he just kept at it trying everything to get the big man down. Whistle blows and then the group is put into 3's. Players start on all fours. One rolls sideways to one end. That end player then has to spring over the rolling player to the other end...that player then has to spring over and roll to the other etc. Sounds easy? Try doing it for 10 minutes!! By the finish some players could barely get up enough spring to fall over the rolling player. Again pity those in Kosi's group because he kept springing up and over and up and over. As others have reported the session finished with more running for the various groups. Good to see Jordan leading one of the groups, but Tom Sparrow wasn't far behind. Both have now put on that extra muscle and weight which will only put them in good stead at AFL level, but their fitness will also be a factor for the team in the future. BB and DeeSpencer have reported on other aspects, but to me the most important thing is the number of players on the park, especially in light of the situation at this time last year. It is just great to see the likes of Jetta, May, Lever, TMac and Viney going full tilt instead of in rehab.

Training was underway by 9.10 when I arrived and my first port of call was rehab. Walking around to the rehab group I look for Vanders but sadly no sign. I don't think we can deduce anything from him not being there. He was fine on Monday so hopefully, and most likely, it's just managing his loads. There were three in rehab. Joney, Petty and KK. They were doing the usual running of around 100m repetitions and as always didn't seem to be in any trouble. But that was all they did for the day and they didn't do a lot. Later, Bennell and Oscar Baker made an appearance but didn't do any work that I saw although by that stage I'd moved to the other side of the ground and wasn't concentrating on rehab. There was still no sign of Spargo. So onto the drills. Across the ground from flank to flank teams of initially 8 per team would move the ball by foot from one end to the other. Lots of hard running in these drills and the kicking was okay. Later this exercise reduced to 6 and was handball only. Much more running as quick at that. There were a couple of highlights involving the new boys. The first was Kossi, nobody could catch him and his lateral movement and ability to avoid tackles was very good. His skills are also very good, natural and duel sided. The second was Rivers in the 6 player handball drill. In this drill a player was often out the back and able to run into the open "goal" and as Viney ran in Rivers took him down, hard. It was the only tackle of the sot that I saw and I reckon Viney loved it. Rivers looks very like Fritsch in his movement and physique and has similar kicking skills. Jackson was also very good in these drills. He's exceptionally athletic and is also duel sided by hand. I haven't noticed whether he has the same skill by foot. He's very quick off the mark and for a young bean pole he's really well coordinated. His ball handling is also clean and he knows how to be involved. None of the young blokes looked out of place in these drills. They moved on to a short session of match sim with some body contact by it was not fierce. Someone else may be able to explain but there are two teams but there are also two who wear white vests. No idea what the point is here but today it was CWagner and Melk. No real standouts in the match sim for me but it was brief. They then broke into four groups. One was goal kicking, one marking with the emphasis on positioning, one was clearance work and the final one was tackling, wrestling and some really gruelling exercises. This last group was exhausting just to watch but the players really seemed to enjoy it, particularly the wrestling. They finished with some running with Langdon, Jordan, Sparrow doing well but in the final 400m run around the group ANB dominated. Bedford also was very good, Neita right up there along with Hunt and Oscar. Training finished at about 11.30. With a fit list this year Casey will be fun to watch if the young blokes are playing. I'd expect Sparrow to make a bit of a run at senior footy and Neita looks likely. The last few spots in the best 22 will be interesting to see.

I wonder it the term 'rehab group' is a bit misleading inasmuch as players can sometimes be there simply managing loads. Or is that too logical???

Taking your oil paint set down to training, now that is dedication Saty, Lovely piece though, shades of Van Gogh.

