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Good to see we're all keeping our expectations in check In the build up to the draft, I struggled to see the value in picking him at 3. On the basis of some youtube highlights and fluff pieces in the media, I'm now convinced he'll be a star. Being a footy fan does questionable things to one's psyche (especially in the off season).

I reckon the Pies have over paid, I have held the believe for some time that champion Ruckman do not win you flags. The Pies and us had the two best Ruckman the last couple of years by a long stretch have either won a flag? No! Richmond has won two flags in three years with competent Ruckman but not Champions. The Hawks won numerous flags with the same types.

That is a big chunk of their salary cap for the next 7 years he had better stay healthy. This reminds me of the Buddy deal, the only way it is justifiable is if the Swans win a flag or more. So far no flags and they slipping down the ladder.

Am I missing something or has Lever retired?

I'd like to see Weid earn the spot through his pre season efforts …. and then keep it through his good form. It is time for him to deliver the goods - he can't survive on "potential" much longer.

Great insight into the whirlwind that these young blokes go through, as well the maturity and professionalism of Luke himself. "We were also fortunate enough to hear from (former Port Adelaide and Carlton ruckman) Matthew Lobbe, (former Fremantle and Gold Coast midfielder) Michael Barlow and (former Victorian and Australian cricketer) Bobby Quiney on their different pathways and athlete journeys. The stories and insights they shared with us put into perspective the journey we’re about to embark on. Our careers won’t always go according to plan and, for some others, their first year might not be as successful as they had hoped, but I think it’s about making sure that you’re working hard, embracing the challenge and utilising the resources around you. Hopefully I’ll be able to apply the lessons they spoke about to my own life and career." Jackson ready to embrace the challenge

Good to see someone working on their MFCSS in the off-season. Important to keep fit.?

In my case, I'd beat them in a fight by 50m.

Barrels, speckies, match day kick to kick, finals buzz, transparent injury reports, training bbq's, father sons, draft gems, new revenue streams, no concussions ....... and less bushfires!

Defeating the Eagles in Round 1 at Optus and me escaping the ground without getting punched in the mouth.

AA for Tracc

Had a quick chat over Christmas with a relative of mine that is closely tied to the Petracca clan (specifically the older brothers). Reckons the penny has dropped and he has taken massive strides forward in maturity and ownership of his career/goals/fitness and wants to leave no stone unturned to ensure he reaches his potential (also with a mention to this being the last year of his contract, not that he wants to move but wants to build on what he’s done). Broken up with the Mrs and been spending all summer committed to the cause and working bloody hard.

Trac has been a victim of his own hubris up to this point of his career. I have referred to him in the recent past as possibly the most overrated player in the league based on hype-v-output. Last year i watched him closely looking for ANY signs that he might be tracking(no pun intended) towards a genuine A-Grader. I can honestly say i saw enough to suggest the penny might have finally dropped for him. I believe (maybe more of a hope ) that he can, if he stays injury-free, become one of the games most damaging players this season. Boy dont we need it.

I'd like to see Ben Brown get a haircut

Suspect by back end of deal it''ll be a declining chunk of cap.

Got a good feeling about this kid

I bet there will be a few closed Casey session between now and Round 1.

A bloke I follow tweeted the club to see if they were training at Gosch’s today. They said there was no training at Gosch’s. I’ll see what I can find out. Just had confirmation. They are at Casey today.

Amount of beers = imagination.

The first Demon to kick 100 goals in a season Dreaming.....

I’d like to see Hunt trained in the role. The wings look like they won’t be available to him, and he has pace, smarts and can kick. He needs to learn the arts and tricks but he is still young. Of course, if Pickett is half as good as his uncle..........

Love to beat the West Coast in Perth round 1 convincingly to the tune of 10 goals and make that statement. Could set us up for the remainder of the year. I like to see Petracca kick 7 straight goals in a match winning display in the Queens birthday game. Being free of any major injuries.

It will be great if one or both of them come on this season and it sounds like there's every reason to have some confidence that will happen. Pick 27 and Pick 33 doesn't sound like a big investment to me, compared with say the pick 3 and pick 10 investment this year - "now that's a knife" What "types" are they and which players do you think we missed out picking there?

