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Under a lot of pressure to get this report in from the top...... Well, you would have already seen the reports of who wasn't there today, but make what you may of that. Perhaps an early Christmas, perhaps players on individual programmes, but the stalwarts of the track-watching crew were out there again....rain, hail, shine or in the case of today extreme heat. Even BB is now out of rehab! and we recruited dworship to the team before he disappears back to Ballarat. Naturally, those players who braved the conditions were out on the track a good 45 minutes before the advertised time, but who would blame them? Compared to previous sessions, this was a "light one". Still not unexpected given the temperature, and not every session needs to be as physically gruelling, so that the bodies can recover, and also to avoid injury. BB has given a good run-down on the goings on on the field, so I will only add a couple of observations: Once again Pickett really caught my eye. That's because you have to keep an eye on him before he disappears from view. Dworship made the comment that he has a "turbo button" to go with his normal quick coverage of the ground, which is very reminiscent of a previous owner of the number 36 jumper. Just when opposition players think they can or have avoided him, suddenly he is back for more. The other beautiful sight is his ability to get into space, with his opponent trailing by 10m having been burnt off. In one passage of play he contested for a mark, but it hit the ground and his opponent gathered the ball....until KP tackled him straight away, then sprung up to receive the handball from his team-mate who had gathered the ball. Not just one effort but 3 in succession! Keep and eye out for him, because surely he will be playing very soon. Everyone is watching Jackson, not unexpectedly, but again there was one passage that just makes the watchers ooh and aah!. Flying for a pack mark in the forward line, he decided not to grab it, because he was slightly off line. Instead he leapt up, leaned in and tapped the ball back over his head, but before it had hit the ground, he had recovered it and waltzed into the open goal. The others in the pack were still sprawled on the ground. ......oooh .......aaah! One for DazzleDavey, or one of the juniors observers to have some input.......there was a 17 year old kid, built like the proverbial who participated in a lot of the drills. Apparently one of the Next Generation academy, name of Deakin? Any info on him, because he certainly has the body already for the game, and in his brief outing also has all the basics. So while there is a closed session tomorrow, sometime, somewhere, that is it until the New Year. The overriding message is the numbers which we have on the track at this time of the year, and the obviously higher levels of fitness that come about from having those bodies on the ground. Very few in the rehab group and even then , they cannot be far away. Jones and Tomlinson already have the core strength and miles in their legs from their careers already, so it is just a case of getting them out there to participate with the group.

I thought if I got there a bit early today it might be a good idea given the heat. I was right. At 8.45 a rather smaller squad than Monday arrived from AAMI. I usually start with rehab because in previous weeks the rehab boys are out first, but not today. In fact the rehab tent wasn't even set up. They play some rather unpleasant music from there and monitor the GPS figures I think but not today. Finally Tomlinson makes up the entire rehab group today and starts his routine and looks very comfortable. I'd think he'll be close to fully ready after the break. It seems like ages since we heard the news of his calf but it's only about 4 or 5 weeks and clearly they are building him up carefully. About 30 players start with some gentle exercises one involving a player with an exercise band around the other players hips who is in the "up" push up position. They pull at all different angles and the player must not fall over. It's then into a lot of different groups with some leading and kicking drills, there are some stoppage drills and a little bit of marking practice. It's all at a pretty leisurely pace and there's not a lot to report or see really so I start thinking about who is not there. May, Jones, Viney, Spargo, Hibberd, KK, Melksham(?), Hannan, Baker, Dunkley, AVB, Jetta, TMac, Petty, Preuss, Brown and JSmith are missing along with Neita of course. But the squad is still big enough to do some three quarter ground match sims but it's all at a notch down from Monday. The focus is transitioning the ball from the backline to forward line and with fewer player on the ground it's all done very well. Jackson and Weideman are the forward targets and Lever is giving Jackson a hard time but earns a free from an illegal spoil on the boundary and slots it nicely. But the best is yet to come for Jackson who takes the ball off the top of a pack and casually strolls into goal. It's these little cameo's that get you excited. Not many could do what he did. Rivers kicks a great goal from a good run and a long way out and gets the applause of everyone and Kossie plays "catch me if you can" a couple of times but of course nobody can. The young kids are enjoying the slightly slower pace and less congestion and we are seeing some of the skills come out. Reports of Jackson's kicking deficiencies seem misplaced as he was kicking off both sides of his body today very well. The "best 22" do what the best 22 do when the match sims are on. Oliver, Harmes and Trac get a lot of it, Gawn wins in the air and the players are just really enjoying the drills. When match sims finish there is some goal kicking practice and then it's all over by 11.15. Viney and TMac have ventured down to have a look, Bennell is starting to ramp up his running on the other side of the ground and James Jordan keeps slotting every shot he has. A good bunch of Demonlanders down there today so others will add their bit and their perspective. Tomorrow will be a big day I reckon, I'll see if I can get some inside information on where it is.

