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Is this incident the first time he's been caught high and not received a free kick?

For Christ sake, this is a young kid that needs support and assistance. Not punishment. So much hypocrisy. Half the world is addicted to alcohol and drugs. Professionals, executives, celebrities snorting coke. This kid does not need to be publicly shamed. The moralising by others makes me sick. Go out and experience the real world.

Drugs are already out there. People are taking them. Prohibition has not stopped and will never stop their use. The question is then how to deal with it. It's completely illogical that alcohol (a drug, by the way), which causes more problems in society than all other drugs combined, is legal, readily available and socially acceptable but other drugs are "bad" and illegal. My opinion is that we should legalise, regulate and tax drugs just like we do with alcohol and tobacco. These taxes should directed into health services because this is a health issue, not a legal issue. By doing so, we would free up Police to concentrate on real crime, clear the backlog in the court system and stop the overcrowding in jails. It would also eliminate the criminal involvement and get the "dirty" back-yard lab drugs off the street. As to your last point, nobody should be driving if they are impaired by alcohol or any other form of drug.

Taking drugs doesn't necessarily mean you have personal problems just as drinking alcohol doesn't necessarily indicate an underlying issue. People do it because they enjoy it and, as adults, should be free to choose what they consume. It's time we legalised the lot and stop the hypocrisy and double standards. The "war on drugs" has been a costly and dismal failure and an absolute WOFTAM. Disclaimer: I neither drink nor take drugs.

T Macs form was actually very good pre injury rjay. It was pre omission when it wasn’t so flash. He had 4 in the 5 first games then after returning kicked 2,2,4 and 3 in the same game he got injured in. 11 in his last 4 games, I thought he was a huge loss in the second half of season. I’m also excited by JVR and see what he can bring, but happy to wait. Unlikely doesn’t mean no, still a bit to play out until the Dogs opener.

from over a decade ago and completely unrelated to his reporting into the racism allegations herald-sun clearly briefing against him; unsurprising considering that they have kennett on their books

Young fella out with with mates snorts coke, or some such, in a dunny. One assumes he thought (as he said in his statement) he was relatively safe from being filmed. So recreational drug use - not performance enhancing. And not in season. Unlikely to have any meaningful impact on his preparation. Cue moral outrage and pearl clutching Who cares? What exactly has he done wrong? Broken the law? Ok, let the law deal with him. Forget that a pretty big proportion of young fellas his age are doing the same - i have zero doubt a pretty big proportion OF AFL PLAYERS are doing the same. Steve May, whilst rehabbing from concussion, get so drunk and his behavior so poor (in a fancy restaurant no less) that a teammate feels compelled to step in and shut him down and ultimately clock him, breaking his hand in the process (and receives no admonishment from the club - suggesting Mays behavior was way, way out of line). May copped plenty of criticism for his carry on, but precious little for getting paralytic drunk. Such ridiculously double standards at play.

He had a good 2nd half to the season, a year older, much fitter and stronger. When he gets a chance I think he will perform his role well. I think the only reasons he is unlikely to play round 1 are Brown and Tmac, who are both training well. Tommy's form pre injury was average at best last year so maybe something will open up. Brown may be rested at times through the season. I think the forward line will be invigorated this year not by a saviour but by a number of factors, JVR being one.

Or delay it until Sunday in 23 degrees. Ridiculous to play in 36 degrees with predicted thunderstorms.

What about Collingwood & the media in general take a good hard look at themselves. He is basically a 20yr old smart [censored] with not a particularly high IQ & if Collingwood had a better culture he would have been told to “pull his head in “ and concentrate on his footy . But no ..,apparently he is a breath of fresh air & footy needs some personalities. You act affronted because inevitably he has gone down the slippery slope that in this AFL obsessed climate can oh so quickly happen. So save your platitudes for the young people who don’t have the network & education around them that you get if you’re an AFL player. Don’t excuse him because “everyone else is doing it”. For mine he is in danger of going down the same path as many other talented young players who have excuses made for them quite simply because they play AFL .

