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STAR TREK CHRONICLES SPACE, THE FINAL FRONTIER, THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE STARSHIP “ENTERPRISE” IT’S FIVE-YEAR MISSION TO EXPLORE STRANGE NEW WORLDS TO SEEK OUT NEW LIFE AND NEW CIVILIZATIONS…., TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO MAN HAS GONE BEFORE! SEGWAY MUSIC! SCENE 1 Captains log 12122351 We have been requested by Starfleet command to search for and bring back deranged, megalomanic, psychopath and madman Colli Feral. He fled homeworld Klingon prime and has found a way to go back in time to wreak havoc on the planet earth in the early 21st Century with his desire for power and to create a like race of people which are despised around the cosmos. Spock: Captain, I believe I have computed Colli Ferals last known location and have situated it in a place called Lulie St. I am, however, unable to get a precise location, however a resident in another location would be receptive to our efforts to locate and apprehend him and I have the coordinates locked into computer, his name is Picket Fence! Kirk: Is there any chance that we attempt time jump that we might be trapped in a time warp that we may never return? Spock: A time warp from which we may never return. Why captain I can’t believe my ears!! Kirk: Neither can we Spock , neither can we! Scotty, prepare for the time jump! Landing party Bones, Mr. Spock, Myself and Yeoman Smith Scotty: Aye Sir but I canna guarantee the ships integrity, we will be approaching Mega Warp! Kirk on my mark Spock, 3, 2, 1 Go. Scene 2 On arrival, Kirk: we seem to have made it! Landing Party to transformer room on the Double ENERGISE ! Kirk what an inhospitable place, Spock is this it? Spock: Indeed, it is captain, captain look at this sign!! Kirk, phasers on stun, full alert, wait who is that over there Spock?? According to tricorder readings that is Picket Fence!! Picket Fence thinking What a shocking day wind up, no ground access, passed two slitheras enroute all in the name of Demonland!! Wait, who is that? Oh, hold the phone is that who I think it is!! Kirk: We mean you no halm I am……….. Picket Fence: I know who you are James Tiberious Kirk, Mr. Spock, Bones Mc Coy, Scotty and Yeoman?? Yeoman: Yeoman Smith!! Picket Fence, of course you are!! I am Picket Fence. We know who you are P.F P.F How do you know that ? Never mind Its probably in the script which I haven’t read yet! Kirk: Probably but let’s get on with it, We have been requested by Starfleet command to search for and bring back deranged, megalomanic, psychopath and madman Colli Feral. He fled homeworld Klingon prime and has found a way to go back in time to wreak havoc on the planet earth in the early 21st Century with his desire for power and to create a like race of people which are despised around the cosmos. P.F Hnmm have you a Picture? Kirk: His name is Colli Feral and he has limited teeth, speaks in Guttural Language and wears Black and White clothing often do you know him? P.F Yeah I can narrow it down to about 100,000 people like that, but I reckon I can help, but first I have to complete my training report for Demonland! Spock: ah yes we have heard something about this in Earth Archives, Mind if I observe?? Of course and you as well Captain, ow watch out a slithera is about to climb on Mr. Spocks leg! Scotty: Aye Captain that would be a trouser snake! ( stifling laughter) It attaches to your leg, That’s what we called them in Scoootland! I’ll phaser it of! Buuuuz! Mr. Spock, Mister Scott why are you laughing! Bones Mc Coy: Its humor Spock , don’t you get it? Spock: Humor is a narrative with a humorous ending, no I don’t get it! Bones: Typical Vulcan response Spock you humorless moron! P.F Ok Captain I’ll help