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Thanks everyone for your beautiful words. We farewelled Mark at a beautiful service yesterday with the MFC ever present. There were quite a few people including his kids wearing Dees merchandise. His coffin was draped in a Dees flag and cap and `Grand old flag` was played whilst showing Marks life in pictures. I spoke of his love for our club during my speech. I`m once again grateful to the club for organising a video which we aired of Steven May who Mark sponsored, sending his condolences and best wishes to his family and friends. I`m pretty sure I got the 3 votes at his wake last night, a very sore head today.

Went down to Casey and watched through the fence. Don't know why you can't get into an area that could be partitioned off on the outer wing for supporters. Other clubs seem to have supporters around the grounds. A couple of rehab groups. Brayshaw, VDB, Viney and Hibberd doing laps. Bowey, Smith, Petty and Brown doing exercises, run throughs and similar on the outer wing. Bowey Petty and Smith together with coaches doing various drills whilst Brown just ran up and down the boundary line. B Brown doing a lot of body work drills with Stafford whilst other training going on. Apart from warm ups there were 3 main drills on whole ground. 1. Williams ran the first one where there were three teams. Yellow tabs, white tabs and Melbourne jumpers. going in triangular pattern HFF to HFF to FF anticlockwise with emphasis on fast continuous movement. 2. Two teams Orange tabs and melbourne jumpers run maybe by Yze. Full ground match play. They put cones down to bring the boundary in 20 m on each side so all play was through corridor areas. All about the side not in possession trying to touch the ball where it would be turned over to the other side. Kossie was one out with a white tab running through the middle going for runs bouncing the ball trying to avoid others. At one stage tracc chased him while he bounced it 4 times. Trac couldn't catch him but never gave up. Kossie kept the same 2 m in front. After Kossie kicked it Tracc collapsed to his knees trying to bet some breath - it was a great chase. Kossie just kept going. Nothing wrong with Kossie fitness. TMac is much fitter - at one stage he sprinted from the centre to the goal square to take a mark. Jordan looks really good. Jackson has gone up a level and has mixed the mobile ability to be more assured in his ball handling, especially at ground level. Bowey looks more advanced than Bayley. Oliver got tackled and went down for a while and one of the coaches convinced him to take 5 minute rest but then came back as strong as ever. The only other one to have a problem was Baker who was limping for a couple of minutes but then appeared to run it out. Rosman was the one who stood out for me. He's athletic, big strong and has a leap. Marked a few over the top of others and got a few handball receives running past. Plays like Bontempelli and even kicks like him. Wouldn't be surprised if he played first up. Spargo, Langdon and Hunt impressed. Weid presented well. Thomo, May and Lever main defenders but no close checking (emphasis on intercepting). Like the first drill it was about quick continous movement. 3. Two separate games on each side of the ground with little league type goal posts 2 m apart. Match play where eventually players tried to kick goal through the 2 m gap. No set shots - just snaps on the run. Rosman did a beauty from 40 m out. across his body. I left at 11 and they were still going.

Becoming one of my all time favourite demons.

And this is from a guy that actually had an excellent season, and yet wants to be even better this year. Always enjoy reading his articles. Speaks honestly and steers clear from the corporate talk. Deserves to finally play in a final. Too good a player to never have featured.

interesting to see this re Kossie and also the comments about Hunt training with the backs. Perhaps we are looking at our fastest players to receive the ball in the middle of ground and speed towards goal to break defensive zones and give our tall forwards one on one opportunities. This will be a feature of the game this year because of the change in the manning the mark rule (ie the man on the mark can not slow up the game and then be replaced by a team mate coming from the side or forward of the ball carrier, which allows him to flood back to congest the defensive zone for the next kick). Tmac might be pivotal in this strategy - someone who can present, mark and quick handball release on the wing/centre of the ground to the speedsters running past. I reckon teams like Port could be found out with this rule (a bit like we were in 2019 with the 6/6/6). They have a lot of contested beasts in the midfield who are not particularly quick (which will be an issue for us too if we don't adapt our game plan), play a very high defense, and are not particularly strong one on one defenders (i.e. when they come up against Tom Hawkins and the like).

