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Feel like Big Benny Brown is in for a big year. He has already justified the trade on the back of his work in 2021. Heck, he justified it on the back of the Grand Final alone. But quite often, he'd dominate early in games before drifting out. I put that down to a lack of conditioning. Now, he's had a year in our system, has a full pre season to build miles in the legs, and is approaching the sweet spot of his career (29 y/o is absolute prime for a key forward IMO, particularly for one that started his career a bit later). He basically guarantees us a goal every time he takes a set shot. 60+ goals isn't out of the question in 2022.

It's amazing I am so calm about season 2022. First time in living memory I feel confident and no need to study the team in detail. We are in good hands on and off the field. Just awaiting the season start.

Big Ben Brown hits up the lead in front of goal, my first thought: I still can't believe we got him so cheap lol

I come from a land down under Where Demonlanders flow and weather looks like thunder Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder You better run, you better take cover. Oh! Do you come from a land down under (oh yeah yeah) Where women and mens teams get set to plunder oh yeah Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder You better run, you better take cover. And so it came to pass that I set out with sunscreen, raincoat, steel capped boots, enough insect repellent to drown an army of flying, stinging insects and a slingshot to ward of any slitheras in sight to come down to the smouldering furnace that was Casey Fields. Was it hot?? It was hotter than when I took 9/26 all those years ago. now with the pleasantries out of the way lets get into the training report. as the above song title suggests the players were indeed hard and strong at work. MODIFIED DUTIES Mitch Brown, and later Jake Lever, and Majak Daw SKILLS, DRILLS AND MANOUVERS Set 1a Players were split into 2 groups in group 1 A Players were inside a marked witches hat configuration of about 40 meters x 40 m and were playing a highly energised game of corridor keepings of. The idea was to take possession and before being tagged select best option and dish of. Set 1b The other group did 3/4 ground match sims but with the added pressure that the coaches after a set play had been executed or a goal scored instead of returning to the centre the ball might be thron back into play from the opposite forward pocked or ball randomly kicked into play from any position on the ground. The idea seemed to be attack when you have the ball but then just as quickly defend resolutely when you haven't got the ball. Set 2 This drill reminded me of an army of Cybermen running in formation in an absolute Blitzkrieg wave rolling relentlessly with ball in hand creating multiple overlaps and passing to next group of 4 and either handballing back or bypassing the footy to the next wave of players all surging forward it was a tsunami of beautiful free flowing ball movement with scarcely any errors. Skills were quick and handball and or kicks were precise and effortless. this was done at 100% intensity. Set 3 Goalkicking practice from every concievable match sim. There were set shots, corner shots, inside out shots, reverse angle shots inside out torpedo punt shots, the only shots missing were Shot glasses full of a delicious beverage or five! Set 4 Full on match simulations two quarters of 20 minutes many highlights which I will now speak about under player watch PLAYER WATCH AND ASTUTE OBSERVATIONS FENCE STYLE TOMMY MAC Just an incredible performance today in drills and also match sims, he kicked at least 3-4 goals and took some very strong marks CLAYTON OLIVER EXILLERATINGLY BREATHTAKING. just cannot be stopped and does what he likes, at one stage he was tackled by 3 players got a kick away to TRACC who was again prominant , who then got it to JV ditto just as prominant who got it to SPARGY who Goaled JACOB VAN ROOYEN Wow is this kid gonna be something!! Took 3 pack marks and moved effortlessly in a forward line chock full of class. FRASER ROSMAN Starting to get some confidence and did a few nice things and runs hard all day was pitted against Ed Langdon DEAKIN SMITH will play this year runs to good spots and skills are developing niceley ANDY MONIZ-WAKEFIELD This kid should also play this year, he zipped into play many times showing a great turn of speed and excellent disposal BEN BROWN. Gee he was impressive, he is much fitter this year and as a forward roams far and wide. takes sticky fingers marks often JAKE MELKSHAM Just when a few thought he was cooked he trained the house down and kicked some very classy goals and set up well as a forward. OTHER RANDOM OBSERVATIONS The players are extremely fit , quick and hungry, skills are at an all time high and every player knows instinctively the style of play required and also set plays in any match situation. There is genuine harmony within the group and the mantra of selfless footy resonates with this scribe. PF https://twitter.com/melbournefc/status/1486871278124662784?s=20&t=Crk0zJj5NjfFAn-NfI_FzQ

