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I'll start with a negative.... Signs similar to this ( see the bottom of the page) were featured around the outside of the ground and were concerning. I thought about wiggling under the fence to get in but then had horrible visions of getting stuck and a slithera feasting on an unfortunate PF For dinner so decided against it. Training report . I arrived around 9.30 to see that the ground was in "Pristine" condition. The players were starting warm up drills and conditions were pleasant enough with the faint edge of a breeze to allow for comfort 1 No shows Kossie, Vanderberg 2 Modified programs Melksham, Gus, Austin Bradke Petty ( although he did feature in some of the drills) 3 Warm ups consisted of End to end 20 m apart with partner routine was to Throw ball in air spin on the bounce and kick left or right footed depending on where ball landed. Another one was to lie down flat jump to your feet and pass ball of 4 Simulated drill involved games of keepings of where pink jumpers would be running interference and players in blue jumpers were required to create options and to hit targets with close in handball 5 Simulated drill same as above but with ability to kick to targets further up the field the obvious match stimulation was to engender being creative and then defensive depending on which color had the ball 6 Whole ground simulation with tackling included. Again Pinks, and Yellows on rotation vs Blues in creating attack from defence and again being accountable for an opponent in zone like situations. Observations For me I remain concerned at the inability of players to hit targets mainly by foot, some of the kicks were either too short, way over heads or just sloppily executed. Although the wind did pick up the concern for me of addressing errant disposal is still a worrying sign. Point is at training your not going flat out so when real pressure comes on then skills under pressure will be found wanting. Similarly too many handballs are to players who arent really clear and therefore requires extra evasion to get clear. Having said that the players appear to be very fit and in good shape. Player observations OF NOTE Nathan Jones is not cooked yet was enthusiastic clean and robust, Bailey Laurie was very prominant with pace, class and cleverness, I think he will play very early Fraser Rosman, BELIEVE the hype, I actually thought I was watching Isaac Smith the way he moved and interceded the play with some lightning runs, he can hoof the Sherrin and can clunk a mark, Expect he will play sooner than later I was extremely impressed with Dogga Jackson ( yes thats his nickname) he's ready to take it to another level, athletic smooth gaining confidence and his body has developed nicely Another very impressive player was Tom Sparrow , for a big man he moved very well got involved in play and was no slouch in the skills department Tom Mc Donald has slimmed down but I'm not sure his pace has improved did some nice things but got caught with the footy a few times trying to do a "Dusty" dont argue Aaron Nietschke caught my eye a few times with some great solo efforts and displayed a willingness to be involved and with good skill set Toby Bedford , Kade Chandler, and James Jordon all showed something. Thats about it as I said when at CASEY WATCH OUT FOR SNAKES!! Cheers P.F

