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Stormbringer Song by Deep Purple Comin' out of nowhere, drivin' like rain Stormbringer dance on the thunder again Dark cloud gathering, breaking the day No point running 'cause it's coming your way Ride the rainbow Crack the sky The DEES ARE A coming Time to die Got to keep running Stormbringer coming They got all that you need THE DEES WILL MAKE TEAMS bleed Oh, yeah, yeah You know their gonna get you Rainbow shaker on a stallion twister Bareback rider on the eye of the sky DEES are a coming down, meaning to stay Thunder and lightning heading your way Ride the rainbow Crack the sky Stormbringer coming Time to die Got to keep running THOSE DEES ARE coming They got all that you need VINES gonna make you bleed (yeah) Hmm-mmm, oh-oh, yeah Comin' out of nowhere, drivin' like a-rain Stormbringer dance on the thunder again Dark cloud gathering, breaking the day No point running 'Cause CLARRYS coming your way 'Cause MAXXY coming your way 'Cause FRITTA'S coming your way 'Cause it's coming your way 'Cause it's coming your way BUUP BUP BUP BUP BUP BUP BUP BARRRRRRRR DA DA ( Ritchie's Guitar wail at the end!!😁 NO SHOWS/ REHAB PETTY, MELKS, HUNTER, FULLARTON,JEFFERSON, Not sure I saw SALEM CLARRY and VERRELL both doing a POWER OF RUNNING and sheeeeit does CLARRY look mean, fit and PUMPED MATCH SIMULATION NOTES Full match simulation of 4 quarters I which I saw 3 quarters WINDSOR ... an abslute LOCK for round one, really surprised me with his turn of speed, precision set ps and pin piont disposal, might become our best ball user and Wow has he got some X FACTOR DISCO TURNER ... probably the best I have seen him in match sims, deft movements, a turn of speed and makes very sound decisions JACK BILLINGS … another LOCK for ROUND 1 just uses it so well, makes excellent position and his decision making was fantastic SHANE MC ADAM … took not 1 not 2 but 3 MARKS OF THE DAY, will complement Fritta magnificently, just knows where to position himself, very very dangerous arond goal and will be an absolute SURPRISE packet ED LANGDON ... HAD IT ON A STRING , Elusive, quick, precise and typical Langdon run all day ANDY MONIZ-WAKEFIELD ... Again I mention him and although quieter later was heavily involved of the back flank, wing and anywhere else, CAN PLAY SPARGY PANTS ... The Salt and Pepper man was in everything, played very well and bobbed up all day TAJ WOEWODIN … A lot to like, gets involved is fearless and sets up the play very very well. One to definately keep an eye on KYNAN BROWN … Just NEVER GIVES IN, just gives and Gives with second and third efforts, good skill set and elusiveness SHACHE ATTACKY … Did some very good things took some marks, was very competetive with Max and although overshadowed, I can ALMOST see him playing round 1 based on today ONE WORD SUMMATIONS MAX, Outstanding KOSSY Freakish TOMLINSON Belongs VINES Beast MAY Fearless LEVER Methodical TRACC Superstar A lot going right, very high standard game and one which should give the selectors plenty to think about in the coming weeks. Cheers PF P.S Saw one Slthera dead on the road , but still wisely went around it! 😱