Great, I understood every word, what I do is put my little 15 yr old Kodak Instashot in sports mode and click away

As I said I was there and have real difficulty n remembering what happened n the 3hours. BB and Saty particularly both made the same comment that with all that is going on particularly with a full squad you cannot possibly see all that is going on, it depends where you are on the fence and what group or player you are concentrating on. I was searching for some specific players( had to often refer to the seasoned watches who had an incredible ability to take in several actions players and also respond to me) and so did not see any thing really negative. Unless you see the tension building so that scuffles become almost a blue where players could injure each other, or that gut busting running could create fatigue, that the odd errant handpass searching for an unlikely option is a negative I did not see any. perhaps Levers apparent lack of calf muscles could be a negative but Ian reminded me of Dustin Fletcher and I recall Tuckie who had the same negative physique, so no negatives there. on reflection I agree with all the comments above and as I said can't thank all the commentators for their views. There is a resounding sense of positivity among the watchers and if that is infectious to the players we should be in for a good season. It was just great as all have said to see such a wealth of bodies on the field competing with and for each other. Oh yeah I went more specifically to watch May, had to have him pointed out to me.For such a big body and an imposing figure he is a silky mover, doesn't seem to pound the ground but rather floats around. Even when exhausted and slightly slumped over he seems more relaxed than others. I reckon he will be great to watch. Oscar also seems to have muscled up as have most of the boys and has that same appearance of floating along so it could be an interesting season for him. Pickett as BB said is something else speed, flexibility and agility in a controlled package, can't wait to see him jump out of the box. But I recall it said in the past that these practice games are like dancing with your sister, but I dont think that's a really great metaphor we really won't know until we see these players, techniques, strategies and tactics tested against other AFL sides. I hope that their minds are being as well developed a short their bodies and they can build that confidence against every opposition that was so lacking last year. Go Dees

You rang?

Concur and along with Wheels we are in a good space with our indigenous boys

Nev is a quality human. Kozzy is a lucky young man to have an uncle like Nev.

Mystery injuries of the week resolved: some silly bugger must have erected one of these at Gosh's . . .

I give you a compliment for having clear photos and then you do this.... haha

I love nev. Top bloke and super solid citizen. I hope that once his playing career is over the club will lock him in a player welfare role.

You never change a winning combination. Just ask Samson.

G'day all! Been a while since I've been around the Demonland traps but I've started a new series that I thought would interest a few posters. Apologies for the shameless plug, but for those who don't know, I've been editing and posting Demon highlights to YouTube going on 5 to 6 years. After a fairly dull 2019, I thought I'd rev up production on a new series to fill the red and blue void over what's sure to be a long summer. This series is called 'The Three Votes' and showcases some of the many best on ground performances we've seen by those donning the Demon gurnsey! First cab off the rank was Max Gawn's BOG and breakout performance in our iconic win against the Cats back in 2015! I'm proud to announce that the next instalment will be premiering on YouTube at 7:00pm tonight and will be highlighting the much loved Jimmy Stynes and his round 18 performance against St Kilda that would see him awarded three votes on his way to winning the 1991 Brownlow Medal! You can watch the highlights package at 7:00pm tonight through the link attached below. Rest assured, there'll be much more to come over the summer! Go Demons!

Asking questions is one thing but presuming all sorts of negative and weird circumstances is another. Virtually assuming malpractice and complete incompetence by officials of the Club bordering on pure conjecture is not in the best interests of anyone.let alone the Club desperately trying to lift itself after the hell of this season. Of course the Club (and indeed most Clubs) have made errors some about as ludicrous as the assumptions why Harley didn't go on this "camp" Some supporters have a siege mentality and are constantly critical of just about everything just baying for blood. About time the half glass emptiers showed some faith and confidence in the recent decisions resulting from the disappointment of 2019. Judgement can then be made at the end of the season depending upon results!

As promised...

Call me an old romantic but I would like to see KK get fit, get picked (on merit) and play a couple of games, then -- if he's not up to it -- retire. Like with Trengove. Retire with no question marks, and dignity. (Having said that, if Trengove hadn't been forced to play with a busted foot .......................................................)

Unless the players and coaches ask for it, a 20 minute break is completely unnecessary. As the players seem to want a shorter break, 15 minutes (or 10) is fine by me. Unlike most people I come to the football to watch the game, so anything else (half time entertainment, food & drink, etc) is completely irrelevant. As an aside, I'm not sure why people are still whining about the cost of food at the football. Nobody makes you buy it - spend five minutes packing your own and the problem is solved.