I think he's training solidly. He's clunking a few marks and he's being spoiled a few times. He's being covered by Lever, May and OMac so it's reasonable competition. If you're glass half empty you'd criticize him and if you're glass half full you'd be happy with him. He's getting his first real run at preseason this year. He'll have some pretty solid help in the forward line with TMac, Fritta and Trac all very capable overhead. The focus of the oppositon will be elsewhere initially I'd have thought. He'll also have some quality smalls at his feet with luck and his job on a lot of occasions will just be to get the ball to ground. His kicking for goal today was fantastic as he slotted one from tight on the boundary and another from a fair way out. He's getting the ball in match sim regularly without dominating but like all forwards he relies on the delivery at least giving him some chance. Given your view there's nothing there to change it, I'm of the opposite view and happy with what I've seen.

Chatted to Deakin's dad, 6ft 8in in the old money, Dad didn't do decimal and 98kg, turned 17 in Sep, club snapped him up as Academy Elite basketballer as well, has American college offers coming at him daily Another note Harley Bennell came out did a bit of running and then kick to kick with Crossy, both left and right, moving progressively backwards until about 40 metres away, Croosy hardly moved to mark the ball

Apologies for not contributing earlier, I've been having Optus internet issues and have had to revert to emergency Telstra dongle ( don't understand why, but I always feel a little dirty when I say that). I got down there today before any of the players appeared and spied a relatively young looking fella taking the shade under a tree at the City end. Turned out to be George on the Outer. Pretty much stayed in the same posi. till around 11 when most of the action dried up. During that time most of the brains trust turned up in Whispering, Urban Legend BB and D'land himself. Good banter and opinion ensued during this time and I'm happy to report we are all a bit bullish for the year ahead. I think we all agreed that while we temper our expectations, as it is preseason, observing training at the moment has way more positives than negatives. I don't intend to revisit what other posters have said other than to agree with their comments. The one thing I can add is that I stayed until the last player and coach departed. The last player was Petty and the last coach - Stafford. At the end of the session JJ, Chandler, Viney, Clarey and Petty spent 15 to 20 mins on goal kicking. In the end Stafford was working one on one with Petty on his run up. It appeared Stafford had identified a flaw where Petty was making contact with the ball either to early or to late. For any of the other training watchers; I would be interested in future obs regarding A/ this as on ongoing coaching with other players and B/ any observable improvements in individual performance in this area. I should have also mentioned I watched Langdon a fair amount and thought his disposal was much better today than on Monday. I also saw him celebrate this a few times to the amusement of his teammates. This shows he is very aware of his deficiencies and is working on them

His name is Deakyn Smith. He is 179cm tall and weighs about 76kg. He's definitely one to watch next year. Played sorta around half back wing and is quite clean with his skills and ball use but also shows a bit of dash. Played 8 games for Dandenong Stingrays and averaged 10.8 disposals per game. Hope he can improve on that.

