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A few observations from this morning (noting I wasn’t there for the whole session). I arrived at around 1015 and the squad was already out on the track. The rehab group consisted of XL, McAdam, Melksham, Spargo and Sestan. Lever was also on restricted duties and appeared to be in runners. The main group was doing end-to-end transition work in a simulated match situation. Ball movement was focused on moving the ball from a kick in, into the forward line, with focus on kicking to the advantage of a forward. In this drill it appeared Petty was playing as a forward alongside Luka and Turner, while TMac was a defender. I was unable to really see down the other end from where I was positioned, but Pickett also played as a forward linking player, along side Ricky. Ricky Mentha does some nice things, though there were a few times he was caught as a result of not taking the first option, or getting corralled on the boundary line as a result of attempting to use his pace and quicksteps to get around a defending player. For this exercise it seemed as though Trac was designated as a ‘no-contact’ player and had the high-vis vest adorned. I will say, the intensity was there. But, I thought the ball movement for the most part left a lot to be desired, particularly with the linking possession from the D50 into the centre or onto a wing. There were multiple turnovers, or failure to hit a target, which resulted in an ‘opposition’ score. FWIW, I’m not saying this is a doom and gloom worst preseason ever type of scenario, but I am calling it on the body of work I saw. Similarly, there were numerous kicks into the attacking F50 that went straight to a defender, including several uncontested efforts. In terms of some ‘positives’, Petracca does look very, very fit. His lateral movement was amazing at times, and he was extremely vocal. I‘m not going to make a judgement on what this means for anything post 2025, but undoubtedly his professionalism will get him through next season whatever the outcome. He looks raring to go. Turner did some nice things up forward, including a very nice roving goal from spilt contested mark. I think he’ll be a very handy addition up forward and will continue to impact. Chocco was also issuing some very vocal encouragement to Kenterfield (who, is absolutely massive). Hore could, in all likelihood, easily fulfil a depth role. He had some great moments including a goal saving spoil and fitted in seamlessly next to TMac as a defender. Langford is definitely a big boy. I’m beyond excited to see what he can do. In the full ground exercise he contested multiple marking contests and although he probably should’ve stuck a couple of the marks, he was at least able to ensure that the ball was brought to ground, rather than allowing his opponent to make a contested mark. He seemed to be playing as a marking half-forward and in a few of the plays I saw, seemed to be used as a marking runner from a kick-in. In terms of an early bolter for next year, I think we may see a big uptick in output from Kolt. Geez, he’s got some wheels on him and I was really surprised by his pace and ability to transition the ball. He’s a lot quicker than he looks on tv, and he’s got an uncanny ability to pick up the ball and roll with it. I was somewhat reticent on him, but I was very impressed from what I saw. The second exercise saw the group split into two and move into another contested ball movement exercise. Essentially the ball was brought in from one end of the ‘centre square’ (the exercise only utilised approx 25 x 10 in terms of a simulated centre square), by a ‘random’ player, and then a series of quick handballs were made in attempt to bring the ball to a coach on the other side of the ‘square’. Goodwin and Jones were the two ‘linesman’ for the group I observed. Petracca fully participated in this exercise, including contact, and was extremely vocal. He chased energetically, and once again his lateral movement was on full display. Several times the players were vocally reminded to ‘hunt the ball’ by Goodwin. I left not long after this exercise concluded. I’ll add more if anything pops into my mind, though I acknowledge this lacks a lot of depth like we see from our usual track watches.

My first training session in 30 or 40 years! Last I went, Gerard Healy was still playing for us. That's a while ago! Didn't notice Roo out there. The players look both smaller and bigger than they do on tv. Like Ed Langdon is taller than I thought he was yet others look smaller/lighter. They say the camera adds 5 kilos and I'd believe it. Anyway, I've few comments as it was all new to me. Trac was doing a lot of yelling/leading, Max was hanging back a bit, Vines headed off early with this poop chute issue, Kalani is a stripling but looks a likely sort, Claz is nowhere near as fat as the media would like to have you think (might not be the skinniest either but he looks a lot leaner than he did last season). Good to chat with some other Demonlanders, like Ghostwriter.