I headed down to Casey for a few hours this morning whilst I was “out seeing a client” 😉. It was hard to tell who was who on occasion as a lot of them didn't have numbers on the jumpers and were wearing caps. So go easy if I botch a few things here. I’ll do my best to share my observations. I arrived around 9.40 and the drills were underway. Clarry was running at a solid pace for most of the session and according to the man himself he thinks he is a “couple of weeks away” from joining the main group. Will Verrall did quite a solid amount of running along the boundary with Clarry and didn’t look far off. Viney wasn’t participating in the drills when I first arrived but joined shortly after and played through the entire match sim later in the session. Whatever he limped off with the other day clearly is no issue. Fullarton also jogged for about an hour and didn’t seem to be uncomfortable but was at minimal pace. Salem was hanging around near the interchange bench for a while during match sim, but he did not train at all to my knowledge. I didn’t see Petty, Bowey, BB, Hunter, Melky, or Smith at all. They may have been on the far side of the ground from me or inside on the bikes, but as far as I can tell none of them participated today. Jefferson participated in a few drills, but I didn’t notice him after the first 20 minutes. There were about 30 mins or so of ball movement drills before the good stuff started! Match Sim was made up of 3, 20 minutes “quarters” and there was AFL Umpires there to officiate. The teams started off with what seemed to be a mix of the best 22 and depth players on both sides, with the starting backs lined up on the starting fwds. Having said that the blue team was clearly stronger through the middle, even with Gawny and a few others on team white. After the first 2 “quarters” there was a changeup in teams and the blue team was stacked with our likely best 22. Interestingly ANB, Billings and Thommo all lined up in for the white team. Some interesting inclusions on team blue included Windsor on the wing and Howes and Macca playing down back. Macca looks fit and held his own today. Thommo and Disco might be stuck in Casey for a while longer it seems, although both did some nice things. Our key defensive depth looks great…. The key forwards on the other hand look very thin. Roo was quiet today but is a great focal point when moving the ball forward. However as good as he is as a target, we really need another Key Fwd to step up or it might be much of the same in 2024. There seemed to be a focus on scoring quickly and coming from behind in this period, The white team were given a 30 odd point lead for the blues to hunt down, which they did comfortably. At one point during match sim Laurie received the ball during a center square stoppage and blasted it forward in a hurry. Chappy then yelled out, “Connect Bill, Connect!” I liked this as it shows they are working on a major issue we have had for the past 2 seasons. A work in progress but at least a sign they are addressing it. I was pleasantly surprised with our game style today, I thought the ball movement looked much faster then previous years and they used the corridor quite often too, this had mixed results but that's to be expected. Although Blue dominated the session, I must say there were some good signs from our younger brigade and depth players. All the draftees took part in the match Sim and showed signs of what they could become. Really liked Kolts energy and attitude, a future leader in the making IMO. Kynan had some very nice moments and looks like an absolute work horse, just goes, and goes. And Windsor…. Ill get back to this lad. Taj lined up in quite a few CBAs and did some nice things when faced up against our starting Mids, He really stood out to me today, as did Laurie. Positive signs aside, Gawn, Track, Viney & Gus were our starring 4 for blue at this point, and they looked levels above the opposition. Overall, the standard was to good watch and I left with optimism for the season and our future with our youngins all showing a bit. Just some notes on individuals: ANB - Undoubtably starting 22, he was BOG for white by a country mile IMO. Great player for our young players to watch and learn from. Kosi – Everything he touches turns to gold. He really stands out with everything he does. He does stuff that no one else on the list can. Track - looks to be in extremely good nick and was just a powerful beast all day. Viney - Seemed completely unhindered to me and at times untouchable. Kicked a very nice goal during match Sim. Gus – Looks to be fine after his big knock. Played a mix of halfback and midfield. I really like the look of him in the guts and should stay there until Clarry is back IMO. Track, Oliver, Viney, Gus should be our priority mids in 2024. Elite! Windsor – I will be shocked if he doesn’t play round 1. It’s the first time I have seen him play live in any form and he looks like a ripper. Used the ball well, ran hard to give and receive, competed better than expected in the contest and just looked like he belongs. I may have just caught him on a good day and his consistency might not be there yet, but I am a fan already. A shoe in to take Hunter’s role, just a matter of when. Sparrow – I know some on here are big Tommy fans, but from what I saw today he is in danger of losing his spot to one of the young and hungry up and comers if he doesn’t improve. He just seems to have stagnated. Taj, Kynan, Kolt, Lauire could all push him out if he is not careful. Schache – Never been a fan of this bloke, however I must admit he impressed me today. Got bullied a tad in the ruck Vs Gawn but that’s to be expected. He shouldn’t have to go up against many starting rucks at AFL level and from what I saw today he may well be our backup ruck/fwd this year. He had a great moment when he competed in the ruck with Gawn, smothered an attempted clearance kick then followed up with a big tackle locking it in. The boys and coaches loved it! Laurie – Thought he was a mile off the pace in his AFL games last year but looks to have stepped it up bigtime. He found a lot of the ball and looked clean, calm, and effective. Howes – Not sure if he will play down back in the AFL but during the drills and match sim he had moments that made you take notice. The kid can play, just not sure how he gets a look in. McAdam – Took a few BIG marks, one on poor old Gawnys back. He must be getting sick of that! McAdam will add to our forward line potency for sure. He didn’t get a huge amount of it but he was impactful. Looks the goods. Spargo – Looks super fit and was his creative self. Big fan! Lever – Loved his voice and leadership, I still think he will be our captain one day. Gawn – Dominated the ruck and was never out marked as expected. Today did highlight how badly we need to ruck depth ASAP though. Anyhow, it was a great morning, and I am excited for the season to start! I’ll do my best to answer Any questions you lot may have! GO DEES!

