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Certainly is a heap of activity atm at Caulfield. I’m one of the many orange shirted people you will on the site at the moment and thought I’d give an update for all those interested. The current works are focused on the outer side of the track aimed at improving the facilities and experience for spectators, racing staff (jockeys, trainers, admin staff, connections etc) and the horses themselves. Not so much occurring in the inside of the track which is where we would potentially have a base. Will post the odd picture or two for those interested over the coming weeks.

In addition we are definitely managing/nursing Ben Brown through the preseason. He takes part in some drills and not others and is often doing separate work with the trainers or in the gym. He is taking part and kicked bags of goals on at least 2 separate occasions during full match SIMs at Casey so it would seem he is match fit but given his knees and his age they are carefully managing him through preseason to maximize his longevity throughout the season proper.

I live for the day similar success at the MFC brings such derision!

Just, perhaps, JJ’s reluctance to move the ball on / (apparent) hesitancy is his acting under instructions? After all, as many have commented, he seems to be definitely “on the inner” with the coaches and selectors, which he wouldn’t be if he were doing this against instructions / game plan.

I'm not sure if he that's the case at training as i haven't been to any. But I'd be very surprised. I have only seen him play live twice. But both times one of the most striking things about how he played was his attack on the ball and pack in aerial contest and then his instant, instinctive attack on any subsequent ground ball. And that second, and sometimes third and fourth efforts happens every contest. It's what most excites me about JVR and it gives me great confidence he'll be a star. I recall one such example at Whitten Oval, pretty much right in front of me. He was miles away from the drop zone of a long ball in, and the pack that formed there, copped a block as he tried to get to the drop zone, and so had every excuse to prop and wait for any crumbs. But that was never on the cards - he lunged at the pack, didn't quite get there in time to mark, but did contribute to the defender not marking it and the ball hitting the ground - and then he was the first player to the ball when it did. That sort of instinctive reaction and sheer want for the ball can't be coached. Well, i guess it can be to an extent - but if not natural there will always be a half second hesitation that means most times a more instinctive player wins the contested ball. Not wanting to knock Weed, but i have always thought that his biggest issue - - he tries super hard, but that slight hesitation means often there is a delay before his second effort. In juniors that might not have hurt him too much - but it does in the AFL.

Indirectly perhaps. It seems that at most sessions lately one or two random players have been missing for that session only to return to full training the next session. This is all just conjecture on my part based on some observations over the past few weeks. Players that have missed sessions have returned with no apparent injury concerns. They may have had a niggle or some awareness or they may just be managing their loads over a long preseason. Viney didn’t train last Wednesday after training Monday and returning Friday. May and Harmes weren’t at a session the week prior to that and returned the next one. I assume they give certain players a session off here and there to manage them. They can’t do every player at the same time so they probably stagger it. I wouldn’t be surprised if both Fritsch & Grundy are back training in full on Friday. Hopefully @picket fence can confirm or we’ll have to scour the club photos to prove this hypothesis.

Forgive me for venting but I strayed on to Big Footy this morning and found myself reading a thread on the Hawks forum with the headline ‘Why is Hawthorn so great’? As exercises in self delusion it can’t be beaten. I wanted to answer it, but turns out I don’t have reply rights on BF so I am letting rip here. They make a few points but all annoying. Here goes: Anyone alive has seen more Hawthorn premierships than any other (13 - this much is true); the Coodabeens used to have a joke that the Grand Final was the final match of the year when someone played Hawthorn. Elsewhere they bang on about St Kilda having no right to try to establish a stronger presence in the south east because that is Hawthorn territory. Anyone who has read Between The Flags would know how much of this is self-serving BS. Hawthorn’s presence in the south east, and eight of those 13 premierships are in large part due to the introduction of country zoning in 1967. St Kilda was the sole inhabitant of the south east when country zones came in and was counting on being assigned the Mornington Peninsula but the Saints were premiers at the time and Hawthorn, well Hawthorn was rubbish and bumbling about in the bottom third of the ladder, so luckily, or suspiciously, Hawthorn was assigned the talent-rich MP- West Gippsland zone that the Saints had prepared for by moving to Moorabbin. They also boast of having voted - “unlike that other mob” - to have opposed a merger, and again, any who has read Between The Flags knows that is a misreading of what happened. The truth is, we were once like them. Melbourne originally had one great advantage in recruiting, which was the fact we played at the best ground in the state, probably the nation. For a quarter of a century we made the most of it, then times changed. Hawthorn likewise had one great advantage, their amazing country zone and good luck to them, they made the most of it. But its’ infuriating that they think their success is down to their own virtue. I know I made that same mistake about us. On another matter, they also sling off at St Kilda trying to increase its presence in the south east because that is “Hawthorn territory”. See paragraph four above to understand the falseness of that self-delusion. So I’ll pose another question: Why are Hawthorn supporters so full of it? All contributions gratefully accepted.