Clarry is fit, happy to outrun others in sprints. Getting heavily involved in the sims. They were getting them to make and hit leads over the back and running towards goal. They are hitting each other hard and willingly in the drills. Petty slammed Tracc backwards and onto ground with a don't argue. That got them going hard at each other with plenty of intensity, during one of the handball games. Goody's words, something along, doing like we ask you makes a much better, and easier drill. When doing the drills without shape it led to being caught in tight spaces. When following the correct patterns and structures they moved the ball to the open spaces, and with better completions. Wings in the sims, included Sparrow, Billings, Langers and Woey. Sparrow is running the rails without too much strain, looking trim. McVee was everywhere. I saw him start with ball on the defensive point post, then he finished the play off in the half-forward area inside the 50. Heading to being one of our elites. Petty was used forward and back. Kossie had the different coloured bib on (the linking player), later it was Tracc. Kossie got picked off few times, but got to the contest and impacted after the error. I like his ability to see ahead of himself. Working hard on being a playmaker. Jefferson had a great session, hands are sticky, kicking snaps with confidence, and finding separation out the back. Bowser is our best field kick, hitting some incredibly hard passes. Many are still floating the ball, not Bowser, gets the ball to the player, flat and direct. Salem is not far behind, with beautiful kicks. Mentha likes to dance with the ball, got caught a few times, love his cheekiness/bravado to take them on. Rivers got picked off a few times as well. They were playing down the corridor, with high reward, high risk sims. Turner is another looking good. Moving fast, getting separation and appears set for a big year. Fritta is also playing well. Very fit, even strong as he cleans the defenders away from the contest. Goaling is a natural, effortless action. Adams and Howes are making a few errors. May is starting plenty of plays off the backline. His fitness is improving. Langford and Kolt (looking bigger), also made a few errors. Turnovers will kill us. JVR was not out there today. Tmac had some strapping on his right shoulder, moving well. Lever, a patella support on his left leg, running with intensity at times. Hard extensive session. They are being put through their paces.

Petts is happy to be a swing man. He likes that he’s useful in both areas of the ground. He has no lingering issues with his foot, it’s totally healed and healed well. He mentioned SpargiPants’s progress. He said “Charles” (that’s what the boys call him) is running at pace and is on a tailored program. Tomorrow is his running day (every Thursday) and so far he’s pulled up well after each session. Petts talked about foot/ankle injuries taking the longest recovery time with (in his opinion) achilles injuries being the “trickiest.” He said Charles is further along in his recovery than we think from just watching him on these whole-team training sessions.

Observations from today: Anyone who worries about the 3 ‘wantaways’ should get down to training- i have no doubt all 3 are focused, committed and in for a big year. Trac Coaching and leading from the sidelines. The tackle that Clarrie laid (see GW’s post above) and Kossie owning the footy in drills. Fullarton looked really good forward of the ball today and in contested drills - although he was brought down by Howes in one play like a lion about to feast on a gazelle. Also impressing(apart from the usual suspects): Billing’s, Kentfield, Johnson. Aim to use the corridor as first priority in drills. Melk running really fast repeat sets. Sestan also running, grabbed for hammy at one stage. All rehab boys doing agility and ball receiving work. Spargo kicking the ball to them. Seen chatting to Choco - Gary Lyon and Bill Browless’s boy (big lad with a mop of hair that his dad would die to have!) Choco sharpened up KW#34’s kicking at goal with a slight ball drop adjustment and momentum shift and he began toi hit them beautifully. Trac was frustrated with his snapos around the body, and Choco gave him a few gentle Tils and he was back on track again. A nice day for it. Happy to answer any questions.