Some observations from my DA buddy who’s at Casey right now… Maysie and Vines are training with the main group.👍🏽 Schache attack going really well up against Maxy. Caleb Windsor will play in opening round (that’s a lock-in 😂) Clarrie has been running all morning. Looking good but still has a ways to go. The match sim is underway right now, after which the boys have a “HUGE running session” lined up, according to one of the training staff. (They’re gonna just luuuurve that! 😅 especially Maysie who recently told me he f*****g HATES running) It seems it’s the ‘A’ team vs the ‘B’ team. B team actually holding their own. Caleb is in the A team. Kolt is in the B team. TMac in the A team. BTW, where are our track-watchers this morning? Apparently it’s a case of “Windsor… Wow. Just wow.” He and Tracc together = amazing

I'm just going to add to the Windsor love in, I've been on long service leave so I've been able to attend most sessions and he's just got better and better as each week goes by. The confidence he has to take on the game is great to see, he's an exciting prospect.

Thanks Picket Reckon we might have 30 starting round 1 at this rate! 😊

Can't speak for other trackwatchers but usually if I don't mention somebody it's not necessarily because they weren't noticed or aren't training well it could just because they are doing exactly what is expected of them by training hard and diligently. Judd is exactly that. He's a kid that trains hard and does all the right things. He is one of our better users of the footy. I haven't been to the Friday Casey match SIMs, which I guess is the closest thing to match conditions at training as opposed to the Wednesday 13 on 13 end to end "circle work", so I haven't had a chance to see Judd the defender in match conditions at training so I can't critique his defending abilities under the closest thing to the pressures of a game. Having said that I have no doubt he will continue on the trajectory we saw him begin last season. We have a good one here in Knuckles.

Some electrifying moments from Windsor 😳

I don't think we would even be having this discussion if Sam had a different surname.

I have never seen Sam play but isn’t he an 18yo KPF who didn’t get drafted? They take time. 2 or 3 years in our system before they get a game seems to be the norm (assuming they are good enough). Doesn’t seem a wise LTI replacement for mine.

Live scenes from Casey

In fairness to Tom he just returned to the main group after a couple of weeks in rehab. It might take some time to hit his stride.

HEY WCW................. STAND BY, A P.F SPECIAL COMIN YOUR WAY!!

Caleb’s aunt is a QLD-based Demon Army member. When the fixture was released I asked her if I’d be seeing her at opening round. She said no because she’s saving her money so as she can come to Melbourne home games to watch Caleb “if he gets a game in the firsts next year (2025) hopefully maybe even the end of this year.” I just messaged her “Might be seeing you at opening round after all.” 😁

I love the bloke. I hope he finishes top 10 in their B & F. But I do also hope he hits Fritsch on the chest again when we play them. 😁

Was a standout according to reports in the Dogs match sim up at Maroochydore. Kicked 4 goals.

Let's not forget the kick to Dean Kent at Optus which Kent then goaled from to seal our first finals appearance in 12 years. IMO just as good as the Grand Final effort.

Does the MFC have a policy that every video clip must be accompanied by loud, shizen music?

Windsor on about 250 supercoach points judging by those highlights

Thanks Andy. Yeah, it's hard to keep an eye on every player, every session so I don't expect him to feature all the time, but appreciative of the report nonetheless. I have a soft spot for the kid, a real gem unearthed and importantly seems like a genuine and kind kid. Thanks again.

Thanks Brenna MD and all posters a great cross section of DL love the reports, observations and special comments.