Everybody was on the park training last year, to varying levels, a lot of the ops were upper body, so did not preclude them from running Every team looks a million dollars in pre season, that never changes 'training the house down' The fact players miss kicks in hot and windy weather is neither here nor there, as long as the poor kicks can be eradicated on match day But then show me a team that is clanger free

With KK he appears to be fulfilling his contractual obligations until extra medical reports come through and / or mfc and perhaps even afl insurance sort out a payout where club and player probably manually agree that its unsafe for him to continue. mfc also probably looking to get an extra player on the list if it happens. As l said its a hunch but seems to be following a familiar path.

May I add my thanks to all who take the time and effort to post these regular reports. Very much appreciated. However there is one recurring question for which I can’t remember seeing the answer: what is holding KK back? Should we hold out any hope at all or is just anything a bonus from here on in?

Biff, you take the prize for modern auto censor beating adjectives! Well done, respect.

I see your Van Gogh and raise you a Seurat.

Mate you dumbed that down so far even I could get it. This country is getting dumber by the year. Good luck teaching idiots

Some thoughts from Aaron’s famous German philosopher Uncle Fred are particularly pertinent to Demon fans. To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering. That which does not kill us makes us stronger. Will 2020 give us meaning for all our suffering? All who can read this are clearly not dead, but are we stronger? Aaron’s knee did not kill him so will he live up to Freddie’s words and be stronger?

We all love Nev. Wouldn't it be great to see back pocket Nev kick the winning goal in time on in a Grand Final against Collingwood?

Tough assignment but intriguing B Stewart (Geel) Thompson (GCS) Rampe (Syd) HB Sicily (Haw) Talia (Adel) Whitfield (GWS) C B. Hill (StK) Neale (Bris) Macrae (WB) HF Fyfe (Freo) Reiwoldt (Rich) Higgins (Norf) FF Rozee (PA) Kennedy (WCE) De Goey (Coll) R Gawn (Melb) Cripps (Carl) Merrett (Ess) Struggled to find a range of options from Port, GCS and those goat-rooters from Essendon

I believe Saty has a small point and shoot camera. I believe the blurry photos are taken at full zoom from far away. This is not a critique of the camera or the method. Keep the photos coming Saty. When I squint really hard I can imagine what going on.

Some absolutely fantastic training reports. A question to the likes of @Baghdad Bob and @DeeSpencer, how do you guys view Kyle Dunkley? do you guys see him making it eventually? He intrigues me the most because he came into our system with no AFL pre season behind him and i thought he showed promise. Training with the mids I believe?

Maybe it Goes back much further to 1966 when he trained with Melbourne as he was in our zone. Now according to Tom Hafey who gave us a corporate pep talk some years ago about resilience and overcoming adversity, a young Sheedy who had been rejected by Melbourne for being too short and too slow for a centreman came across to Richmond and was a revelation. Hafey said he was invaluable as a leader and setting training standards and for, in Hafey’s words, dealing physically with any young smart arses and assorted shirkers from Hafey’s training regime. It seems that Norm Smith and Co at the time overlooked a born leader; our loss, the Tigers gain but according to Hafey, his rejection by MFC was a big deal for Sheedy at the time.

You are not following the logic; because you don't know therefore I am calling "BS". There is a difference between guessing and an opinion based on well-defined facts. You exhibit all of the former and none of the latter. You are absolutely guessing. This is not that unusual on this forum. I'm saying there have been a number of examples where Bennell has been included, welcomed and he gives every indication of enjoying his time and the opportunity being given to him by the Club. You're suggesting the Club is showing poor support to him on absolutely no evidence. I will call "BS" on this all day and please stop pontificating about things you are guessing at.

A big thank you to all track watchers from me as well. Reports this year have been fantastic.

Thanks to anyone who tuned in! The video can how be viewed as per normal on YouTube or through the link a few posts above. Another thanks to the positive feedback from those who commented above! Jakovich & Demon Jack: Happy to add to the growing amount of Demon content circulating the web! You can never have too much! Little Goffy - Thanks mate! Always happy to take requests! Jonesy is already in the pipeline for the near future. It may or may not be the game you specified. That match against St Kilda back in '91 was absolutely amazing! So as an added treat, Allen Jakovich's eight goal haul from the same game will be available for viewing on YouTube tomorrow. I'll post the link when it's up!

