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This is a slow time of the year so I thought I'd put my thoughts down about our preseason to date. I've seen all but one training session but keep in mind it's one man's opinion and there is so much going on that you see only a fraction of what each player is doing on any particular day. But over the journey you get a fair view of all players. General Comments: Fitness: the players do appear fit and of particular note for me is the great condition our second year players have come back in. Windsor, Kolt and Brown all look really fit and have done almost the entire preseason. I think it's important and it indicates that they may not suffer "second year blues". We've also had the majority of players doing a full preseason. Those in the rehab group are well documented and none appear to have long term recoveries in front of them. Training: the drills have been similar to last year and to my eye there doesn't seem to be much change in the program. There seems to be an emphasis in using the corridor and moving the ball quickly but this is common with previous preseasons. On Wednesday, in windy conditions, when there was a little more pressure put on the ball carrier using the corridor proved problematic with a number of turnovers. Personnel May: he's doing another preseason and from memory hasn't missed a session. JvR: another that has done every session and looks fit and strong. He hasn't shone in the full field drills but many of them don't seem to be designed to allow key forwards much opportunity. He's a leader on the field and trains with high intensity. Salem: Started in rehab from day one with the 1 - 4th years running the boundary and has now progressed through his rehab and is in full training. He looks really fit and his skills and experience really show out in the full field drills. McVee: he's a rolls royce. Hasn't missed a session and is just so composed. He's trained mainly with the backs but has been involved with some clearance work. He's been pretty heavily involved in the drills and his kicking is a highlight. Petracca: well if you had doubts about his commitment you can just put that to bed. He's ripped, he's involved and he's special. Most importantly he doesn't seem hesitant about physical contact and regardless of what happens at the end of 25 I'm sure he's 100% committed to the 25 season. Windsor: Has moved to the backline and is an absolute standout for me this preseason to date. If Judd is a roller then Duke is a Lambo - so fast and with the skills to go with it. It's quite exciting to think what he could do this year coming. Viney: He only knows one way and you know what that is. Things haven't changed and he looks in great shape and hasn't missed and significant training. Lever: Slow laps have progressed to faster laps but he's in rehab and progressing slowly. See the injury update for more info. Spargo: For a bloke that hasn't played since round one last season he's been commented on quite a lot this preseason. Running, running and more running for Spargs as he progresses through his recovery and has now progressed into some of the skills sessions. It's been a long journey to get to where he is and I'd imagine it will take some time to get his touch back but he'll be a great addition to the playing list whether it be really good depth or in the 22. Turner: Another of the highlights for me and has shown some impressive skills and played well in the match play drills. Great hands, good kicking for goal and a lot of involvement when the ball hits the ground. Unfortunately tweeked something later in the preseason and has spent a few sessions doing what they do in rehab - run, run, run. He doesn't look in any discomfort and did the majority of the PS to date. Gawn: He's the best ruck and contested ruck in the AFL. It shows at training. He looks lean and fit. Shame about his injury but if he can still run with it I know what I'm going to be seen in January while he recovers. Tholstrup: the Kolt was a leader when it was the first to fourth years and I'm a big fan. He's hard to place but has been training forward and with the mids. Energetic, faster than I remembered, involved and very encouraging to his teammates. IMO can play and will surprise. Oliver: so much said but in the end Clarrie looks happy and relaxed and to my eye looks very fit. Perhaps not as ripped as in 21 but a different class of fit to 24. His ball handling is back and he's just getting it all the time. And his tackling is back too. I think we didn't really appreciate how much that hand injury impacted him last year. He's so important to us but things look good at present. Langdon: Lingers has been fantastic. So involved, so much running and his kicking is so improved on his earlier years. Laurie: Others have commented on his kicking and skills but I haven't noticed them this PS all that much. Where his running was elite last year (second behind ANB in the 2k trials) he's dropped a little this year. He's neat but there isn't much I can add other than he's done all the seasons and trained mainly with the forwards and some mid work as well. Bowey: Another standout who trained from day one with the young blokes. He looks terrific and his kicking is elite. Involved with high skills in ball handling and decision making. Hoping for a genuine break out year. All the signs are good. Melksham: I had him delisted at the end of 21 but initially in the 25 PS he was looking so fit and involved. He isn't there filling in the numbers he's right in the mix. Sadly he's done a hammy I suspect in the second last session and let's hope it's minor. Langford: Lots has been said and I can't add much. Just looks hungry and composed and "comfortable at the pace". Yes he's been caught a few times and he'll learn from that. Better in PS than in games. His footy IQ is elite, he just knows how to be involved, he works hard and his vision is great. I don't think his pace is an issue but his kicking is a little up and under over the shorter distances and is something to work on. He's a genuine class player in the making. Lindsay: really all I've seen from his is run, run, run and then do it again. He's been involved in a few of the quieter skills drills which are mainly done on the other side of the ground to where I stand so I can't offer much. But as I said to a mate "JT pick Windsor out of the pack and he looks great, no reason XL can't be the same. Jefferson: If you've read the training report, and if you've got this far into this I assume you have, much has already been said and I agree with it. He looks bigger and stronger. He's more involved. He's got very good skills and he's had some really good cameo moments. He's progressing nicely and I'm buying shares but they are slightly speculative. He's also done all sessions with is in sharp contrast to last year when he was on his own program well into February and if you remember he started in the backline for Casey. Howes: he's tall. If he's not as tall as Lever he's not far off it. He's just gone about his business. He makes very few mistakes and he's quietly involved if you know what I mean. He's one of those players you don't notice until you do and once you have you see he's much more involved than you thought. He's trained with the backs and done all sessions. McAdam: look there's been a lot of debate and quite a lot of criticism of him and while he's been in rehab and then absent I think he's looked in really good shape. He's just run so much with apparently no injury and I think they are just trying to do something different with him to get him through a season. So not much to report, make your own judgement but he looks fit and committed to me but I'm a glass half full sort of supporter. Rivers: looks great. Training with the mids and doing all the sessions. He's really powerful through his legs. There's no reason not to hope he picks up through the midfield and just adds to what he showed last year. Tmac: where to start? Well as one of the older statesmen he started from day one and was a standout for a good part of the PS. Perhaps a little quieter in the last few sessions but all he does is so clean and while many deny it, his kicking is very good. He's also extremely fit finishing high up in the time trials. It's hard to see him not in the starting 22 on form which makes it hard to see why Petty is going back. For me you can forget "Petty is the future". That's right but we are playing in the present and atm Tmac is a standout at training. I'll finish the players later and if there's interest. All this is really doing is summarising all the training reports of mine and others. I'd be interested in other track watchers view where they differ from mine because as I say, you don't see everything.