The only sure thing about tough Drug laws is a corrupt Police Force. Not my quote, but something I agree with. And, for the record, I don't do drugs though I'd be dead without my Blood Pressure tablets, Blood Thinners, Diuretics, Zyloprim and Panadol Osteo to treat my Double Kneemonia. Then there's the Zinc, Euthenasia, Vitanmin C and B, the Thiamine, the Glucosomine and Magnesium, and the half a Prexum at night. Oh, then there's the Diltiazem. Oh, and the Sardinian Vermentino, the Coriole Sangiovese, the Cirillo Grenache and any decent Pinot Noir or Barolo I can get my hands on. Hunter Shiraz and good Cab Sav are also life savers.

He will be well aware of where he stands...

The most recent Intel from Track watchers is TMac and BBB are training well. I wouldn't be that surprised in JvR is forced to wait, or Chandler for that matter. A forward line of TMac, BBB, Fritta, Spargo, ANB and Kozzie, with Grundy resting forward and Trac/Viney swapping with Koz is most likely

Spot on @Demonstone. There’s ample proof around the world that where de-criminalisation has been trialed, hospitalisations drop, crime drops, and overdose deaths drop. It’s the logical, proven step, and nobody in their sane mind could argue otherwise. As with many things however, we are lead by the US, who have constructed industries around meaningless crime and punishment - most obviously their prison-industrial system. Our leaders don’t currently have the courage or foresight for decriminalisation. Ironically, we’ve just seen a spark of hope, with the approval of psilocybin and MDMA for treatment resistant depression and PTSD, one of only a handful of countries to have done this to now. Motivated no doubt by the potential (and it’s huge) reduction in state mental healthcare costs. It will revolutionise mental health treatment, and gradually be extended for further application. There’s no doubt wholesale decriminalisation is inevitable, it’s just the pointless waiting that baffles.

Your point about "support and assistance" is well made Ernie. However, don't forget that this "young kid" is also a hero and role model for possibly thousands of younger kids. He deserves his whack.

That's all correct LF. And he deserved the crtisim for his behaviour. But what I was contrasting was I hardly read any criticism of his EXCESSIVE alcohol use that night. There was some, but the focus on his obnoxiousous and being a [censored]. Ginnivan on the other hand is being slammed for using recreational drugs. BUT there is no suggestion at all that he behaved poorly. No [censored] behaviour and no need for anyone to step in and get him to pull his head in. All he did was take recreational drugs. A crime, sure. But a victimless crime. May didn't break the law, but his choice of drug (grog) contributed to his poor behaviour which impacted his teammates, any poor bugger who went our for a nice dinner and of course the staff at the restaurant. The double standards I was referring to was not about Ginnivan v may"s behaviour or the punishment they both copped. It was drugs v grog. Many (not saying you- many in the general sense) see use of drugs through a moral lens. Hence some of the moralising about Ginnivan - even though he didnt behave poorly. But don't apply that same lens to grog. And so might knock someone for not handling their grog and getting messy. But not moralise about their choice to drink. The person who saw fit to surreptitiously film him and put it on social media is the only person in this story who I think deserves judgement.

Kev, Richo had a valid point when he suggested we started the game with a winning mindset and often established a decent lead. But after halftime we went into our shells and attempted to save the game resulting in being dumped by the opposition's momentum wave by the final siren. If we can ride the wave this season with a whole game winning belief as exhibited in '21 we can bounce back decisively.

Will make it and be a very good player in 2023

Some people set the bar too high for JVR. At best he’ll be a Mihocek style hard worker this year rather than any kind of star. The big challenge for our forward line is the lack of ground level mobility for Brown, McDonald and a resting ruck. We might sacrifice goals for JVR’s defensive hunt, and it might be earlier in the season than the coaches think.

Incredibly, and promise this in true, I’m in that photo. Bottom centre, blonde/redhead kid in the royal blue Melbourne jumper. They guy on my right in the blue top was my only Demons-following mate, who I only remember by his nickname, [censored]. It was a different time, but just to clear, he was not indigenous to any extent or anything else, but I have no idea how he got that nickname. My mum bought me that jumper from Venture as a special treat when we changed the blue. I was able to find it and wore it for the first time in 35 years to the MCG premiership celebration in 21. It was a tad tight! This photo must be around 1986.