It’s a beautiful morning at Gosch’s Paddock. I’ll record my observations as the morning progresses but I have to leave early so hopefully some other Trackwatchers can fill in the gaps. Here is a compilation of all my posts/observations from training. A disclaimer: all observations are observed through one eye whilst wearing rose coloured glasses. REHAB: Melksham, Woey, Hunter (Concussion wearing yellow), Brown NO SHOWS: Salem (Thyroid), Grundy, Fritsch, Adams, Joel Smith Blue Team: May, Harmes, Melksham, Petracca, Brown, Kozzy, Nibbler, Bowey, Moniz-Wakefield, Dunstan, JVR, D. Smith, Jordon, Schache, Tomlinson, Jefferson, Laurie, K. Turner White Team: Max, Farris-White, Brayshaw, Viney (#24), Lever, Petty, Howes, Sestan, Spargo, Disco, Chandler, Rivers, TMac, Sparrow, Clarry, Langdon, McVee, Verrell I have a sneaking suspicion that Kye Turner just got the last list spot. Players in a huddle cheering and patting someone on the back & ruffling his hair. I didn’t notice Burgoyne here today. Melksham doing some running with the trainer. Brown and Woey also with trainer doing some work with one of the trainers. A game of European handball with a footy is being played in the middle of the pitch as a warmup. Langdon & Petty in long sleeves as the temperature climbs. Fingers crossed but I really think Trac’s kicking has improved. We’ve seen him have a spectrum of in play disposal from sublime to [censored]. I’ve noticed a significant improvement at training sessions. As a follow up to my criticism a few weeks ago of Laurie’s disposal I have noticed a significant improvement with his kicking. For the kicking into the pocket doomsdayers the current drill has players kicking from about the fifty to a lead deep into the pocket. 😱 Melksham, Brown & Woey all doing gym work in the open air shed. They’ve broken up into 3 separate groups for 3 separate drills. The smallest group is Jefferson, Verrell & Farris-White doing marking work with Chaplin body on body with them Another group is the keepings off handball drill in a small circle with big bodies like Max, Petty, May, TMac, Tomlinson, Schache, JVR, Lever, Disco Turner and K Turner without tackling. The rest are doing a keepings off handball drill in a bigger circle with tackling. Bowey being tended to by a trainer. Something to do with lower leg, ankle or foot. He came off earlier but came back on. Trainer has left him and he has returned to the drill. Field has been split down the middle (length ways) and two separate half field match SIMs taking place sans tackling with players in yellow vest (changing) who are on both teams. There was almost a cataclysmic event as both Viney and Trac almost collided in a non contact drill. Both pulled up in time much to Viney’s disappointment. JVR received a handball from Trac running through the middle at full pace and lace outs a beautiful long pass to Bowey on a lead. JVR has an agility that isn't always present in key position players. I'm not suggesting he could play in the midfield but he moves really really well for a big man. TMac’s on the run kicking has improved too. It cannot be underestimated how much we missed TMac late in the season for his work up the ground and in the 50m arc. He looks super fit. Dunstan has come off the track and is doing short sprints with a trainer to assess what’s going on. He’s returning to training now. Hunter kicking high to one on one contests between tall forwards and defenders. One on one opponents May vs Schache Petty vs Max Tomlinson vs TMac Lever vs JVR Disco vs Farris-White K Turner vs Jefferson Disco Turner out bodying young Jefferson Petty took a great contest chest mark on TMac Some of the one on ones from the key position players had the players start with their back to the kicker so they were going into the contest blind. Mids doing a similar one on one contest drill but when the ball spills two others are at the fall of the ball contesting the spill. Split into two groups for the keepings of handball drill with tackling and a yellow vest player in the middle playing for both teams. Tackling intensity is high. Full ground match SIM underway Hunter despite the broken nose is taking part in the SIM albeit with the fluoro hat. JVR has kicked a couple of goals getting out the back of his opponent when a high long ball has come in from fifty and he has waltz the ball into goal. Trac just makes it look so easy with his lateral movement in traffic. So much power. As I’ve mentioned every training session I’ve been to Kozzy is a magician in traffic. I would hire him to navigate my way up Punt Rd in peak hour. Viney is everywhere. Clarry doesn't appear to be hampered at all by his finger or thumb. There is no strapping and he is no longer wearing the don't touch fluoro yellow hat. It really doesn’t need to be said as we’ve seen it last two seasons but Langdon’s work rate from deep in defence, up the wing and deep into the forward line is just phenomenal. Spargo’s tackling work is mint. Sparg’s was often used as a link up along the wing and would look to bring it back in board with his clean & accurate disposal. Maxy’s marking is top shelf. Rivers disposal into the forward line is beautiful. Regarding a questions about whether River's was playing as a midfielder for the match SIMs - Hard to tell because all the play is generated from full back ie: almost like from kick outs but not in terms of being set plays from kickouts. Playing today in the half back to half forward arc closer to the boundary. If JVR doesn’t mark it his follow up work is top rate. He doesn’t stop trying to win the ball and his ground work is fantastic for a big man. A lot of power in the hips. Schache not playing as a key forward. Playing up the ground possibly replacing Grundy who is absent today as ruck positionally. We traded Schache in as a replacement for Weid and with Grundy absent he is playing that role. On the training track I have liked what I've seen from Schache and believe he can offer us more than we got out of Weid. Time will tell. Hunter’s delivery all around the ground (with the exception of one howler) and especially into the forward 50 is pinpoint. Match SIM is over. Lots of mini drill stations set up around the ground. One of them has ground ball contests between a big and a small. TMac vs Spargo and Schache vs Chandler. A snap for goal from the boundary station. One on one marking contest either in the air or to a lead. Trac vs Viney and Harmes vs Sparrow. Jefferson vs Farris-White in contested marking contests taken by Stafford. Both taking turns being the forward and defender. I guess they are teaching both of them the defensive part of the position and also combatting having a defender on you as you're marking. Two other drills on the other side of the field but I can’t tell what they’re doing. Actually one of them appears to be a ball-in drill simulating once the ball is tapped down and each player involved has his turn to mop up the ball once it hits the ground. Kye Turner signing papers handed to him by List Manager Tim Lamb. That’s all from me. The boys look like they’re changing from boots into runners so perhaps they are going to do their sprints and warm down. In summary; not one house in the Richmond area is left standing after we once again trained the house down. DEMON JACK'S TRAINING REPORT TRACATTACK'S TRAINING REPORT KEV MARTIN'S TRAINING REPORT SLARTIBARTFAST'S TRAINING REPORT

