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Vanders and Petty were first out doing a gentle walk around the boundary and some stretches, Baker and Hannan not far behind. So over to rehab to start my day (yes @Vagg I'm on the improve!) where Baker, Hannan, Tomlinson and later Jones did their stuff. Baker and Tomlinson are still on gentle runs, Hannan about 75% now and Jones running pretty much flat out. Oscar complained about the cold and Mitch said he was looking forward to stepping it up. The rest of the group had arrived and I was pleased to see TMac with them. He did all the warm up drills before wandering over to rehab where he did a few run throughs. Meanwhile a group in front of me lined up in single file dancing on the spot. The coach would then tell them to break and move 5 yards to the left or right and off they'd go. Poor old Lockhart, who was at the front of the line suddenly found himself 10 yards from the others having moved the wrong way. Laughs all around! They'd broken up into about 4 groups at this stage and spent about 5 minutes in each and rotated through them but then thankfully we went to match sims which concentrated in starting the ball in different areas of the ground, setting up and then "play". It's so much more interesting watching this than the other stuff! Meanwhile there were a few missing. No Neita, no KK and no Preuss. Bennell had made a late appearance and was doing the gentlest of jogs along the boundary. The match sim started and Mitch Brown copped a knock to the head and was taken straight off and was not seen again. Pickett, Jackson and Rivers were involved early but sat out some later ones. Jackson is learning that it's hard work against men. Gawn and Oscar weren't letting him near it much but he was still involved. Pickett is doing his best to get involved but isn't much and Rivers looks the best of the new lads to me. I comment to a friend that whilst we'd love to see the new blokes really do well it's probably good they aren't beating our best 22 players!! Fritsch looked all class and was just clunking the ball in greasy conditions. Harmes was in everything, Oliver finding it with ease, TMac was back on the ground (I was confused at this stage) and taking mark after mark up forward and Langdon doing what Langdon does. May was rock solid down back and Vanders and Dunkley had a good battle on their wing. The standard was a bit lower today because of the conditions and it was difficult for the big blokes to mark. Having said that Petty was very good I thought playing up forward and TMac as well. Running finished the session off with different people doing different things and the session ended at about 11.30.

Saw most of the session, but best part was the match simulation. VDB played on a wing, mainly against Sparrow, and was BOG by some way in the first game and pretty handy in the next. If his feet hold up he is in. A couple of Dusty don't argue were highlights. He was around the play when Mitch Brown copped a knock to the head and went off, but I cannot say it was anything to do with Vanders. The other player on fire today who has spent most of pre-season with rehab group was 'Tom" Petty. He played as a mobile forward and his marking was impressive and with T-Mac in form as well, it's an impressive looking forward line on paper with versatility that Fritter and Melky and ANB bring. Petty only did half the match sim because they are being careful with him, but like Vanders, he's pretty much in if he's fit. I said last week that the 3, 2, 1 of pre-season work was Fritter, ANB and Lockhart, but the other nice thing happening at the moment is that Trac is in everything playing as a loose midfielder. Tried to take on May though and got sat on his backside, but kept going and made a few nice tackles himself. Jackson played the entire scratch match and with Preuss not there today, he spent plenty of time tracking big Maxy. Jacko is an amazing athlete but he will take time, but I wouldn't rule him out of Rd 1 just yet. He just adds such variety and pace, that they may want to play him early. Kossie played in the first scratch game and he did a couple of things that were very much like Aaron Davey. He doesn't get it much, but neither did Cyril so let's wait and see. I did like seeing Harmes down back - he is such a great professional and combined with Lever and May, we have a talking backline that is taller and quicker than last year. Smith is the third tall back there and Hibbo and Jetta the lockdowns and Salem the smarts. Langdon on a wing is a goer, an ever-ready battery, although his disposal will be crucial. Of the back-ups, Bedford is starting to show signs with his speed and evasiveness, but his disposal needs working on. JJ is a very handy accumulator and will make his debut at some stage this year. Jonesy, Tomlinson, Baker and Hannan were in rehab and I think Bennell made an appearance later in day.