Uncapped youngster Jacob van Rooyen - unlikely, said Richardson, to debut in round one - is another tall forward option alongside Ben Brown, the latter having completed most of the pre-season.

Support and assistance like all the educational programs he would have already taken part in, plus all of the assistance programs available to players and their families? He like all the others are only sorry they got caught. Don’t want the publicity, don’t play AFL, simple.

I think Richo isn’t letting the truth get in the way of a good yarn here: “So, what was that? Is it fitness? Is it mindset? Is it opposition? Or all of the above? Although [it was] not fitness. We are still running really hard. There were a few competition-wide markers that were strong proof that we were still a hard-running team. It was a bit more about attitude and opposition. Teams were taking things away from us.” in 2021 we would steamroll teams in the second half, 2022 we were running up hill in the second half, sounds like we were a bit banged up also. You could see it live and on T.V., we had no run or dare. were we fit? Probably yes, were we premiership fit? Clearly not.

What’s the upside for Spargo and ANB you talk about? Spargo hopefully has some, but I very much doubt ANB does. I think Chandler has the greater upside - but we won’t know for sure till he’s given a decent chance (and I don’t mean as the sub).

Paul Puopolo was the AFL's tenth shortest player, standing at 173 cm and played nearly 200 games in what was a strong multi premiership team at the time. If Chandler can find his niche in the MFC side, I don't think height is really such a barrier. I didn't watch Puopolo super closely as a player, because of my general loathing of Hawthorn, but seem to remember him as being a nuggety and strong for his height, a tenacious tackler and a player that kept bobing up and presenting in good places around goals. He was also a reliable shot on goal and didn't miss many opportunities. I see alot of the same traits in Chandler. He's also great mates with Max and I think generally a pretty popular guy with his peers, which has got to count for something. I'm going to be a bit more bullish on Chandler and offer up $2.20 for the farm boy from outback SA. A a supporter group, we've just got to come up with a nickname that's as infuriatingly annoying to opposition supporters as 'Poppy'.

I ve put $100 in a trifecta Dees to win Flag Clarrie to savage the Brownlow and BBB to win the Coleman.If I win it all Demonlanders will be invited to the P.F party to end all parties😇🤪🤩😎🥳

$1.42 about the same as bedford last year, who failed to make the most of opportunities and regressed when back in the vfl chandler showed SLIGHTLY more in the back half of the 2022 vfl season but ultimately still strikes as a good vfl level player, not an afl one

Good that they see the second half fades. Why do we give the opposition the momentum, how did they break us, and why couldn't we answer their goals and stop the run on? Momentum change happened because we drank our bathwater before the job was done. They broke us by, switching, moving quickly through a corridor and finding a loose player in their 50 area. We would panic and try and do too much as individuals. We need to be able to play tempo footy and score with slow down footy. Play a defensive game, where we stop the opposition scoring. Play with some creativity, unstructured, and surprising ways, that aren't predictable. Fight and toughen up earlier on, when the momentum is first shifting against us. Never let the other team score two goals in a row. Fight, be tough, compete for everything, ruthlessness, No congratulations till the 4 points are sealed. Encourage, support each other but keep that half time joy to a minimum.

Legalizing has had good results in Portugal https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/dec/05/portugals-radical-drugs-policy-is-working-why-hasnt-the-world-copied-it

Jeez don’t really rate this from Richo, you’d hope JVR’s been told he’s ‘unlikely’ to play round 1 from the club before he opens up the paper this morning or gets sent the article. You’d feel pretty flat, especially from a kid who’s busted his [censored] all summer, no one should be told they’re not going to be playing round 1 a month out from the season? Richo could’ve just said ‘we’ll see how that pans out’ or made up some other line instead of putting cold water on it.

