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I made it down there yesterday but was flat out heading back Nth to write before now. I was planning a big one but there are so many excellent track reporters nowadays most of it's been covered. But here's a few comments. Poor old Jason Taylor had the misfortune of being identified by me. He was standing a bit away from the coaching section. So much for a nice quiet uninterrupted observation of training. I'm afraid I wasn't going to let Demonland down by letting him get away with that. In summary he laughed when I said it must be a bit like watching his babies run out on the field and strange so soon after just picking them. I asked him what expectations were there about when Lindsay might play. He said Oh well he's coming off a PCL and won't join in full training till mid Jan so it will be a while. I mentioned that Johnson seemed to be doing incredibly well at keeping up with the running especially as he's just come in. He said Yeh, he loves running and is a really good runner. Amazing for me given how most players who have come over from other clubs haven't been able to get close to the MFC running when they start in pre season and this guy's come in from only one season of VFL and is way more up to speed than any of them. He looks particularly agile and quick off his feet. Firstly I haven't managed to get to training since before Covid. The first thing I noticed is how much bigger they are now than I have seen in the past. A few years ago they had a real emphasis on running over strength and the squad had collectively trimmed down. It is noticeable they have bulked up again but I would say with more refined training practices nowadays they are probably running better than they did then. Secondly Viney's leadership really stood out. It's interesting that others picked up that Max was taking a bit of a back seat. But it's been interesting that Vines has turned up from day one of the 1st to 3rd years and has led them all the way. Today he was very noticeably leading all over the ground. When his group finished their 2km's he stayed on his feet when everyone else was collapsed and he walked around to every player in the group and patted them and gave them words of encouragement. His fitness was also right up there in the running. Thirdly. Clarry. I noticed in photos I've seen since they've started back that he's still got that bulkiness he had last year. Then in the 2km he was lagging off the back of his group. I was thinking this really isn't looking that great. But near the end of the session they did multiple 120m run throughs and he led his group in everyone of them and that's at the end of a very tough session. Sigh of relief. Don't worry about Clarry he's clearly done the work in the off season. Fourthly, I don't know why I'm numbering these points. Pointless. Oh well. Kossie blitzed his 2km group. He's really done the work this off season and I get the feeling he's realised he needs to make the most of his god given talent. I'm picking him to have a special season. Fourthly, others have mentioned Harry Sharp. His running was extraordinary. It wasn't just that he blitzed the group with his endurance but he's that very rare combination of speed and endurance. I have no doubt he will replace ANB's role and end up being an upgrade with better pace and skills. There's a lot to learn to get up to ANB's contribution though. I thought he was leading the B & F earlier in the season. Fifthly Jefferson has really bulked up since last season. He has a mature AFL footballers body now. A lot rests on him making it as a viable key forward. It's been such a long time since we've been able to develop one from the draft other than JVR. Windsor was surprisingly lagging back in the 2km but then again he's coming back from a long term injury but I thought he would have been up to speed by now. I can't believe he will be played anywhere than the wing. So few players know now to play that role and he's walked in from day one nailing it. No doubt in the off season players get moved around to play different positions to learn them. Wingers often play deep in defence and off half back in transition so it makes sense for him to be doing that. The role nowadays is all about transition now anyway. Kentfield took me a while to pick up. He didn't stand out so much in height and build. He's a very strange build. He's huge around the hips and [censored] and it's almost like his body which is much skinnier sits on top of his hips. It was interesting to see Selwyn Griffith walking around the boundary doing menial things like placing posts in the ground. It just shows you how they run on such short staffing nowadays. Its just appalling the AFL haven't lifted the coaching soft cap back up by now. Go Dees. I have to say that this time last year I was supper flat and pessimistic about the coming season. Mind you there was a lot of turmoil then. I feel very different this preseason. There's minimal injuries. There's clearly articulated recognition of the failings in the gameplan that is being addressed with changes in the coaching staff which didn't happen last season. I have a gut feeling that Jefferson is going to start performing in 2025. I'm picking Tholstrop to be a big improver. Kossie looks like he's done a power of work over the break. He had a pretty ordinary 2024 so hopefully he goes to next level. We have Maxy back up next year in Campbell. Langford will at the very least add desperately needed depth to the midfield that we didn't have this year. Onwards and upwards Dees.