Great report, but on Sparrow I’m happier to know he’s back in the main stuff than I would be concerned on the back of one training. Has been out of the main drills for a while so I’d imagine there’s some rust

Oh that’s so funny it hurts. And so original, too! 🙄 Anyways, apparently he’s going toe to toe with Max today and definitely NOT disappointing. I’ve been noticing, like most of the boys, he’s really toned up and is looking pretty strong. Also, on Wednesday, he was receiving praise from the coaches and at one point out in the middle all the boys applauded him and some were patting him on the back.

They have this part of training every session where the noobs (rookies and new to the Club) train together away from the main group. My mate is excited about Caleb… right now he’s NOT in the noobs group as he usually is… he’s with the main group!

Do we think Schache is a genuine chance for round 1 as ruck/forward? I don't mind it personally if he's upped his physicality, as he is super mobile.

I thought he was good mate. Not a stand out today for me but he uses the ball beautifully. Another one that is locked in the 22 come round 0 IMO

Fair call on his interrupted summer. My critique isn't just based on today though. I just feel he hasn't quite come on as I thought he would have since 2021. Still young however and capable of getting there. Its equally a observation on the younger guys looking good and fighting for a spot. Good problem to have.

Using my eyes? The first is a long hoof to Gawn by himself on the defensive team, that’s about the worst inside 50 kick you can make in footy. The second involves Langdon having to stop and prop only to chip it what I assume isn’t 15 with a kick Tracc makes look good. Harder to no just how bad that is without context but it’s not the free flowing ideal connection you’d prefer to see

hopefully this is just a Kossie pump up video and not reflective of our inside 50’s overall, because these are not good

I take your point DC but Windsor will be introduced into the team in a similar way to Riv, Jacko, Kozzi and bowser. The coaches have managed the debutante’s extremely well so far.😁

EXACTLY DEMONLAND😇

Thanks WCW for your relayed report very entertaining and picket fence for venturing out to slithersville, very upbeat and informative. Sounds like Windsor is rewarding our recruitment team for their confidence in taking him at No. 7. A lot of knowledgeable posters on this site have been calling out for some outside pace and silky skills to improve our I50 delivery, The Duke, Bowser, Spargs, Billing’s, Kozzie and maybe McAdam can improve this weakness in our game plan.

Fantastic report. And Deep Purple rule 💜

I would hope so but not holding my breath. Ashcroft dominated junior footy which you cannot say the same about Windsor. First year breakout players are incredibly rare and having that type of expectation is bound to result in disappointment.

with the ball, i hope you mean

Where the F is my training report???

Maybe more a sign of poor judges

Take emotion out of it and from a football perspective explain how it makes sense?

Demonland posts are getting dumb & dumber. First a Tim English wild goose chase then this rubbish. Some posters should get a life.

AFL Journo's posting trade rumours on Feb 1st

Pickets got some Authorship licence going. Tough act to follow.

Yep I definitely saw the positive side last week. He was touted as an outside player and yet his attack on the ball was just as good as any other player. He had the added bonus of being silky smooth, quick and accurate. If there is any knock on him I couldn’t see it.

They'll get there, be nice. They need our support, it is not a competition. Grateful for any input. Thanks for conveying your mates observations.

This is great to hear, been mixed reviews so far. Hopefully it's a sign that he's a quick learner?

I would assume that most welcome backs were done in the change rooms. The Goody interaction might have occurred on the field because Goody might not have been in the change rooms with the players.

Just my observation as the players entered the field, on Wednesday. I am not going to write stuff that fits an agenda. Others watchers at training could have responded to the question about the players group interactions with him, from the Jackson FIX. How is Clarry interacting with the players? An observation is easy to understand, or perhaps I missed stuff. Oliver was one of the first ones out there, and none made a beeline towards him other than Goody. My guess is they wanted his return to be low key, or/and welcomes were done in the sheds.

What a sad sight it is… the sub running laps in an empty stadium after a loss, especially when it’s raining. 😭

How cool, a Bubba Nibs and Bubba Kozzie. Mama Nibs’ tracker has Baby Nibs clicking up 22.3km of inside belly turning this week, 121 sucks of the thumb and 76 kicks with 100% efficiency. Good work WCW.

IMO his disposal fell apart. His turnovers made him unplayable. A very good Demon for a long time and wish him well at his new club.