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STOP IT PLEASE "OH YOU MAKE MY MOTOR RUN, MY MOTOR RUN MYYYYY SHARONAAAAA! Just cannot get this song outa my head! Why??? Well it was one of the Classic songs playing whilst the players were training today. Booming over the P.A Others were "Working Class Man, "Stop Draggin my heart around", Run to paradise", "Country Road" and timeless classic, Sweet Caroline! Speaking of classic, I witnessed another "Classic" training session today staring... MFC 2021 Here is my report Maintenance group, rehab Ben Brown, Sam Weiderman, Jack Viney and I think Mitch Brown Pleasantly surprised to see Ben Brown doing short 15-25 metre kicks and he looks on track to step up training shortly. Ditto the others On lighter duties running , Hibbo, Melksham Main, Skills, Drills and Maneuvers! DRILL 1 GROUNGHOG DAY SHUFFLE Whole ground utilized which involved players coming out of defence in droves and giving passes by hand or foot to creative space player, then overlapping to recieve back and kick to leading forward option This showcased explosive run and carry of ball carrier and pinpiont precise passing to option, players in orange vests harrasing thus simulating real game pressure DRILL 2 BALANCED OPTION DISH OF This was a beauty, Two teams one in blue one in white On ballers in centre , wings and rest in other half of the ground, Ball was centre bounce contested and depending on whole took posession then dicatted whether those in blue became attackers or defenders dependent on which color got possesion. For example if White got possesion then whites became attackers and Blue team defenders. If Blue got possesion then Whites became defenders. This was intense and replicated the situations which arise in games when to run and create and when to man up and defend. Disposal and chioces again was very good with limited congestions and stoppages DRILL 3 KAMIKAZE GAME SIMULATIONS WHOLE GROUND This again was classic game day simulations which saw two teams chosen Whites vs Blues. Plenty to like regarding intensity and skill levels OVERALL OBSERVATIONS POSITIVES 1 Clayton Oliver. In Drill 2 and 3 he was "PEERLESS" He just could not be stopped, usual crisp desicive handballs , picked out targets with kicks and pace was exilerating. 2 Majak Daw. Well I will be astounded if we do not pick him up. He was good again today and was involved in some excellent ball movement, can clunk a mark and his kicking was precise ,also makes good decisions 3 Ed Langdon, just does not stop running to create options 4 James Harmes thank heavens he is now back where he belongs in the midfield 5 Gus Brayshaw, some pivotal moments in match simulations , his run and carry were excellent 6 Luke Jackson, belongs!!! Just looks ready to blossom 7 Jayden Hunt showed dash and importantly measure in disposals 8 Nev and Chunk, still not quite done as yet 9 Goody, Choco, vocal and involved 10 The invisable man, There was a huge bloke in a grey t shirt who was instructing and moving among the players displaying how to block where to stand, how to execute various maneuvers, He looked vaguely familiar but have no idea who has was!?? OTHER OBS Kye Deglace If he was training I didn't notice him unless he looks like Deakyn Smith who I did notice and who did some good things. Not sure if Kobe Farmer is in the frame at this time, Recruits looking promising Fraser Rosman, Jake Bowey , Bailey Laurie all had moments. Have to say if Training is an indication of match day and is replicated, then team looks very well prepared, Fit, Quicker, and with more Precicity of skills executed. Will leave on this note........ M, M M My SHARONNNAAA,,,, There, I think I've got "THE KNACK "of it!! PF

Toumpas is a real estate agent, I tried calling him about a property but he wouldn’t take my call. Still avoiding contact it would seem.

