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I forgot to thank @george_on_the_outerfor prompting me to go yesterday. To figure out which days were training days he offered to go on Thursday and suggested I go Friday. He did go Thursday and there was no training. And as I learnt yesterday, Friday is a training day. I don't know where 'george' lives but I'm pretty sure it would have been quite a trek. To make the trek is quite an effort, especially knowing there may be nothing there. Ah, the lengths DL's go to bring reports... Thank you 'george' for making the trek on Thursday for all of us and for prompting me to go yesterday. As an aside, if anyone is thinking of going to Casey, avoid South Gippsland Hwy - the traffic is pretty bad.

Trekked to Casey this morning. Arrived at 9.15 and players were already working on the field. When the rain came at 10.00 it was my cue to leave. So I was there for about 45 minutes. The view from outside the cyclone fence was very good but it was hard to make out what was happening on the other side of the oval – its quite a flat outer. It was my first ever training session so wasn’t sure what to look for or look at. It was hard to make out some players especially the newer ones or those that hadn’t played many games. So I had to work from their numbers (when they weren’t wearing coloured tops). So missed a lot of the detail of what was happening. Observations: · When I arrived there were some ball movement drills happening on the flanks of the ground with the ball starting fwd of the wing. · It took quite a while to work our who wasn’t there. The only ones I didn’t see were Aaron VandenBerg and Marty Hore (that is not to say they weren’t there). So a fairly fit list especially of our top 30 players. · Rehab group was Brayshaw, Hibberd and Petty. Its great to see it so small. I notice there is an injury report from Burgess on their status. · Oliver seems to have recovered from shoulder surgery. I didn’t notice shoulder strapping but that could be because there was no tackling/contact work. (Not sure if contact training is allowed by the AFL in these covid times). · Ball movement seemed slow and sloppy at times but it is early in the pre-season and there would be a few cobwebs to blow out. · They changed tops often: pink, while, and I think yellow. Couldn’t make out what each meant. · After a huddle there was ball movement training starting in the middle – it looked like transition work but not possible to draw any conclusion on what was happening or how it might look like in 2021. I saw Rosman and Rivers have a go in the middle then fwd and Bowey was fwd (but I wouldn’t take that as indication of when or where they might play). · TMac looked fantastic, moved well and was with the defenders. · I noticed B Brown at the end of my 45 minutes so not sure if he was out there the whole time. Was wearing knee strapping. · At one stage Fritsch did some goal-kicking practice from about 40 m out. · It was good to see Nietschke and Jordan training after missing two years with injuries. · No-one stood out for good or bad reasons as I wasn't there long enough. The person I noticed the most was Rivers. Really like him. · The music was fairly loud so couldn’t tell much from player voices but I didn’t notice a lot of animation which is not to suggest that is a bad thing. · I completely forgot to look specifically for Goodwin, Yze or Williams. But then I didn’t expect the rain to arrive so early. At least two of them were in the middle most of the time directing proceedings. · Overall it felt low key but that could be because I have no idea what to expect from a training session. Well, that’s it folks. Will try to get to training again soon. As an aside training is on Monday, Wednesday and Friday but it seems the club publishes pics only for Monday sessions. Not sure if that is due to cost savings.

Back to the topic, I have rewatched his highlights reel and believe Fraser Rosman could be the "Find" of the draft. What I see is Pace,endurance, canny ball use, accuracy of kick,build,height and he seems to put himself in dangerous positions. Add agility and his ability to clunk marks, he might well be the X factor we need. I like what I see!!

Maybe you can go to training and do a report.

There is spin and there is fact. The facts seem to be Petty, Hibberd and Gus are the only players to have missed a main session ignoring Vanders stuck in NSW. Let’s compare these facts to facts on Carlton from the AFL website this week.. Docherty trained away from the main group. Curnow, Betts, Marchbank and Silvagni did not train. Newman, Mackay, Gibbons, Martin, DeKoning, Williamson and Kemp are on modified programs. Who knows if they are running PBs, hitting targets or improved their game plan knowledge but I know which one is the preferred position particularly with a shortened preseason preparation.

This is good. We have consistently lacked 'space finders' up forward. A forward line mobility issue could be under scrutiny ... and about time! Alternative feeders and receivers will be the next stage with back coverage in transitions. I smell Yze in this. A classic lone entity in forward craft receiving from the midfield.