Look we know he's not the only player that probably did drugs over the pre season, but the thing that stood out for me was his insta apology where he said as a footballer he should have known better. No Jack as a human you should have known better. Just don't touch the stuff. But the person who filmed it then gave it to the media that's low. Either you wanted to get revenge on Jack or you know this mightn't be his first time doing this & thought you'd be helping him by exposing him.

With BBB and Tom fit and firing and JVR waiting for a debut and then a resting ruck, Petty won’t be forward.

It's currently a 100% black market. Legalising the product won't eliminate this entirely, but I'm confident that most people would prefer to buy from a licensed outlet rather than a seedy crim in a back alley.

It’s not as if the AFL, through the various pathways to the elite level of the sport, doesn’t spend significant resources in education on the subject of recreational drug use, is it? The great majority of players who get onto senior lists are responsible and mature about this and a whole raft of subjects that has an effect on their lives but there’s always a small minority for who the learning slips through cracks. It’s a case of dealing with it properly. I think Gold Coast probably got it right with the case of Mac Andrew driving under the influence. It obviously needs the personal follow up to prevent it from getting out of hand and destroying the individual and his career.

What a load of [censored]. If the real world is about acceptance of drug use for elite sportspersons then your own morals are the ones misguided rather than the ones you seek to shame. Maybe young Jack would consider virtue for something more meaningful? Young punk can eat [censored].

Probably a mix of all things...also adding the injury component to fitness which is one you never mention unless your name is Chris Scott. I'm sure they know exactly what went wrong and are working to fix it but I guess we will truly know that answer by the end of the season, not before it starts.

In thinking about things a little further, I think the real point of difference that Chandler offers, compared to Spargo and ANB, is that he's a more attacking small forward than either of those two and has the capasity/potential and game style to kick multiple/bags of goals that I'm not sure is Spargs or ANB strength. Even with Kossie playing a small forward role, I think it's well worth having a second small live wire around goal as it both takes the pressure off Kossie somewhat mentally and also makes it harder for opposition to contain both of them at once.

With so much to lose and so little to gain, I have no idea why these athletes do it in public, do whatever you want in the privacy of your own home. as Shaq said: “I do drink, but not in public because I can’t do nothing to jeopardize my mother’s empire..so If I’m at the house I’ll drink, but I’m not going to drink at a restaurant and jump in a car and then..cos my father always used to tell me, if you mess the money up, your mama ain’t going to have no house, if you mess the money up, your mama ain’t going to eat.“ With how much Shaq’s worth, I doubt his Mama will go without a meal.