D.Turner moves effortlessly across the backline (quite silky), doing the slide or swap as they organise the zone or match ups. Usually taking a central pivot area. Some of his leadership in structuring is not as obvious as Tomlinson, Lever, or May. Hoping he is still apprenticing and will take a more vocal role as required. Would like to see him put on some weight, as he still appears wiry. Doesn't lack courage and you will find him under the ball. When he gets the ball, which I would like to see more of, he uses it conservatively, usually lateral towards the boundary. Always finding his target, he will be interesting if he starts being more attacking as I think he has that in him. Very rarely do I see a howler of a mistake from him.

He's one of those guys that goes under the radar but when you do notice him he is doing exactly what is expected of him. He defends well, is extremely courageous (as evidenced by his injury against the Pies) and never takes a backwards step. He is a great intercept marker and spoiler. He is the next cab off the rank if one of the big three defenders gets injured. At the moment I would have him in front of Tomlinson who I feel for as he too is in excellent nick and is an extremely hard trainer. We are certainly not lacking in the depth department up back given the acquisition of Kye Turner.

We play them twice this year at the G so I would suggest turning up and enjoying absolute demolition jobs. You can then sit there smugly and enjoy watching their supporters sitting there talking about the young kid who has had 15 touches and looks promising. Imagine the midfield battle of Reeves, Newcombe Worpel and Ward vs Gawn, Oliver, Petracca and Viney.... what a blood bath that will be.

Rivers is a seriously big unit now, powerfully muscled and very quick. Can see him doing some midfield minutes this year. Has grown from a boy to a man since he joined us. Loved the intense close in drills, everyone hard at it and very clean with their hands. Trac is awesome to watch in close weaving though heavy traffic with power and agility. He is almost impossible to tackle when he is on the move. Kozzie is also a delight to watch moving through congestion at speed with ease. May looks supremely fit and marked everything that came his way. Likewise Rick Lever looks to be in great shape. As other observers said it is great to see TMac fit and firing again, will make such a big difference to our forward structure. Am salivating at the the thought of our two wingers Lingers and Hunter tearing it up at the G. Saw a couple of low and accurate 30m bullet passes from Hunter into the forward line, something we lacked last year. Lingers stamina and relentless running is awesome to watch. Together with Carrie or Viney will form a powerful centre line. A special mention about JVR. I watched him very closely and was very impressed with how hard he works when the ball hits the ground with intense second and third efforts. He is going to be real asset for us when he finally gets the nod for his first game. He is very hard at it and has excellent evasive skills. Looks like he is being very well coached by Greg Stafford in developing his forward craft.