Quite a few players out there today on individual programs and training in and out of the main squad. In rehab we had the 5 regulars being McAdam, Lever, Spargo, XL and Sestan doing their thing. While May, Campbell, Melksham, K.Brown doing a lot of boundary running but also involved in lots of the main squad drills. Fritsch and Salem training fully with the main squad which was good to see. Today the group focused a lot more on ball movement and various kicking drills, working the ball from the back pocket diagonally across to the other side of the forward line. I think our players will start to get the hang of the new tactics soon as it looks as though we will be more attacking next season and understandably takes a bit of time to adjust. Last month I was there at training they were doing a lot more running drills, but now they are more focused on ball movement. Fullarton surprised me today, he was involved in quite a few things and outclassed his opponent. One to watch. Trac again continues to impress me and is in for a big year, showing great leadership and very vocal. Turner keeps getting better and better and will do nicely this year as the 2nd key forward to JVR. JVR was a no show today so hopefully he is okay. I was also surprised with Kentfield's speed. He raced Windsor over 80m from the centre square to the boundary line and they drew even going flat out. Gawny is really taking a step back this year and letting others lead the way. You can see he is much more relaxed and will ramp things up closer to next season. There's definitely a vibe in the air that everyone knows their role and is executing it to a good standard. Maybe a bit more maturity in the group. You can sense that whatever came out of the review a few months back is already in play.

Claz just tackled Fritta, slammed him hard into the ground. Before he got up off Fritta he kissed him. 😂

The training reports this off-season have been hands-down the best ever on DL Well done to you all, too many to point out but you know who you are. They are varied from the trivial to the factual and I love both. After all the negativity and bickering at the end of the season it is great to get back some excitement and positivity THANK YOU TRAINING REPORTERS!

It’s definitely a case of orange vest = player in focus. Kozzie’s been training well all along but geez he was killing it while wearing the orange vest. The way he moves… it’s a joy to watch. You can almost feel his confidence rising to an even higher level. On the subject of confidence, Shane’s confidence is building more and more with each session. He’s really come out of himself. His uncle Jeremiah was there along with another family member which made him really happy. They’re visiting from Fitzroy Crossing where Shane is from. Uncle Jeremiah said I should visit sometime. I got sunstroke just thinking about it. 🥵

I was at training today and the reports seem very accurate to me regarding how individual players went. Perhaps one that hasn't been mentioned enough is Clarrie. There have been lots of comments over the preseason saying he's out of condition and carrying too much weight. Well from what I've seen that's not strictly the case. He's not ripped like he was in 2021 but he's still in very good condition and he is working extremely hard and pushing himself to the limit. I reckon that as long as he maintains focus over the Christmas break by the start of the season he'll be really fit. He looks to have got that initial speed back and the ability to find a bit of space in congestion. His disposal today was very good on a day where a lot struggled to hit a target. On that, I reckon today was the first time I've seen them in a true contested situation and hence the disposal skills were down as there was a lot more pressure on the ball carrier. It was good today but it's early in the PS. Secondly, I've been to a lot of PS training sessions over the last few years and every year I read that we are going "more direct" and using the corridor more. I've not noticed any difference in the way we've used the ball in the full field drills so it will be interesting to see. On other players: Langford got caught a couple of times, a good thing I say, better to learn the pace of the game in PS than during the game. He works really hard around the ground. Concerns expressed about his pace don't seem evident and he's building nicely. Sparrow looks a lot more involved than he was last year, he's moving very well and kicking it well. Tmac was, again, very good today. Those thinking he'll play at Casey need to reconsider. I was also impressed with Fullarton today, he was strong and involved and kicked very well. Fritta looked a class above on occasions, strong in the contest an elite with his goal kicking. May had an opportunity to send Tmac into next year at one stage and thankfully made a decision to avoid contact. I reckon Tmac will buy him a bunch of flowers as a thank you! AJ has impressed but he learned a lesson today. In the handball drill he decided that the best option was just to run through Clarrie but he learned that's not all that easy. Lots of smiles and laughs when Clarrie helped him up. I like AJ, looks a ripper bloke and has lots of good attributes. It's a crowded forward line for talls but he's in the conversation. Looking forward to Friday, hope JvR is there, missed today but hopefully nothing in it.