Not sure what was going through my head this morning when I woke up with a sudden urge to drive an hour down the highway to Casey, however as a fellow track watcher today I can most definitely agree with PF's point about our sloppy kicking. Lots of mistakes throughout the whole session (Langdon with quite a few, Bedford too). Although this may be due to training at "the windiest place in Australia" as one tradie that walked past put it. Not sure how training down at Casey in the wind will impact our skills throughout the season and hopefully it may be possible to move back to Gosch's in the near future. Was hoping that their would be some more match simulation today however I believe they moved it to Wednesday because of today's weather conditions. Hopefully I don't cross over too much with PF, but I thought I'd add my two cents. A few points to make mention of: - Tmac was doing some 1on1 contested marking with other key position players (Weid, Petty and Tomlinson), and may be back training as a forward rather than the wing now that Brown is out. - Was good to see Hunt hit all of the kicks I saw him take (unlike many other players). Positive signs as this has been his downfall in recent seasons. He seems more mature and composed this year. - Petty training as a defender and looking very very good. Spent a little bit of time in rehab. He may be competing with Tomlinson for that last key back spot. - It was great to see Gus out there joining in with the main group for the first couple of drills before returning back to rehab. Neita back out running is a great sight as well. - Vanders and Hibbo weren't out on the track however I spotted them doing some work on a bike (with potentially Viney as well). Mitch Brown was doing running and kicking drills on the side as well with Melksham and Bradtke. Kozzie missed the session, although spoke to a staff member and they said there was nothing to worry about there. - Rosman definitely catches the eye and was the draftee I noticed most. A strange kicking technique which can hopefully improve as time goes by. Laurie did some nice things too and was very clean with his hands. - Deakyn Smith was out there training again, although without a number (Farmer already wearing 48) and looked nice. May look likely to get a list spot now that Hore is on the long term injury list. Speaking of Farmer, he did make a few basic handball errors right in front of where I was standing and looks like he has some work to do. - Players split off into two groups at end of session to do running. First group consisted of mostly fringe players (plus Weid, Lever and Jackson) and the second consisted of mostly best 22 players (Sparrow and Petty in this group too). Was a somewhat strange mix of players. The main thing i noticed here was that Burgo included footy's and kicking skills in the first half of the running session, before doing some more straight line running without footy's at the end. A few of the younger boys Sparrow and Rivers impressed me most with their running along with Tmac who led from the front. The 5 first year players sat out of the running and spent time with Chocco. - Didn't notice Trac in the second half of the session and saw him walking around in casual clothes at the conclusion. Hopefully nothing to worry about though! - No snakes sighted! Hopefully I'll get to another session soon. Enjoy.

Thanks to Picket Fence and Back Pocket and yes I was out there as well today - been doing shopping on way home - hence slow reply. I was told it was a closed session and therefore had to stand outside behind the goals. I never quite understand the "closed session" line ... I mean if anyone can name me more than one revolutionary technique that has been concealed that has transformed the game then please list it. Under Roosy (with Goody's input) we trialled an extra man running through at bounces about five years ago, but with the 6-6-6 that has become obsolete and even when we did use it, it wasn't the panacea for all our ills. But back to the session. Casey's surface is absolutely pristine - it is our main reason for training this far out but as with aths and its Albert Park move mistake, it is not quite the right fit. The problem with Casey is that it is like Waverley - not only is it invariably wet, it is incredibly windy - today was just a snapshot of what will be a regular thing if we continue our move out there, which the club is currently considering. As a result, players such as Langdon and ANB and others were missing targets at will into the wind and Jayden Hunt and sometimes Rivers and Rozman were intercepting and loving the opportunity such conditions present for the quicks. I did wisely buy my coffee on the way out there this week and once again traffic roadworks meant the trip home was close to an hour - unless you are Jordy Lewis and living close by, Casey is like a country venue. For me today was a tale of our gun forwards and two backmen. Pickett, who with Brown out, is now our No.1 weapon up there was missing - apparently headed back to SA for a family issue. Fritter again was our most dangerous man as the third/fourth tall and ANB again was lively pressuring as he does. But there is one small forward you can mark down for Rd 1 as a cert - Paul Spargo's son Charlie. He's no longer a boy - he grew up in the off-season and now is closer in style to Robbie Gray with his lively play a highlight. He spins in and out of trouble and moves with meaning. I have been on record as saying that despite having the football smart's, he is too small, not quick enough and not a longer enough kick to make it. Well this year he may even play in our midfield. He used to run like bambi through a forest waiting to be shot by a hunter, but now he runs like a man about to fool his tackler. He will play alongside Kossie and most likely ANB in Rd 1 and will give us a fleet of crumbers that is dangerous and with the three-tall plus Fritter set up, there should be a few of those. T-Mac seemed to be back with the forwards, although they never actually split into three groups, and he is trying - he always did in my view, just got slower and slower as the injuries mounted. He'll go close in our Rd 1, especially with Ben Brown out. A couple of other pointers I took away: Harrison Petty is in sensational form as a tall defender and is placing pressure on poor Tomlinson. Tommo's done nothing wrong, it's just that Petty looks like he's Tom Jonas providing marking strength and run today. Joel Smith also returned to the track today and was handy and may yet come into our defensive equation for Rd 1. Deakin Smith is worthy of a club number and should be our first supplemental player chosen. He's a classy small defender who ultimately might not make it, but is certainly worth a try at VFL level. As for the kids, Rozman is everywhere and Bowey looked lively. Laurie a bit quieter than last week. Kobe is a fair way off at this stage I think - sorry Farmer fans.

