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Beautiful day for a drive so I decided to take the Corvette out for a test drive and headed down the Eastern to the Monash and on to Cranbourne. Got there late but watched for about 50 minutes or so from behind the bloody fence! I found it difficult to identify the newbies during the session and one group kept their yellow tops on for the whole session, so no numbers. Conditions were near perfect, the ground surface looks superb, it was sunny, warm and there was no wind! Very odd conditions for Casey. They were doing full ground ball movement when I arrived, then broke into 3 groups, 2 doing the handball keeping off routine that has been described in other training reports, the 3rd group included the big boys, Max, Bradtke, TMac and LJ contesting marks and kicking passes back to Farmer, Harmes, Jetta. They then moved to another full ground more contested, ball movement exercise, yellows vs blues. This went for two 10 minute halves. one group was doing exercises off to the side for most of the session, Viney and Gus in a harness pulling weights up and down the boundary. AVD, Weideman, Chandler, Mitch Brown, Petty, Smith all working hard on a weights circuit that looked punishing. Melchum was in and out of routines, then doing laps, then disappeared into the gym. The last full ground contest was interesting, they are certainly looking sharp and energetic, they all look to be in great shape. But as this routine progressed I found it was a mix of the good and the average. Players at times missed targets, turning the ball over at worst or picked a poor option passing to a player that was clear but because the delivery was not to his advantage, too high or to the wrong side, defenders were able to make ground to intercept or punch the ball away. The other disturbing thing for me anyway was that I don’t believe I saw a goal kicked from beyond 25m in this exercise. Shots on the run from 35m missed, the few set shots from 35 to 40 looked like they missed as well. However Goody was watching this intently and seemed pleased with the play, he only pulled play up once and reset everyone because maybe there were players out of position? As I say the ball movement looks good but there was a lack of polish given the contest meter was at about 70% compared to game day but of course the coaches may be urging them to push their ball movement skills to their limits. Individual observations: LJ took a screamer on top of Jonesy, who ended up face planted in the turf but got up OK. He is moving very well and has clean hands. May and Lever on opposing sides were each standouts for their defences, May took a great pack mark, one handed, played on and passed off to an opponent unfortunately. TMac generally playing forward of centre, he did some nice things, he does seem to be moving better this year, still managed to get tackled, holding the ball when he took on one defender too many. What’s new? You always have your heart in your mouth when Tommy decides to take on the opposition with ball in hand. I think it was Rivers for the yellows who took on all comers from half back to sprint past 2 or 3 blues and deliver a pass to the forward pocket. Very impressive piece of play. Bradtke took a couple of nice pack grabs and competed well against Max at the centre ball ups, umpired by Jordon Lewis. He just might develop into something. He has always had skills and agility just seemed he needed to put on some muscle and learn to throw his weight around. Salem stood out as the link man when the yellows were transitioning the ball from defence to attack, he had a lot of it and I don’t think he made a false move all session. Best on ground today. Rosman took a good contested grab up forward for the blues and had a set shot from 45, it was close and no problem with the distance. That’s about it, sorry with half the guys in yellow and often on the other side of the ground I could not identify many of thee new guys. As I left most were doing goal kicking practice and the rehab guys were still busting their guts on the weights circuit. It was time to head off to Tooradin and lunch at the Jetty Cafe! The Vette never missed a beat

Lucky we didn't trade Tommy Mac is all I'll say.

There is a lot more that needs to be done to stamp out entrenched racism The booing of Adam Goodes by a big percentage of fans from most of the other clubs remains a huge low point for football (and Australian society in general) Adam Goodes was hounded out of the game and that was the red flag. Or at least, it should have been seen as such. Maguire's ill-conceived comments at the time seemed to add fuel to the fire And the players from all the other clubs should have done something at the time but didn't. The AFL Commission sat silent. Club Presidents & CEO's did virtually nothing At first I just thought it was harmless booing but in the end it was insidious, relentless and disgusting and said a lot about our mentality. The voice of racism (by the mob) is how I look back and view it now Say No To Racism

The sad thing is that for many people, the booing and the controversy is how they’ll remember Goodes, rather than his remarkable football feats and the superstar of the game that he was. Nicky Winmar is much the same - he’s said in interviews that he understands how the incident at Vic Park is an iconic moment in football history - there’s even a statue of it - but for him, it’s just a reminder of the worst day of his life.

Great vision. I love the pessimists looking to read in and criticise. Goody doesn’t look happy WTF. Goody does not know these players it is not his job to. Goody should not control who we get and its comforting to see he doesn’t. Goody may not have a natural like for smaller statured players but do you think he’s not excited getting the 2 best forward of centre kicks in the draft? Holmes did not appear to be in the picture at those two picks. I suggest we did not expect Carroll to be there but we looked for the best dynamic to go with what the list requires and based on the 2 we had already picked. I also love a bit of speculative with high upside rather than a solid potential. Taylors comment that “this kid could explode” is exactly what I wanted to here.