And that gym will be in Victoria 😜 Kalani’s girlfriend is QLD born and bred but wouldn’t have a problem with relocating to Melbourne. She likes warm weather but likes cold weather just as much since she lurves her a warm tracksuit, in particular, warm tracky daks. Melbourne ticks all those boxes 😂 He signs his name with #34 as a “recent addition” Will it be a permanent addition? We’ll have to wait and see. But a smile and a wink speaks volumes, to me anyways. edit: Kalani is staying at Geoff Porz’s house with Luker and Kolt, although Kolt stays at his girlfriend’s place often. Kalani is happy and comfortable living there. He likes that the other two boys live there as well.

No worries whatsoever with Vines. He’s “crook in the guts” according to Richo and Lamby. Apparently he was eating a pizza last night and he ate a prawn knowing the poop shute hadn’t been removed. Richo said if I post on Demonland I’m to tell you all that “silly Jack ate something he should’ve known would make him sick.” As for the limping, they both said there’s nothing in it. Not even a niggle.

Big thanks to BLWNBA, buck_nekkid, Dingo, Ghost Writer, thirty-one, Where Demons Dare, Demonland and all posters for your training reports and observations, another great read today.😁👍

Someone was wondering if Tom Couch is still involved with coaching in tennis. He is but he’s scaled it right back. He’s got the AO but as for other events he doesn’t travel anymore.

Yeah, the turnover ‘issue’ is interesting. Based on what I saw today, and I say this with some reserved trepidation, is that there’s a quasi-return to the 2021/2022 game style. We seemed to have a lot of emphasis put on the ‘catch and roll’ out of the D50 and we want to put pace on the ball, while going direct to goal. I’d also suspect that we see AJ fulfilling that tall forward role à la BB circa 2021 (not necessarily saying we’ll get the same return, but in a reference to structure). So while I’d say there’s been a return to hunting the footy (see Goody’s comments r.e., ‘hunting the ball’), which in turn has resulted in a high pressure contest, you commentary regarding poor kicks is spot on. Those with poor technique/poor judgement stood out, and that leads into the issue regarding using those players to transition out of the D50. However, I’m cognisant of the artificiality of the scenario and would also note that some of these users will not be in our weekly 22, unless of course there’s mitigating scenarios. Tmac’s ball use was visibly a cut above many today, and his ability to hit a target around the ground is uncanny. The others that impressed today with their use were Turner and Windsor, Tracc also had some very nice passages though I’ve always thought Tracc’s around the ground work is fairly sublime, it’s his entry work and conversion kicking that leaves something to be desired at times. I was a tad disappointed that XL was in the recovery/injured group. Would’ve loved to see him with the ball in the full ground drills. I’m very keen to see him in full flight though, I think we’ve done nicely with the XL/Langford/Kolt/Windsor combo.

😮 didn’t know they had one. Amazing what modern technology can achieve way beyond IVF. Will he be a FS Cat or Demon.

Unless he’s gong to politely ask Ben King to vacate the number.

It's bad enough worrying about injuries which cause players to limp, but now we have to worry about boy germs, too.

I know what you mean, skill errors, especially under pressure, are going to happen. I see them not transitioning well when the turnover occurs. I hope they work hard on that, as well as the skills. At the moment most turnovers lead to easy ball movement by the chasing team. A few like Kossie, put pressure on after they turn it over. Then there are the dropped heads, Adam, Howes, Verrall, Kentfield. I particularly like the players who don't do two in a row, Kolt, Langford to name a couple of young ones, and oldies like May, Chandler, Tracc, with that headset. Langford is very interesting, he just gets on with it, very little apparent stress, from any mistakes. Like he knows there will be mistakes, as you say, and it is the next opportunity that he appears to be looking forward to, Cool Customer.

One of the players causing turnovers was Windsor. He closes quickly and is able to get the finger tips to the ball. The reading of the play is a great asset, then he gets the ground ball, drives and steps, and finds a link. He will make a good attacking defender alongside McVee.

I have two jobs SL, but I’m lucky in that I can mostly choose my own hours and that means I can get to training on a regular basis. I work around Demon Army stuff, matches and training coz I want to and coz I can.

I was given advice to write letters to my enemies and then burn them. Wasn't sure what to do with the letters after that though.