Give us a chance to get organised??? One comment, as a taster, AVB was outstanding in match sim today

You need to temper your expectations on Pickett, he didn't take part in full match sim, in previous half field drill he had Salem on him and didn't get near it In other drills you can see the natural talent though Another highlight was Petracca taking on May in a one on one in match sim, May buried him, to Trac's 'annoyance' and May's delight. May also buried Bedford Although Petty didn't take part in full match sim, took a couple of strong grabs in half field, including one where he knocked May of the line of the ball, much to May's annoyance this time

Hey Flip flops I went today, my 4th time down there in the last few weeks, on arrival walked past Todd Viney on the boundary, said hello then realised after who it was! watched the new draftees, pickett played one of the match sims, he got lots of it, and seemed to always have lots of time with the ball, made the right decision and always hit the taget beautifully, stating the obvious here but he is very skillful, Jackson, well im sure everyone has seen the video footage of him running out of the ruck contest with a blind turn, well today in the match sim jackson scooped up a ground ball on the wing in heavy traffic then did a blind turn and gave off quick hands, it seemed to confuse everyone lol, he also took a few nice marks and played pretty good,. Rivers running laps on the boundary with the weid and lever didnt looked dissimiliar in hight and build, he is a beast!! Jones was doing run throughs on the boundary, i heard him say hes had enough to one of the coaches, i wreckon he may be carrying a slight injury. bennel doing run throughs and having kick to kicks on the boundary seemed to be enjoying himself. Viney looked good today, hes an animal, very scary, another thing to note, he was jogging the boundary with sparrow and sparrow is a mini Viney only a bit taller, hes a beast too. Jordan Lewis was running with them too. the match sim was fun to watch and from what i could tell there seemed to be an emphisis on kicking as didnt see too many handballs, the last 30 minutes involved lots of running, with 2 groups, one group did 300 meter sprints for about ten sets the other group was running around the boundary hard with short 10 second walks before running again. the play of the day for me was frisk beautful kick in heavy traffic to hit up lead in forward 50 it was a thing of beauty!!

I got down there today and saw 85% of the session. First off, I can confirm all the posts, positive and negative appear to be accurate from what I saw. I will try to add something to the reporting with small obs. There has been some comment around Gus and work rate at training and the coaching being questioned to correct this. Today I saw indications of Gus not working hard enough and then the coaches getting involved to remedy this. Big tick. Just loved this Trac vs May: Loved this, Trac busting tackles then tries taking May on, big fail, gets up laughing shaking his head like he should known better, then sprints 30m gets involved and wins the ball back!! AVB, don't be mistaken, if he plays all season we will have 23 players out there. It's not just what he brings in aggression but we will have a coach playing as well. I HAVE NOT SEEN THIS MANY PLAYERS IN MATCH SIM AT THIS TIME OF YEAR, EVER!!!! (12 Years). Just realised the above sounded way too positive. Therefore I must say; in greasy conditions there were some players who fumbled and didn't adapt quickly enough to the conditions and some of the known poor disposers did what they do. In a good, well drilled team, I think we can cover for them. There is some real competition for the starting 22 and some very good players might br playing at Casey

Up and running and bashing and barging had a word with him just wants to tick each box but feeling good

This is very welcome news, especially for those who might have doubted his dedication. He may not play a game for us, but it seems he is not going to die wondering. Onya bloke.

Ever thought that being around a footy club at the moment might be in his best interest instead of sitting at home on the couch in isolation?

Time for everyone to revise their best 22's if Vanders really is up and running again. A gun when fit!

Vanders fit and firing makes me warm.