Perhaps one of the most important things was immediate Instagram comment from Oliver saying ‘four more years of silver service’

Max is like a good red wine. Initially immature, with doubt about its quality and longevity. He has developed and matured with each passing year and keeps getting better. He has become an accomplished and fine player, a good leader and a damn nice bloke devoid of the ego and hubris of others. He has remained loyal and wears the colours proudly. And we are proud of him. By the end of his career he will enter the pantheon of Melbourne greats. He has achieved this lofty height by sheer hard work, dedication and commitment. All the greats achieve their status not by luck but by sheer hard work. They work harder than others and have a single minded attitude toward their calling. Sure they have ability but you don’t become great by only having ability. You have to do the work. People like Max and Dusty understand that and embrace it. They get their material rewards but it is not what drives them. They simply desire to be the best that they can be and leave no stone unturned. It takes time, but in the end they get there. In the end, they want to be part of finals success and ultimately enjoy premiership success. Let’s hope, Max’s commitment to the Dees is rewarded with the top prize.

Can you imagine if we play Carlton this year with TMac at CHF for us and OMac at CHF for the Blues. That would be something to behold! ? Well done to Oscar, hasn’t done his chances any harm.

Rowell at 22 after he’s played 3 games. Daniher at 26 when he doesn’t get on the park and hasn’t impacted a game for 3-4 years. Clarry at 33 after he’s played 100 games at possibly the highest quality first 100 games ever. Slobbo needs to lay off the [censored]!

To have joe Daniher in a list when he has hardly played a game in 3 years is farcical

Love the drive, team first attitude and passion for sucess that Gawn expresses in this article. Maxy has come along way from eating pizzas and smoking durrys after training. Also love the quote in the MFC article “Free Agency – I don’t even know what it is really, I wouldn’t even know how it works,” Gawn said. In many ways the down to earth Gawn is culturally the anti $cully and vomiting on Tom was probably the first great thing that Maxy did at the MFC and which hopefully one day we will look on it as the preeminent turning point moment for the MFC.

A few more years Clarry reckons ??

What a rubbish post. You have no idea what any of their contracts are.

Joe Daniher at 26 - wow Slobbo really has jumped the tracks.

Well, certainly not Collingwood who signed a 26 year old ruckman for 7 years last year. Given that Gawn was almost certainly signed for less than the reported million dollar a year deal that Grundy signed for, I think that MFC has rewarded their skipper appropriately and set up part of hopefully a stable midfield group into the future.

I've heard similar things said about Tom and in particular his attitude during the trade period last year where he understood what was going on and appreciated the way the club handled it and communicated with him. You can build a good team around good people.

That's a bit of an unnecessary slur on the bloke isn't it. I'm a bit disappointed that we didn't get more out of Hannan given his best was pretty bloody good, but I'd personally put that down more to a bad rub with injuries than any lack of endeavor about the way he played.

Sorry mate, but can't agree. You're 100% guessing on all of this and then having a crack at the character of people based purely on your guesses. That's poor form. Wouldn't logic tell you that if the deal is longer the dollar amount is likely lower? Also, Gawn literally talked about the players having a meeting to talk about 'sacrifice' and their mentality as a group.

And in my wild erratic fancy vision came to me of Hannan Running towards the goal Oh what a run, oh what a run. PS. I thought he was great. I wish he was still a Demon.

2 goals, 3 score assists, 6 disposals at 83% efficiency. 4 Marks, 2 tackles all during just 66% time on ground til half time. Not too bad at all I would have thought.

I do. Mainly because of our list profile. It's taken a number of years, but we're now the 5th oldest team and from a ''games played'' perspective we're 7th. Importantly, many of our best players are in their 20s and most are 23-25 and finally in their prime. Petracca 25, Oliver 23, Lever 25, Langdon 25, Salem 25, Brayshaw 25, Fritsch 24, Weideman 23 and hopefully an improved Harmes 25. Every one of those players should expect to finish top 10 in the B&F (except for Weideman-delayed start). And May, Gawn, Viney and Ben Brown are still under 30 for all of 2021. That's a healthy core. We've also got 4 of the best 30-40 players in the competition imo, which is nothing to sneeze at. If we can get the added excitement that comes from emerging young players such as Jackson, Bowey, Laurie, Pickett, Petty, and a couple of others, then I don't see why we're not a finals team at a minimum and knocking on the door of the four. I sometimes think supporters just assume other lists are better. But when I look at most of the other top 8 teams, or aspiring top 8 teams, I see plenty of flaws. We really should be good enough to be at the pointy end of the ladder. The reason the media and opposition supporters don't have us there is the same reason you doubt us. They don't trust us. We're a flaky club. And let's be honest, it's pretty hard to argue with. Yes, we have to improve our ball movement, the delivery inside 50 and not relax our intensity during games (maturity). Just about every other club has the same issues to varying degrees. There's also a sameness to the midfield, but I reckon that can be sorted with quality coaching and better ball movement. It's a long journey developing a unit ready to regularly compete in finals. I reckon our list profile is finally perfectly placed to be thereabouts. As long as they believe they're good enough, because that's the one area I'm not privvy to, i.e. their pysche. Choco Williams and Yze couldn't have come along at a better time to help with those belief systems. It's a long season and there'll be stumbles along the way, but Goodwin has no more excuses not to have this group playing finals (barring the standard horror year with injuries).