Stafford primarily trained them to dance around each other (starting from a clumped position), so as to create mismatches and separation. I always thought it was Ringa-ringa-rosi action. He also emphasised the one on one contest, between players. Mainly concerned with talls. Never set himself close to the ball delivery players, always micro managing deep in the 50 area. Big change with Chaplin and all. He brings the mids and forwards together. Can be seen outside the 50 giving direction as well in the 50. When he does one on one, with the players or as an opponent himself, he is more certain as to what he wants. Stafford was a little bit of an encourager. Troy wants separation and smarts, getting fast explosive movement with timing. Great to see him drill the crumbers, two smalls at the feet. Still some leading patterns into the boundary, though could be more about the delivery and not kicking out on the full. Other patterns are straight leads, or off out the back. Some delivery is with angles and some are short hit ups for better percentage shots. Movement is paramount. I think and hope there are more "tricks" to come.

Enjoy.

I’ve got a personal connection to Roy as well and that’s the common theme - he’s a top guy who is jovial and engaging but willing to work super hard. Comes from a broader friendship group of Kozzy which can only be a good thing them both having Roy at the club currently.

Yep, agree. Though his technique is not text book - he has a bit of the tracc high ball drop. But he is often kicking when running flat out, which makes it harder to nail kicks. Very coachable and driven, so I agree he'll improve. Kid is a total gun. Aside from gis obvious talent, he has something else about him too -at the risk of sounding wanky, he has an elite mindset. He will make the most of his talent and improve his game year on year. There was an example of his focus, and the standards he sets for himself in a game at the g, i can't recall which. He missed a set shot with a shank. He had another opportunity from a similar spot and was really deliberate in his set up. Nailed it. The club deserves massive kudos for a rebuild whilst noone was watching. At some point early next season top end draft talent from the last two drafts in the Duke, Kolt, Langford and XL will play together. The last time we had that sort of young talent playing together was tracc (but not 'till his second year because of his acl), clarry, viney and gus a decade ago when we were cellar dwellers. And unlike those four, the new fantastic four are coming into a side that boasts premiership players, players with mutiple AA blazers and a raft of 21 -23 year old guns like koz, jvr, mcvee and Turner (who is my tip for our break out player). Exciting times.

I’ve met Roy before. Twice interstate at the airport, both times he was with Kozzie. Yesterday I didn’t recognise him so when he came over to say hello he reminded me that we’ve met before. Therefore I just thought he was that goofy cheeky friend of Kozzie’s. I didn’t know he was a player himself. Richo came over and shook his hand and said “all good for this week?” They chatted for a minute then Richo said, “ we’ve just gotta finalise the paperwork and that.” Richo walked away and Roy looked at me with that raised eyebrows look that says it’s all happening. I said “is Richo adopting you? Is he gonna be your Dad?” We laughed and that’s when he explained the situation. There definitely wasn’t any ‘Casey vibes’ about it.

I've seen him play a few games at Tyntynder after finishing up my time there a couple years back. Very exciting to watch and seems to just make the players around him stand still whilst he zigs and zags between. I actually don't think he is as good as Kayle Kirby who came from the club a few years before. Kayle played some wonderful footy in the VFL before getting a game with the pies. Kayle was a better kick and only just made it where as Roy is far more professional and more likely to get the best out of himself. He's a ripping kid, full of life and laughs to make himself known and enough dedication on and off the track to give it a crack.

It’s hard to skip posts when a bloke posts 15 of 20 on end. You’re an argumentative bloke by nature. Give it a rest, it’s excruciatingly boring

I fully understand that it is still very very early in the pre-season but I cannot help but compare it the the same time last year. The injuries were already stacking up and there were a multitude of negative stories re Oliver. I hope we continue the run through the pre-season in the way that we have started it. All very positive. big thank-you to all of the training reporters and photographers.