on one condition! Kirk: And what would that be? P.F I have an acquaintance that owns a Manor with staff needing new uniforms, could I have a couple of those Yeoman outfits for his perusal? Kirk: Of course, just send the coordinates and we will beam them to him! O’k lets observe this report of Training at Casey Fields of the Melbourne Dees, Tricorders ON PICKET FENCE TRAINING REPORT CASEY FIELDS 8/12/2023 Blustery day at Casey, Ground NOT OPEN?? and the only other people I saw were one bloke on the far side and another Man and Woman also watching around the south Goals, had a small pair of Binoculars but looking through the fence was problematic. NO SHOWS Clarry, Kade Chandler, Petty, and Melky REHAB GROUP Gus, Salem, Bailey Fritsch, and later ……. Koltyn Tholstrup! A group of young players including Caleb Windsor was also on light duties. OSERVATIONS, PLAYER WATCH AND DRILLS INFORMATION Drills were nothing new and involved overlaps, weaves, clean ball handling and picking the correct options. All players looked pretty fit and a few have put on some beef. Among them were Jefferson, Sestan, Farris White, Sparrow and I really liked the look of TRENT RIVERS! After exercises stretches players were practicing goal kicking from various angles, distance and combos of set shots and on the run pivots. After that came an almost full match simulations between Red Kicking with the wind and White kicking against. Reds DOMINATED; however, it was at times difficult to differentiate as quite a few players had different numbers on for example VINES wearing no 3? As well as standing on the outside looking in this set another level of challenge! From the Match sim I have this to report! BEN BROWN will play round 1 barring injury; He looked really good unhampered and ran far and wide kicked plenty of goals and looks a new man. TRENT RIVERS Wow just watching him develop was just mind bending , he has gone to another level with fitness, confidence, poise and belief ran through midfield at times and just shrugged opponents at will. SHANE MC ADAM What an excitement machine knows where to run, almost took the hanger of the year, and kicks the ball beautifully , he will also play round one. JACK BILLINGS What an astute pick up, clever, crafty, uses the ball very well and will slot in as high half forward or maybe wing and did some very nice things. KOZZY PICKET, Did the usual Kossy things. TOM FULLARTON, doesn’t look out of place and is a presence in Ruck and forward. JOSH SCHACHE Bit of a surprise packet for me today was involved kicked a couple of goals and was good in contest. MATHEW JEFFERSON, Has definitely bulked up and did a few nice things and kicked a couple of goals as well. BAILEY LAURIE Was also quite involved in general play, but I don’t know if he just lacks something is it breakaway pace? BLAKE HOWES, Also did some good things , took the game on , his disposal was good and he looked quite confident! Other than that T Mac played back but gee he looks slow and I’m not sure where he will sit this year in selections. A few players missed REGULATION goals for example Trac from 40 out directly in from and really this again would not want to be part of our conversion going forward. Was training intensity up or down compared to what I saw last year at this time? I would have to say Slightly less intense than same time and maybe just building gradually. Skills looked sharper and there was a propensity to pick the correct option and seemed to be more creative handball. There was little evidence of Bombing into forward 50, but then again, this needs to be tested at the coalface in games to see if there has been a more systematic entry and conversions that equate to wins. Will try to watch again next week if possible. Cheers P.F