There's a 'few' lurking at other clubs including Karl Amon, Josh Battle , Aidan Bonar, Andrew Brayshaw, Charlie Constable, Luke Davies-Uniacke, Jack Gunston, Hugo Hall-Kalan, Max and Ben King, Connor MacDonald, Hugo Ralph-Smith, Jack Scrimshaw, Liam Stocker, Cody Weightman, Marcus Windhager and Josh Worrell.* Austin Bradkte was on the rookie list briefly, Jack Bell once listed at St Kilda, played with Casey last season. Paul Hopgood, Stefan Martin, Laurie Queay, Tom Scully, Tom Lynch and Stewart Loewe are Old Haileybury-VFL/AFL alumni. Scott Pendlebury and Nathan Jones will join Matthew Lloyd on the coaching panel this year at Haileybury. So it's not unreasonable to expect more AFL class recruits from this school's footy program.

They began their serious domination at a perfect time. It was all on TV. Back in the ‘70’s that was gold i have seen 12 of those stinking Flags. Felt sick at every one of them

Mistake #1. (Confession: I am a part-time Bigfooty lurker.) Little-known fact. At various times, Hawks, Brions, Cats, Bombers, Weagles, Blues, Kangas, Tiges and even Demons fans have been full of it. Probably even Roys at one time. It goes with success. The more prolonged, the more hubristic. Success begets success and specially-constructed bandwagons are required to fit on all the johnny-come-latelys. (Special note: Pies fans have always been full of it.) But ... (now read on) As they will again. So will the hubris of these pretenders to our crown. Let's show these phoneys what true obnoxious hubris is. GO DEMONS!!!

The best revenge is living well...move on.

i believe the idea is to have admin etc and buildings outside the track. apparently all the old stabling area is going so there would be a ton of space. redleg could probably tell you more about that

I was at training today and it's all been covered. There wasn't any real match sims which I find the most revealing so I thought I'd reflect on what I've noticed most over the training sessions I've seen. The intensity has been high and the skills have been good but I expect when the real stuff starts and real match pressure is applied we will see our fair share of skill errors. I'd like to think that we will be more direct and a lot of the drills in match sim have been moving the ball quickly from the backline forward with a focus on the key forwards running into space out the back. But this relies on the opposition letting us do it and I don't think that's likely to happen. We may be a little more direct but I'm guessing there will be many plays to the forward pocket in an effort to lock it in and create repeat entries. Our improvement forward will come from having fit KPF and better delivery. Over the PS journey there have been a few surprises for me. Steven May has been consistent and terrific down back, he's been in good form. Tmac has been good all preseason and isn't giving his spot up without a fight. JvR has been a real surprise. We've been told to be patient and not expect too much but JvR hasn't read the script. What sets him apart from the other KF is his intensity when the ball hits the ground. He's brave in the air and ferocious when it hits the ground in a way Tmac, BBB, Fritta and Gawny aren't. That makes him a pretty attractive option forward but of course with everyone fit someone is going to miss and from reports BBB is flying in the match sims at Casey. My best and most consistent performer goes to JJ. He's never flashy, never the best but just always good. He does the basics very well and is finding a lot of the ball particularly when playing inside mid. He suffers from being too versatile and hasn't made a position his own. But his PS form has him clearly in the best 22 and I'll be fascinated to see where he fits. The other player pushing really hard is Kade Chandler. He's too good for Casey but he needs to really take his chance when it comes. For me, he takes ANB‘s spot because in my view his skills are significantly better but of course there are those that argue ANB plays such an important structural role for us he's a lock. I don't see it that way. Kossie is another to catch the eye. He looks bigger, stronger and more involved. We know the talk, now it's a matter of seeing if he really does play meaningful midfield minutes and if he can perform. Of the young kids Judd McVee is the best performer for mine. Howes, DSmith, Laurie, Woey, and this years crop aren't close imo and will find it really hard to get a go. Howes looks to be the most dangerous with very good AFL attributes but he's a way off it in my book. I imagine they will have a full match sim at Casey on Friday and then go into the season proper training pattern from then on which means Wednesdays at Gosch's will be craft sessions and a bit of loosening up between matches and for Wednesday track watches that takes a bit of spice out. Anyway, I'd be interested in other track watches views and who their standouts of the PS have been. It goes without saying that the mature players all do well - Gawn, Trac, Clarrie et al. We know what they bring and all are doing well.

The ONE good thing about Hawthorn supporters is that they didn't vote to merge....and for that we should all be grateful.