Spaz (and pretty much every OG player) looks lean and perfectly toned, muscly but not bulky, sorta ‘streamlined’ and in general, agility has improved. It’s incredible how markedly different some of them look compared to this past season. Even players like Vines and Melks who have been in amazing shape all along are looking in the best shape of their careers. Honestly, it’s astounding how incredibly fit and toned they are. Even Bowser’s rocking an impressive six-pack. According to one of the Club physiotherapists it’s due to the conditioning program and a focus on increasing stamina. And it’s clearly paying off because when they run to the boundary for drinks between drills there’s no apparent signs of excessive fatigue; no one struggling to suck in air, no one grimacing, no bloated red faces and no vomiting, which would be forgiven and even expected such was the intensity and length of the session coupled with the relentless heat (the sun went behind a tiny cloud only once giving a whole 60 seconds of relief 😅). Shane Mc is also in amazing shape. He’s been training “full on” since preseason started, not with the main group (as we know) but just as strenuous. He’s in a really good place mentally as well. Definitely the most confident and upbeat since he joined us. Methinks our psychologists are killing it.

This is Roy George (not to be confused with the pop icon of the 80s, first name Boy). No, he doesn’t have a ‘TEXT’ face tattoo, that’s just me trying to caption the pic in the blinding sunlight. He was at training to support Koz. They’re either very close friends or possibly related… cousins(?). He’s gonna train with us on Wednesday and/or Friday and is hoping to get a contract. Richo is finalising the “paperwork.” Doesn’t necessarily means it’s a cert. Roy trained with Freo but it didn’t end well coz he “stuffed up.” He was living in WA but now lives in Melbourne. Kolt introduced himself to Roy, he welcomed him and they seemed to get along really well. Kolt is a future captain. Speaking of Kolt… he has the flu, so if it’s just track-watchers in attendance on Wednesday and no one else, we’ll know who to blame 😅 Anyways, Roy confirmed what we all know and what some of us knew all along… Kozzie was NEVER going anywhere, it was never a consideration. His little family is happy and settled in Melbourne.

👀

Looks like Goody ordered a number 5 and number 9 too

Don't feed the troll people

Sorry if this has already appeared, but one of my favorite Dees/Oaks players! The Ray Carr Story

I suspect you are both right. Max said recently the FD Review highlighted a need to develop young leaders. Max will hand over the captaincy in the next year or maybe two and it would be remiss to not have a succession plan for him and other leaders. What is being observed gives the young guys a chance to 'audition' for the leadership positions.

What a fabulous / positive thread …….. and it hasn’t been derailed once by needless one-up man-ship. A real pleasure to read. Huge thanks to all contributors!

I'm a bit late to the party but I made it down to training today and the boys were really put through their paces. The time trials were interesting. Harvey went out hard and held on well only to be overtaken by a few of the mature boys but he's fit enough to play AFL. Clarrie was at the back of his group but only by a small margin but he was totally spent at the end of it and I thought he was going to be sick. But then to my surprise he was up and at it in all the later drills. Interestingly they all did the time trials with shirts off and reports of Clarrie being overweight are grossly exaggerated, he might not be at his thinnest but he is far from fat. He looked in very good shape to me and as others have reported he's in good spirits. He was in the same group as Kolt who beat him but interestingly when all that group finished they fell to the ground in exhaustion but the Kolt didn't. He stayed on his feet and encouraged the others to get up. Leadership written all over this kid. Sesso also seems to have slimmed down well and is running much better than previous years. I don't think he's there yet but he's made big steps towards AFL fitness and if he continues as he is he might be a smokey for R1 when Koss is out. Verrall is really struggling in the running. He was a long way back in the time trial and in the end one of the trainers ran with him to keep him company. He really needs to get that right because he's way below AFL fitness at the moment and he's now entering his third preseason. I'm not suggesting he's not putting in the effort, just that he really struggles with this sort of running. Interesting in later running drills he was keeping up much better which was a positive. I was also interested in Aidan Johnson's performance. He looked pretty comfortable out there and kept up well in the time trials and other running. Beyond that I didn't really notice him much in the drills. To my surprise Petts is training with the backs as is Windsor. McVee is there too so it would seem that Duke and Knuckles won't be in the midfield this year which is against expectations. I don't see how Petts, May (who does look like he's been in a good paddock) Lever and Tmac fit in the one backline and it's hard to see Tmac missing out because he is in the best knick I've ever seen him. He's moving really well, he's really lean, his ball handling and kicking is good and his lateral movement is better than for a while and I'd suggest that's as a result of his feet being injury free. I've been to all but one session and he's the standout so far for me but I'm a big fan so perhaps I'm bias. Beyond that it was a great day for the track watcher I didn't think. Lots of little drills which didn't really show much and the boys were spread out all over the field making it hard to get an overall picture. I liked what I saw from Langford who to my eye didn't appear much taller than Clarrie when I saw them standing together but it's hard to tell given Clarrie's hair. Fritter was doing heaps of running at a very good clip and he did it for a long time. He looks really fit so I've no idea what his issue is. McAdam also did a fair bit of running and looked comfortable and he looks in good condition. I wonder if they just want to get him really fit before throwing him into full training and exposing his body to the level of stress. I can confirm previous report on Sparrow. He looks really lean and he was running really well. I think he may have got a rocket at the end of last season, he looks a new player. Billings also looked really fit. I'm going again on Wednesday and hopefully they'll do a bit of full field ball movement which is where I think you can judge players more critically. Boy was it humid at training today, skills were pretty good given the level of fatigue and the conditions.