Sydney Swans draftee Dylan Stephens would hear new Melbourne small forward Kysaiah Pickett breathing behind him on the field and knew he was in strife. The two youngsters, who are best friends, have played against each other and together many times over the past few years. Stephens, who was pick No.5 in this year’s AFL National Draft, quickly learned he needed to act quickly when Pickett was lurking in the vicinity wearing an opposition jersey. “I think he’s absolutely ready for it (the AFL),” Stephens said. Newnes reveals why he turned his ies, AFLPA rally behind Beams in late“For him, what he can do with the ball is amazing, but if he doesn’t get his hands on it as much as he would have liked he can impact the game in other ways defensively. “He can clean people up, tackle, pressure, and even for me playing against him, you just know he could be anywhere. “He’ll catch you in no time and his presence, you hear him breathing behind you and start to panic and that impacts your skills Don’t be fooled by Pickett’s 170cm stature. The teenager, who was the bolter of the draft after being snapped up by the Demons at pick No.12, likes to hurt opponents and has done so on many occasions. Although, Stephens said he thankfully had never been cleaned up by his mate on the field. “I think he looked after me,” Stephens laughed. “A couple of times he’s had me and lifted me a little bit and then just took me down a little bit. “If I were anyone else I think he would have gone straight through me.” “As a person, at first he is quiet and that’s how he’ll come across,” he said. “But when you get to know him he comes out of his shell a little bit. “And when he does, the kid doesn’t shut up. “He doesn’t stop talking.”

I sometimes think it flies under the radar a little just how healthy a working environment the club have created in recent years. It certainly seems to be helping guys like Maysie get the best out of themselves.

The Gold Coast Suns are the Canadian cricket team. A long way north, irrelevant and many people, even in their own jurisdiction, don't know they exist.

" ....VDB played on a wing, mainly against Sparrow, and was BOG by some way in the first game and pretty handy in the next. If his feet hold up he is in. A couple of Dusty don't argue were highlights......" Thanks for that. IF he can remain fit he will be an absolute massive addition to our playing list. Here's hoping

May the God of Calves smile on him and us.

Well that sucks.

The business case explained There’s been a lot written here and elsewhere about Goodwin’s contract length and immediate short-term tenure. Here are four facts, and two estimates, that I would suggest will drive the thinking of the Club’s board over the next 12 months. The figures quoted are in the Club’s 2018 Annual Report and are the most recent publicly available. Fact 1 Melbourne’s revenue in 2018 from football related actives was $44.8M. Fact 2 The AFL guarantees to cover player costs and other related expenses regardless of on-field performance. In 2018 this figure was $16.3M Fact 3 Revenue in 2018 from Football related activities that the club has influence over, by dint of its on-field performances, was $27.5M. Here’s the breakdown. Gate receipts $6,180,742 Merchandise $1,081,232 Membership, annual reserved seating and general fundraising $9,009,525 Sponsorship & corporate hospitality $11,287,779 Other revenue $922,363 The financial impact of 2019’s poor on-field performance could well be felt by drops in revenue across four of the line items above (i.e. gate receipts, merchandise, membership/reversed seating/gen fundraising and sponsorship/corporate). Estimate 1 According to reports today, Ross Lyon’s contract in 2019, based on Freemantle’s on-field performance, is worth 600K. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume Goodwin is receiving something similar. Estimate 2 The cost of paying Goodwin out, should the Club move on him in the next 12 moths, would be somewhere between $1.2 and $1.8 million. This estimate assumes that the pay-out would be the equivalent of the contact's balance (assuming base payment). Discussion The Club’s on-field performance directly effects, or puts at risk, part of the $27.5M in revenue (based on 2018 figures). We can assume that a good year may well increase this revenue while a poor year will almost definitely have a negative consequence. By any measure 2019 has been a poor year and it would be reasonable to anticipate that revenue from club related activities will fall. The question is, by what amount? A five per cent fall in 2019 will mean a loss of $1.377M against the 2018 figure, while a 10 per cent fall will mean $2.755M. And this doesn't factor in opportunity costs . . . that is, revenue anticipated over and above the 2018 result that will also be foregone. The problem the Club has is that this is now a ‘sunk-cost’. That is, the money is already gone and removing Goodwin now will not recover the 2019 financial situation. However . . . and presumably this is the Board’s current focus . . . If the Club doesn’t improve its on-field performance in 2020 by a substantial amount, the financial losses seriously mount. Another year where revenue is likely to be seriously down on 2018 levels makes the financial case for removing the coach pretty strong. It simply becomes a business decision. That is, the cost of keeping the coach versus removing him in order to stem the bleeding. For example, if the club has a poor year again in 2020, the potential losses over 2019/20 seasons compared to the 2018 season could well be in excess of $2.7M. It makes the case for removing the coach at a cost of $1.5M (assuming he goes during the bye in 2020) a no-brainer. Conclusion Few people want harm to come to the Club or Goodwin. However, a year like this one in 2020 is going to be traumatic for one party or the other. And that’s fact number four.