My starting line up is pretty much the same as @WERRIDEE though I think they’ll go with Keath ahead of Darcy who may or may not continue in defence. It would be hard to know with Bevo the King of spinning magnets. The Draw The bad news– They play the Cats, Tigers, Freo and Port twice. The good news is they play GWS and Hawthorn twice. They also start the season with us at the MCG and then the Saints before playing Brisbane(H), Richmond (A), Port(A), and Freo(A). They’d want to be on their mettle coming off the preseason or the season could almost be out of reach for them before we get to May. 1. The Doggies are the most difficult side to make predictions on and have been ever since Bevo took the reins in 2015. They are an intriguing proposition, having won a premiership and made a GF in his time there, but they have never finished top 4 at the end of the H&A season with him as coach (though came mighty close in 2021). In fact the last time they made the top 4 was 2010. So what to make of them going into 2023 because on paper they appear to be strong enough contender for the flag? They’ve picked up what would appear some missing pieces in Liam Jones and Rory Lobb, and while Dunkley might be considered a loss, clearly Lachie Hunter and Josh Schache weren’t required players – nor for that matter was Mitch Wallis who was delisted – but will they be missed? Only the fullness of time will tell, but I think the ledger is tipped more towards the red than the black which I will discuss below. 2. If you’ve read the previous three dives I’ve done into Adelaide, Brisbane and Carlton you may have noticed a recurring theme in terms of key factors I value in separating the contenders from the pretenders that is Defence and Contested Possessions. I’d have to say that this isn’t any original thinking on my behalf, nor did I steal it from David King – these are key stats that many others rely on and have been around for a while and the Dogs over Bevo’s time help illustrate at least the first point. In recent times the premier has always been one of the best three defensive teams in the competition. Since 2015 the Dogs in defence have ranked 7th, 3rd (2016), 8th, 13th, 12th, 10th, 4th (2021*) and 11th. In 2006 the Eagles finished 4th defensively and won the premiership – only twice since then in 2013-14 were the Hawks able to do it (5th) – but they were also a 50 goal better side than the next best team as well. Contested Possessions isn’t as compelling and sides like Geelong last year and Richmond previously have demonstrated you don’t need to be anything special in this area, providing you can offset it by being efficient with ball in hand or finding other ways to get the ball off the opposition. The Dogs by the way were second last for intercepts in the competition last year which segues into my next topic. 3. If the question were ‘Is the Doggies defence capable of being a top 3 side with the addition of Liam Jones this season?’ the simple answer is No. They have two AA half-back flankers in Dale and Daniel and that’s an excellent start, but then it gets a bit patchy. Richards and Duryea are more than handy small foils back there, but when you look at the other smalls that have rotated through there in the last few season most seem to have question marks over them and where their best positions are (as we return to Bevo spinning magnets). Williams now seems to be preferred on the wing after some wobbly moments in defence, Crozier couldn’t cement a spot back there last year after a serviceable start crossing from Freo, Roarke Smith has been in and out as has JJ for injury reasons, but isn’t really a backman anymore. Then we switch to the talls. Does Jones help – you’d think so – 2nd worst intercept side and not a single player in the top 50 in the AFL for Defensive 1v1s (https://www.wheeloratings.com/afl_stats.html). The trouble is Jones will be 32 when he shapes up for round 1 and the other talls ‘could’ be OK on their day, but aren’t A grade KPDs. Ryan Gardner looks like being the safest bet to team with Jones and had a good season last year and while Keath tries hard and was busted by seasons end there are question marks over whether he can return to his 2021 form – he probably can, but if he doesn’t then the cupboard is getting bare, so bare they’ve been experimenting with Josh Bruce back there during the preseason. O’Brien I’ve never been sold on and his 11 games last year after crossing from the Hawks before playing out the year in the VFL probably indicates that Bevo isn’t sold either. Khamis and Busslinger are too young and inexperienced to be consistently effective and that leaves Darcy who was trialled back there last year… another nice segue. 4. Darcy forward or back? To me he looks like the 2nd Ruck/KPF apprentice which is what he did in U18s, but then Bevo throws him back as an intercepting tall at the back end of 2022. With Jones back they probably don’t need him to play that role, but they also went and got Lobb the player other supporters love to hate – more on him in a sec. Naughton is top shelf and JUH is starting to come into his own, but the Dogs rely heavily on goals from their midfield with Cody Weightman being the only consistent small forward for them. It seems like they’ve got massive hopes for Charlie Clarke to be the second small, but in his rookie season that’s a little too early. I can’t see a place there for Bruce if Lobb plays – you know the bloke that doesn’t want to ruck, doesn’t want to play at the Giants, doesn’t want to stay at Freo,– the guy that the footy world regards as the failed ‘Great Peroxide White Hope’ because he’s never lived up to the hype…. Can Doggies Fans expect him to revolutionise the way their forward line functions – again the answer is no. What they can expect is what he has delivered as a tall forward/2nd Ruck going into his 10th season averaging 11 disposals, 4 marks, 11 hitouts and 1 goal again – Mehhh not much better than Luke Jackson whose barely played 3 seasons. 5. Does Dunkley and Hunter leaving weaken their midfield? Well- yes and no. No because Hunter only played the 10 games last year and had fallen out with the coach (he did play all 25 matches in 2021 though), no because they were struggling to fit Dunkley into the packed midfield rotation with the quality of Bont, Macrae, Libba, Treloar. (He found himself on the HFF for longer than he would have liked). Yes, because both Hunter(2018) and Dunkley (2022) are both B&F winners – they can seriously play footy and you shouldn’t be making a habit of losing guys like that. Yes because there’s no natural replacement to play on the wing for Lachie or another player that immediately steps into the midfield and racks up 260 CP and plays with that defensive mindset that Josh did. I’m leaning towards their midfield will be weaker, but by how much remains to be seen whether guys like Bailey Smith (the #1 turnover player in the competition) and Riley West step up to fill the void. The player they can least afford to lose - given the amount of time discussing their defensive woes I was tempted to put down Liam Jones, or perhaps Caleb Daniel the man they rely on to pilot them out of the treacherous waters off half back. In the end though it has to be Bont, He picks this team up and carries them on his shoulders, but last year those shoulders looked really sore. He played 22 of 23 games last year with one week off being managed, but he wasn't right all year and it was the first time since his debut year he's finished lower than 3rd in their B&F. It's absolutely vital for them he's back playing closer to 90% this season than where he was last year. Am I any the wiser on what the Dogs will do this year… not really, but safe to say neither is the market they’re currently middle of the pack (=9th) with Freo to make the top four and the top eight. It seems no one is quite sure what they will do. Can they make the top 4 – yes, Will they make the top 4 – nope. They’ll be there in the eight, but they need a lot to go right for them to repeat the heroics of 2016 & 2021 and I’m not sure lightning will strike three times. I’ve got them finishing eighth. *They were playing statistically the best defensive side in living memory - we all recall with great delight the floodgates opening with 35 minutes left to go. I think the Doggies were still searching for answers half way through last season to figure out what went wrong.