He could help with building the Culture of the Club.

Good content… on the MFC socials? What is happening 😱

I'm joining some dots here, and I may be way off the mark. I'm not worried by that because no harm will be done sharing this. I've got the impression that big Max has taken a step back from the captaincy role he has filled so admirably. He needed to get away from it all. He was definitely worn out by the turmoil swirling around MFC in 2024, he said as much. I felt he was happy to take a back seat during the community camp, and I get the same feeling watching recent sessions at Gosch's paddock. Happy to be wrong on this... but we may see a transition in leadership in 2025. Shoot me down!

I'm making this assumption based on zero information. But I think we actually 'hid' George this year. I think we invited him down to Casey to get some exposure and see how he'd go, then realise soon enough in his performances that he had AFL traits immediately which meant we then had to hide him again. If some remember he played a couple of earlier games then completely vanished without any fuss. We've then told him not to nominate for the draft as that would have increased the risk of him being picked up by anyone in an open draft with the promise that we would be inviting him down to trial for us. It now makes sense why we chose not match the bid on Riak Andrew and I have absolutely no doubt that we still wouldnt have selected Andrew even if he had gotten through to the rookie draft. We deliberately kept that Category B spot open with the thought all this time that we would be inviting George down to then trial and have fitst dibs on him. This is all guesswork on my behalf.

