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I went down to Casey Fields for today's training. The boys started with lighter drills (kicking, shots on the run, snaps from the pocket, set shots) before moving into a drill where the players were in four groups (two at each end, two on each wing) which involved basic kicking to a lead, giving off to a player running past and then kicking to the next group. Missing from training (at least to my eye) were Melksham, Petty and Daw, while TMac ran laps. TMac didn't appear too bad and ran at a pretty steady pace - I would presume he will be back in training fairly shortly. Then match sim began, which was three 20-minute quarters (or should that be thirds?). Of the training group, ANB and Spargo didn't play in the match sim (but trained prior to then). Blue v Red, with Blue seemingly a predominantly "A team". Teams were as follows: Blue backs - Lever May Tomlinson Bowey Hibberd Salem Hunt Blue mids - Oliver Petracca Viney Langdon Brayshaw Sparrow Jordon Gawn Blue forwards - B Brown Weid Fritsch Pickett Chandler Red backs - Turner J Smith D. Smith McVee Rivers Baker Red mids - Dunstan Harmes Woey AMW Rosman Howes Jackson Red forwards - M Brown JVR Laurie Bedford There were a few fill-in players who played for the red team. My comments below are subject to a pretty ordinary viewing position about 30m behind the goal and behind a fence. But I'll try my best! -Unsurprisingly, the Blue team dominated. Scores were B 3.3 v R 0.4 at the first break, B 8.8 v R 1.6 at the second and the final scores were B 13.13 v R 3.7 after the three terms. I've just included that for those who like those things - it means nothing, especially when after the second term the entire Blue "A" defence switched teams with the Red defence. Jackson also switched into Blue as a forward, taking Weid's spot, while Weid went into the ruck for Red. I also noticed Chandler in Red for the third term. -Blue were just too dominant in the midfield and even when Red were able to get the ball forward, May, Lever and co. were just too well organised to allow easy scores. -Goalkickers for Red - Harmes, AMW and Chandler. Harmes kicked a nice long-range goal on the run and handed an easy one over the top for AMW in the goal square, while Chandler kicked a nice snap from the pocket. -Goalkickers for Blue - Fritsch 5, B Brown 4, Weid, Jordon, Langdon, Jackson -Fritsch and Brown were obviously the most dangerous forwards - Fritsch got his goals mostly in opportunistic fashion, including a 50m penalty, marking a floater that he judged best and getting an over-the-top goalsquare handball from Viney, but smart forwards get themselves in the right positions. He also kicked an absolute beauty, gathering a ground ball with back to goal, turning and drilling a left-foot drop punt on the spin. Brown kicked all his from set shots, one from a free, one from a 50m penalty (having marked on the lead) and two from marks out in front. His kicking was excellent, with two of his goals from fairly tight angles. He looked slightly more mobile to me - I think he was very straight-line last year and while he will never be the greatest exponent of lateral movement, he did look a bit more agile. -Gawn was just superb, especially in the air - he dominated the ruck and marked everything in sight, whether in a one on one or in a pack of 6 players. -Oliver was his usual ball magnet self, just racking up touch after touch and setting up the play, particularly in the first two terms. -Trac was a bit quieter but got better as it wore on. He took two lovely marks as a forward where he parked himself in line with the ball, used his big frame to protect front position and the drop zone and just marked on his chest. -I thought Weid was really good in the first two terms as a forward. He really launched at the ball and took several contested marks. He spilt some others but hit the pack hard each time. He wasn't as effective in the ruck in the third but he was up against Max. -D Smith seemed to get a head knock during the game and went off. He didn't return to the match sim. Other than that I didn't see any other injuries. -Viney was pretty solid and Sparrow did a few good things. Sparrow is just a brick outhouse - both in the upper body and the legs - you wouldn't want him hitting you at full speed. -May and Lever were really solid with their positioning and understanding of where to be, rarely if ever allowing any easy inside 50 marks. Tomlinson also did some good things and it was great to see him play the full match sim at full intensity. -I probably noticed less of the Red team, given Blue had more of the ball and the vantage point wasn't great. But I liked the look of Howes - he is still quite thin but when he got it he made really quick decisions, which is not always typical of young players adjusting to the increased pace of the game. JVR showed a bit but it was a tough day for Red forwards up against AA defenders.