A huge thanks to all track reporters from a very cold Amsterdam, as well as to Andy, Nasher et al. Excitement brewing. Go Dees.

I'll second that! From a day that began looking so bleak on the reports front, we have been hit with an avalanche of reports! All been eagerly digested by Yours Truly! Thanks, guys! VERY much appreciated!! (The bar has now been set rather high. Just gotta keep it up! LOL)

Some cracking reading here being thoroughly enjoyed in downtown Kalgoorlie. Thanks legends.

"The Philosopher's Clone"

We are getting excellent reports this year. A big thankyou to everyone who describes what they've seen. I note DeeSpencer referred to Marty Hore's kicking and (paraphrasing) mentioned him using his trusty left boot. A question for our trackwatchers...is there ever any specific training to make the players improve their kicking on their non-preferrred side?

Neita's family own a Farm just up the road from where my brother lives in SA and he 's told me that they highly regard him over there and one of the local legends ( long term player) told him that he is the best player to come out of Centrals in his time. Ripper kid too.

I guess I need to start paying you guys for your time and effort. For the moment I will pay you in gratitude. Thank you.

Funnily enough I agree with Dal Santo. Could be in the minority but I’ve felt unsure for a while about Max being solo captain. Max is a marvel captain or not. Personally, I’d like to see them back Jack in as the solo captain for next year and stop the co-captain model and if they don’t, Max is a ready made replacement. I keep going back to the 2018 Elimination and Semi where Viney was just outstanding after missing a chunk of football. My belief is he can get back to that. Either way, I feel we are in a good position leadership wise for 2020. Get May, T Mac and Lever out there full time and the support crew looks good.

Have a go ... B N.Jetta Hurley Jonas HB Laird D.Moore Hurn C I.Smith Fyfe J.Kelly HF D.Martin Franklin Bontempelli F C.Cameron B.Brown Billings R Witts P.Cripps Dangerfield

Yep, hard to put together B Laird J McGovern Saad HB Harbrow Tarrant Sicily C B Hill Cripps Mcrae HF R Gray J Cameron D Martin F C Cameron Franklin De Goey R Gawn Fyfe Dangerfield

What did I just watch? If it wasn’t for DL summarizing it I still wouldn’t be any the wiser. One of the more unnecessarily stupid videos I’ve seen for a while.

Top 10 in the B & F ... make your prediction. We've now got a list that should be able to at least push for finals. So if we go close (or make it) or even exceed expectations (on what the consensus is forecasting) then we're bound to have at least 8 - 12 standout performers. That stands to reason. The difficulty lies with how the new arrivals will fare. Which ones are going to impact (?) because they've all got credentials that might lead to a top 10 finish in the 'Bluey' ... 3 draftees (Jackson, Pickett, Rivers), 2 traded for or free agent players (Langdon, Tomlinson) and probably '2' signed up delisted free agents (Brown & Bennell) And then we have the established brigade along with those who might blossom or those who are coming back from injuries. Big chances Gawn, Oliver, Harmes, Viney, Brayshaw, T-Mac, Salem, May, Petracca, Lever, Hibberd, Melksham, Fritsch, Jones, Hore, and Jetta & Smith (if healthy) Others in the picture AVB, ANB, KK, Spargo, Bedford, Hannan, Preuss, Jordan, Weideman, Nietschke, Oscar, Hunt, Sparrow, Baker, Petty, Chandler, Josh Wagner, Corey Wagner, Lockhart, Bradtke, Dunkley All things considered it's quite a good list (on paper) but the emphasis should always be on the 'team' and whether we can play as a team - a top-notch team in fact. Kudos for those who get close to the mark but it's a tricky task especially if you are looking outside the square. For what it's worth, here's my top 10 (in order) I've taken a conservative line (obviously) and because of that approach I'll probably miss on 3 or 4 (or more) At least 2 or 3 others will bob up but which ones? 1 - Gawn 2 - Petracca 3 - Oliver 4 - Brayshaw 5 - Lever 6 - Salem 7 - Harmes 8 - Viney 9 - May 10 - T-Mac Footnote: Apologies if I've missed anyone from the playing group