Welcome DR - you and Werridee will get on like a house on fire.

One of the things that impressed me the most when watching his highlights was his vice like contested marking. Sure knows how to take a grab. There was no double grab just full clunks. I know he's been training as a wingman, but do wonder if he'll start up forward. He also has the frame to put on some serious size as well which is exciting.

haha, I don't see why not Picket - why just 2 weeks ago i nominated him for a Brownlow by 2024.

Good to see, they should mandate it at all levels of footy. Very hard to police in a lot of instances down from the AFL but you'd rather be cautious than do nothing.

Whenever he speaks, I tend to believe him. Been a while since the club has had someone that 'walks the walk' as well

I don't think that you were down playing him i just found it remarkable that Osborne polled his career 18 Brownlow votes for that year in 1976 . 11 seasons of footy and 146 games , 1976 also the year that Melbourne tried to off load him to Hawthorn. Unsuccessfully.

Was stiff not to get it last year

As quoted by STINGA re Training Wednesday 27th Jan "Rosman was the one who stood out for me. He's athletic, big strong and has a leap. Marked a few over the top of others and got a few handball receives running past. Plays like Bontempelli and even kicks like him. Wouldn't be surprised if he played first up. Hnmm the more I see and hear the more I like it. Is it too early to lock him in for Round1 ??

I'm expecting an AA jacket for May this year.

Very moving. Thank you.

This is most probably very correct - the covid-19 complications. It may well be that the Dees and the renewed coaching team and footy department in general have a few surprises up their sleeves now that our recruiting for the upcoming season has strengthened and our newbies in general are starting to rock'n'roll, according to reports. There are certainly many things that other clubs and their FDs would want to know, so keep the spies out of the ground, to some extent. I have a feeling that we are going to start off the new season very successfully, surprisingly (for some) and potently. Here's hoping ....

he played six games in 2018 so...no he had a reasonable year on the back flank in 2017 but saying he was at aa calibre at any stage in his footballing career thus far is utterly laughable

One interesting observation from Stinga was about Kossie in a one off white top in the 3/4 field ball movement exercise. He seems to be used as a go to option with a directive to take on the defenders. That is get the ball to Kossie around the centre for him to run and break the lines at all costs. I will be interested to hear if future track watchers observe the same tactics as it may mean they are looking to play Kossie further up the field so he can use his speed to more advantage.

If you are looking for speed to break the lines we have him J Hunt played his best football off the half back flank. He knows how to kick a goal running through the middle of the ground and links up well.

I met Mark at his video store many years ago to pick up a copy of a Robbie Flower compilation video that was put together by Ash29 (an Essendon supporter who posts rarely now). A truly gentle man and a lovely chat. RIP Mark. Condolences to his family.

Its with a very heavy heart I write this tonight. Mark lost his battle with cancer this morning. He fought bravely for around 3 or 4 years and was in quite good health even a few months ago but has been hospitalised the past few weeks. We played cards by his bed with another mate on Saturday night and he was in a happy, positive frame of mind and even gaining physical strength for a few days when out of nowhere he felt really crook so we let him get some rest. Its the last time I heard from him. He was as passionate a Demon as you could find and like many of us, a very nervous unit when watching us play. He would get so nervous when watching at home that he`d get up and fold washing or put dishes away when things got tight in the last qtr. rather than watch the TV. He has been a player sponsor for around 9 years of Jesse Hogan and now Steven May along with having his kids being members for sometime so has made a significant financial contribution to our great club for a long time. Many of you may remember him being quite open about losing his wife to cancer 4 years ago. The only positive I can find from this is that he is now with her, I know he missed her terribly. He leaves behind 3 young kids who will live the rest of their lives without parents, and 2 older kids who need to somehow get on with their own lives and bring up those younger kids. Life can be bloody cruel at times. I told him wherever he ends up that I`ll drink a bottle of his favourite scotch with him when we win the flag, but did joke that I`ll likely be on the other side of hell with him when that happens. I want to add how grateful I am to the MFC, particularly Tamara who I`ve been in close contact with in regards to Marks health. She organised an MFC polo and cap (Mark wore a Mark Neeld era polo nearly every single day since I met him) along with a handwritten card of support from Big Max. It arrived on Friday by express post, any later and he`d never have seen it.The smile on his face was priceless. RIP Mark, I miss you buddy.