Chandler has a family issue in SA. Salem they're going to progressively load because he had a huge off-season conditioning wise. They've told him to taper it back.

You couldn’t get Scotty to transport you inside the ground?

4 more years for our Captain and Vice. Brilliant leaders, elite players and most importantly amazing people.

didn't you hear?

Another MVP from Mr Fence!

Brodie's impact on the group, from a human perspective, can't be underestimated. A fantastic human and a genuine gun ruckman who absolutely deserves to be the number 1 at his club.

Kate Hore was outstanding this year capped off with AA captain honours. Tyla Hanks is the most pure player in the league. Delighted that both are onboard for the next 4 years. great news for the club

you understood it, uncle? you probably speak vulcan too

Top shelf training report as always picket!!!

I know I'm a bit late to the party but I've been down to a couple of training sessions including Monday's, I enjoy watching the boys do their time trials but really it's not as indicative as some might think. Trac struggles in the time trials because of his physique but that doesn't mean anything. The younger boys, particularly the talls struggled. Adams and Verrell were examples of this. Sestan is not a natural athlete but is working hard on his fitness by the look of things as is Jefferson. For a bloke of Tomlinson's size his running is outstanding. He ran with Nibbler until there was about a lap and a half to go and then just went. I thought he was on his last half lap when he broke away but no. He was so strong and was really impressive. But that doesn't mean he's a different footballer to last year, he's just an outstanding athlete. When I go to these sessions I'm really only interested in the young blokes because in the main that's where the improvement will come from but it's such early days it's not really realistic to take much away. But in the wet last week I was impressed with how good the ball handling was from all players. Verrell did some impressive stuff below his knees and it just shows he's got some skills which are rare in big men. He may be a key position player prospect as well as a ruck. His issue is his stamina, he couldn't play ruck at AFL level purely based on not being able to get to enough contests. McAdam is another to impress. He's just got that magical indigenous ability to make the difficult look easy and I'm really looking forward to seeing what he can do. But he was another struggling with his running so that will be a watch. As others have said The Kolt has swagger but it doesn't look like arrogance to me. And he can kick it, both distance and accuracy. He did a really good time trial so looks to have the fitness to play early. Windsor hasn't stood out but what he's done he's done well. Kicking is good and ball handling is clean. I've liked what I've seen Kynan Brown do but he's as skinny as so it will be a while before he's ready even if he's got the skills, and Marty Hore just looks at home. I've been a track watcher for a good long time now and I well remember watching James Strauss train and thinking he could be anything. Training form at this time of year is very problematic in terms of predicting players development but we look pretty good. As I've read the other posters comments the common comment is "I'm looking forward to seeing *insert player* get a go this year. The issue of course is there will be very few spots up for grabs if we have a reasonably fit list. Billings and McAdam can both play and would be in front of the young guys. Howes and Laurie (yes, I'm still a believer) have multiple preseasons under their belt and Woey looked promising last year for a second year player. The question is "who for". I mean how does Kolt get a go? Who does McAdam get in for and Billings as well. Spargo has been impressive. This brings me to my final point. At this time of year we have unbelievable depth with far too few spots for the players. But when we've lost a few games it's more like "we are just swapping the deck chairs on the Titanic". It's groundhog day.

seems like he's hardley reidy for afl footy at this stage

Excellent. I was terribly disappointed with the last quarter or so of our women's season after such an incredible early dominance, but I still look to the next season with us being the most likely side to take another premiership. Knowing we have some absolute top shelf players and characters stable in our leadership is immensely valuable.

Date of Birth: 1 March 1990 Height: 186cm Weight: 94kg Games MFC 2023: 12 Career Total: 197 Goals MFC 2023: 0 Career Total: 14 Games CDFC 2023: 4 Goals CDFC 2023: 0 The veteran defender eked out every ounce of energy in his aging football body and despite injuries that limited the number of his senior appearances, he was still a valuable member of the team right up to the end when he announced his retirement

uf wehk oluhk did gla-tor du, mister foshek?

Does anyone know why Chandler hasn't been to training yet? Or why Salem is in rehab again? Paging @WalkingCivilWar and @Dannyz with the good juice

pick 5 is also pick 2 from the Vic pool

She's definitely the best kick in the AFLW. By far and away!

@Demonstone taking a nap? *they're Can't believe nascent typed that, what a dumbass

I don't agree with underestimating Hunter's worth! Here's a quick comparison with other prominent wingman types. Hunter: games 197, av disposals 23 Ed Langdon: 157, 20 Bailey Smith: 103, 22 Isaac Smith: 280, 21 Josh Daicos: 103, 20

Only if they change the Memorial Cairn to be for Barry Bourke and Tom Wills.

Of course not. Despite the belief held by many posters on this forum that our gameplan has not changed since 2021, it has been adjusted each preseason due to changes in our list and the way the opposition has responded to it. However, once the season gets underway, successful teams adhere to their gameplan, so when players are injured, there are VFL players available to step in and carry out the plan. The issue we faced last season—which I previously discussed—was that we lost so many important players, leaving us shorthanded. The cupboard was bare. It is difficult to suddenly and drastically alter a system that players have become accustomed to and react instinctively to something different, especially during a finals campaign.