It's always nice to go down to a December session and see the newbies who do the odd drill, but spend most of the time looking from afar as they are handled with kid gloves - they are 18 after all. For me there were a few standouts that my eyes were drawn to on more than one occasion. One of the first to the track was a thinner, younger looking T-Mac and during all the drills, and the running he looked sprightly - It's ben a long time since I've picked him out as one of our best at training, but there you are. His protein diet must be working because he looked skinnier in the legs. The second player that I kept spotting was Kynan Brown. He was noticeable in the 2km run when he was second to Harry Sharp and he was crisp and evasive in all the drills, his only problem being a couple of errant bounces where he must have chosen some hard turf as the ball sprung back past him twice. I was bullish about Kynan last year when I felt he deserved a proper game (not 30 seconds off the bench as sub) and I am going to be even louder now. He looks ready and Werridee, it's time to amend your team (version 7656) and get him in. The third player you can't keep your eyes off is Clayton Oliver and it's not just the copious amount of sunscreen he wears. He seems to be making an early point this build-up to say, I'm a tackling god again, take me on at your expense. Sure he isn't the fastest in the 2km, but he is the fastest at reading the play - poor Toby Sinnema happened to be in his group when one of the few drills with tackling permitted happened and was taken down like a lion devouring a young deer. Clayton was back to his omnipresent self, a real livewire at training and I suspect his in-jest tackle on serial sidelines pest, Leo McDonald, will make the Herald Sun tomorrow as their photographer got a lovely shot of him taking on the 3yo. Congrats to Toby Sinnema who dusted himself off from Clayton's attack and then made two great tackles himself. Sinnema is from Dandening and is 16 and presumably was brought down to keep Kalani company. If he's part of our academy, that's great but if he's not, then unfortunately you will need to go down to Punt Rd to see him play in 2026, as he's a top-5 cert in my eyes - unless he doesn't grow. As with others, spotting Kalani White was easy - he's 200cm tall, looks like a young Sam Darcy and he kicks like his dad Jeff, giving the ball way to much hangtime. But that will be trained out of him, especially if he hangs around Steven May rather than Dimma and co. He also has the White-family leap, so he's a project to behold. But sadly though if you were a betting man, then you'd say he ends up staying with his mates on the Gold Coast. But that's a topic for others. Kalani was a little tentative and that's OK, he just turned up for his first session with a bunch of men, most of whom he's never met before. But gees, it would be great if he chose us. The other person to draw your attention was Trac, who was back with his trademark smile along with quite a bit of gasping, especially after the 2km time trial. He's lost a bit of fitness, but I reckon he'll pick it up again pretty soon and he clearly had that air of a club great about him every time he got the ball in drills, spinning it around like Andrew Gaze between each kick. He also imparted a bit of wisdom on Harvey Langford and Ricky Mentha - he's not too shy to hand out a few instructions, which is great and a sign of leadership that we need. The other highlights that I saw were a supersonic goal on the run under pressure by Trent Rivers, it's your guess where he will play, and a bit of Kossie magic, spinning in and out of trouble as he does with the tribunal regularly. From a haircut perspective, the big change came from Kade Chandler, who has gone for the In the Navy look, although maybe it was part of a charity cut. I better mention Harvey Langford, who is a strong looking individual who did most of the drills with the team, despite being a newbie. There's no way he'll be held back this year. Our other high pick, No.11 Xavier Lindsay, just did running drills, which was fine when he had Shane McAdam and Fritter to keep him company, but he had to go solo with no fitness trainer, for his final 10 run throughs. I know sometimes it's hard to have enough staff and players have to be resilient, but I couldn't help thinking you don't leave an 18yo in his first session at Gosch's Paddock in solitary confinement. Imagine he goes back to his parents place and they say, "how was training?". Does he reply "Great" or does he express his isolation. Finally, there was no real gp distinction with most of the drills today, so positional switches will have to become apparent in later session. But Goody did take all the players (bar the newbies) for one final full-ground session and explained a revolutionary new tactic. It's called the man-on-man defensive strangle. Amazing. Players actually had to man-up. Don't worry, that will never catch on!

Always good content. Not quite as riveting as the 2019 one but getting JT's detailed analysis of why these two guys will be guns is music to the ears. It would be interesting to know where we rated Langford overall. The video is edited a bit. JT mentions Langford being "the next preferred midfielder" so I'm guessing he's referring to Ashcroft or maybe we had Jagga Smith or FOS ahead of him. Anyone else distracted by Goody's fried rice? Like FFS mate just eat it after the cameraman has gone. LOL

I was thinking the idea to play him in defence is odd... but then I think of a player like Max Holmes who I think started on the wing and now has spent time at half back, in the midfield and i think even at half forward? Basically wherever they need the spark. Maybe they think Windsor could do this for us? With Sharp in the team we have another winger already - though it will be interesting to see if they persist with Langdon as a high half forward and/or if any others such as Lindsay or Spargo are ear marked to be part of the wing rotation

if we tried this you know we'd be busted, stripped of picks for the next decade, and be forced to trade every player on more than $500k a year for pennies against the pound gc17 have at least four academy selections in in 2025, including two rated top 5 in the draft, and if they make finals they're only eligible to pick two of them it is hard to picture kalani as a priority for them over the likes of zeke uwland, beau addinsall, and dylan patterson

I have no doubt the heart condition was one thing but I'm not sure he was doing that well transitioning to the full time commitment. Note - that's just my opinion and I don't really have anything to back that up other then seeing him as a chilled out kid who didn't quite have the drive. It's interesting that he has still been playing since and still going wonderfully showing off his talents. I believe he is the nephew of everyone's favourite back pocket Neville Jetta.

Roy was at Casey for a few games last year. He kicked a few goals against Williamstown and looked quite spectacular at times but ran out of puff. He played a few more games during the remainder of the season and was billed as Kozzy's uncle but I'm not sure if that's the case or whether they are bound together in some way that allows him to be described that way. They certainly had some affinity to one another and if he trains with the club on a regular basis, who knows? I think however, it might be a stretch to claim him as a Category B player. Surely, it would be sufficient at this stage for him to be on the Casey list with the opportunity to be taken in the next midseason draft if a list vacancy arises.