LAST WEEK AS YOU RECALL WE LEFT DR. SMITH, THE ROBOT AND WILL ROBINSON LOOKING FOR DR. SMITH'S LOST DENTURES, UNAWARE THAT THEY WOULD SOON BE WHISKED TO AN ENTIRELY ADVENTURE IN TIME AND SPACE. Dr Smith, ""I just knew I put them down over here by this Rock"". Robot, ""Dr. Smith your memory must be fading"". Dr Smith, Silence you Cackling Clod Will Robinson, Here they are Dr, Smith I have found them. Hey Doctor Smith, Robot come over here I have found something else!! Will Robinson '' I remember this this is the Taurons old matter transfer unit, they must have left it behind. Robot " You are correct Will Robinson" Dr. Smith "Matter Transfer unit? How interesting" Robot "DANGER DANGER" Dr. Smith "Silence you interfering incomprehensible bringer of doom" Will Robinson " We better do as he says Dr. Smith Dad said we should not touch any Alien machinery until he has checked it out." Dr. Smith " It all looks very simple, push a button here , turn a dial there" Adjusts levers Zoooom Tish, Zappppppp Weird sounds all of a sudden a mazer beam envelops the Robot and He Vanishes Will Robinson, ROBOT ROBOT Dr. Smith "What have I done" oh the pain, the pain! LATER ROBOT WHERE AM I WHAT IS THIS PLACE ?????? Casey Fields?? I must have overloaded my servo mechanism and are in some trance, Whoah who goes there??? Picket Fence " I know you your the Robot from Lost in Space, Yes but where am I and who are you" I'm known as Picket Fence I come down and watch The Mighty Melbourne Demons and file training reports ROBOT ''It does not compute" Picket Fence "" Look I've read the Script Your gonna be Ok Robot "You''ve read the Script??? Picket Fence "Yeah I've read the script and what happens is Don, Will and Professor Robinson will replicate the sequence from the Taurons matter Transfer unit and in about an hour or so you will be whisked back to Priplanus" So hang out with me and I'll talk you through what I do, Tell you what can you do dictation?? Robot "Affirmative" Ok start dictating:- Picket Fence ventures to Casey fields to file this report. Fresh Breeze sprung up today coming from the Sth. West some modifications when kicking into the cross breeze were evident but all in all not a bad day out in Casey. Solid 3 plus hour session again with quite a few highlights and observations. NO SHOWS MAJAK DAW, HARRISON PETTY, and I also didn't see JAKE MELKSHAM MODIFIED DUTIES T. MAC, ANB, CHARLIE SPARGO (although they all took part in Running drills) SKILLS, DRILLS AND MANOUVERS DRILL 1 Small ball work in close formation emphasizing correct option and skill drill under pressure in disposing of ball DRILL 2 Running through cones strategically placed and turning and disposing of ball under pressure DRILL 3 Goal kicking Drill from every concievable match dynamic and distance, included inside shots outside shots, trick shots running and pinging from variety of angles, coaches presenting ball from setups and all with clear intention of practicing and perfecting routines from almost any situation. DRILL 4 Methodical Diamond ball press using the old diamond configuration but whole ground, running in threes and fours handballing, overlapping, precision handballs and kicks to next group in the diamond formation, Like a very advanced and technologically hyped Circle work for want of a better understanding. This was clinical, precise with barely and funble and it was done at High Velocity. DRILL 5 3 QUARTERS OF WHOLE MATCH SIMS WITH AFL UMPIRES DRILLS 6 A, B, C Small group work on stoppages, Boundary work and kicking and handball practicals. PLAYER WATCH MAX, CLARRY, JV, JAKE LEVER, STEVEN MAY, BBB, BAILEY FRITSCH, TRACC All "Brilliant"" As usual really you only have to take a look at what the strong inner core do just relentlessly day in day out they just do no rest on laurels they keep driving the perfection bus so tight that it sits flawlessly on superb conditioning and just the expectation that hard work and dilligence are the cornerstones of success. ANDY MONIZ-WAKEFIELD Wow what a dynamo, absolutely provided the highlight of the day when he took possesion rover like on the wing, assessed options, delivered long, sprinted forward, recived the ball back again and crashed a classy goal. Will play in 2022 SAM WEIDEMAN Probably as involved in match sims as I have seen him, kicked a couple of goals marked around the ground and was non to shabby in the ruck vs Max when called on. Can see some tangible improvements ED LANGDON Played on Fraser Rosman and I though Fraser did some very nice things, Ed Langdon just runs all day and gathers possesions at will JAMES JORDON Was very good today linking up creating play and ran all day, I thought that for the last two weeks that TOM SPARROW has been more impressive, but today James was very telling. TAJ WOEWODIN Noticed him a bit more today, he fiited in well uses the ball well and seems to be finding his feet a lot more. Similarly DANIEL TURNER, and BLAKE HOWES trained impressively and clearly as their confidence builds there form will create excellent and robust jostling for spots in the senior team. LUKE DUNSTAN Copped a knock or two but continues to impress with his zeal and attack on the ball. Disposal has been questioned but for mine he uses it thoughfully and with good skill. JACOB VAN ROOYEN Not as prominent today but still looks likely to take a freak mark or snap a cool goal. Will keep a closer eye on him in coming months HARMSY Probably for me was highlight no 2 where he got the ball in heavy traffic, powered his was out and kicked an inspirational goal for the Red side when they really needed it OSKAR BAKER He also was influential in the play today got the ball mused his pace and disposed of it very well. FINAL THOUGHTS Gus trained without a helmet😁 and looked good, there was a player no 39 but have no idea who he was!?? Another full on session and it is clear that the levels of professionalism continue to rise and that that infectious will to win as derived from our player cohort, continues to drive up standards to another level. I can see tangible warmth, empathy, and collegiality among then player and coaching fraternity and this points to a period of sustained success. There will be no premiership hangovers at M.F.C You can bank on it. Did you get al that Robot?? Robot "Afirmative" And just like that. one minute he was here then ""Whoosh"" He was Gone, it was all after all in the Script! ""I WISH I KNEW WHERE I WANTED TO BE WHEN I WANTED TO BE WHERE I WAS TODAY"" P.F