Picket your ‘training reports’ are now the weekly highlight up here on DL! Entertaining, enlightening and elucidating. And accompanied by the ‘sensational’ sounds of the seventies and eighties. Keep up the excellent work!

Mark Robinson’s 2021 pre-season top 50: 1. Dustin Martin (Richmond) 2. Patrick Dangerfield (Geelong) 3. Nat Fyfe (Fremantle) 4. Lachie Neale (Brisbane) 5. Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs) 6. Christian Petracca (Melbourne) 7. Patrick Cripps (Carlton) 8. Tom Hawkins (Geelong) 9. Nic Naitanui (West Coast) 10. Max Gawn (Melbourne) 11. Liam Ryan (West Coast) 12. Brodie Grundy (Collingwood) 13. Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood) 14. Jack Macrae (Western Bulldogs) 15. Harris Andrews (Brisbane) 16. Lachie Whitfield (Greater Western Sydney) 17. Jack Steele (St Kilda) 18. Ollie Wines (Port Adelaide) 19. Jordan De Goey (Collingwood) 20. Travis Boak (Port Adelaide) 21. Dylan Grimes (Richmond) 22. Matt Rowell (Gold Coast) 23. Hugh McCluggage (Brisbane) 24. Luke Ryan (Fremantle) 25. Nick Vlastuin (Richmond) 26. Joe Daniher (Brisbane) 27. Jeremy McGovern (West Coast) 28. Jeremy Cameron (Geelong) 29. Darcy Moore (Collingwood) 30. Toby Greene (Greater Western Sydney) 31. Luke Shuey (West Coast) 32. Tom Mitchell (Hawthorn) 33. Clayton Oliver (Melbourne) 34. Michael Walters (Fremantle) 35. Jayden Short (Richmond) 36. Caleb Daniel (Western Bulldogs) 37. Luke Parker (Sydney) 38. Tom J. Lynch (Richmond) 39. Shai Bolton (Richmond) 40. Nick Haynes (Greater Western Sydney) 41. Jake Lloyd (Sydney) 42. Mitch Duncan (Geelong) 43. Zach Merrett (Essendon) 44. Taylor Adams (Collingwood) 45. Steven May (Melbourne) 46. Jacob Weitering (Carlton) 47. Sam Walsh (Carlton) 48. Jordan Ridley (Essendon) 49. Bailey Smith (Western Bulldogs) 50. Jy Simpkin (North Melbourne) https://www.zerohanger.com/mark-robinson-reveals-his-top-50-for-2021-afl-80545/

Well done club and Max. A great result, we nail down our Champion ruck and captain in his prime to our club for life, with respect and minimal fuss. Proud Demons fan today, and now to focus on the season at hand. Maxy lifting the cup has such poetic beauty... please.. ??

Was great to see max and Tom there supporting him. I know someone in the footy Dept at Carlton and they had good things to say about his attitude and work ethic

33 is too low for Oliver in my eyes.

If anyone deserves the front-runner tag it's Howe. Didn't want to be a defender in a rubbish team but loves it at Collingwood. Never having an opponent helps.

This was the lead footy story in Robbo’s paper today. Footy journalism is flying.

