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Hi everyone, 1st post on DL and 1st pre-season training visit for me today. After watching the last 2 pre-seasons under Neeld, today's visit was a refreshing experience needless to say. They look fit. There is now a definite focus on gut (two-way) running the full length of the ground to support and give options and saw some really solid examples of it from Trenners, Michie, Cross, Vince, M Jones and N. Jones. There are some clear differences that I see already in the way we move the ball under Roos that I'd like to point out (from my perspective). It appears as if the transition from defence, going forward, is no longer slow, wide and within 5 metres of the boundary line (TFFT). In the game-sim drills I saw, it's evident that Roos wants the ball moved as close to, or through the middle as possible. If held up at half back, the switch across half-back takes place and it transitions along the opposite wing and the instinct is look to hit back into the middle of 50m arc at CHF or the edge of the square. Makes sense really being we have some good hit up forwards in (hopefully) Hogan, Dawes, Howe and Clark , no point going to the boundary. If you can imagine the game play taking place on oval within an oval (say 15-20 mtrs in from the outer boundary), that's the radius that ball movement takes place within. It is a couple of quick short, sure ball movements and then long to the spread (and this year when there is spread, there is more than one option). I'm sure the Roos mantra is, 'Don't Give It Away Cheaply, Hit A Target'. I've been reading anxiously for some weeks now (stuck at work) of all the posters giving their feedback on training and how this guy and that guy is up and about ... but I had trouble seeing that to be honest. Not in a bad way, let me explain. Last year, I saw N.Jones dominate everything, Grimes trying hard and most others..... well let's just say a big gap between those two and the rest. Today , N. Jones was no less of a shinning light. He was as manic as we have come to expect. But also at that level were Cross, Michie, M. Jones, McKenzie, Vince, Toumpas, Evans and Watts - they were all pushing hard. I think what Roos & Co is assembling is a workhorse midfield. I was quietly impressed today with: Michie: He appears to be the quiet, under the radar type. He is a ball magnet - always near it and I'm sure will develop just nicely under Roos and Stone's tutelage. Strauss: He was vocal, pushed hard on all drills and his kicking is super smooth. JKH: I've read a lot about him. Not much more to say - it's all true! He is super exciting and will get his opportunity when the time is right. But he is doing his chances no harm by his training intensity. There's a little 'Jeff Farmer' in his evasiveness. Salem: People have said how slim he is and he may need more time to develop, and rightly so. But, he was 5 metres away from me standing with Toumpas - they are almost identical in size and physique. He may get his chance at some point this year if his form warrants. I do think his tank will limit his opportunities however. His kicking ... well ... hits the target in a very 'Adem Yze' kind of way. Frawley & Dunn - Very vocal and leading the way. After the rehab group finished Jamar, Gawn and Dawes were all used as prop forwards in some full-length drills. All moving freely. I don't feel as concerned as others here about their return to the main group. Maybe being an ex-senior coach I understand individual workloads and working to a plan. I would say at this point Spencer is the clear front runner for Rd-1. But no doubt Roos sees Jamar as the No 1 and being he is an older player, he is preparing him for an early season return (if he warrants it on form). I wouldn't be surprised to see Dawes be back in full training, if not end of this week, definitely next. Hogan probably 1-2 weeks until full training, he is purely precautionary. Clark will be the same precautionary measure but I would say probably 2-3 weeks before a main group return. I'm basing this on their movement and how I would manage them in the same position, remembering there is a whole season ahead of us. We don't need to peak at Rd-1. All in all, I'm quietly impressed without being as excited as others on here. I would think the midfield additions will definitely be more sound and provide more link up and opportunity. What we do need is for some players to take a step towards or to the next level. (Watts, Strauss, Blease, Tapscott, Evans, McKenzie, Terlich). Based on what I saw, they're all training with more intent and enjoyment. Carn the DEES

Nice report, but I do differ on a key point. I think it is actually really important for the club that we show well in the first round. We're not talking about a top contender's season where you want them to be peaking for finals. We need to stand up round one to give the players, supporters and sponsors a shot of confidence. Year after year we have looked forward to that first game, thinking we were a good chance at getting off to a flying start and had our hopes dashed. This year we have a very beatable opponent (again), a new coach and a rejuvenated midfield. We need to get that win on the board just to cement the fact that things are changing at the club and it's not going to be another year of bitter disappointment.

It was 12 months ago to the day that I started creating a chronicle of MFC training Here is todays offering. Enjoy ===>http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-r29mf

Well, I for one hate the next clash jumper...

Sorry Rosso, I probably should have clarified that. I obtained my Senior Cert in 2010 and coached Bayside FC in Div-1 VicSoccer (yep, different code. Hope I'm not outcast now because of that) for 2010, 2011 & 2012 seasons before my work consumed me yet again. I'm a SAP Training Consultant so I'm often consumed by projects and travelling for work, hence not being able to make pre-season this year (sadly). One day I hope to coach back at the grass roots level of AFL.