Well played. He is having a deadly serious crack at his last chance. Can’t do any more than that.

I don't like the line being spun about the loss being covered by existing cash reserves. Those reserves are from the sale of the Leighoak. So we lost $900k profit from Leighoak, and are covering a $1.6M loss, from that sale money. Yet we still have a $2M debt ( although that is not as much a problem with current interest rates). Yes we had a rubbish year for revenue as a result of the draw and our on-field performance, but those sort of things can happen again ( we hope not). But we have sold down a major revenue source, and the Darwin game as well in the hope that things will get better. Bentleigh club provided $4.5M of revenue this year, yet gate receipts were only $6.2M. This revenue disappears in 2022 if I remember. How is that going to be covered? It appears we have negotiated a better deal from the MCC, but as SWYL says we have to start winning games, to make that work. Selling assets like Leighoak and Bentleigh club should result in the purchase of new assets,( like a home base) not for recurrent expenditure. Where is the AFL support for exiting gaming? Carlton, Essendon, Richmond, Hawthorn and St.Kilda aren't.: https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/five-afl-clubs-awarded-new-20-year-licenses-to-operate-pokies-20181029-p50cl8.html Hawthorn are building a $100M facility in Dingley. Richmond are planning a $60M upgrade to Punt Road.

The writing is on the wall for pokies if you pay attention to the industry. Sporting clubs are widely exiting, there's cultural shifts in the hospitality industry; and in the last 18 months or so both Coles and Woolworths have divested themselves from that part of their businesses (albeit in differing ways). It's not a matter of what is 'legal', it's a matter of what is ethically sustainable in a socially conscious consumer environment.

This gambling business confounds me. Like it or not, it is legal and a matter of personal choice I don’t understand the pressure on sporting clubs to take some sort of high moral ground and opt out of it

AVB 'rag dolls' Selwood in the Prelim and kicks a point from the resulting free. This breaks the deadlock as the siren sounds. Selwood whinges to the ump that it's 'not fair'. Saty, George, Baghdad, Dee Spence and Deespicable are among 15,000 'faithful' at Thursday training before the Granny, and provide the usual comprehensive and insightful training reports. Tracc and Kozzi put on a clinic in the Granny as we waltz away with #13. All Demonlanders have a late night. SWYL pronounces that all shortcomings of the MFC in the past 56 years are forgiven.

Coleman? if we had decent IQ's, we probably wouldn't be on this site

So important to our chances next year this bloke. 6 kegs dropped is a fair effort. Cant question his pre-season commitment. Injury free he is capable of a HUGE year. *fingers toes and eyes crossed he stay fit all season.

Such a Brutal Sport at times

The club will extend his contract to give him the chance to prove himself. Nice gesture, hope he can come back. Will the club look at another pre season player to train with us?