The draw is tough for the Swans as it should be for a side that made the GF the previous year. Of the sides they play twice; Us, Geelong, Freo and Richmond will give them a stern test and GCS look a lot stiffer opposition than in previous years which leaves just the underwhelming GWS as the likely gimme. It’s an even split to start the year with away matches in the first half to the bye in rd 12 against GCS, Us, Richmond (at AO before playing them at the MCG in rd 17), Cats at GMHBA, and Collingwood. 1. Sides that lose heavily in the GF usually take some time to bounce back. I’ve heard some in the media say that Sydney is different, they have such a great culture that they’ll recover quickly without the attendant mental scarring that other sides have had. This to me doesn’t seem to have any real basis other than wishful thinking, nor does it address the underlying reason why they got pole-axed by 81 points in a completely lop-sided contest in the first place. For the record here is a list of sides beaten by more than 45 points in Grand Finals since 2000 and where they finished the following year: 2021, the Dogs (74 pts) 8th. 2019, GWS (89 pts) 10th, 2017, Adelaide (48pts) 12th, 2015 West Coast (46 pts) 7th, 2014 Sydney (53 pts) 5th, 2007, Port (119 pts) 13th, 2003, Collingwood (56 pts) 13th and 2000 – us (60 pts) 11th. So based on recent history there’s a better than even chance the Swans don’t even make the eight and very little to no chance they bounce back into the four. I understand this tells the story of what has happened previously not what will necessarily happen this season, but I think the Swans continue the trend and here’s why: 2. Defence. There’s a problem with the smalls there’s too many of them: 194, 193 (McCartins) and 187 (Rampe) those are the heights of the Swans key defenders. (Correspondingly our KPD heights are 194, 193 and 197). Yes they were the fourth best defence in 2022 with very similar numbers to Port Adelaide, but when it matters on the bigger grounds those smaller KPD had a torrid time with the taller forwards – more tellingly Rampe had probably his career worst year despite playing every game. Career lows in disposals, marks, meters gained, rebound 50s, Intercept possessions and 0 coaches votes for the first time in his career. I guess we shouldn’t be surprised because he’s 33 this year, but 187cm when you’re party trick is in decline is just too short to play Key Position. The next best option they have is the Lizard who stands taller than all of them at 196, but they want to release him in a running role (providing his season isn’t derailed by glandular fever). There’s the 192cm Aaron Francis and the Swans have a good history of turning other clubs trash into their treasure, but 54 games in 4 seasons with only 4 last year isn’t anything to be sanguine about- so it might be Melican who is 194cm but out of favour. I have a feeling they will need a replacement this year. With the exceptions of GWS (though Cadman may still grow) and West Coast every club has a KPF at least 197cm or taller and many have two. 3. They had a great season in attack last year, but Buddy was still their leading goal scoarer, though Heeney, Heywood and Papley are great foils. The issue as exposed in the GF is their other KPF Sam Reid is injury prone. He averages only 15 games a year and has only played one full season since 2016 and at 32 I think its more likely than not that trend continues. Logan McDonald looks OK, but only in combination with Buddy and Sam and really doesn’t take many contested marks. Maybe they experiment with Ladhams/McLean as the third tall resting ruck, but I think they’re easily covered by a good defence. 4. The midfield is very blue collar and they did a good job last year as evidenced by Mills, Warner, Rowbottom and Parker filling out the top 4 places in their B&F. Maybe that’s a little unfair on Mills who was AA last year – but tellingly it was on the wing and not in the guts. He’s good, just not Clarrie, Neale or Cripps good. What they lack though is a blue chip power mid that pushes forward and kicks goals like a Dusty, Tracc or Bont. It might be a perception thing as well, but I also think other than Parker there’s no real big bodies in there. This isn’t helped by the likes of Gulden and Campbell who are elite kicks, but also small for mids. Don’t get me wrong it’s a solid outfit, but it will be interesting watch to see if they can maintain their CP numbers where they were at the end of 2022(6th) or slip back to the middle of the pack where they were mid season. The player they can least afford to lose – I was tempted to put Buddy down – I think he’s still a vital cog of their forward structure, which sounds either absurd or disturbing because he’s 36 year old. In the end though I went with their captain (or one of them) in Callum Mills. With Joey Kennedy retiring it puts a lot of pressure on their mids to keep up with the other teams in the engine room, I think Mills is just a cut above and the others who have to assume more midfield minutes if he goes down like Florent are nice players, but they won’t have the same output. I don’t have Sydney in my top four, many do, Sportsbet has them on the fourth line of betting to make the four at $10.00 (6th). I think that’s close to the money I have them slipping to 7th.

Just for the record May was suspended for one game by the club which was added to the week he missed for concussion. He also had to do community service. Ostensibly, May was suspended for drinking while injured. But if the incident hadn't hit the media I doubt he would have been suspended at all. Ginnivan is being punished for (take your pick): being stupid using drugs in a public place, being caught, doing something illegal, and the old chestnut: bringing the game into disrepute! All of those? So not such double standards. Would love to see the media carry on about Ginnivan for weeks and weeks as they did May. And some scribes are still talking about the 'May incident' as when our 2022 season started unravelling which is rubbish. But that is what the scribes keep writing.