It’s been a long time since I attended an MFC training session - mid January of this year in fact. I remember it well although I thought it was somewhat closer to the start of the season. Despite the significant numbers in rehab, I still waxed lyrical in my report on the session, believing that the team was building its way through the preseason and on the way to bigger and better things. All would be good for the first bounce, I thought. In the end, I was wrong. I completely underestimated the effect of having so many of the club’s key midfielders missing in action during the preseason. Jack Viney (foot), Angus Brayshaw (back) and Clayton Oliver (shoulders) were all on modified training programmes for most of the summer and Nathan Jones was troubled by hamstring issues at the time. When these players were taking their first tentative steps onto the field in full combat in the opening round against Port Adelaide, the realisation of just how important it is to complete the hard yards set in very quickly. Combine this with an injury scourge that went through the club from go to whoa and it’s not hard to figure out why the wheels fell off so early in the season and why it was impossible to recover fully. But that was then, this is now and the time for excuses is over. When I came down to Gosch’s there were still quite a few team members off the track but the rehab group doesn’t appear to be so problematic, especially as I was assured that some players are being rotated around and a tough session awaits the group tomorrow in some top secret location where the players will be going through a “closed session” to finish off the year. Others have already given their impressions of what transpired in the heat of the morning so I will simply give some views about the new faces. I begin with Ed Langdon, the running outside midfielder who comes out of the shadows of near anonymity that comes from playing at Fremantle. He was moving well and his disposal whilst not under match pressure was passable. Another man from Freo was quietly going through some light pedestrian work on the far side boundary. Harley Bennell was being barely more active than we spectators in the early days of a much hoped for career revival after years of calf problems, but he was doing a little more than last week and, in a brief moment of kick to kick, he showed that he still has the ability to hit targets from 40 metres with bullet-like efficiency. Of course, he has a fair way to go. The other newcomer from interstate was Adam Tomlinson, still in rehab from a calf injury. I didn’t see much of him so I can’t really comment. I’ve already been convinced about how beneficial a basketball background can be in the development of footballers. That became patently obvious when Luke Jackson sublimely grabbed the ball off the top of a pack and ran into goal. Don’t get carried away by this yet but it’s fairly obvious why club recruiter Jason Taylor says the club has had eyes on this former national junior basketballer for three years. Jackson was the first player on his interview list in February and I can understand why the club didn’t frig around playing games with the Giants at the draft hoping they wouldn’t pass on Tom Green. This kid can play a little bit. His mate from East Fremantle in Trent Rivers also goes alright - he’s solid, moves and kicks well and isn’t all that far from being AFL ready. Finally, you couldn’t miss our X Factor recruit Kysaiah Pickett wearing the number 36 made famous by Aaron Davey. Pickett has the lightning speed and run down attack of the man we knew as Flash and he promises to bring some excitement to the MCG in a place that last year was dull, colourless and boring.

Bennell was latterly diagnosed as having plantaris friction syndrome, and has had his plantaris muscle removed in both legs. Couldn’t have less to do with his vertebral posture, core or lumbo-pelvic balance and control, which obviously the physio and conditioning staff will be working to optimise - as they do for all players.

Pretty good thus far - it’s a relatively new intervention. This journal article suggests positive outcomes for elite athletes (skip to the ‘Results’ and ‘Discussion’). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5298419/

"Getting smashed at a closed session" is open to interpretation! Could it be code for several frothy ones in the privacy of a Function Room at the Cranbourne Hotel...??

According to Max these are Melbourne Academy players from the Casey area. I asked if the Dees had first dibs and he said yes. One of the smaller academy laid nice tackles on Jordon and Langdon. Got a few pats on the back for those.

@Baghdad Bob, @george_on_the_outer & @Whispering_Jack are here too so expect in-depth reporting later.

Got there late but Bennell’s kick to kick was the highlight. He can kick 40m the same way most of our players kick 15. The ball seems to gather pace as it travels. And that’s with the tiny calves. Just a theory but the thing I’d be working on with him before building up his running is his posture. He has big round shoulders and his head is angled forward on his body. It gives him this really aggressive look when he runs but I wonder if it loads up his back than then causes the calf tightness. I’d have him in the yoga and Pilates room (and even the suspect Chiro bed) getting those shoulders and head aligned in correct positions. Then retraining his gait to take the workload off his calves.

Here is an article from 2017 which welcomes a crop of Next Generation Academy players. Two Deakins (Deakyn) are listed. Kobi George (VIC) Cody Egan (VIC) Deakin Pereira (VIC) Ryan Koo Kwet Kim (VIC) Deakyn Smith (VIC) Declan Gould (VIC) - Pending Andrew Moniz-Wakefield (NT) Reggie Gallagher (NT) I'm pretty sure the kid on the left is the unnamed tackler that I observed today. I'm pretty sure that the tall kid on the left of these two photos is the other Deakin (Pereira). These photos are over two years old now and he has certainly filled out. A big unit.

Thanks in advance. Great reports so far this year. Really appreciated from someone stuck in the WA desert

Chill Greta chill

I get it back out after I’ve cooled down.