The games involving Adam Goodes could have been played in front of empty stadiums as what happens (a lot) in soccer Sends a powerful message but again, the AFL either didn't want to address the issue or didn't know how to address the issue Adam being hounded out of the game shouldn't be forgotten either but what might get remembered more were Maguire's ill-conceived comments at the time

Weideman and Ben Brown sidelined is not like we would like it to look for us . It's not nearing the end of the season we are 6 weeks away from the season proper. For all it is worth to the critics of TMac he now becomes our most important forward. So we all hope that he brings his 2018 form to the park. Thank heavens we kept Tmac and Mitch Brown as our security, Tom covers the Weid for now and hope Ben is back by at least round 2. IMO. Don't forget Fritch, Kossi Spargo and our draftees. There is light at the end of the tunnel yet.

I was pleased to see Nieta holding his ground against Maxy in the vision. Would be fabulous to see him debut this season.

in fairness Brown, Weed, T Mac, M Brown, Petty, L Jackson (and maybe add in Tomo) is a fairly long list. unless you think the guys you mention above would be in the front of all those? not saying it is a great list, but on paper we are not short of tall fwds

Where is this panic you speak of? I only saw Goodwin and Richardson calmly asking further last-minute questions to ensure we were making the correct selection in Rosman. They were fair questions to ask, as Carrol was probably higher on our rankings in terms of pure ability, but we had already covered off the positions he’d be in contention for with our earlier selections. You can’t draft purely based on talent, otherwise you’d end up with a playing list of 35 inside mids; you also can’t draft based purely on needs; it has to be a balancing act between the 2 and that is what led to the last minute questioning. Those that knew the prospects were certain and didn’t waver. For Goodwin it would be hard to be enthusiastic about players you know previous little about.

This, among many other things, is a lesson in hubris. A handful here suggested that he’s been unfairly dealt with - that a person has to be “perfect” or not slip up once to keep their position in this current culture. That is of course, total bollocks. We live in a world where corrupt, malevolent or, in this case, just plain ignorant people repeatedly offend, and not only go unpunished but thrive. And I have no doubt Eddie McGuire could have been one of those people had he chosen to refrain from plastering his bloated head on every billboard in town, and donning an ill-fitting suit to appear on whatever hack tv or radio program provided him the opportunity. He is seemingly of the opinion that he is some kind of broadcasting legend, and that you basically can’t get enough of him. Most reasonable people, even the most innocuous television muppet, would have a voice in the back of their mind saying “maybe you’re over-exposing yourself a bit”. But not Eddie. Eddie has serious tickets on himself. And when you’re the kind of person who gets pretty easily irritated by this kind of arrogance (the kind that comes with zero benefits - at least some [censored] are funny, clever or insightful) you just can’t wait for cretins like McGuire to make that fatal mistake. And yes, a lot of people were hoping for that mistake. A lot of people thought the former CEO of Channel 9/Triple M Radio Host/A Current Affair Host/Footy Show Host/Game Show He Couldn’t Even Pronounce Host/Collingwood FC President was perhaps a little too ubiquitous, especially given his almost phenomenal ability to remain completely and utterly charmless in front of a camera or microphone. He is part Icarus, part used-car salesman. But of course, we can expect to see him hosting “Australia’s Tastiest Hot Dogs” or “Jetski Olympics 2026” or whatever other lowest-common-denominator rubbish he likes to roll around in. He might have lost his club, but we’re stuck with this corporate slob for a long time.

They're already reviewing drafts Steve. I've got a bootleg copy

I think the real key from these drills is to get the players to present and give the ball carrier multiple options hopefully within 20 to 25m. Most of our players should be able to deliver a low trajectory pass to a target 20m away, surely. One of our deficiencies I believe in recent years has been players not presenting ahead of the ball carrier coming out of defence, hence the long bomb or hopeful 45m speared pass that gets intercepted. There are only 2 or 3 guys in any side that can deliver this miracle pass onto a team mate’s chest. So you need multiple options, short, long or wide. That was the great value Langdon brought to us last year, he always positioned himself on the wing to be a sideways option for the ball carrier. That made us a much better side and we needed the same on the other wing. It gives the ball carrier confidence to take on the opposition, knowing they will always have an outlet thru Langdon. If you can get others to always provide escape options, ball carriers will take the game on more and more. That’s my theory anyway.

1, Goodwin rarely shows emotion so not sure how you come to that conclusion 2. The scenarios would have been workshopped on numerous occasions with the coach, list manager etc. I doubt there were any surprises to the team and the discussions to me looked like a little last minute 'are you sure?, everyone happy?' sort of thing. Like going to an auction where you set out at a certain price and it gets there slowly or quickly and you adjust your expectations on the run. But you still get back to your basic plan.