The traditional FF role has changed, you look at our bigger Fwds: Tmac, Weid, Brown, Petty, Jackson, Fritta, Melk, Trac, Hannan, AVB, Joel Smith, Pruess at any given time, any of those guys could play out of the Square. I think its Weid and Brown right behind him. Big year for Weid.

Joel Smith ???

Plenty of disagreement on Demonland but less personal attacks.

T Mac given he's the one most likely to kick the most goals. I voted Mitch Brown out of that group. Kicked his 2 goals a game last year and has more runs on the board then Weideman. I'd have more confidence in Brown contributing towards a round 1 win V' West Coast. However, I hope Weed has a great year and makes Brown purely a back up depth option. Let's hope we don't have a repeat of Oscar McDonald being our number 2 key forward because we ran out of players.

Petracca and get the former MFC player Allen Jackovich to coach him on how to position yourself one-on-one

1. I'd like to see AVB and Weideman play meaningful seasons. If this happens we are a significantly better team. 2. I know it's not one thing but I want to see two (or more) fringe/developing players became good AFL quality players. Suspects are Jackson, Pickett, Rivers, Jordon, Sparrow, Lockhart, Dunkley, Spargo, Baker, Chandler and Smith. 3. I'd like to see Bennell fit and firing. All of these things lead to a much better team and list. That wins games and all the rest will follow.

I’d play Fritsch there and try and isolate him as much as possible. He would be a tough match up with his one on one footy iq. Only works though if we are not bombing to the top of the square.

Belting the Cats down there in R19, in turn we seal a top 4 spot and kill off their finals chances.

Really great training reports and exciting times because we've got almost the full core having a complete pre season. I think Gawn, Oliver, May and TMac are key to our fortunes in 2020, no surprises there and only May hopefully temporarily interrupted. Then my next core 11: Salem, Harmes, Petracca, Viney, Lever, Brayshaw, Langdon, Melksham, AVB, Fritsch and Jetta all in full training. Only Jones, Hannan, Tomlinson and Smith are in rehab and I have all 4 in the 3rd echelon and Hannan sounds like the only one restricted medium term. I think if we can get that 15 on the ground for the majority of the season and with some solid support from Hibberd, Weed, OMac, Hunt, ANB, Hore, Petty and Brown, all who are in full training, we can give the flag a real shake this year. I think it's quite reasonable to expect 2 or 3 of the 1st and 2nd year players to make a decent contribution too. For example Lockhart, Jordon, Dunkley, Sparrow and any of the 3 draftees could step up. Preuss is there as Max insurance. That's about 30 goers in total. I don't agree with other posters who say we're "6 - 8 good players off challenging". IMO the challenge starts this year.

I think I saw you Yoko trying to stop your daughter running onto the ground to join the players!! I rarely comment on OMac because it invites comments like Chook who, despite the suggestion that social media might have been the reason for his absence last year, found it necessary to suggest that : on toilet paper? I mean, after all the crap this bloke has gone through, some still find it necessary to post these sort of comments. I just don't get it. But his kicking at training was elite, both left and right foot, and he was one of the cleaner ones with the ball. I also agree with you about Brown, he was very good yesterday. But I did think the standard was down on its preseason level and will be interested to see what it's like tomorrow.

If you take a look at Lockhart’s reel while playing in the forward line (in particular vs Dockers/Bombers), you’ll see a player who showed enormous potential in this position. (especially given his lack of pre-season and experience in the big league). Seems however that he’s being groomed for defence (possibly taking over from Nev when the time comes). My 2¢: if somebody else seems like a good fit for this defensive role, then start grooming Lockhart for the FP role immediately.

On your Great Escape Triumph TR6R motorbike, Steve?

A game plan! A system that doesn't involve hit-and-hope balls kicked to the top of the square. Or a system that doesn't press too far and leave opposition running into open, easy goals. Where the midfield are not bees to a honeypot and no one plays outside... Other than that. Players played in correct positions. Team selection based on form/fitness.

Giving Frost away was sooooo dumb. Lever is not good one on one and Oscar is a trier but is not up to the top opponents he would have to face.

Joel Smith , Joel Smith Or Joel Smith. If Oscar plays it is an indictment on the FD Because Sam Frost was outsatnding in very very ordinary company and in spite of faults he is light years ahead of Oscar!!