Not sure Jessie would have bought into the selfless brand that we played last year. Also we would not have landed Maysie if he had not left. TBH I think May is one of our most important signings ever!

It's more than the skillset of Hogan. It's the mindset. Watts was moved on coz he didn't have the head for finals football that May, Viney, Sparrow, etc etc, have. Hogan similar. He went hard when he wanted to. Not all the time as Goodwin requires. Garlett also comes to mind. Goodwin's shaped the list as a bunch of ferocious goers and we saw in the finals what an unstoppable force they are when they're on. Hogan would be out of place in this team.

Would we be premiers without May???

Aged care residents during the height of COVID were more resilient than this mob.

My understanding is that there were enquiries from Jesse's camp around coming back to us when he left Freo, but we knocked it on the head. That says enough for me.

Oh by the way, can someone send this article to Dogga? 😆

AFL players get Covid tested regularly and would have been tested prior to entry and just after arrival into WA where they were locked away in a hub. It was never going to be Covid. All I hear from this club is whinging and crying.

So the Cats went into a game with multiple unwell players even knowing the covid restrictions etc that were in place? Why haven't they been reprimanded for this? Surely this was against the AFL and WA's covid protocols to let players they knew were unwell out in public let alone take the field.

This is the tree that the Herald Sun should be barking up if they want to troll an AFL coach - not Goody. Coach says “my players are soft”.