https://megaphone.link/NTETP6007515146 Link to SEN interview with Kye

Dismiss Carlton at your peril. Sure they have been a joke for nearly 3 decades but I think they're on the right track and will be pushing for top 4. That's my hot tip.

For all his elegance and grace, Lyon finished with a 61% accuracy rate. Plugger's 70% is probably the best you can hope for from a player with a lot of shots on goal. I don't have the numbers to back this up is but I doubt accuracy has changed all that much, ever. There was no golden age of goal kicking, and I won't be holding my breath that Choco is going to usher one in now. Would love to see better returns from Nibbler and Trac, but all of our KPF are technically sound, and as reliable as they're ever going to be.

Ex Hawker here. I switched to Melbourne in 1965

A very dislikeable fanbase. And they have the worst colours of any sports team the world over. Pee and Poo colours. What kind of a demented mind thought that was a good idea.

hawthorn - nouveau riche melbourne

It doesn't look like he really guides the ball on to his foot with his right hand. More like he tosses it out in front of himself in a graceful arc that eventually collides with his foot. Less hang time than before and great when kicking tight goals at Gosch's under no pressure. Not so great when in a match and fatigued and huffing and puffing for oxygen. Needs more work.

Looks much lower in this clip. With Trac it is all about guiding the ball to below his knee. Same as what TMac does. Last year it seemed to be at thigh level.

I believe Harmes is a tagger. Not only stops his opponent but plays off him. When that job is needed to be done, he is the best at the club.

No team is more deserving of a long stint of mediocrity and missing finals than Hawthorn. Please God make it so.

I have no inside knowledge. I have only been to the Caulfield Cup once and sat some Monash University exams at the racecourse many moons ago, however I do pass the area by train regularly. I remember parking for my exams where they new apartment complexes are and doing panic last minute cramming in the car 😁 I suspect that any MFC training facility would be located in the red areas I circed. That is the southern, Glen Huntly end of Caulfield Racecourse, close to Glen Eira Secondary College. Allowing the school some level of access to some facilities may even bring in some decent government funding ... something to think about 🤔

I won't ask you for this week's lotto numbers then.

What is owned by the MRC and what is Crown Land at Caulfield Racecourse. The main training oval (with MCG dimensions) inside the racecourse and perhaps a secondary training oval at Glen Huntly oval with indoor facilities/ administration where the stabling yards are (height of the building/structure is not an issue there).

Much more likely to be CCP candidate.