The poster knows these players and they know her. They’re young and enjoying life. There’s absolutely no reason why they wouldn’t tell her what’s going on. You know she’s struggled with the overt criticism so just let it go. It’s not a sheltered workplace but you’ve got to understand you’re making it unpleasant for her. Maybe ask yourself what you’re getting out of trying to put her down? It just makes you a bully and a total tool.

I come to this thread to read about my favourite player only to find half of it is bickering. Folks, please take the bickering somewhere else.

Why, on this forum that provides an incredible source of information ( I still remember the excitement I felt when I found DL over 10 years ago) do people insist on deriding comments made by contributors like Ghost Writer. Her insights along with a few (very few) others provide the tangible fuel that keeps this place valid. Remember that she is the one that committs to attending training sessions, reaching out to players and generally immersing herself in the club and is then generous enough to take time to post on DL. That alone is far more than can be said for almost all of the rest of us. My point is this; you may not agree with everything she says but my goodness her reporting comes from a more reliable place than most of our opinions. I don't know Ghosty but by jingoes I want to thank her for the work she does for our great club and this forum!!

I wrote about a year and a half ago, based on info, that this MFC project at Caulfield would happen and that because Crown Land was involved, it had to have community involvement and benefit. Nothing has changed. The land the school has bought, would otherwise have gone to property developers, like at the Northern end of the Racecourse, as it was always the plan, once horse training ceased, that it would be sold by the MRC. Far better for the MFC to have a school next door, than 1000's of apartments, which would have far less appeal to the MFC being a neighbour of Apartment towers, with all the traffic restrictions and other issues etc. I think the MFC will be delighted with how this has transpired as you can read into the club release. The club should get exactly what it wants and this new scenario helps that happen, as the Government is now behind the project and that was always very important to the MFC in getting the go ahead from the Trust, the manager of the Crown Land required by the MFC .

Dude please don’t make personal attacks like this or you won’t ever be allowed to post here again. That goes for everyone. Do not personally attack posters on here. Play the ball not the man.

The orange vest seemed to be a ‘focus player’ in corridor drills, used by both sides to run through the middle and connect. Trac and Kossy both has runs in the vest. They were tackled, so it wasn’t a contact thing. I think it is about creating a focal run through player to assist rapid corridor transitions that everyone can work off/to.

If the kid is signing his name with #34 then it’s pretty clear where he sees himself.

Maysie got a good night’s sleep last night. He had the 8pm-1am shift during which Millie slept the entire time. He maybe shouldn’t have told us that since he’s likely jinxed himself… again. 😅

Hey Layz 👋 I’ve only been here for 2 seconds so bear with me. 😂 I don’t talk to the boys about things like contract details but we definitely talk about girlfriends just as I talk to my own sons and their mates about their girlfriends. I don’t expect everyone to understand, It’s a mum thing. Kolt calls me his VIC Mum. No one involved in any of these convos thinks it’s strange and that’s what counts.

This is the problem, people can attack other posters anonymously and then claim that freedom of speech doesn't exist. People are absolutely free to have their opinions, but there is a difference between having different opinions and overtly attacking certain people regularly. I think the vast majority of posters are a bit fed up with it tbh. We come on here to chat with other fans, get inside information (whether true or not) and be part of the Dees community, well I do anyway.

Having Mt Scopus as neighbours can only be a good thing, particularly if we are sincere about working with the community. One of the things the dees have lacked in my time is a sense of connection to a specific locality based community. In the 70s all Vic clubs bar us and Fitzroy (and perhaps the swans - Lakeside felt a bit disconnected from South Melbourne) - played and trained surrounded by community. Glenferrie, Linton St, Windy Hill, KP, Princess Park, Arden Street, Punt Road, Whitten Oval, Victoria Park, Lakeside all gave clubs a sense of place, and a natural fan base that to greater or lesser extent remains an important part of their identity. It's no suprise clubs that have moved from their traditional home ground (or in the saint's case returned home) have looked to replicate that community focused model - the hawks at Waverley Park, and soon dingley, the hangar at tulla. The pies are the exception, but am I right to think they still have their admin at Victoria Park? A training base at Caulfield gives us an incredible opportunity to parachute into an established, thriving community - unlike say the hawks to VFL Park and the bombers at tulla where there were new, still developing communities. Building really strong, meaningful connections with our organisational neighbours - MRC, Monash and Mount Scopus is an absolute no brainer, as is connecting with the terrific local footy clubs in the surrounding area. Make those connections and the connection to the broader Caulfield community will organically develop. And that community will become a source of future supporters and members for decades to come in the way Hawthorn still benefit from the glenferrie connection despite leaving that area 40 years ago.