Unbelievable pick up! One grab mark ,has developed his game and become a better player given his ability to roam far and wide, something Norf never developed him into! Deadly accurate goal kicker, 3 in G F you dont reckon the Norf Brains trust would be absolutely peeesed of at their shocking miscalculation. PLUS WE GOT HIM FOR FREE THANKS NORF

We're allowed. We're reigning premier's and I'm arrogant as [censored] about it now. Our young players are better then everyone else.

No excuses here. We were completely out-muscled and outclassed by a bigger, stronger and more disciplined team. The scoreboard flattered us in the end.

Old Dee, I can see that you have travelled along the road to Damascus. Things will never be the same. Can we ever be that pessimistic again as we were prior to the flag. Fancy looking beyond pre-season to the full season ahead without that veil of negativity. We no longer remain sad about whether we will see a flag before our last hurrah. Before the strains of the GOF waft into the ether.

To be fair, Hunt had lost control of the ball while bouncing it, and had to check himself… I don’t think he would have been caught otherwise. Good pace from Kozzy, nonetheless.

Agreed. I’m confident going into this season however definitely keeping a lid on it. On a completely unrelated note, I had my tattoo touched up a couple of days ago

Loved the extended shots of old mate here after the Petracca goal, wish we'd seen his reaction after the following goals. Because this felt like the beginning of the 'Is this real? is this happening?" thoughts, where we were all close to tears, but the result is still in play, so the dam has not burst. Mix that in with the excitement that a superstar from our club is ripping a grand final open and declaring himself the best in the comp. Epic moment.

Holding the ball interpretation is a JOKE

Anyone willing to join me on the Paxy is overcooked train?

Who's flying? No surprise here, but Christian Petracca is tracking beautifully. The reigning Norm Smith Medal winner looks just as big, strong and powerful in the contest after returning this summer. It's a scary thought for opposition sides, but could he take his game to yet another level in 2022?

It seems to me that as usual the AFL is doing the usual of trying to be the social conscience of sport. Without the men's competition being strong the deck of cards comes down. The men's competition needs to remain strong which means a good reserves competition is needed. Then the Women's competition not the other way round. Yes both at the same time should be the desired objective but that is not how I read it.

Weeds has that one factor missing at this stage and it's the C word in him to demand the ball to impose himself so to speak, if he can change that he will have a shot.

Josh Kennedy goes okay for 194

To be fair to Jayden the errant bounce provided that little hesitation in his stride while he regathered the ball. Then again, if you choose to bounce the ball in the first 5m and Kozzie's in the vicinity it's an action fraught with peril.

I was told last year that Selwyn would be fine once Burgess had left. This small video enhances that feeling

The most frustrating thing is we are a fit running side but our kicking game is all based on corridor short kicks. Use the ball quickly with switches and take the wide options and we can run teams down and open it up in the middle later. Particular with Harris dangerous inside 50 we don’t have to be so worried about going wide across half forward or wing. Fast through the middle is a recipe for turnovers. By hand as much as foot. We need to be more Eddie Langdon and use the wide flowing running. Cutting it back inside is trying to be Oliver and Petracca with small women who can’t break tackles. We ran or panicked kicked right to where the Crows were!

Big time reality check. We avoided a smashing because the Crows were woefully inaccurate so not too much damage done percentage wise. And thankfully we won;t play the Crows every week We will not win this comp trying to weave pretty patterns. Game plan is not fit for purpose. Leaders? Where were you all? The reality is we've played 3 good quarters this year. the rest has been pretty ordinary. Way too disjointed. The gap between best and worst is a chasm. The coach has work to do. He's been there long enough The Suns next week so we have a chance to get back on track. We can't let this defeat turn into a bad run of form like prior seasons