This team is another non-contender for mine, though if you believe the markets (Sportsbet has them at $4.50 to make the finals) they’re pushing into the realms of being a pretender. The list is still very young and likely to be inconsistent for a while. There’s a lot of expectations on the likes of Jones, Perkins, Cox, Tsatas etc to be good very quickly, but we know that if they don’t have the key players around them that expectation might be a little premature. The exemplar here is Sam Weideman and I hope he does well at the Dons (though he’s been injured already in the preseason), but if you are pinning your hopes for the season on him as your CHF (which is where he looks like starting the season at least) then the rest is kind of predictable. I think the footy world in general is massively over estimating Essendon – and I base that on a few factors – that may leave me with egg on my face. I don’t think Brad Scott can do a quick fix with this list particularly if he’s trying to correct cultural and systemic issues from the previous regime/s… No need to read between the lines as he tries to hose down expectations of what the Bombers can achieve this season. On 7News he said “we’ve got a lot of work to do in just about every facet of the game” and that they require ‘seasoning’ before they can achieve sustained success. That’s a pretty blunt assessment of where they’re at and is pretty clear from my point of view that he’s hit the reset button. I have a friend who was an U18 state player who knows some ex-AFL players – he gets some good info – most of it from SA. After last season Zach Merrett was filthy with himself for having signed a new deal with Essendon at the end of 2021 – now I’m not crying in my beer for poor Zach, but it indicates that if one of your better players had considered jumping ship, but was talked out of it and then later regrets re-signing with the club it sort of points in the general direction that as an insider he isn’t that optimistic about their short term prospects… I don’t think Zach would have re-signed if he thought someone was going to hit that button! Finally Jake (the Fatman) Stringer has come back to start preseason with a certain lack of physical conditioning that has seen him get injured in the preseason again – no surprises here, he signed a nice fat contract after actually showing up and appearing to give a [censored] for half a dozen games before he signed on the dotted line… My point being It’s this sort of attitude that Brad Scott has to address, it takes time and dare I say some of the cultural problems need to be shown the door. I know many won’t, but I’m picking the Bombers to finish bottom four.

I despise Ginnivan’s on field game. And just about the only thing McRae got wrong last year was sticking up for him to the level that he encouraged him. He ripped at the seams of the game with blatant simulation and the footy gods might well have taken their revenge. He even played the mental health card last year too - although that might’ve been because he wasn’t told to can it earlier in the year. I’ll give him credit that he hasn’t done so in this case as is willing to admit to his stupidity in getting caught. As for footballers doing drugs in general. Well, I really don’t care as long as they’re as safe as they can be to avoid ASADA clenbuterol bans, the sensationalist media and addiction. They’re young, wealthy and deserve to have some relaxation time especially over the summer.

There's a lot of forward line saviour syndrome around JVR. I can't see him doing much this year because he hasn't exactly set the world on fire at Casey.

I’m confused on what drugs are legal and what drugs are illicit. Govt’s and multinationals hand out the same drugs they punish others for, then dictate a moral value/compass on society. Our Govt is now handing out hallucinogens, opioids, cannabis, Ketamine etc etc. I don’t have a problem with drug use as long as it is not harmful to the person or others around them. I’m more offended Ginnivan plays for the Filth. As for being a role model, each and everyone of us is a role model to some degree. Responsible and harmless drug use is role modelling and I include prescription drugs, alcohol and all other drug use. Until we actually have a narrative and understanding to this situation, leave the kid alone. What he has done is part of mainstream society

So the peroxided attention seeking, knee dropping, forward diving, free kick seeking piece of excrement has managed to make headlines again. Eff me! Oh well, just one more reason to up the ante in ‘loving to hate’ him and Collingwood supporters that much more when we play them this year. Only downside is that I am certain this will give their feral supporters one more reason to idolise him that much more. Life sucks at times. Hope we smash ‘em this time round.

Watching Eddie’s son Xander read the story on the news was a treat to watch…

Combination Fried Rice. In my opinion, barring injury, I predict BBB to kick at least 50/60 or so goals and if he does..... you know what that means dont you?🥰😇

There was a period there where I was convinced, and stats sort of backed me up, that we were undefeated with "Pedo" playing, and batted about 30% with him out of the side. Absolute cult hero figure in my own brain.