Veteran Demonland Trackwatcher Picket Fence endured the sweltering heat on a windy day out at Casey Fields to bring you the following Preseason Training Report. Blustery day at Casey, Ground NOT OPEN?? and the only other people I saw were one bloke on the far side and another Man and Woman also watching around the south Goals, had a small pair of Binoculars but looking through the fence was problematic. NO SHOWS Clarry, Kade Chandler, Petty, and Melky REHAB GROUP Gus, Salem, Bailey Fritsch, and later ……. Koltyn Tholstrup! A group of young players including Caleb Windsor was also on light duties. OSERVATIONS, PLAYER WATCH AND DRILLS INFORMATION Drills were nothing new and involved overlaps, weaves, clean ball handling and picking the correct options. All players looked pretty fit and a few have put on some beef. Among them were Jefferson, Sestan, Farris White, Sparrow and I really liked the look of TRENT RIVERS! After exercises stretches players were practicing goal kicking from various angles, distance and combos of set shots and on the run pivots. After that came an almost full match simulations between Red Kicking with the wind and White kicking against. Reds DOMINATED; however, it was at times difficult to differentiate as quite a few players had different numbers on for example VINES wearing no 3? As well as standing on the outside looking in this set another level of challenge! From the Match sim I have this to report! BEN BROWN will play round 1 barring injury; He looked really good unhampered and ran far and wide kicked plenty of goals and looks a new man. TRENT RIVERS Wow just watching him develop was just mind bending , he has gone to another level with fitness, confidence, poise and belief ran through midfield at times and just shrugged opponents at will. SHANE MC ADAM What an excitement machine knows where to run, almost took the hanger of the year, and kicks the ball beautifully , he will also play round one. JACK BILLINGS What an astute pick up, clever, crafty, uses the ball very well and will slot in as high half forward or maybe wing and did some very nice things. KOZZY PICKET, Did the usual Kossy things. TOM FULLARTON, doesn’t look out of place and is a presence in Ruck and forward. JOSH SCHACHE Bit of a surprise packet for me today was involved kicked a couple of goals and was good in contest. MATHEW JEFFERSON, Has definitely bulked up and did a few nice things and kicked a couple of goals as well. BAILEY LAURIE Was also quite involved in general play, but I don’t know if he just lacks something is it breakaway pace? BLAKE HOWES Also did some good things , took the game on , his disposal was good and he looked quite confident! Other than that T Mac played back but gee he looks slow and I’m not sure where he will sit this year in selections. A few players missed REGULATION goals for example Trac from 40 out directly in from and really this again would not want to be part of our conversion going forward. Was training intensity up or down compared to what I saw last year at this time? I would have to say Slightly less intense than same time and maybe just building gradually. Skills looked sharper and there was a propensity to pick the correct option and seemed to be more creative handball. There was little evidence of Bombing into forward 50, but then again, this needs to be tested at the coalface in games to see if there has been a more systematic entry and conversions that equate to wins. Will try to watch again next week if possible.

As a long term fan of hers it’s sad to see people pile on

Yeah at one of our BBQs at Gosch’s this year she was on the mic with Robbo. It didn’t help that our tent was close to a bank of speakers but holy cr4pp, she was insufferable. We literally couldn’t hear a thing other than her unlistenable voice. Robbo was just as loud but at least he was kind to our ears.

Could have done something and was with a medico, but looked to be running freely

Actually, same here. I’ve spoken to her a few times and she’s not nearly as friendly as the other girls. Also, I’ve never liked how invested she is in her media career, seems like it takes priority over her playing career. I kinda wasn’t surprised to hear she wants to leave us.

When India were touring Australia in the early 90s, I remember one (daubed on Mum's best bedsheet, of course!) that paid tribute to Navjot Sidhu. "Knock knock" "Who's there?" "Sid" "Sidhu?"

We gave the Hawks 16 in the deal roo The big question is which of the top draft picks stay in the Vic only pool. No doubt the afl will try to convince someone to go to GWS. But if we effectively get the 2nd best Victorian that would be a great result. I suspect we’ll ask North for 19 and 38 at a minimum.

Love this. Looking forward to watching Kate develop further as our captain and to Tyla one day taking the helm. With a bit of upheaval coming, it's good to have steady leaders who you can tell are committed to improving themselves and others. As an aside, I hope we get similar detail about the contract lengths of all players signed on. With contracts becoming a bit more meaningful and less likely to be thrown out by expansion stuff, it's good to have transparency about it.

Some prospects that we might look at with pick 2 in the vic pool https://central.rookieme.com/afl/player/brooke-barwick/ https://central.rookieme.com/afl/player/alyssia-pisano/ https://central.rookieme.com/afl/player/jessica-rentsch/ https://central.rookieme.com/afl/player/kristie-lee-weston-turner/ And our f/d selection in Jemma Rigoni https://central.rookieme.com/afl/player/jemma-rigoni/

Max Gawn polled coaches votes in 5 of the first 9 games that the combo played together. All five of those games that he polled were dry weather games. Grundy didn't play well in 2 of the next 3 games (Geelong, GWS and St Kilda) and we all know how bad the weather was in 2 of those games. To say the combination didn't work is ignoring what happened in the first half of the season, and Goodwin made a selection blunder in the dry semi final simply due to valuing T Mac and Schache ahead of Grundy. With that being said, Grundy is a ruck by trade so I have no issue that he chased a starting ruck role at Sydney.