Good to see us fight it out. Lack of awareness probably cost us a couple of extra goals. However, we were out bodied around the ball and couldn’t move it cleanly at all. Agree tht it was not a forward issue, but we needed to roll up the ground higher. Needed more targets at CHF and some ground level representation crumbing the packs. Erin Phillips is a class above most players in the AFLW. She reads the ball off packs superbly and knows where to position herself. Libby Birch is terrific at reading the ball in flight, but less so at ground level. I feel we try to play too precisely at times, and really lack the skill to play a precise game. We looked better in the last when moving the ball quickly

Fair enough. He seems a terrific kid and someone who you would love to see playing consistently in the ones. Weeds problem irrespective of form is that we have our premiership players then a list of guys queuing for a spot. Speed, agility, running hard both ways and hardness at the footy and opponent are now ingrained in our way of playing. We have a team of guys who play for one another and do the one percenters. We have a group who based on 2021 form have maximised their talents and gone beyond, including players who used to be seen as not quite good enough or fringe players. For Weed to get a game he will have to rely on injuries and outstanding and consistent form for Casey. Even then he may get an occasional game but unless there is dramatic change I just can’t see him cementing a place in the 22.

Pessimism and MFC went hand in hand for decades Ernest. Of course I want to go to a very large number of victories over the next few years but now that we have broken the Premiership drought I feel very content with the world of sport and particularly the MFC.

Ernest do your avatar proud! In my youth read a number of Hemingway's short stories and novels. Despite the contemporary mania for revisionism, with Hemingway described as being a chauvinistic misogynist or worse. He remains a great writer and character IMM who had vast experience of life spanning the tumultuous early and mid twentieth century. According to this anonymous source "In most of his novels, his heroes are seen charged with high intensity of optimistic attitude which provides them energetic strength to strive with calamities" May I refer you to your back pages in The Old Man and the Sea where despite the vicissitudes of alcoholism and old age his 'imagination of optimization' shines through. "Have faith in the Yankees Demons my son. Think of the great Joe DiMaggio Christian Petracca."

Watching the vision of training, the Demons are just so quick and sharp, move the ball so fast and lower their eyes going into F50! It’s still hard to believe it’s our MFC, even after that magnificent GF win, after years of average skill to watch our elite ball movement is bl..dy fantastic! Can’t wait for the season to start!!

The errant bounce I feel was the implied pressure that he was about to get Kozzie’d.

Boy talk about this news !!! It's as old as six years ago fish and chip wrappings. A photo of Clarrie when drafted will show him with plenty of weight loss from about 3 months prior to this time say August. Clarrie moved out of home for a period to Mooroopna and his mum ( who I met at the Premiership celebration Day snd is a super lovely typical Vic. Country Mum) used to come down and try and ensure Clarrie had some sort of a diet. He did miss out on the Vic Country team that year not chosen early that year, He was also a late fast bloomer for the Top 10 in the draft and we had to overlook our original choice ( and the popular public favourite Darcy Parish). Credit to Darcy he is now a gun but Clarrie is worth 2 GUNS AND MORE!!

Then there’s Jeremy Cameron at 196cm and Jack Riewoldt at 193cm and many others in the mid 190s who can all mark the pill. It looks as if JVR can hold his own in that department and isn’t going to be pushed off the contest. However, there’s a lot more to being a well rounded KPP. Time’s on his side.

Jack Darling is 191 too. Hard to believe given he looks like a clumsy lumbering 200cm forward.

Mitch Georgiades 192cm developing nicely too...

as a member, no way - aflw is the top tier competition, afl reserves is important but clearly secondary to the expansion and promotion of the women's league both should exist imo

Funny enough my initial thought was Hogan as well. Back when he was a pack marking beast before he turned into a 3rd tall roaming forward who instead skirted the packs instead of jumping at the ball. I do like Hogan and really hope to see him at his best this year.

Interesting comment Dazzle, To me, some of yesteryears recruits were like alluvial gold, but our last 5 years or so are all like " Welcome Nuggets" just waiting to shine🤩

Chook, I hope Weeds can make it but, although showing snippets of form, still cant quite impose as he probably should given his 4 or so years in the system. Did some nice things though🙂

I've heard a rumour that for the Melb v North scratch match we'll be playing for the Ben Brown Trophy which will look just like this but with the third finger upright, rather than the second.