I hope and expect we did draft the best 2 available players with our first 2 picks and one of the reasons they are the best players is because of the reasons given - they are the best kicks and they love the game. At the 3rd pick I think it's fine to start to look at needs and possible upside and take a risk based on who has already been selected. I think this is pretty much standard accepted wisdom isn't it?

"I know its one of your things Goody but they love their footy, that's why they're so good and don't make mistakes" " We got the two best kicks. And the two best decision makers" "Could be a Sam Mitchel type" I love this fly on the wall stuff. Great insight

Should have been shown the door after the King Kong comment. He still doesn’t get it

Rubbish - Petty is a natural defender. I watched him quiet a bit at Casey & he has the potential to be a top quality defender.

mitch brown, come on down

If you can't understand what the fuss is about if an aboriginal is called a monkey, a chimp or a gorilla the point is you don't get it. You just don't get it. That's ok but commenting simply reinforces your lack of understanding. Eddie may have thought likening Goodes to King Kong was a compliment (unlikely) but that just shows how out of touch he is. It is an insult, greater than any insult most of us could understand.

Maybe. But i reckon the last week or so has shown he no longer has the political smarts (assuming he once he did) to play the political games he'd need to play to get a safe labor seat. I have no axe to grind with Eddie, but jeez he has become the master of the own goal. His comment that he has become a lightning rod for vitriol sums it up for me. With his performance at the initial presser (even yesterday - i mean still with the 'we're not a racist club' palaver? ) he practically went to radio shack, bought himself a large lightning rod, attached it to his head and stood in the middle of Victoria park in a thunder storm. And I doubt his 'brand' is very appealing atm. Maybe to One Nation or the Nationals perhaps, but not Labor.

He may no longer officially be president of Collingwood but the reality is the club and Eddie are joined at the hip. He’s all over the TV and radio so it’s not like he going to quietly wander off into the sunset. How can the new president and board get any clear air to settle into the role and chart a new path when Eddie is so ubiquitous. It’ll be like the former PM’s sitting on the back benches. He’ll be there, looming large in the background ready to comment on each and every issue the club faces. I can’t see him toeing the party line and keeping his comments to himself. Plus it’s pretty obvious he didn’t want to leave so what are the chances he becomes a destabilising influence, bides his time before the challenging the new board and re-takes what he believes is rightfully his? A very interesting transition period coming up.

perfectly said. Eddie made that ugly, shameful chapter in our game worse.... and then didn’t learn anything.

He had plenty of time to mend his and the clubs ways. You’d of thought the Goodes saga would of been his wake up call......No to that. The guys a pleb and I won’t miss him. He failed football, society and in the end his club. Let’s hope he heads off down his hole for good. He’s a racist, sexist and homophobic pig of a human and belongs in the dustbin of history

Without wanting to speculate too much, pretty sure he had a bit going on, on the home front around that time...could explain a few things.

Stepping down immediately. He has made a lot of mistakes when it comes his biases on a whole range of issues. Nonetheless, it is a shame that someone who has spent 25 years in a volunteer capacity to make his club a success and made such a difference to football is going out on such a low note. Sure he has feathered his own nest along the way but still he has contributed a lot on so many fronts.

I must have watched a different video.

Bowey has one of the smoothest kicking actions I’ve ever seen. If every player could kick like that our disposal issues would be a thing of the past

Weideman finished 10th in the B&F last year so he's a bigger loss than most here are recognizing. yeah he struggled towards the end of the year, but i thought that was understandable given the backing up of games on a short turn around and without getting much help in the way of key forwards to share the load. but he was averaging 2 goals a game up until the last 4 rounds. but the bigger picture is the accumulative effect this has on the team. if they weren't injured it'd be B.Brown drawing the number 1 defender, Weid gets the 2nd, then Fritsch or Jackson gets the 3rd or 4th. someone is likely to get off the hook. now on last years form we'll probably have Jackson and Fritsch getting the first and second defenders, then TMac getting the 3rd, and M.Brown the 4th and that's if they even bother putting anyone on him at all seeing as he usually leads up far away from goal to gather easy kicks. now that looks a lot less likely to me that someone gets off the hook and kicks goals there. hopefully BB will be be back in action early enough, but there's still a question mark over that knee of his, and can Tmac get back to his best and have an impact this year? can M.Brown be a productive goal kicker? can Petty be swung forward to draw a key defender and kick enough goals? there's plenty of question marks on this lot still.

Well said OD. Weed played a couple of great quarters in 2018 finals. Nothing much before or since. If this was a big loss then heaven help us. Ben Brown is the key for this season. Tmac played correctly by Goodwin and others can carry the load. Jackson will be miles ahead of Weed by years end.