Because they've won the lottery of life being Hawthorn fans. They grew up with an entitled sense that flags were things that just happened. That entitlement isn't necessarily a bad thing, it's great to be part of a winning organisation. However the truth is that they honestly don't know what it means to struggle as an AFL fan, they don't understand what it feels like to chase a single flag in your lifetime like some kind of Moby Dick. For most Hawks fans I know, this 8 year flag drought is even too much for them. It's not even worth worrying about at the end of the day, not all footy fans are created equal.

Massive thank you to all our track side reporters for all your work throughout the preseason. love reading them all each week. Disco Turner seems to be one that has flown under the radar a bit. I was hoping he would kick on this year and get a run of games. Any of our track watches have an insights on him?

Would definitely obscure the view. You could probably build a large underground level then a ground level on top which would limit obstruction, but obviously the less stories you have the larger the building footprint. The deeper you go the more expensive the build would be per square meter so not sure what would be the best option.

It looks like he lowers his arms then releases the ball at about hip height whereas before it was about shoulder height. But he seems to lean back at contact which could mess with the direction of the ball off the boot.

Hey, Werner is the kind of example our Demons need… never took a backward step, to the point of literally eating his own boot.

Daz, I have seen several trainings and Harmes has been much better than Jordan... I for one feels that Harmsy himself feels like he belongs and would I and perhaps himself would be more than surprised if he misses out! PS I have a bit on but am confident of getting down to Casey Snake and Venomous others venue Friday!

Handy depth though. You really need a good squad of 30 to challenge for a flag, he may not play round 1 but he'll get his chance through the year.

It should be added that for much of the time he was at the club, he was in some form of rehab and was unable to really show his wares. Hope he takes up a place at Casey and works his way up through there.

Would not be surprised of Harmes isn't playing round 1. Reckon he's on the outer now with the emergence of Sparrow and Jordon and more midfield minutes for Pickett.

loving these deep dives @grazman

I pass through Caulfield Station several times per week and I see the bulldozers are currently out in force at Caulfield Racecourse! I sincerely hope the MFC Board are not napping and day dreaming of a quality facility in the shadows of the MCG that will probably never see the sunshine. The more I think about it, this Caulfield Racecourse opportunity is potentially a real gift horse [pun intended] 🐴