Andy Moniz Wakefield looked pretty classy in that clip also. Kozzy just seems like he'll go up another level. Couldn't believe my eyes how he easily ran down Hunt. The Jacob Van Rooyen clunk has me excited. Not only that but his ability to leap over Joel Smith who probably has one of the highest vertical leap at the club. Is it me or did that contested mark remind me of Aaron Naughton? very impressive.

This week’s Cranbourne Leader has an article that covers player movements at the Casey Demons ahead of the forthcoming VFL season. Unfortunately, I don’t have the link to “VFL: String of local hopes training at Casey Demons, including MPNFL trio” which is under a paywall. The article highlights a young hopeful who is about to sign with the club, Roan Steele 20 (pictured below) who won Frankston YCW’s best and fairest last year after kicking 24 goals from 12 matches in his first season of senior football. According to Casey Demons coach Marc Corrigan, “… he’s got an elite tank. He’s a smart player, high footy IQ, and he’ll certainly be on our list.” Key players retained are Mitch White, James Munro and Tom Freeman, as well as Jarryd Baker, Riley Baldi, Jack Bell, Corey Ellison, George Grey Matt Johnson, Luca Goonan, Harvey Neocleous, Aidan Quigley, Miles Shepherd and Josh Smith while the most notable pickup is former GWS defender and Dandenong Stingray Matt Buntine is Casey’s most notable recruit. The 28-year-old played 67 matches for the Giants after debuting in 2012. ’’He’ll be important, not just from a playing perspective but in terms of what he brings in experience and leadership,’’ Corrigan said. Also training at the club are prospective newcomers Bryce Milford, Ryan Koo Kwet and Kobi George from the Dandenong Stingrays, big Billy Bundle from Gippsland Power, Xavier College pair Hayden Woodhouse and Tommy McRae, Langwarrin’s Zach Andrewartha, Rowville’s Tyler Edwards, Cranbourne pair Nick Russo and Jake Carosella and Pearcedale’s Luke Daniel. Players to have moved on include former skipper Jack Hutchins, Zac Foot, Cory Stockdale, Jaxon Briggs, Nathan Heath, Lachie Modica, Tom McCaffrey, Mitch Lewis, Cory Machaya, Andrew Courtney, Jaxon Stuart, Nick Lowden and Ryan Sparkes.

Big test. We didn’t turn up last year in the prelim. Very disappointing. We have to put in a performance and make the Crows earn it today. It’ll be tough, they have a strong home record, but if we can match them physically and kick straight we’re a good chance The heart says Dees by 5 points, the head says Crows

Correct, Mays Hammy all Ok trained brilliantly!

I’m wondering whether the club updates player statistics at the start of every season. Luke Jackson definitely looks bigger than when he first came to the club both in terms of weight and height. I would be surprised if JVR isn’t bigger than the 194cm he’s credited for which was his height at the start of 2020.

Yes was invloved and is a nice cut of a lad and posseses very good skills and moves well

I’m up on the Gold Coast and had dinner in a restaurant last night where there was a table of three young blokes, one of them, the Suns’ gun recruit Mac Andrew. I’m no expert but he doesn’t look as if he’s put on any weight. 😀 But we were in a pasta joint so that’s a start!

Thanks PF another great report so detailed I can visualise it. They definitely aren’t resting on their laurels.!!

Did Viney just hit a target inside forward 50 against our AA, premiership defence? Surely this video has been doctored :)

I tried to imply that there was nothing sinister about his habits: we also sometimes forget we're talking about seventeen year old boys with no experience of the real world. We know nothing about their home lives as well. We rate them the way cattle and sheep are evaluated at Elders auctions, or the performances of horses, in the main. I recall watching a practice match at Casey in his first year: the lad could play. That was when I asked my Wang friend about him. I asked him again two years later and he said, That lad has come a very long way. All credit to him.

My boy, who is 16, had to front up at primary school week after week in multiple seasons when we won 2-4 games and cop it from everyone in the school (except from the one other kid who was a dees supporter). I reckon even the 20 year olds would understand what wait and hope means and equally deserve to enjoy the moment.