100%. We were very unlucky to lose against the Blues. 2023 was an unlucky year with injuries at the wrong time. What happens in the last game against the Cats in 2021 if Close doesn’t punch the ball over the fence? Sometimes you have the luck and sometimes everything goes against you.

If Birch wants to go to nth then let her. Stoked that Rigoni's daughter will play for us. That's great. Happy Hanks has signed on as well as our captain

You are obviously not OK with my view. You immediately launch the tired accusation that posters like me and others that have a similar view are wearing coloured glasses if we don't agree with your view. Its kids playground stuff. It is simple to say that the game plan is the issue without providing any support or logic. Its lazy commentary. I find it unbelievable that you then double down on it and gloat about how perceptive you have been over the previous two years. Are you that single-minded that you cannot accept other explanations for the recent failures in finals?

Speaking of Afridi - not Shaheen, but Shahid - some of the funniest crowd signs I’ve ever seen were in regards to him. My faves were “Be Afridi, be very Afridi” and “Thank God it’s Afridi” 😂

Has anyone ever seen Harry and Jed together in the same room?

Drones anyone?? Sorry, but Josh is still nailed to the bench, never to be released.

Sparrow is a totally different player to JJ. He is much more dynamic, much more damaging with his ball use, and has a good burst of speed. JJ lacks those things, which made him surplus to our needs. Accumulating possessions in our midfield is not a valued skill when you have the likes of Clarry and Viney getting 30+ touches a week every week. I wish JJ the absolute best at Sydney. He is a lovely, hard working kid and I totally get why he left.

Big fans, but Bowzer and Salo need to work on their contested stuff...

Let’s hope the coaches allow him to play further up the ground and be more aggressive. We’ve missed his dare since his breakout 17 games.

But are you sure? I suspect that one of the reasons for our closed sessions is that deep down under the Casey Snake Pit we are cloning players only to release them on alternative game days. Secretly the match committee meet and decide which one of our clones will play it's obvious... why else would we be training in secret half way to Gippsland !!

Hopefully these injuries are a result of acclimatising to rigorous afl training rather than durability issues. I would hate to see the young man’s career cruelled by injury.

2024 draft prospect, Harvey Langford is training with the Dee's for a week: Harvey Langford (Dandenong Stingrays) Midfielder/Forward | 188cm | 15/03/2006 Langford put together a stellar bottom-aged campaign with Dandenong, averaging 22 disposals and just under a goal per his 14 games. His consistency through the middle stages of the Talent League season was outstanding, standing up as a young leader in the Stingrays side. In terms of style, he’s a strong stoppage player with clean hands and the ability to impact when rotating forward. Intrepid reporters and fence jumpers might get a glimpse if they venture out to Casey in the next week. If so, we'd love to hear from you - @stinga @picket fence @waynewussell and any others!

Go you Lil Red Fire Engine.

Now we just need relief at the other bowser...

Mooney did at least take the ground, long enough to be hip-and-shouldered by Koutafides and sold a dummy by Silvagni. Brushed shoulders with the greats, he did. Oh, and gave away a free kick. So, technically, you could say Jordon had a better game than Mooney. Heh, there's a funny coincidence; both Byron and Kysaiah Pickett played in an early-career premiership alongside a player who got no disposals in the game. Also coincidental - Pickett's 2-kick 2-handball game in the winning 2004 prelim final is exactly the same as Pickett's 2-kick 2-handball stats from the winning 2021 grand final. Now, a better coincidence would be 'winning a Norm Smith medal in a win over the reigning premiers after your club has been knocked out of finals two seasons in a row despite top-4 finishes.'

How is this decision akin to not doing the right thing by supporters?! They’re not obligated to hold open sessions. Especially if there are plans to try out new things. If we can see all they do, so can the media and the opposition. Also, the past three months? You mean for our finals campaign? Or for Joel’s and Clarrie’s situations? Or all of the above? The Club owes us supporters a grand total of squat.