No I do not remember that ... and yes, he was clumsy as they could possibly come; he'd run so fast, think so fast that he couldn't keep up with himself. Still, he was a big bloke, a good spoiler of opponents and at least, he tried really hard for a couple of seasons. Wonder if there is some footage of him, somewhere ... he truly was an exceptional sprinter across considerable onfield distances?

This guy is the missing piece for us if/when he makes the grade. If he arrives ahead of schedule and makes an impact this season we are in business.

While that is correct, it should be remembered that both umpires gave Brownlow votes that season so it is the equivalent of nine votes these days. This is not to downplay Osborne's effort, however. The winner, Graham Moss, polled 48 votes! Other Demons to do OK were Greg Wells with 28 (equal 4th), Stan Alves with 19 and some bloke called Robert Flower with 17.

And sometimes he was clumsy in his play not that l didn't like him. Made mistakes because he was trying to dispose of the ball too quickly. let along throw in a clanger or two. However was a season where he polled ok in the Brownlow. In 1976 Melbourne tried to off load Osborne to Hawthorn but negotiation broke down, and in that year in 1976 he polled 18 Brownlow votes. Do you remember that Ds56.

He looks a good athlete as you say 'Damo' and like you I would be happy to see him also being a natural footballer...as we've seen with Frost & Smith athlete doesn't always equal natural footballer.

Not for KFC I hope

Kelly is very good i don't doubt your opinion in fact they are all excellent players however if l was to pick one for consistency it would be Zach Merrett , Apart from the Covid 19 season with an average disposals of 25 .8 being short quarters he missed only one game. In the previous 4 seasons 2016,-,19, before the Covid average disposal around 28.0 played 88 games plus 1 final. didn't miss a beat. Now that is impressive you would say. He certainly is an A grader.

If we manage to make a Grand Final in the next couple of years, the smart money will be on Steven May to win the Norm Smith.

He’s got some hype now doesn’t he. Hope we at least see him in the pre season game /s to get a sense of him at this level.

"Ossie" Osborne as a footballer was more at the 'Hey Hey its Saturday' end of the ability spectrum. Back in the day was annually 'conscripted' to attend footy at the 'G' with a school mate, a mad tiggers fan, for the Demons v Tigers clash. Usually seated high in the old Olympic stand, it was not a 'fun' Saturday afternoon, as Richmond post Len Smith were stacked with people like Francis Burke, Royce Hart, Kevins Bartlett & Sheedy etc. Recall one match where # 7 playing across the half-back line, valiantly attempting to fly the flag, left his man to intercept a kick. The unpredictable bounce of the footy meant the ball flew over the head of the on rushing GO. Predictably the tiggers scored an easy goal. My school "mate" had an annoying habit of delivering a sharp dig with his elbow to my ribs after each goal, you can say like my footy team your correspondent was often on 'the receiving end'. Fortunately, "La vengeance est un plat qui se mange froid", the following season the tiggers as the reigning premiers were not faring so well. Come round 19 August 8th, a typically cold winter's day. Tigers were expected to comfortably account for the lowly placed Demons and keep their chances of September action alive, but that afternoon we were simply irrepressible, including a six goals to one in third quarter. Final scores Dees 18.10.118 v Tigers 9.10.64 A most memorable home and away victory in seemingly bleak bygone days. Some players already mentioned in this thread were worthy contributors, including Peter Weekes with three goals. Do recall during that dim era, Graeme Osborne having one day out when it all came together for him. Played like a champion. ps. my school mate's ribs did get a deservedly thorough sharpish digging.