I believe this is how Ben Brown's knee flared up again!

Funny that. Seeing some of the self proclaimed doctors on here, they've already ruled him out for the year?

the notion of spargo turning into our robbie gray type sounds very promising bit of a myth re distance of his kicking tho; i seem to remember he had no issues dobbing one from just inside the 50 arc in a final

What have you done with our Picket Fence?

Personally, I'd call that a demotion.

Interesting, gives a bit of perspective. Maybe it's not as debilitating as some here have thought... Sounds to me like we decided to take the really cautious and deliberate approach and fix it early instead of trying to manage it throughout the year.

No Viney, no Brown, no Pickett (in SA). Hibberd and Vanders on the bikes. Melky, Mitch Brown and Angus (for part of session) in rehab. Trac and Olly off early, while Lever hurt his ankle late (but got back into session so can't be too bad).

Great first post BP - welcome.

Was in the official team photo today.

None of the track reports I read noted that he was “obviously” in discomfort. And I’m not sure what injury “forecasting” is. There’s no way to predict when a player will get injured. Do you mean ongoing monitoring of the knee given his history? We’ve got the best in the business in Burgess leading the fitness and medical team. He got our full list fit and firing last year after the shambles that was 2019 so I think he deserves a bit more faith. From all accounts BB was training well and other than the bandage on the knee was showing no ill effects at all. I think we all need to take a chill pill and let the medical team do their thing. Much better to get this treated now than after the season had started.

Well done, guys! MUCH appreciated!!

Great report and welcome to Demonlad. With a report like that, you can promote yourself from the back pocket to full forward.

This reminds me of a time when I was in a side coached by 2 former AFL players, one of which was known for his skills. We had the classic 'old school' challenge before calling it a night and had to collectively kick 10 goals in a row from 35-40m out. Said coaches picked a couple of good kicks (who all missed) then proceeded to pick blokes that didn't even get a gig in the 2's. After about 25 shots on goal, I piped up and politely asked why they were not trying to help people, rather than belittling them. Needless to say I ran a few sharp laps after an almighty spray - still bugs me 15 years later. If someone has the ability to teach skills, you have to be doing it all the time (Chocco, Yze etc) Even really skillful blokes lose their touch if not practicing constantly. From what we keep hearing via training reports and from my ideal scenario, we might finally see a bunch of young lads squeeze some blokes out of the side. This can't come soon enough

But that does not fit into the 'club mismanages injuries and we got a dud' narrative all the Chicken Littles are running with. You would think some on here prefer the club to fail.

Re Spargo, I didn't notice any bloopers or highlights for that matter, he was Consistent! Rivers just seems to almost be on automatic autopilot, just does everything well! As iterated I would not be surprised to see Rosman and Laurie make debuts in round 1. Dogga Jackson similarly looks at home in AFL Footy and will play vital roles this year.

wonder who slimed tmac?

Exactly right. Nearly all major knee injuries / operations often result in minor ongoing issues, especially for athletes. I am happy the club jumped on the swelling as soon as it became an issue. Better to nip it in the bud early and have him play the majority of the season / his career pain free.

I'm pretty sure everything that's been said about his knee mentions he was not in pain.

Exclusive pic of BBB leaving the surgeon!!!

Yes, since Christmas I have spread at an alarming rate!

Nice to hear some news.its beginning to feel a bit like footy is just around the corner. Thanks everyone.

All of the above

Not training related and a fair way from Casey Fields but it’s Friday so here’s an omen bet if there ever was one - DEMON TO BLAZE AT GEELONG – FRIDAY GREYHOUNDS TIPS

Thanks for the observation p f l am looking forward to seeing Rosman in a preseason match and some of the other draftees in Bowey and Laurie also of course. Bedford, Jordan and hopefully Kobe Our future could be looking in good shape.