The good thing is that today's date is 20 December 2024 and they play the Grand Final on 27 September 2025. If I remember correctly, we weren't great at any phase of the game on 20 December 2020 either.

For those that need the explanation; there are 3 phases. With the ball, without the ball, and in dispute/contest. With the ball we were slow and boring and stilted and bottom 4. Without the ball we are much better but still allowed sling shot goals when we overcommitted forward in the press. Top half but still not as good as we have been. In dispute we have been chaotic. The red mist was back when we did get it and there wasn’t much time or reason for how we would move it. And there were also times when we would get flogged in contested possessions and clearances for quarters at a time. Probably middle 6 ranking for that. So I think it tracks. But you might want to put a link in.

Lucky he is not sitting in a punt!

The guy’s a mindfulness coach, not a miracle worker.

I went to my first MFC AGM some time in the 1960s and I can tell you that nothing's changed. You always had a few people eager to get on their soapbox and some were even inebriated before the post function drinks, sandwiches, party pies and sausage rolls were trotted out. And it wasn't confined to supporters because I remember one club president was blind shicker when he left the meeting (in our elevator). If you think this was ever just a Melbourne Football Club thing, I have friends at Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon who used to tell me the same stories about their AGMs and from their descriptions of recent such events, nothing's changed either. My favourite person from club AGMs was the bloke who got up every year during the period late in Jim Cardwell’s reign as club secretary and who was obviously from the bush and outfitted by R. M. Williams complete with boots and driza-bone and a leather face to match. I used to call him Clancy. Clancy would ask Jim the same question every year – “can yer give us a run down on recruitin’”. Jim would rattle off the names of prospective players including one or two who he guaranteed might become champions, we would note down the names and come March when pre-season started, we would wonder what happened to most of the names who never came to the club. That was long before the internet when AGMs were fun. These days I don't attend but I might have a look at the proceedings during the summer break.

We lost 4 games against top 8 sides by a kick. We aren't that far away. And that is with just about everything going wrong for us in 2024. The question was "Is this fixable in 1 off season or are we delusional thinking we can make the 8 with aging stars ?" The answer is of course it is fixable. Getting our key players back on the park play their best footy is the first key. The second is adjusting the game plan which is never as difficult as people seem to think. Thirdly we have a pretty easy draw that should see us 6-2 or 7-1. That momentum should see us make the 8 easily. We only play one 2024 top side twice and supposedly have the second easiest draw. If you look at which players improved or maintained excellence in 2024 (excl 1st year players) it is a very small list; Viney, Rivers, TMac, Langdon, Gawn and maybe McVee. There is a lot of upside for many of our players. That we are 14th in flag betting at 26 to 1 is ridiculous. we should be very optimistic about our chances in 2025