Looks like we have two Deaki(y)ns I have a nice picture of Trac leaving a couple of players in his wake, including Kozzy who got on the wrong end of a 'don't argue' Fivevstandouts for me in the match sim, Salem, Harmes, Trac, Clarry and Melksham Nice humourous touch before training, Clarry in his usual head to toe sunscreen, helping Salem apply his Salem 'this will stop me getting burnt' Clarty 'nah, you'll still get burnt'

So, there's just 3 blokes there -- Viney, TMac & Tomlinson??

Backline: Positives: - May, Lever, Jetta et al in full training - Harmes a fit runner with versatile ball winning ability Concerns: - ball use, after Salem and May if Hibberd's fallen away and Jetta's 15 touches most weeks then we aren't getting much quality rebound - Oscar - depth. Lockhart, Hore, J Smith and maybe Rivers the next group after the initial 7 and there's not a lot proven there Midfield: Positives: - Health. Especially Viney, Gus, Oliver, Gawn - Petracca the starting mid - Langdon is the hard runner we've needed - Vanders? Vanders? Concerns: - Is the balance of Petracca/Oliver/Viney/Gus still too inside and lacking skills and defensive work - 2nd/3rd wing options especially if Tomlinson remains injured or limited - 2nd ruck? Forward: Positives: - Fritsch - T Mc/Weid/Petty/M Brown/Jackson all competing for tall spots - Chandler and Pickett (and even Bedford) putting their hands up as pressure smalls Concerns: - The lack of pressure from our talls and mid sized guys, none of which are dominant enough in the air not to offer some ground ball work. - The inexperience of the crumbers - The lack of half forward/mid/wing rotation types with skills. ANB/Jones/C Wagner does not inspire confidence Overall If the coaches get a game plan that works and the players execute then we've got enough in all areas to be a dangerous side with weapons. But at this stage I still think we lack a bit on each line of the ground to be a top 4 contender. Not quite skilled enough to be a skilled based side. Not quite quick and drilled enough to play with the kind of pressure the Tigers do. And not quite big and powerful at both ends to be like the Eagles or Lions and own the air. Still, outside of the Tigers it looks a very even competition so if we can get a few early wins and find just what our strength is we could have a very good side but at least bouncing back from last year is probably a reasonable expectation.

Snap. I was just going to post exactly the same thing (jokes)

It's mainly about the functionality and potency of the forwardline for me. I have confidence in the other lines to get their [censored] together when you look at the personnel we have in there, but a heavy reliance on T Mac still raises concerns for me, keeping in mind that it looks like we are moving our best goalkicker from last season into the midfield. I expect Fritta to have a career best year, and Kozzie/Jacko could be surprise packets, but the level that the likes of Petty and Weid can achieve, along with Melky's ability to stay on the field will play a key role in the success of the season. I think Brown is a really smart acquisition. He may not be a gorilla type but he provides some much needed depth in experience and brings some mobility and smarts in the forward half. Why Essendon let him go is a mystery but I'm glad we have him. Clarry also needs to improve his delivery to the forwards. From memory he is statistically speaking one of the worst in the league. He's too good a player to be coughing the ball up as regularly as he does at present. He creates time for himself so he needs to use it to the full extent when disposing by foot because he is a very good kick when he takes time to settle. Overall I am confident we will move back into the 8. We absolutely have the talent to do so, so if we can't, there are other questions that need to be asked.

Haven't been down to watch a sesh, but drive past often and backing up what others have said; Tomlinson is one big unit, it's noticeable even from the road. Has a bit of Paddy Cripps about him (not comparing them as players of course), but just that presence of size. He's an intriguing player for us next year.

G'day all! The next instalment of 'The Three Votes' featuring Adem Yze's 29 touch/5 goal performance against the Eagles in round 22, 2000, will be premiering on YouTube tonight at 7:00pm! You can tune in live tonight through the link below.

morally getting rid of the pokies was the best thing, financially it was the worst thing, i said it at the beginning it would be the downfall of the club, and no the AFL will not give us more money just because you got rid of the pokies that's a pipe dream, and no getting rid of pokies won't get as more sponsors. The Hawks will never get backlash from having more pokies, winning premierships and being successful forgives clubs for all their sins.