Simplistic analysis that ignores Oliver’s strengths. I’d much prefer he stay dominant in the contest and continue to extract the hard ball than chase goals for vanity stats.

"Butttttt...no pressure, Son."

Watched one of his Casey games this year (how many did he play?), and the kid was simply electric - all the skills you can’t teach - whilst seemingly having none of the learned ‘system’ traits. The commentators were beside themselves, so I don’t know how he would’ve have escaped other clubs attention. If he can be taught, and fit in/improve to elite levels, wow!

This is what I think as well. Today Max wasn’t as big a presence as he usually is. If someone watched the session not knowing the team at all and was asked who they thought was captain I reckon they’d name Ricky Lever or Vines or even Kolt before Max. There’s a discernible shift, for want of a better word. You were there today, right? Idk if you saw when Chin held court. Goody told everyone to “gather around Chin” which they did and Chin explained the drill that was to follow (video below). They did this at another session but on that occasion it was Spaz who took the floor. I’m not implying they were ‘auditioning’ or anything, but it’s not something they usually do. https://streamable.com/xzarn4

Nathan is very hands on. Always has a ball, though yet to understand the nuances of his midfield coaching. First thoughts are they are going to be direct, quick, flick the ball round, look for breaking the lines, and finish with precision and/or to advantage kicks Radford is listed as an Opposition Strategy and Education coach, and am not sure yet of the input. He hangs out with the mids is the best I can offer at this stage. Goody seems to be with the mids when he is not observing, or instructing as to how he wants the entire structure set up. Bassett, the backline coach is quite animated and heavily involved with his group. Today, Whitford (I think) VFL coach was down with the backs as well, when they separated into their lines. Working on the spread, and release boundary side. Interesting that the coaches are all working together, joining the mids with either the backs or forwards so the connections are enhanced. The place was full today, difficult to observe and get a gist as to what the patterns and coach inputs. Chaplin (forward drills) and Goody (positioning) have changed the system up the most.

Unless he spends all day lying down... or hanging upside down! He may be 204cm by 7.20pm bounce

Here are some pics of Kalani White from today's training: Early on was doing a kick-to-kick drill with Dees NGA player Toby Sinnema: Kalani and Toby Sinnema chatting with Langford: This was during the football part of the training session after the time trials:

I am very excited to hear that Roy George has been granted permission to train with us over the pre season for a Cat B spot. When I heard he was playing for Casey this year I tapped into my connection at the Tyntynder Football Club where he played majority of his footy this year in the Central Murray Footy league. 'Genuine freak' with freakish and exciting traits which was relayed back to me. Had one game where he apparently tore shred and kicked 6 and then another 4 another week. I watched a few of his Casey games this year where I was surprised how well he adjusted. I remember thinking this kid shows some genuine footy smarts that cannot be taught. Evasive and agility was top notch and you'd think with a professional environment around him he could be an absolute smokey to watch if he applies himself well. Really hope he does well.

A great insight. Thanks Kevie.

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A glorious day to visit Gosh’s to see a training session. Highlights: In the running, Sharp, Pup, Bowey, TMac and Langford all did well. Trac looked like a man amongst boys and also ran strongly. Some of the drills: A zig zag kicking and markng drill, that led to a contested drill where the person on the mark was straight in front, the kicker went straight back but looked at the 45 degree angles to pick out a lead. Think we will go quicker off the mark to players leading from these angles. A contested ball drill. Oliver laid a few beautiful tackles. One passage saw the ball go 3>13>7>16>5 (goal). About as fast as you could read that, too! A forward drill with the bigs contesting and knocking it to ground for a small to sweep ink and either goal, or offload for a goal. Lots of discussion about positioning and strategy. A forward drill concreting on the forward staying in motion, and the small providing a legal block for the forward to roll around and mark. A full ground drill moving the ball fast and good contests between the backs and the forwards. Petty on Roo was worth the watch. Overall, a good session. When things were not going as planned, players were called in and things explained an reset. Some great teaching from the coaches to individuals and lots of good chat and banter amongst the players. Kalani White looks great in Dees colours, and was not out of place. Shane McAdam worked away from the main group, but seemed in good spirits. Cheered hin one as he did some faster laps, got a hey and a smile. Some old guy running around “Working the room” to use his term for it, handing out flyers for the election. Didn’t give me anything, Im obviously not his ‘type’! Will answer any questions that I can.