Ben’s first assignment: get into Clarrie’s head and convince him he’s NOT a fat [censored], which is how he currently sees himself. He believes this. At the sponsors/coterie function two weeks ago our DA boss-lady asked us to get a pic of a player in our tent. It’s a DA thang. She suggested Clarrie so I went to ask him. As we were heading to the tent we passed a fan who realised where I was taking Clarrie and this bloke says, “Hey Clayton, I hope you’re not thinking of eating any sausages!” and he laughs and nods towards Clarrie’s stomach. I instantly sensed a change in Clarrie and I said, “Dude thinks he’s hilarious.” Clarrie put his hand on his stomach and said, “He’s not wrong, though.” I told him for starters pot/kettle and a VERY BIG pot at that (this bloke wasn’t exactly rocking a washboard belly). I reminded him that he’s super fit and in great shape etc. and that genetics plays a part etc. and similar uplifting facts. Clarrie perceives himself as fat and perception is reality. But perception can be changed. Have at him, Ben!!!

I’d barely finish the sentence “Let me tell you all about it” and they’d be out the door. 😄 They humour me when I get home from a nail-biting win for example, but listening to training stories is a bridge too far.

The comment from Goodwin should end the rationalising on DL that finishing 14th wasn't too bad because ....... fill in whatever excuse people want. The ladder doesn't lie. But that was last year. I am quite confident of top 4 this year and a smokey chance to take out the GF.

Recent scenes a Gosch's give cause for optimism.

Let me rephrase that CF, It was a Year From Hell and it was blown out of all proportion by a number of media lightweights and a number of disenchanted followers….!!!!

Of course it is

Geez, I'm 11 minutes into watching the Q&A session from the other night online and it's a hard watch. Is it always complete peanuts that hog the microphone at these events?

I asked an AI Generator to produce an image of Kane Cornes holding a rhyming object. The result was just as I thought.

A fool on a yule?

is that a bog on a log? asking for a friend

You probably didn’t read the poster who indicated we were a poorly skilled team and then another said about being the last few years. I said “2021 was a shocker!” and then practice makes ( masks ) perfect. Yes typo but not hard to know what that statement is. then said not in practice in December perhaps ( maybe) in March but very likely in September. ie getting better all the time with constant practice. Since then I Have been bombarded by GW saying she had trouble in understanding this and 3165 introducing RDB and his amazing premiership record of 10 flags and was accused of probably thinking I was more clever than RDB. Would never ever think any footy person as clever as RDB as he was my childhood hero and wore his 31 jumper from 10 years old and judge him as our No 1 player with Robbie no2. Let’s be honest GW 3165 or myself would not be in the queue for cleverness and footy knowledge cf to the great RDB. Certainly not understanding the point I made shows a distinct lack of knowledge and understanding on this matter with your comments GW and 3165. FWIW let’s see how we improve in practice in March and as a team by September and I’ll bet you we will be much improved. End of matter as far as I am concerned and will try and check type in future. Go Dees

Does anyone have an idea if there'll be any open sessions early in the new year? Here with the kids for a month and thought I'd try and prove to them big Maxy is a real person and not just someone we see on the TV at 5am in Germany sometimes...

My wife said that I look like a six pack with 2 extra cans squeezed in.making me look like an 8 pack, with an Alpaca's head😎

Great point. I attended and first half covering the clubs business position was excellent insight. The audit report and summary of accounts worth watching just to see how strong the club is compared to most others despite not having 110k members. Parts summary of caulfield worked well. Poor Brad Green was nervous but showed passion which as great to see. Election results were overwhelming in Boards favour. Peter Ryan of the age struggled to get a headline and moved into hack status for mine. I left at the q and a with members asking questions who shouldn't have been allowed near a microphone. Shockers. Steven Smith was present in an understated way. Classy . As was printer believe it or not Good night

🤣 Thereby eliminating a significant part of the DL community 🙄🤷‍♀️ !!!

The fella who got to the microphone who began to address Darren Shand on stage saying what a great addition he is to the club and how vital he will be for the future when it in fact was not Darren Shand at all was another highlight of the question and answer section.

Thank you for that extra bit! Eight re-signings just announced with Megan Fitzsimon, Grace Beasley, Saraid Taylor and Georgia Gall on 2 year contracts, and Denby Taylor, Jacinta Hose and Alyssia Pisano on for one year. Fantastic news is that Tahlia Gillard has signed on for 3 years! Woohoo!

They resume training at 10am on Thursday the 9th of January at Casey Fields. The schedule thereafter has yet to be announced. If you and your kids are here for most of January there’s these sessions… At this stage they’re set to commence at 10am.

They said "we wont win a flag with Frost and OMac as our two key defenders" hence they went and got May to add to a young Lever

Quality not quantity LH. 😆

She seems a very nice level headed girl as well as talented footballer and I can see her becoming a Dees' favourite.