Thanks to all concerned for the training reports. I cannot comprehend why Kolodjashnij is still on the list if he is not even doing basic training at this point of the pre season. The chances of him recovering to play a meaningful role this year seem incredibly low. St Kilda came to an arrangement with McCartin who is a much better prospect, not sure why we can't do the same with KK. Surely it would be in his best interests as well to get his health sorted for his long term well being, without worrying about meeting the expectations of a professional football club. (That's not to say that we still shouldn't give him all the support he needs.)

Thanks for the reports, guys. It would be great to see AVB keep going in that direction. Love the sound of Petty looking good up forward - he could really help to take the pressure off TMac & Weid......or be a target for us if the opposition concentrate more on the other 2 blokes. I'd also love to see J. Smith catch a break and have an injury free season - he could be great value!

Thanks from tassie and rural Victoria for the coming reports. The last few sessions and the varying reports have given those that cannot get there a great insight into the abilities of recruits and how our senior players are travelling. You now have a high ceiling to aspire to and I for one think it’s great. I think if you see a potato, I might see a tomato. All in the eye and position of view of the observer. Keep cool and thanks in advance. Go Dees bring on 2020 !!

It was a big preseason makeover like this that transformed Max Gawn from just a player with potential into a genuine superstar of the comp. Given he is arguably starting off a better launching pad, let's hope it brings similar results for May.

Horrible news for the kid. Best of luck to him for his recovery.

Weiderman wins the coleman medal and boots 11 goals on Queens Birthday.

We do seem to miss a lot of set shots for goal, don't we? It would make a huge difference to our results if we could improve in that area!

Yes he was. He mixed playing up forward with occasional spells in ruck against Gawn, switching with Jackson. He got involved a bit, but T.Mac and Petty were the two pins that presented and marked everything.

Great reports from all, really appreciate them. The key to most good sides fwd lines is the mix.. and it feels like we might have it, Tom and Weid / Petty, Fritta, Melk, Trac. Cant wait 2020!

Thanks, BB. Nice report. I'm especially excited to hear that you are on the improve! When will you be back to full training? (Right arm glass lifts, I presume?)

Simply not good enough, Saty. In this age of instant everything, we expect a full, blow by blow account of everything that happens on the training track AS IT HAPPENS. In fact, a full, live video feed would be nice! So, kindly lift your game, old boy! The bar is being lifted, and you need to keep up!

While I think the 'right' answer based on experience is ANB, On my limited viewing it would be Lockhart. Training with the backs, can go forward and can also play mid as shown at Casey, and was busy in the match sim. Many of the others aren't as prominent at this early stage and don't play multiple positions.

Lots of good argument there LN and I both agree and disagree. Brownlow votes are rarely an indicator of club worth but I feel you may be being a bit harsh on Brayshaw getting it " on the back of running forward from the work of others". I also recall he was in and under and bursting through, taking hits and getting taps.His disposal was terrible but he sure got a lot of it under the umpires nose. His placement on the wing or in one on ones showed up his poor disposal and his confidence like the rest of the team was impacted. BBob mentioned at training that Brayshaw always trained in an style that he looked like he was injured or exhausted, slumped shoulders, slow gait and always last to join huddles. But he, BB, conceded that he always competed enthusiastically and ran and ran during all sims and training exercises, his spirits seems better and he seems to be enjoying himself. He may still have some inner demons with his concussion etc but seems to discard them at training. Perhaps his confidence is , perhaps he is reflecting his teammates confidence. Let's hope so.

Probably not much knowing us

Wow. I had no idea Graeme was that eloquent.

Anything other than finals is a a failed year. We should always think that way. For too long we have made up the numbers within the AFL and been content enough with that. if Bartlett and Goodwin want to leave their mark on the Club long term, then they and their support staff must demand that result. When we do not make finals, we identify what went wrong and fight tooth and nail to rectify it. I am hoping this is what is happening right now. The good clubs make September, we as Supporters and Members should expect to be there.

It’s a fail if we don’t make the 8. I think we will unless we end up with the same injury run as last year.