Thanks PF and for the record anyone prepared to hang around after seeing that sign is a legend.

Thanks Picket greatly appreciated.

towing the company liner

Karen Paxman will (all going to plan) play her 30th game on the weekend. For context, this puts her among only 22 players prior to this round who have reached that figure, and the first to play all 30 at Melbourne. Libby Birch reached the milestone last week with her games combined between the Dogs and Dees. At the moment, given the shorter seasons, it's effectively what a 50 or even 100 game milestone would be in the men's, so something to celebrate. Especially given it's not guaranteed (although I wouldn't count her out) that she'll reach 50, as that will take another 2 or so seasons. So congrats to Paxy! For reference, other milestones of this nature that could be reached if the season reaches completion: Scott (currently on 28 games) Mithen (25) L.Pearce (23) D.Pearce (22) Cunningham (22) Hore (22)

The trouble with Champion Data's "Eliteness" system is that they overdo the targeting of the stats they use for each position and as a result make some eyebrow raising conclusions. It is always "Elite in this set of statistics which we select as being the relevant ones for this particular position." It's the elite ratings process that Groucho Marx would come up with; "I'm the best 38-year old, mustached, 5 foot 6 inch, cross-eyed, one leg shorter than the other right fielder in baseball history."

Luckily, for the usual suspects, they've still got Viney to fret over.

The below is taken from the "Justice for the 34" facebook page and says much about Bruce Francis. I have to admit to a little bit of schadenfreude in Francis's pursuit of this. Francis would be one of those people who gets a cut that never heals because he pulls the scab off it every time it starts to form. Reading the CC list at the bottom I was stunned that Slobbo wasn't included.

Good thing Grand Finals are won in the second half of the season, then.

Took a long time for the penny to drop. Sometimes people need a good public kick up the proverbial to wake up to themselves. (Re: the Collingwood players apology.)

We have been building the list since Paul Roos took over in 2014 -16 and Goody from 2017 - current. IMV l see it as the strongest list that has been put together since the early 60s yes l was around.56 years ago . We are in it to win it, We are in that so called window,

Reads well. Oh, except there are 17 other sides all of whom expect big things.

Just listening to this now and I think they've undersold us a bit but I get it, if you bet on us to miss finals each year for the last 56 years you'd have made a decent quid.

Amazing to see how many of you are short-term thinkers

Eh.... I'm not too bothered. Imagine if we hadn't recruited Brown and it was Weid who was injured: We'd be going into another season with a dodgy forward line that'd just got dodgier. Now it ups the ante on the others to shine so they keep their place once the Brownster is back and fighting fit and pluggin' 'em....

One flare up is an ongoing issue? Alrighty then! Hopefully your footy predictions are on par with your political predictions ?

The gift the keeps on giving

I also recall he could hardly kick a ball more than 35 metres in his last year with us.

Some curious ins. Some even more curious outs.

I'm kind of puzzled by the lack of Steven May on that list. I wonder if they base their ratings for key defenders on disposals.

Good on Champion Data for trying, but Aussie Rules just isn't a sport that lends itself particularly well to meaningful statistical analysis. Most other sports have reliable KPI's - rebounds, batting averages, etc. What defines an elite AFL player is essentially how damaging they are with ball in hand - but it can't really be measured by disposals, disposal efficiency, clearances etc.

Looking back, I feel slightly grateful that the incompetence of the MFC during that period, and the consequent wounds as a passionate supporter (including as a debt demolition supporter), resulted in not very much - certainly not much to celebrate. I’m almost glad we hit rock bottom, rather than consistently finished 7th to 11th during that period. Why? Because those among us who stuck fat behind the club will be entitled, and able, to give the middle digit to everyone who patronised us during that period if and when we win the next flag. The roses will smell particularly nice if we do. I’m sure it’s easy to support the successful clubs. It however takes far more character to support the likes of the Dees. If there was to be a supporters’ draft, we’d consistently be the number one draft pick. Let’s bring this ship in to port. Go Demons.