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.

He’s being well advised IMO. This is his last chance to turn his career around and make a decent living from the sport. A return to WA and a single poor decision could mean that it’s all over.

Trac easing his way through traffic

Found this article when we exited Leighoak: Dees to exit pokies We get a net profit of about $2.m from Leighoak ($900k as per report in the op) and the Bentleigh Club. We lose the Bentleigh revenue in 2022. We lose the Darwin game in 2020 (said to be $500k). That is $2.5m over a 3 year period. The Leighoak sale proceeds were to be invested in other activities to earn replacement revenue. At the time that was mooted to be naming rights of our new training centre, commercial activities at the training centre etc. As the new training centre is not even in the embryonic stage I'm not optimistic of the club covering lost revenue over the next few years. Somehow the club convinced the AFL exiting pokies was a good business plan "... the AFL wanted to be assured that the Demons would not be hurt financially." If this ends up being an 'own goal' can't see the AFL coming to the our rescue. It would have made much more business sense if we had the other revenue streams ready to go before exiting pokies. And if a new training centre was part of that other revenue the timing of the exiting pokies should have been linked to its opening.

That is Kobi George

The first thing they did when Bennell started was to film his running action Could actually be tweajks He is up to half pace in a straight line If he works over Xmas, could be full pace in no time Doing little bits of agility @DeeSpencer agree, his kicking is a joy to watch

People have short memories between 1996 and 2004 their years where spent mostly in the bottom 4. They where a success in the 70 ,80 and 1991, and where broke by 1996, they could have gone the way of Fitzroy, they only started making profits when they opened pokies in Waverly and sold games to Tasmania and that's a fact, success did not make them any profits, by the merger in 1996 Hawthorne had huge debt and could not pay their players, that's fact, take away pokies and their Tasmanian games and their profits disappear.

I am hoping Harley Bennell gets some luck his way. He has a huge amount of talent and just needs to get through pre-season injury free. He can do this if he listens to the medical staff and doesn't over exert himself. Let his body slowly build up steadily. I like the suggestion of Harley Bennell trying out Yoga to help his posture. It's definitely worth a try at least. I genuinely wish Harley Bennell all the very best and hope he can get the chance to run out onto the MCG to play for the Demons.

Indeed od. Got mine today. Happy with the pared back contents. Don't need the magnet fixture. Hopefully next year they get rid of that However, the most disturbing part is that I could not get a seat away from @Bitter but optimistic, so will have to put up with his slobbering, foul mouthed rants again in 2020

Spoke to Max after training and he said today was an easier session and they’re likely to get smashed at the closed session tomorrow.

About 40 minutes ago today. Longer sessions can go well towards 12 but I’d say most are usually done by 11:30.

Bit cooler today.... only going to hit 46 °C

Rehab Group: Only Tomlinson looks like the regular rehabbers are elsewhere today.

I know as the saying goes that you make your own, but surely we are due a bit of luck for something to turn out all right for once.

mining a dying business........that gave me a good laugh....thanks af

The second poster in the off season to suggest Melksham isn't good enough to make the best 22. Unless you guys are predicting a sudden downturn in form next year, Melksham would be one of the first picked. Infact, I'd go as far to say Melksham is the best kick at the club. Seen those inside 50 bullets he's capable of and the classy goals he kicks. We sorely missed him last year as we slumped to a 2-8 record without him.

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.

I reckon ( Hope) Pray he can return to Senior Footy. If he does ( and Im growing more optimistic by the day,) this for him and us will be a stellar result!?

Yep, so no surgery as mentioned, and as mentioned if he was carrying such an injury, and combining it with poor form, it seems a baffling decision to play him every single game; especially once our season was dead and buried.

It should be when dealing with an out of form player in a team with 0 chance of playing finals after about round 6. It's incredibly poor management if it's what has happened.

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

1.5m loss. The move out of gaming cost 900,000k. Still managed to pay down debt. At least that's a positive.

Thanks for that. I am interested in peoples differing perceptions of the players. On Hore, I see him as similar to Lever and would find it difficult to them both in the team. I do not see him there week in week out if Lever is fit and firing. Omac is a hard one. With frost gone I can see him getting games he would not have otherwise. It will be interesting to see how they structure the defenders this season. I can see a few of the midfield rotating through there during games.