While Weideman has not yet lived up to our hopes, the thought that BB would take pressure of Weideman allowing him to blossum was attractive. Oh well....

I thought Weideman was good last year. Averaged 1.5 goals per game and crashed packs while also helping Jackson out

Enter Mitch Brown.

Said this before pre Brown and Weideman injury that I felt we still lacked depth in our forward department and was amazed we had not invited a Jackson Callow or Kaine Baldwin as a train on instead of Kobe Farmer and Deakyn Smith. Two big strong key forwards who are physically ready to go. Callow invited to train with Hawthorn as of last week.

Oh come on.....very disappointing for Sam and us. Just want to scream.

He was a better president than the lot we have had since our last premiership.

You do realise that Holmes was never in the picture for our first 2 picks and Geelong believed the media hype and Wells was spooked and used a first round pick on him.

Some people here have lost their marbles. You think Goodwin waits until draft day to say 'oh guys, what are you doing, I don't want 2 mids under 6 feet'. Lol. You're kidding yourselves. Goodwin would say at the start of the year of the traits in a player that he likes and maybe some areas that his team has hole in. And the recruiters would weigh all of this up when selecting a player but the buck stops with the recruiters. Goodwin literally says in the video that he hasn't seen one of the players play. Yet people think Goodwin is grossly unhappy with the picks. Lol, what has humanity come to. The recruiters do this full time. They interview them, test them, re-interview, re-test. They suss out their character from all angles. And Jason Taylor is a no nonsense guy. He wouldn't pick any player if they were timid. I 100% trust his judgment.

love the projecting that is going on in this thread goodwin? unhappy! richardson? clueless! taylor? loves midgets! lamb? overrules everyone! i still maintain that drafting is an extremely inexact science; you're picking children who're 17 and hoping that by the time they're 24 they will be regular senior afl players it's very much pot luck imo

So what if he did? Leaving aside any discussion about why a 21 year old kid might have felt compelled to go along with that nick name (you, know like aa culture of systemic racism) let's say he made those responses. So what? It might be relevant in the inevitable civil compensation case thread. but this thread is about an external review, commissioned by the club, that found the CFC guilty of systemic racism. It's remit did not include investigating Lumumba's complaints. So didn't specifically address them, beyond recommending an investigation take place.

I think they've taken a calculated risk on Rosman... JT likes the calculation, this was exactly the draft to take one out of left field with not a lot of exposed form in 2020...

He's not a scapegoat, he's a boofhead who refused to ever accept responsibility or offer a meal culpa for anything. The way he acted in last week's presser was the final straw, a PR debacle. I don't think the findings of the report itself were enough for ed to need to step down, I don't think he's racist and I think he is genuine with some of the work he does supporting some of the marginalised in the community. But he's also an "alpha" personality and acted like a bully on many occasions. He also refused to address issues within the club (not just linked to casual/systemic racism but other player behaviours too) and was on the defense to protect the CFC brand at all times even to its and his own detriment. His lack of awareness and lack of insight into his own behaviour and comments was ultimately his downfall and it was a miracle he lasted that long when he should've been shown the door after the Goodes incident 8 years ago.

He was excellent at turning around Collingwood and getting them to the top, but terrible when they were already at the top. The two roles need different skills and Eddie showed that he's a far better salesman than he is a manager, cc as shown by his time at Nine. Unfortunately he was the last one to realise it

Echo that. Take care McQueen.

Watched it a few times now. I can't get a read if we were taking Holmes or not. If we were, we weren't overly concerned and were happy to take the two we got. Not sure where everyone is getting the Goodwin conspiracy from. He looked fine to me.

Perhaps the little bundle of joy called Esme Elizabeth Brown was more important on the day? ? Congratulations to Ben and Hester by the way.

Best of luck mate.

They cut out the bits where SG said “you blokes are clueless f*ing morons”. I’ll be lucky to see past mid season with these classy midgets in my team, I only want ball hungry hacks”. “FMD, Taylor! You should cop a bullet before me!”

I think he still doesn't really understand what this is all about. For the record, I am loathe to condemn him; there but for the grace of whoever, I may have been there too. He just happened to become the president of a club which exists in the time warp where only white men rule. It is symbolic, though, and kind of befitting that it was at Victoria Park that Nicky Winmar stood up for his history and his culture, a history and culture which we, at our peril, still know not that much about. There's also a kind of Karma about all this. Eddie, for all of his positive attributes, is trapped in his time warp, yet understands that he needs to 'spin' his way out of it, E.G.' It's a proud day for our club'. Then again, he may have been taking lessons on 'Spin' from Scomeo. Like I say, he doesn't get it. He possibly never will. There are many here among us who feel the same way he does. I'm not one of them!

Good luck mate, been through it myself. Surround yourself around some good positive people. Will at least ease the burden.