he was involved, ran hard, handled the ball well, linked up with the forwards and seemed to really ‘fit in’ for the first time.

Because your comment about 'Sheltered workshop' is offensive. I have a daughter with disabilities (and they are now called 'People with Disabilities' out of respect for them.

I attended some of the training session this morning. A lot of ball movement exercises, with Nathan Basset giving a lot of instructions to defenders. Rehab group including Melt, McAdam, and Seston doing some ball movement.

https://x.com/ClarkyHeraldSun/status/1866636825282089400https://x.com/ClarkyHeraldSun/status/1866636825282089400 Aidan Johnson spoke with his construction boss the night of the AFL national draft with a euphoric message. He wouldn’t be coming into work at the ABN Group the next day. The former plumber and bush footy star from the Ovens & Murray and Hume leagues had officially become Melbourne’s newest wrecking ball forward when the Demons selected him with pick 68 last month. It was the shock of the second night of the draft. One from the clouds. Only a few years earlier, Johnson was on the tools, kicking bags of goals in the country, and eating sausage rolls for lunch without really considering if he could ever make it to the AFL. But the Demons’ recruiters saw something in the hard-at-it goal kicker this year for Werribee in the VFL. It was his trademark hard edge. His desperation at the footy. The extreme effort at every contest. And a new-found dedication to the game off the field. The penny dropped for Johnson at the end of 2023 when the bruising big man overcame a patella tendon injury and dropped 13kg with the help of Werribee premiership captain Dom Brew and his meat-only diet. There were ice baths every morning and saunas every night to help get into shape. But at a time when AFL clubs are mining the bulk of their teenage talent from Melbourne’s elite private schools, the mature-age Johnson offers something very different. Simply, the 24-year-old is a brute at the ball. Johnson is a man who can help shake-up Melbourne’s forward line and add a distinctly new dynamic because of his athletic and aggressive edge. Recruiters say when the 193cm Johnson launches at the Sherrin and tackles opponents, he throws the kitchen sink at every contest. And he is unafraid to help out in the ruck, which will be music to Max Gawn’s ears. The new Demon knows his robust attack on the ball is his one wood. “I play an aggressive style of footy,” Johnson said. “I like to say I play on the line, or on the verge. “So I just compete. Never stop competing.” When coach Simon Goodwin walked up Johnson’s driveway and rang his doorbell on the night of the draft to welcome him to the Demons, he asked for more of the same in red and blue. Approaching a big year for Melbourne, the bargain-basement pick-up offers Melbourne something it arguably hasn’t got. Jacob Van Rooyen needs some key forward help and the race between Johnson, Daniel Turner and Matthew Jefferson is on. And Johnson is already ready to go for round 1 next season. Across three years playing country footy, Johnson starred for the Brock/Burrum Saints and Lavington Panthers before Covid-19 hit in 2020, shutting the game down in regional areas. But when Cats’ livewire Shaun Mannagh left the Panthers to give his AFL dream a shot at Werribee, he urged Johnson to do the same. So Johnson moved to Melbourne, only to be grounded by knee troubles in 2023 which left him unable to climb up stairs let alone take hangers. He was struggling to walk and hard days working as a plumber wasn’t doing his footy any favours. But through the setbacks and frustrations, he showed reliance and an enormous amount of persistence in the hope of becoming the AFL’s latest mature-age success story. “I was on the tools at the time and I would be walking in the trenches or whatever and my knee would just buckle and collapse,” Johnson said. “I was just always falling over walking around on job sites because my knee was that sore. “That was the darkest time. “I had moved my whole life down to Werribee but I just couldn’t get my knee sorted and I legit thought I wasn’t going to be able to run again because I was just always in this excruciating pain.” In his toughest moments, on the phone calls to his parents and his sister, they urged him to stick at it, even when the knee pain was unbearable. But then he met one of Melbourne’s physios, who shed new light on the patella problem, and with a new training program, the pain began to ease in preparation for the 2024 season. That is when Johnson buddied-up with Brew, the ultra-professional ballwinner currently on trial for a list spot at the Western Bulldogs. So meat pies were out and cans of tinned tuna were in. Every meal was lean meat. He also moved into an office role at work as a construction manager which gave his knee more of a rest. And after shedding 13kg, Johnson starred in the VFL as an aggressive and mobile forward despite rupturing his bicep mid-season. Johnson said meeting Brew and adopting his off-field approach – which included the meticulous diet – was the difference. “That was probably the biggest thing, just seeing how professional he (Brew) is and how he goes about it, and his eating habits,” Johnson said. “I had the typical tradie diet, eating pies and going to takeaway stores for lunch and he is eating tins of tuna and meat kind of thing. “So adopting that sort of lifestyle was the biggest thing that helped me. “So it was ice baths in the morning and saunas at night, the whole kit and caboodle. “I didn’t get offered a contract at Werribee or anything like that. They said you have got to work for it and get your body right and that kicked me into place. “Dom was a bit of a mentor and dropping 13kg helped hugely along with getting off the tools. “So we would go food shopping at the South Melbourne markets together, eating full meat, mince, making bone broth. “It just all happened at once.” This week at Melbourne training Johnson was already making an impression, desperately diving and scrapping for the footy as if his life depended on it. And then after training he has been heading out to car yards looking for some new wheels because he is still driving his boss’s ute. “I owe him a few beers, definitely,” Johnson said. But his circle of friends are ecstatic for the former country footy goal kicker who is ready to ramp up the hard work as practice matches loom next month. As far as he has come, Johnson said he is basically starting his footy journey all over again at Melbourne, with no real expectations on himself to play straight away. But his teammates already know, be careful getting in his way. “I just want to get in and work hard and learn the system,” he said. “I’m not pinpointing anything beyond that, or putting a ceiling on what I can do. “I just want to give it everything and see where things take me.” WHO IS AIDAN JOHNSON? Age: 24 Draft history: Chosen at pick 68 by Melbourne in the 2024 AFL national draft. Height: 193cm Position: Key forward/ruckman From: Werribee, Lavington Panthers, Brock/Burrum Saints 2024 season (VFL) Club: Werribee Games: 20. Goals: 17 2024 VFL premiership player