If there is 1 bloke I don’t mind missing a portion of the pre-season, it’s Max.

Thats the problem with democracy. Every nuffie has a voice

How do you think my family feel?

Of all the injusies to cop Max has a protetive beard covering his larynx

Apparently training resumes Thursday 9th Jan at Slithera Central🤯🥳🥴😱😎

The sad faces are for them, not me. 😅 They love when I devote so much time to my footy “sons” coz it means they cruise under my radar. 😅 Seriously, I have an incredibly close relationship with my sons. They don’t get into footy at all (hipsters, the three of them) but they love footy because it makes me happy.

How about a Mc Adamia… that’d be nuts!

You raise an interesting question, primarily about whether other clubs have track watchers who post on their social media pages. I looked at several clubs, including the three you named, and I could not find any supporter forums similar to Demonland, let alone track watchers covering training. There is very little out there. It appears we are unique and blessed to have a platform like this and how it is set up, where information can be shared so readily.

Definitely - Lever was already at the club but had done his knee so (from memory) we were relying on Frost / O Mac as our key defensive posts who did a great job in most matches. We had a young talented midfield but hadn't structured the game plan to suit our list. 2019 was a disaster in terms of lots of players needing surgery in the off season and so we didn't have a great pre-season. As we know our game plan was structured around contest and defence - when you have Track, Oliver and Gawn in the middle and May / Lever in defence it makes sense. But we didn't evolve in '22 and so have been found out ever since (despite being bloody close last year even with significant injuries).

Has the Premiership winner always been great in all phases of the game. Or just great in one, and pretty good in the others? Or even pretty good in all three?

I imagine that investment fund would have a lot of unlisted assets, which aren’t so affected by the share market. Having dealt with large investment portfolios in the past, they often get access to investments not available to the average punter. This can be things like large commercial debt and infrastructure projects that pay a guaranteed rate of return. Plus they would have some fixed income assets and there are income producing assets such as Metrics that offers an 8% return pa. While nothing is ever 100% guaranteed, you can manage the risk in different ways. For example, if it is a commercial build, for example a shopping complex, they will offer a much higher rate for initial investors while the project gets off the ground. Then in say Tranche 2 or 3, the rate will be lower but so is the risk, as they may have permits in place etc. so they now just need to get the build completed.

This encapsulates it really... Statement of fact from Goodwin. They are aware of our shortcomings which is good. Look fwd to seeing how they address them

Is that some sort of food fight.

I suspect they want the majority of this lineup playing the majority of the games FB: McVee May Lever HB: Salem Petty Windsor C: ? Oliver Langdon HF: ? JVR ? FF: Pickett Turner Fritsch Mid: Gawn Petracca Viney Int: Bowey Rivers ? ? Sub: ? Could change Tmac and Petty based on last years form but probably hoping Petty gets back to 2021 over Tmac who is on his last legs. But Petty could be swingman. So that leaves three groups for the last 6 spots Experienced, you know what you're gonna get: Melksham Chandler TMac Sparrow Campbell Promising high draft picks: Langford Lindsey Tholstrup Jefferson Want to see improvement over preseason: Sharp Fullerton Johnson Laurie McAdam Howes Hore AMW Kynan Brown Woewodin Billings So my opinion is I don't know. This is a useless post I wrote at work to count down the clock till work Christmas lunch. One selection I'm much more certain of though, drop McSweeny for Konstas. Very harsh on McSweeney because Bumrah is an elite bowler, but that's the selectors' fault for picking McSweeny to open the batting in the first place. Happy holidays all!

Read the accounts and get back to me. For example Future Fund returned 13% last FY

Not as stupid as it sounds. I suspect AI analysis is already being done in sports that involve set plays such as NFL and soccer (corners, free kicks etc). AFL is far more random but someone will write a program. (Enter the moving diamond or similar)

The welcome dance was adorable.

I found the suggestion about building a retirement village for our supporters out at Caulfield convinced me......to vote for mandatory euthanasia at the age of 70 if it ever gets to parliament.

I might go next year and ask if we're against genetically modified crops and suggest we open a cat cafe at Casey Fields.

I can imagine the talk at the dinner table.Hey Mum , what did you do today?Don't tell us you went to footy training ? Again.! Of course l did ! Let me tell you all about it! Half an hour later…. ?

I hear ya, DD. 😅 First session back, before the boys came over from the rooms, I chose my words carefully when I asked Goody if he’s happy with the players’ fitness and shape etc. I didn't wanna come off as creepy. Goody did nothing to help the cause. When the boys were in the tent (many of them topless) getting ready to hit the park, Goody says, “Have you seen the boys?! They look amazing, don’t they?! Have a look at their bodies!” 😅