Thanks SJ it is great getting different views on the same session. Disappointing lack of sci-fi based pre-amble 😉

Chris Scott: No excuses, but "add fifty five excuses of varying levels of sookiness".

Did any of the Kitty Cats test Positive for Covid? and when would the game be played once those same Kitty Cats were deemed healthy? In the same Podcast you also said that The Demons would have won easily, even if all your players were healthy. (Was Gary Rohan fit and well) Better to say nothing i think…. Might watch the Preliminary Final again this weekend

If he was still with us there would be no Ben Brown. That would have been Hogan's spot.

We beat Geelong 3 times last year. Suffer in your jocks Scott

My favourite bit was where Scott says “The last thing I want is for it to be perceived like we are making excuses” to which Damian Barrett replies “I don’t think anyone sees it that way” Fair to say that Barrett didn’t ask me if I thought Scott was making an excuse!

I would too, but the small glimpse I've seen of Jacob Van Rooyen has me just as excited. He reminds me do much of Aaron Naughton who is better then Hogan imo.

Imagine if Goodwin said this after the 2018 prelim, he would have been laughed out of town.

I said it then and I'll say it now. Leaving Melbourne for Freo was always going to be a worse decision for Hogan than for the MFC. He went looking for something. What he should have gone looking for instead is the level of professionalism required to be an A grade footballer. Talent alone is never enough. His head, rightly or wrongly, was not in the game and not at the club. I wish him nothing but the absolute best on and off the field, but there is no doubt in my mind that he will never reach his full potential. He has definitely found the right club in GWS. Very little external pressure, no media focus in a non footy state, and a club filled to the bream with first round picks where Hogan is just another player.

Jeremy Cameron was unwell according to Scott. Looked very up and about to me when he kicked the first goal. Perhaps he was feeling a bit of Malaise. Is there more than one Scotty from Marketing??

On and on and on and on....every year the same

100%. Plus players are tested fairly regularly from my understanding. They would have known it wasn't COVID, he is just having a whinge as per usual. No wonder their players are so entitled, their coach is the worst of the lot.

It's the aged care residents that Scott's talking about! You are correct. But it can work. And it didn't stop Clarkson from trying. Reminds me of the days of Sheedy when he was practically a one-man official rules committee.

What a pl0nker.

I mean, I hate him as much as anyone and it's a pretty thinly veiled attempt at making excuses, but that's not what he said at all. He said, in hindsight, it could have been COVID as far as they knew and the AFL had a meeting about it. Let's not have a thread about misleading media reporting and then do the same thing ourselves.

Round 23 still hurting I see…Ouch!

I burn a candle for Jesse, really hope he gets a solid run for the back end of his career. Trade time last season when there were a few forward options out there I was all for the idea of him coming back to the club over Brown as I felt a homecoming would’ve been a great romantic idea, but extremely glad we got Brown instead. As for him leaving, I can’t see how we would’ve been able to get the picks to nab Maysie without letting go of Jesse. Him leaving ultimately helped us become premiers. If we had him, Brown, TMac, and Weid (insane depth of forwards!) I’d see it being Brown and Hogan, with Jesse playing the connector role. Tom had a great start to last season but towards the end tapered off (hopefully it was injury related). Once he’s finish with GWS I hope he’s welcomed back to the Dees with open arms as a former player.

Would have him back in a flash.

Who knows. A fit Ben Brown and Jesse Hogan in the same forward line would have been one tantalising combo.

The two post season surgeries were minor tonsils and wisdom teeth removals. Not exactly surgeries that will impact on a player physically. I think that’s fair reporting.

Yep, started early in the season, with the quarters should be shorter and went on from there. The game is ruthless these days, you can't have a coach moaning all the time because it doesn't suit his club, it is what it is cop it prepare for it and don't seek an audience to complain about it. His side wasn't going to beat us in the prelim, we took the stuffing out of them in the last round they were ordinary in the finals, they got smacked by Port, the game against GWS wasn't a good game and smack by us.

We are tbhe cute nerdy girl next door who just quietly inherited a fortune. We are suddenly extremely attractive.