Your manner is insulting, you question a much loved poster, you make disparaging remarks and play the victim. You are the problem here. Why not step back for a while and grow up.

Hopefully that's all he was doing. 😬

Anti sausage roll propaganda. It’s Un-Australian, and I won’t stand for it.

I don't get the correllation BP and I am certainly not going to engage except to say that I am pretty sure I stood next to GW at training on Monday and as a supporter, she is extremely well engaged with the club and playing group. They warmly welcomed her and I would imagine any info that she shares is more reliable than yours or mine. As I have mentioned before I have never met her so have no agenda except to maybe make this place even more harmonious than it already is. After all, we all love the red and blue right?

I'll tell you why certain posters undermine her and try to cast doubt on her. It's quite simple. They are jealous. GW puts in the hard yards but also - and I have never actually met her - quite clearly has an open, generous nature, and so the players like her and talk to her. Some posters, we all know who they are, don't have those relationships and never will. They also aren't liked on this site. So they backstab, carp, make snide comments, and disparage whatever she says. They don't have her relationships so they don't believe, or pretend not to believe, that she could have them either. It is pure jealousy.

I find the whole concept of private schools offensive. I find the government funding of them even more so. I guess that’s a different argument

If you doubt what any player might have said, why not go to a training session yourself and prove the point, Then you might have a basis for any comments, otherwise you should take them on face value. Same as everyone else has to do,