@WERRIDEEI I have a slightly different starting line-up - though Newman for Williams is an obvious change given the laters' ACL. I have Fisher, Hewett and De Koning all in the starting XVIII at the expense of Durdin, Martin and Pittonet. It's probably a case of splitting hairs, but while Durdin was a revelation last year playing 21 games he's still young and could drop off, whereas Fisher played all 22 and was 7th in the B&F (yes- I was surprised too). De Koning I think will assume the #1 ruck. Pittonet was injured, I know, and came back in for the last 2 games of the year at TDs expense – TD is more mobile and has more upside. I think both will probably play anyway with 5 on the bench now. Jack Martin has to be one of the most frustrating footballers on any list - he shows glimpses of his sublime talent, but that's all they are glimpses. He's forever in the medical rooms (38 games in 3 seasons since crossing on big money) and there were 20 other blokes that played more senior games than he did last year. I’d have Owies and Cottrell (depending on his foot) in ahead of him and Hewett will definitely be picked before Jack will, but I'll cover more on him a bit later. So the draw: The Blues play us and the Pies twice - they also have return bouts against, GCS, GWS, Saints and West Coast... on paper at least based on last years form Blues fans would be pretty happy. It gets even between when you see the full draw. They've got two 5 day breaks and three 6 day breaks leading into the bye – the rest is very generous particularly as they have big blocks of very winnable games to get on a roll. If they haven't at least 8 wins on the board by the bye (I think they could go 15-16 wins for the season) the Blues faithful should be baying for Voss' blood. 1. So let's start at the coal face. The contested possession count – this probably reflects not only the game plan of the respective sides, but the way both senior coaches actually played the game back in the day. Melbourne were the #1 contested possession side last year (3238 in total after round 23) but Carlton was a close second (3200 after round 23). We had four players get over 200 CP (Oliver, Petracca, Viney and Gawn), Carlton had only two with Cripps and Walsh, but Hewett was 3rd with 190 and missed 7 games (so logically would have likely got over 200 if he'd played every game). Matt Kennedy had 188 CP but missed 5 matches. I’m not sure that the title of being the top CP team means that much, and it isn’t the be all and end all (after all Richmond managed three flags being a middle of the road CP side) but it is an indication of how they like to play the game and when the Blues get it right they’re a contender for sure. For the record the Crows were third, Suns fourth, Lions fifth and Swans sixth. Geelong ranked 12thbut all five of their top five CP winners had over 200 CP – so it’s a very uneven spread. 2. The midfield. Walsh injured early hurts, but if he’s managed properly and back to his 2022 form by May/June, then it’s only a minor hiccup. Winners of Charlie usually struggle to replicate the heights they reached in the previous season, but even given that they can afford a small drop off from Cripps if they manage to get 20+ games out of two of their less high profile, but absolutely vital midfield generals. There’s a reason why Carlton were flying early in 2022 and it was off the back of career highs for two mids. Matt Kennedy averaged 24.47 (11contested) disposals in 2022 that's more than 6 better than in any other season he's played. George Hewett averaged 28.47 (12.47 contested) that more than 7 better than in any other season he's played. - You can see where this is going. Patrick Cripps should be giving each of them some royalties for the endorsements he's got for winning a Brownlow - without them he and Walsh are back to playing as a duet in the contested possession orchestra, rather than the full ensemble. The common view is that Carlton bottled their season last year, my view is that injuries got them - Hewett in particular is a first string mid with the Blues right next to Cripps and Walsh. He does the unfashionable defensive mid role- but he's super important as is Kennedy who I personally think was the biggest improver of 2022. No wonder the Blues dropped their last four games when they weren’t available. Acres on one wing and perhaps Cerra, perhaps Cottrell, mean they should have better options than most teams for that role. 3. It’s not a bad attacking line-up when you have two Coleman medallists as your two key pillars. What they’re lacking though is a classy small forward that can kick 40+ goals a season (like a Kozzie Pickett for example). Motlop and to a lesser extent Owies and Durdin showed that they could be the smalls needed at the feet of the bigger guys, but it still tends to be all or nothing for the Blues if either Charlie or Harry can’t kick a bag. They need to find a way to spread the goals a little more evenly. I have a mate who is Blues fan and whose footy brain I rate highly – the two Blues he dislikes playing are Silvagni and Fisher – his thoughts are that they muck up too many scoring chains- he just doesn't like their decision making. He’s perhaps being a little unfair on Fisher, but I can see his point with Jack. It might be an interesting year for him as he doesn’t have any real tricks that make him the obvious choice over resting a tall like TD forward or playing a more mobile Corey Durdin, Josh Honey, Lachie Fogarty or dare I say Jack Martin if he can ever put it together. 4. Defence – on first blush I thought this would be an issue for the Blues even before Zac Williams injury and maybe it still will be. With Weitering they have one of the league’s best KPD. Young came into his own last year showing far more than he ever did at the Dogs, but it’s still a small sample size to see how he would go as the #1 defensive tall if he has to assume that mantle. Marchbank is probably the competition’s unluckiest player, but if he can get on the park they have three really good tall options to partner McGovern – provided he can maintain that intercept marking form (though again only a small sample size). I said before I’m not a fan of Plowman – he’s a weak link in defence, undersized as a Key Back and too ungainly/slow to effectively play on a small – just my view. Saad is extremely lucky to be an AA IMHO ahead of say Angus Brayshaw or maybe even Sam Docherty who was the Blues B&F runner up. Newman provides a good lockdown option, but they’ll probably need to find at least one more speedy runner with good penetration to replace Williams – who I’m seeing as a loss – just a loss at this stage, neither minor, nor major. It is the one area they do need to improve on though to become a genuine premiership threat. There were three standout defensive teams last year and Carlton weren't one of them. They ranked sixth only one point above the Saints and in the same bracket as Richmond and the Lions - so not terrible, but not great either. 5. The player they can least afford to lose – it was a toss up, but I settled on Weitering. Charlie, Harry, Sam and Patrick are all in the best six for Carlton. So is Jacob – clearly, absolutely, indubitably, but no other tall back would be in the conversation and that’s a problem for the Blues – how do they cover him going down? (with great difficulty) It’s weird – or at least I think it’s weird that their VC wasn’t even in their top 10 for their B&F last season… but maybe that has something to do with the fact that none of their coaching group last year was a defender. Maybe Tom Lonergan addresses the issue this year because if Weitering isn’t in their five best players week in week out, then I’ll go heave. Sportsbet has the Blues knocking on the door of the top four this year at $9.50- they’re paying $1.40 to make the eight. It’s a human trait to pattern match – though sometimes we see patterns where none exist. I don’t think there were any real similarities between our 2017 season and the Blues, except for the disappointment both sides would have felt about a missed opportunity. So it doesn't necessarily follow that the Blues automatically play in a Prelim this year because or what happened last year, except I actually think they will because I think they have a game style that lends itself to finals success. It hasn’t been a good preseason in terms of the injury front, but it hasn’t been terminal either, I think they’ll recover and I think they will find a way to sneak into the four, but that’s the problem I currently have six teams in my top four.

They’re saying he’s been offered a place at Casey after missing out on the SSP. Good luck and thanks Trent.