Especially considering that [censored] is an anti-Vaxxer and ran a ridiculous tennis tournament that he, his missus and his mates all picked up covid from...$$$$$$

Wasn't aware of this at all.

Yep, this is exactly what is wrong with our society. This assumptions that girls are forever 'asking for it', if they choose to wear tight clothes, go out to a bar or heaven forbid, give a guy their number. Women are not allowed to exist without some [censored] assuming they are up for it. FFS unless these women specifically said "hey Jon, can I get some nudes", they were not 'asking' for it and it was an aggressively sexually inappropriate thing to do. It might be shocking to men to find out that women may actually care to get to know a guy and not their [censored] first.

i think a lot of you seem to be looking at through your own moralistic stances, which is fine!. Most normal humans are going to condemn this type of behaviour. To infer that JP had mental health issues before all this smut came out would be somewhat right. I mean the text messages are as damning as the pictures he sent...Does he have a coke issue? If he does it is likely that he has some mental issues. The main point though is after the event. He got called out on front of national papers, following day it was more girls verifying he is a serial offender. Hawthorn told JP to stay away from training as they did not want the circus with media. There would have been discussions that they will go through the due process, but your career as an AFL player is on severe tenderhooks. I would say his career is done and dusted and he is wondering how he fell so fast, his head would be spinning ,a trip to the mental health ward may be not a card played but more fallout due to hugely stressful circumstances. Not condoning the acts at all but the fallout would be real for any human facing similar circumstances.

Spot on

I’ve had my fair share of mental health problems. I take meds everyday that really work for me, but I’ve also ended up in hospital from being in some fairly scary places inside my own head. I’m very upfront about it to anybody, as aside from being a Melbourne supporter, I appear to be a fairly well adjusted, well mannered and ‘in control’ person. I absolutely loathe the confusion that these kind of situations create for the general pubic around mental health issues. It really does come across, as others have noted, as a ‘card played’. I know for a fact that this has been the case in the AFL in regards to recreational drug issues in the passed. If it truly is the case that a player is having a mental health crisis then the AFLPA needs to have an agreement with the media that it doesn’t get reported on. It’s a better outcome for the player involved, and much better for the community - who can understand mental health problems as diverse and unique, but not feel like they are just a PR stunt.

Clubs have pared back the staffing resources and media depts were heavily utilised during the hub, earning well-deserved holidays. We may need to recalibrate our expectations.

Well done Fraser you are certainly striving for something special in my mind. Not just here for a good time. Achieving something for yourself and to help our great club to achieve the ultimate would be something special.

Rams 17 Packers 20 Ravens 30 Bills 33 Browns 18 Chiefs 33 Bucs 24 Saints 23

I’m having a light hearted rib, nothing more. Always happy to read a training report

Packers 7-12 Bills 1-6 Browns 1-6 Tompa Bay 7-12

I worry about your judgement PF. i hope you have not put the mocca on him. Remember your thoughts on Nathan Lyon

Keen to see him hopefully play in the preseason. After his highlights package, his size and athleticism, and then him taking out the time trial, I’m just wondering what the catch is.

So basically you’re not sure who did what, what colour they wore or the point of the exercise or if the coaches were even there ?

the Adelaide quarantine was for the top players only. Only around 15 players and very comfortable not everyone is equal in the tennis world

TBH Macca I’ve found the races at Glen and GC tough. I like #12 Miss Damita in the 8th at Flem and got a tip for the same race for #14 Coolth.

The Sprint race I found to be the toughest to find a winner but Bella Vella is a real chance Gorg Swift Witness in the 2yo Classic, Isotope in the Guineas & Athiri in the F&M feature should all get into the finish Every year this particular meeting becomes more appealing ... not long after (Aust Day this year) we're into the Blue Diamond previews Then we're into the Autumn features before you know it

Training Report! Thank you! Very happy to hear that TMac is training with the defenders. There’s a sport there for the taking if he’s up to it.

Cheers for the training report LH

Thanks for the report Lucifer. How often in past pre-seasons have we seen the above which has transposed into the real season. God help us if it does AGAIN. Time will tell.

Many thanks, greatly appreciated!

Frtsch was by himself. I didn't see specific skills training. The ball movement 'drills' were with coaches (forgot to notice which ones) stopping play when the ball came to ground. The closest I saw to match sim was about 10 minutes with the ball starting in the centre and it going to a designated end of the ground. The players in the 'fwd line' were relatively stationery which looked deliberate with what seemed to be 'designated players' moving towards the ball carrier. I was a bit slow to notice who. Will know better next time. Thanks to you and others for the encouragement.