There were 4 x 20 minutes quarters between teams Blue and White. It was controlled by AFL umpires. The first two quarters comprised of the probables in Blue versus the possibles in White. Blue included: Gawn, Grundy, Petracca, Oliver, Viney, Brayshaw, Sparrow, May, Lever, Petty, Rivers, McVee, Langdon, Neal-Bullen, Pickett, Spargo, Brown, McDonald, Bowey, Chandler White: Farris-White, Verrall, Schache, Hunter, Jordon, Hibberd, Dunstan, Harmes, Howes, Jefferson, Laurie, Sestan, Deakyn Smith, Tomlinson, Turner x 2, Woewodin, van Rooyen, Trent Burgoyne, plus 2-3 other Casey top-ups. As you’d expect Blue dominated. At half-time they’d kicked 15 goals to one. At half-time quite a few in Blue swapped to White, including Oliver, Brayshaw, Gawn and the first choice defenders – May, Petty, Lever, Rivers, McVee and Bowey. Harmes, Tomlinson and a few others went from White to Blue. The ‘new’ White got away in the third quarter, while Blue almost pinched it in the last. Final scores for the last two quarters were 41 to 40 White’s way. Ben Brown kicked 3 goals in the first on his way to 5. He’s moving and marking very well. McDonald kicked 3 and was also good. Grundy kicked 2 and handed an easy third to Pickett. Grundy was busy and had a good game, including a nice contested mark for one of his goals. He really gets involved around the stoppages. He seemed a little sore in his leg in the third quarter but he stayed on and completed all 4 quarters, so I’m assuming it’s minor. Spargo was very good and kicked 3 goals. Chandler did well and kicked 2. I wonder if McVee has been earmarked for Salem’s position. He looked very comfortable in the back 6. Both Langdon and Hunter got plenty of it. van Rooyen had a quiet day not helped by Blue’s dominance in the first two quarters. He led well in the second and did take one good contested mark, but also dropped an easy chest mark in the last. He ended the day goalless after missing a very gettable 30 metre shot in the second. Schache was quiet early but kicked 2 goals in the second half and became a target. Viney spent some time on ball but played mainly forward in the first half. He hit the scoreboard and actually played very well from a HFF. Rivers played mainly defence but also started in the centre square a few times, as did Brayshaw. So it looks like they’re going to mix it up. In the first half the preferred centre square setup was Oliver, Petracca, and Sparrow. Jefferson kicked the only goal for White in the first half and ended with 2. He took one excellent contested mark i50 (goal), but also dropped a couple he should have taken. He looks a player. Gawn looked a little rusty but was OK. I would have given Grundy the honours, but they both won their share of hitouts against each other in the second half. They were on the same team in the first half. Gawn spent time forward but was ineffective. For me the three best players were Oliver, Petracca, and Viney, but Spargo, Langdon, Brayshaw, Bowey, Rivers, Grundy, Brown and McDonald all did well. Petracca and Oliver can both extricate themselves from very tight positions. Some of their midfield craft was superb. Both fast, big and powerful. Oliver took a nice contested mark and was completely unhindered by his thumb. It was great to see Petracca mark forty metres out in the last, dead in front, and kick truly. He was also very happy (“Let’s go boys !!!”). This was the most involved I’ve seen Sestan. He took a couple of very strong marks and got quite a lot of it. He also kicked truly from 51 metres out. He’s one of those players with a low centre of gravity. Shortish legs and a long torso in the Daicos and Jesaulenko mould. Quick ball movement was the order of the day. There was a strong wind, so conditions were challenging, but there were also some excellent pieces of play. Lots of turnovers too, as is the hallmark of the modern game. I’m sure van Rooyen will get games and he’s had a great preseason, but he may just be behind Brown and McDonald for round one. Verrall competed well in the ruck. He’s raw but didn’t look out of place. Howes was very busy and mainly used it well. Even though Hunter played the first two quarters for White I’m sure he’s in the best team. Neale-Bullen also played well early. He was playing on a wing. Dunstan pulled a hamstring. Unlike Gawn, who jogged off with his, Dunstan was in pain as he gingerly limped off. Fritsch was a no show but may have been inside. Moniz-Wakefield and Melksham were there but didn’t participate and nor did Joel Smith.

Long may it last!