Good luck to the girls, my memory is vague these days, but I can remember the Cheer Squad girls playing against other CSG. That would have been about 1969 or 70. Only ever played against maybe 4 other girls sides. Times have moved on and just as well ! Good Luck again, Go Dees, hope you all have a game to remember.

Champ. Captain next season...?

Hunt was playing AA calibre footy in 2018 off the back flank. The reason he has declined is the same reason why Harmes has declined in form. They're being played out of position. Nothing more, nothing less.

Agreed. He wasn't at training on Friday just to log the pre season minutes. Trained/played where he left off from last year.

Sorry '58er'...I don't understand what you are getting at here nor why my comment is ridiculous. Let me try and explain. I agree that it wasn't fair play, the whole thing smelt a bit rotten with Scully's dad working with GWS. Both clubs were screwed...at the time we lost a player we thought would be a generational player for us and they paid way overs for a player they thought the same. We actually ended up better off but that wasn't to be known at the time and I like most of us felt cheated by the AFL & the Scully's. GWS screwed themselves... As for Tom & his dad, they took what was on offer. Good luck to them. They didn't make the offer, GWS were stupid enough to play way overs for a good average AFL player who in the end was cut down by injury. Tom & his dad made the right decision by them. As for the AFL rule to tie players to 3 years, yeah I think it's a good idea but I made no comment on that.

Indeed. He certainly isnt worth the money he was paid but he was very good in 16 and 17. His 2015 was also strong. This is one of those threads where you realise that a number of the louder posters dont watch many non demon games.

Forget the rest Merrett is the best ! Without a doubt.

From what I’ve read here and seen on Friday seems Petracca is leaving nothing out on the track.

I'm in exactly the same position with a twist. Mrs W and I were on auto renew and contacted the Club to have the auto renew removed. We were able to renew for $5 each with the balance due in April. If we don't renew we forfeit the $10. As part of the renewal my wife got her regular Card and pack. As a digital member I haven't seen anything except a scarf in the mail prior to Xmas. With regard to the digital membership; are the guest tickets included again this year? I started to regret going digital last year when I thought about keeping it up on my phone when going in and out of the Ryder/Hassett rooms. It all became a bit mute when we couldn't attend any games.

Great work Stinga! I agree that the club should consider a sectioned area that fans can come in to watch that doesn’t require any interaction with the players.

I’ve been in the UK for the last 4 years and have kept my membership rolling over knowing it would be unlikely I see a game (unfortunately I saw two games in 2018 and they were two of our worst H&A performances, Hawks & Tigers). I’m obviously in your camp but I can understand hesitation from others who for them a membership is not just about the club but value for money. As is the case with @faultydet I think they’ll have to win back some members this year.

Good to see. This is where the improvement needs to come, not so much the newer draftees.

Hunt is a racey guy. When on the move, I cannot recall him being caught by an opponent. Field kicking is at times erratic but we have Yze back again, so he will make a difference there, I'm sure. Hunt's abilities earmark him as a flanker and a space-finder up forward. Like the re-signing - heaps.

Thanks for taking the time to get along to training and report back Stinga If we are to improve we need an improvement in output from within and new blood My takeaways which are all positives - Kossie fit and building a tank - BBB doing body work with Stafford - IMO his weakness is body on body this is something they are working on it seems - TMac is fit and moving well hopefully a return to 2018 form - Rosman - he could be a real bonus if he can step up and contribute from the get go (we can only dream that he is anything like the Bont - Spargo and Hunt are players that need to keep improving so encouraging that they are looking good - Not too many in rehab/injured - Also pleased to hear they may have binned the failed experiment of Harmes on HBF

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