At long last... a training report! Thank you for making your way down to "god's country" LH, and a good first up training report. Hopefully many more to come! I'm thinking of heading down on Monday to see the boys in action and take a few pics for us die hard supporters.

Thats good news for Harmes who will surely play all his minutes in the midfield now.

Needs to just find some composure JG when close to goal. He often has more time than he thinks, but rushes his kicks. When he does this he is often off balance, running at full pace when dropping the ball and his ball drop is high. A bit more composure to just slightly decelerate, when disposing the ball by foot. This is something IMO which should come with greater exposure at the highest level. But yes he brings plenty of other things others don't. Really think his link up play to move the ball quickly and break the lines is something special

Looks pretty good to me... Some people might do well to look at what he brings to the team rather than focus on nit picking negatives.

A phone call? I don’t normally bother getting on my high horse but seriously, WTF?! Are you trying to suggest that if a girl gives a guy her phone number she is just getting what she deserves if he sends her pictures of himself jerking off?

Wow this is slow progress. So we have been looking for options for the past few years and the progress we have made is to get the state government to 'look' too.

If you recall PJ spent over $420,000 on a feasibility study for Yarra Park which proved to have never been a possibility. That was reported in 2018. Apparently it's taken two years of hard lobbying to get the State Govt and all stakeholders on board just to do a feasibility study. That's great news in that they haven't rejected us outright but the feasibility study could end up saying there is no where in the precinct that is suitable. Who knows what they look in to. I assume it will have to have some degree of community facilities to get Govt funding. So it's probably not just the site but also a lot of other considerations. Also have no idea what next steps would be if the report is positive. Does the Club then have to set about getting funding from various Govt's and stakeholders etc. I'd say there's a long way to go.

Requirement under Corporations Act when club doesn't have an email address. Members who have not provided one to the club actually cost the club tens of thousands each year. I think there were 9K last year when volunteers posted out notification of the Annual meeting.

I'm inclined to think the concerns for Patton's mental health are genuine. Sure the 'mental health card' is often played to escape scrutiny or buy time and players 'take a break from football'. This is different. Patton is in hospital. If the concerns were not genuine he wouldn't be there. It has been a humiliating week for him, played out in public and he has been stood down from his job. The mental health concerns don't exonerate him from his actions or the consequences but it is easy to understand that he would be in a very fragile place.

I'm inclined to make a change on the board. This comes from not knowing any of the current board or the new candidate. I think like he did with the team & coach last season, it's time for Bartlett to get a kick up the a... Now you will not find a more thorough case than that anywhere.

Sorry but I disagree 58er. What most posters on here have done is condemned the act - ie what he did - and what he did on a number of occasions was despicable, and so this act(s) should be called out for what it is. This condemnation would be applied to anyone who did the same thing. Why he did it is a different matter. If he does have mental health issues then of course I hope he gets the treatment he needs. And anyone with mental health issues deserves our "understanding". But we should not be silent on this issue at all just because the mental health card has been raised. We should continue to call out and condemn this type of act in an effort to highlight and acknowledge the standards we expect. The perpetrator is irrelevant. Its the act that is condemned.

Rumoured to have run ACROSS the lake in record time. But I'm not expecting any miracles .

Was only a matter of time. Is there no one at the club or in his family that can teach him the value of taking responsibility for your own actions. Weak.

Lol, that's like arguing that the charges against DeGoey aren't serious because hey, who hasn't brought a girl home after a night out. Sexting isn't the issue - it's the lack of consent.

Those survey results paint a sad picture of how young people go about personal relationships. But maybe I'm a bit old school when it comes to communicating with people. Presumably the survey covered sexting that was consensual. The issue with Patton is he sent very explicit images and videos, which were unsoliciited and by some accounts has been doing so for years.

I think it may have been Bedford last year. And yep ANB and Tmac have been previous winners I believe. I heard ANB and second and Tmac third this year.

If he's good enough, he's good enough and if not, he won't get picked up by Melbourne. Don't forget that none of the 18 clubs were impressed enough to draft him when they all had the opportunity. The fact that he's Jeff Farmer's son is completely irrelevant and doesn't justify blind optimism.