Well that is good news then, as JT would know the eligibility criteria and it is probably only a matter of if we want to list him. If we haven’t got anyone better in mind, then hopefully we take him and give him his chance with us.

I was at that game against North Melbourne when he booted seven out of our eight goals - an incredible performance. Later on, he was an outstanding junior coach at Ormond and he went on to be the coaches advisor at AJAX juniors where he was successful and innovative in that role.

Thanks all for the great training reports. I especially enjoyed the photos. While they were 'stills' the rapid sequence made the action 'come alive'. It was like being there!

Different roles, both great players. 2 AFL Coaches awards says he hurts sides, obviously not with his goal kicking.

Oliver is coming into his 10th season and has only kicked 54 goals that's just facts, Trac is coming into his 10th season and has kicked 184 goals, Oliver doesn't hurt sides forward of the ball that's what I'm saying.

There is no way Sparrow is in our best 22 once everyone is up and firing. He was dropped at the back end of the year when our midfield was pretty depleted and that to me was a big statement. He hasn't shown an ounce of improvement since 2021 and with guys like Tholstrup, Langford, and Sharp all coming in as extra mid/forward depth then he's no way guaranteed a spot every week.

When I hear of Trac doing well at training I get excited But when I hear of Clarry killing it, I get a crazy feeling like anything is possible

Should be more debate on whether Sparrow actually gets a gig in the seniors next year Rivers into the middle, and if one of, or both of Langford/Lindsay play early, Spazz might find himself at Casey more often than not

Chandler, Lever, and Petty walking from AAMI with the coaches as I arrive. Some are already on Gosch's, they are getting down to prepping. The sun block, hydration, the Tech in the jersey, and all in runners. Plenty of buzz around for our first full hit up. Yet no balls on the field. The time trials! They are hyped and ready. Those ahead of their times appeared to be, Sparrow, Kolty (maybe flu related), Sharp, and another but cannot recall. They got to sit out when the others did 5 more sets of 120 metre runs close at the end of the training. Kossie is fit and running very well. Goody got round him soon after his run and gave him the warmest of embraces, slaps, and words. Verral struggled, though ended his running with some push. Sestan ran better than other years, a little slow but not struggling. Langford led for some time, looks like a competitor, overrun close to the end. (Between some drills Tracc was getting around him, offering some insights) Great to see Maysie and Melk back. They all got round each other after the running, plenty on their haunches. Great effort all round. Shane McAdams back on the exercise bike. His body shape is good, looks like he has been working out. Lever has increased his workload, with a variety of running drills. My guess is that of Achilles awareness. Fritta is putting in hard runs. My guess is that his goal is being very fit. Xavier Lindsay is on a modified program and is going at about 70% effort. Spargo spent most of his time on the bike. Rumours were spreading that Roy George is being picked up. The drills were a little off. Windy, hot day, with some exhaustive running, I reckon caused some astray kicking and fumbles. Ricky Mentha has good hands, also doesn't do two errors in a row. It was apparent that he puts his head into it, after a mistake. Looks like Kossie, Rivers and Woey are in the mids squad, whereas Windsor and Petty are backmen. I like what Chaplin is doing as a forwards coach. He was getting the smalls to crumb. Two of them would follow the flight of the ball, the talls would bring it down, then the smalls either, handball to their partner who would snap, or they would snap. He was very hands-on at describing the movement patterns he wants from those marking forwards. The backs worked with the mids. They were getting the connections and fast ball movement down the wings. Langdon with leather poisoning and Sparrow running the wings very well, often the last one with the ball. Goody set up a full field structure, getting them to position where he wants them. Looks like a high press, with no one in the forward 50. Some goal kicking from the mids and forwards, as the backs settled down for a chat about structures. Jed Adams had some testing from the trainer, after some sims. Appeared to have a slight limp A good session.