Constant Coordinated Rotation has to be the option. Churn. This rotation where selected ff leads out and selectedflanker runs in to that spot, all forwards consequently churn around to a structured position.. This not only means there is separation and forwards do not impede each other but also creates match up issues that can be exploited. It also creates space due to movement and provides anticipatory reaction as forwards know where their teammates will be. Requires discipline in knowing where teamates are and where opposition are. If opposition does not pursue opponent then a clear target is provided.

We need mobility up forward, whatever form that takes. My guess, we will see players rotating at FF. Whether they be tall or short, every team needs players with speed of movement, We need some marking power but we need players at ground level with dexterity who can get the ball and retain it. For me, players like Weed, Petty and at times Tmac are clunky players that too often can lose the ball. . Fritsch would be my pick at FF. Fast lead, clever, can move sideways and has a strong overhead mark and beautiful straight kick. Can receive well but also can chase his own ball. Brown might be an option but I will go with what I know.

Most derailed thread. Ever. Just to get back on topic, it seems training was not "postponed" at all. Rather it was moved indoors. And away from Saty's prying camera, they were prepared to do some competitive work with "shirts on" versus "shirts off". I'm tipping if the club announces a Gosch's paddock training day with half the team with their shirts off, there'll be a larger crowd of spectators in attendance than normal.

Truthfully... All of the above, Except Rangers

Jamie was handy (esp the Sticks effort) but I reckon that the job on Dermie was done by another good import, Peter Rohde, in 1990.

Our current set of imports alone would have to be a considerable core to a team if all playing well etc caveat thing thing. Hibberd, Melksham, May, Tomlinson, Langdon, Kolodjasnij, Preuss, Lever and Mitch Brown now too. Possible Harley Bennel at any moment now. I almost included Hannan, from Footscray! And Gawn is literally foreign - New Zealander! Or possibly some as-yet unidentified planet. May have arrived with the Murchison meteorite.

We have smoky conditions today, however, the health consequences of changing weather patterns and natural disasters are long-term. We face a new paradigm that will force all of us to think and behave differently. Similar to terrorism and 9/11, our behaviour and actions will need to change. Some people and organisations get it (perhaps the AFL), others don't (TA).. Good decision by MFC.

That could be difficult for some Saty.

Was at my first session in a while, and did my best to watch while having my young daughter with me. I won’t add too much more, as most has been said. Firstly, I do love how so many jump at shadows or are so pessimistic about injuries (or apparent injuries) to players. Take a deep breath, it is January, and we are way ahead of where we were last year. I had a chat to a few people I know at the club and they are all upbeat and extremely positive with how things are going, and from what I gathered, it wasn’t just your usual talk you read in the media to drum up publicity, they were genuinely excited by the new fitness people, by the players mentality and efforts and by the different training they are doing now. on a personal note (so I am unsure if this matters too much to some ), I was impressed by: Jackson - he moves well and flies for his marks, second efforts are great. Kicking skills on both feet pretty good too. Kossie - silky, quick, just what we need. Just needs some fitness as he won’t play much u til he can use his speed and pressure for more than 10 minutes. Trac - moves so well, clean and vocal. Trained with the mids all the time. Will have a huge year! And we need him too and we need to make him happy and re sign him! T Mac - looked super fit and moved well. Back to 2018 movement, I hope! O Mac - his kicking skills are great and he used his body well today. Just needs to work one quicker decisions! Brown - he will play a lot of games this season, and I would be happy to have him in the team, whichever end he is at. Good body size, moves well, takes a strong mark. Astute pick up imo. Melksham - his kicking is elite, his left foot is better than most others preferred foot. And he uses his body so well. And he is vocal and guiding people. We need him if we are to be any good this season. Tomlinson- didn’t realise how big he is, muscular more than height. He was getting annoyed with Burgess as he was itching to join in the real training. Think he will be in there ASAP. I could go on, but I was relatively impressed overall, as much as you can be for an early Jan session. Of course we need to wait a long while to see anything put into action. Overall it was just great to see the majority of the players all training, the entire session, at full pace and training g at a pretty high standard and looking like they were enjoying it.

These were pretty memorable knickers... Sorry, you meant kickers...