FWIW, I agree with you that those 3 are the only MUST keeps on the 21 column. Of the rookies JJ will be uplifted and possibly Chandler and Bradtke should be kept. You could have 8-10 changes from those 2 lists ending this year, which to me demonstrates great list management, with most players you want to retain still contracted beyond this year.

You could say that about any delisted or unwanted player who plays well at his new club. Just for an old example and a favourite of mine, Brett Lovett with his 235 games for us, showed the Hawks couldn't develop players, correct? BTW I saw the second of Oscar's goals and it was a soft chest mark against a small opponent. Hardly makes him Lockett. Good luck to Oscar and I am not one of his knockers BTW.

He’s not 30 until the last day of 2021; will only be 33 in the final year of his extended contract He is a talismanic player and has gone from a knockabout joker into an ultra professional as someone else said, he is the antithesis of $cully, who was basically a “professional” from the age of 14, and burned out by 28 By comparison Max only ‘got it’ in his early 20s

To be fair to the club, in recent years (I'm talking 2000+) there haven't been too many delistings/trading out that have hurt the club. And while they haven't all worked out, a number of players that we have brought in to the club have played some very capable roles for us. Just need to look at our current "best 22" that would see May, Lever and Langdon up there with the first picked.

Yeah I am sure he would have had no interest on the open market.. NOT. Sandilands, Dean Cox, Stef Martin... just a few examples of ruckmen who were still playing great footy well into their 30's. And Max is as fit as they come so dont you worry about him.

Good work, Banjo.

I took the same screenshot last night ready to strut in here this morning and tell everyone the good news. Beat me to it!

Contract negotiations happening according to the AFL site. Head to about 2:20 in... https://www.afl.com.au/video/556086/lachie-s-lacerated-liver-clayton-s-contract-bucks-future?videoId=556086&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1614839591001

Jake also a leader!!

Well done Max thanks for showing the faith, a true Champion and great Captain for the mighty Dee's, a Dee for Life.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jeremy Howe is about the only really good player who left us in recent times: the rest for various reasons didnt fire at all

Gil getting them off to a fast start. What a surprise.

Add Todd Goldstein to that list. 32 and still going strong.

Always have liked Oscar and it great to see him doing well (except when he lines up against us). I hope the Blues pick him up. Best of luck.

Do people really imagine Mark Williams drops a name and we simply drop everything and pick this kid up? I’m sure the recruiting team would then be heavily involved and due process followed. He may be one of a number of state level players in view, and perhaps seen as a Neita replacement opportunity? Expect Williams has a fairly good insight, but the club acted professionally. Invitation to train for one week has zero risk.

No, not so much. The elite development of Patracca, Gawn, Oliver, Salem, go against that. We will have to wait and see if Oscar continues on an upward trajectory, but there are probably also some players like the great Nev Jetta that need to stand at the precipice of their AFL careers before something spurs them into action and they turn things around. Also similar to Nev, perhaps just a change of environment and someone showing some interest and faith in them may be what's required. For what it's worth, I think in fairness, Oscar has probably had alot of the tools to be a decient player and it wouldn't surprise me if he made a good show of things at the Blues.

Don't think it would be a bad thing at all if Max stays around for a few years at Casey while providing coaching to Luke Jackson if it comes to that. Hopefully Jackson can step it up (and sign up long term) over the next few years, sharing ruck duties with Big Maxy, which should help prolong the laters career as well.

Is this a sign?

I would say, so has Williams, at this stage I would take his opinion.

Ok. which one will kick the most goals this season? TMac or OMac?

Update for Lever and Gawn extension to 2024 and 2025 respectively. Now for the ones we all want to see: Oliver and Salem! And I would add Weideman. Thanks to @whatwhatsaywhatfor his pick up of Lever details.

Classic case of Chinese Whispers. The young fella was Corey Ellison (#10) who was sporting a rude mullet. About the only similarities he and TMac have is height.

After 40 years I would have thought you were well prepared for the MFC site.

I wouldn't be so hot-to-trot on that bet if i were you Bombay, 'cause you know as sure as [censored] that if you do place that bet that the only game that North will win will be against us! So turn on the aircon and cool your jets.