Some observations from this morning to add to the fairly comprehensive run down that have already been posted. - I got there at 9:20 and the boys were out on the ground doing their warm ups. I left at 11:45 and there were still some players out on the ground, with the bulk of the group having just finished. The reason I mention this is that for well over 2 hours they really went at it and were still going strong at the end in hot (27degrees) and windy conditions, Simply put these boys are really fit (I assume all clubs would be at a similar level but it was impressive nonetheless). - the main session finished with some repeat effort gut running/strength work. This consisted of a set of about 15 push ups in the centre of the ground ,, followed by a sprint to the goal posts and back (JKH smashed them all there and back)' this was followed by a set of 15 or so sit ups, then another run this time to about 35m out from goal and back, (this time JKH paid for his earlier exertion and was well back in the pack., next was a sustained bridge (isometric ab exercise) then more run throughs, one more strength exercise and a final run through. Most interesting thing for me out of all of this was in the last run through back to middle of the ground Ie after 3-4 power/strength efforts with intensity running in between. Jack Watts was one of the first to finish, and ahead of T-Mac. - Watts' skills stood out in very windy conditions today, in a run and carry exericise 2hrs into the session, he lasered a ball 45m diagonally, and weighted it perfectly just over the fingers of Grimesy to hit the leading target in the chest. Extremely impressive given the volume of running already completed. I would just love him to assert himself a bit more, an example of this was in a transition drill moving the ball from backline to full forward, with a blue team and a green team. Jack (Blue) had put 5m on Grimesy (Green) leading out to the wing, and Nicho had the ball on half back flank looking for a target. Despite being clear of his opponent he didn't call for the ball, and Nicho ended up kicking it 10m past him to Pickles (For those wondering Nicho hit pickles with the pass. )I was thinking at the time if this was a game situation where a player had the option of pickles or watts both free, the ball simply has to go to Watts, and he has to really really want the ball in those situations and vocally demand it, so that he can hurt teams with his foot skills. - Dawes looks in very good physical condition. Compared to training sessions this time last year he is fmustve dropped at least 3-4 kilos as he looks far more chiseled. His Muscle definition is very impressive. He took his shirt off at one point while doing work with the rehab group and I instantly felt imasculated. And lastly from me it's been mentioned that one of the fun things they incorporated into training today was an exercise where players paired up standing opposite each other. Then each player with their right hand grabbed opposite players left wrist. The challenge was to slap the other player in the face with your left hand (which the other player tried to stop as they were holding your wrist with their right hand), whilst at the same time stopping your opponent from slapping you in the face with his left hand.... Sorry if that's confusing but it's hard to explain, essentially it required strength, peripheral vision and good boxing skills.... Anyway notable pairs first time they did this Nath Jones vs Trenners who surprisingly held his own (I expected Jonesy to eat him up). Grimes vs Watts (stalemate). The next time they did this towards the end if the session Jonesy was opposed to Jayden Hunt, and predictably dominated him, giving him 4 really good slaps in the face!! Hilarious!! By this time of the session there were only about 6 of us left on the punt rd side of the ground who saw it but suffice to say it provided us with great amusement.

61 years since his first @melbournefc team photo, Ron Barassi poses for another with new Coach Paul Roos pic.twitter.com/PhwHjS0xzf Retweeted by Melbourne FC

Interesting. Most of all, I like when comments are backed up by stats. Mach, couldn't agree with you more. His season in 2010 was terrible. Sadly he just wasn't up to it. Isn't the only Melbourne player to come along in the last 10 years and have that though. Hannibal, the under pressure nature you talk about is a terrible fabrication after a team that's won 5 games in 50 odd games. Here his statistics on error prone possessions. In 2011, he averaged 12.9 possessions, with a disposal efficiency of 82.8% and 1.4 clangers a game. That efficiency put him second on Melbourne's list. In 2012, he had 77 touches at 11 per game, with again an 83.1 disposal efficiency and 1.6 clangers a game. His disposal efficiency left him at the top of Melbourne's list. A full 3% higher than any other player. And finally, in 2013, he had 58 possessions at 86.2% efficiency, the second best in the team, with 6 clangers. An average of one clanger per game. To put it in perspective, there wasn't a single Melbourne player who averaged one clanger or less other than James in 2013. Players like Fitzpatrick, Kent, Blease, Tapscott, Sellar, Dawes and Jetta all had less of the football and more clangers. Jimmy Toumpas, an excellent user of the football had 2 extra possessions a game, but averaged an extra clanger per game. If you can find anything in the above information that leads you to the conclusion that under pressure he chokes up, I'd enjoy hearing it. He played in the worst backline in history last year and turned the ball over once a game. 3 years in a row been in the top 2 for disposal efficiency. Have I lifted the wool up yet?

Thanks for providing the quote and thanks to the ignorant and immature schoolboys (they're obvious) who put this site to shame by proving that Einstein was 100% correct.Some of you will get no further warning before an infinite ban is put into place. This is worthy of consideration - Adam Goodes the right man for Australian of the Year

You'll know they've improved when they win their third game for the season.

Port Demons, please post more. Great report.

Went to training today but will probably be my last for a while. Far different conditions warm and windy. Reasonable crowd with quite a few kids (anklebiters to teens) in demon colours. I was there for the start and went and watched some of the recovering tall timber. This was Fitz, Hogan, Clarke, Gawn and Jamar. It was a re creation of Friday with lots of stretching, flexibility and movement around low markers. Viney was also with them but again just mucked around with the ball and headed off after about 20 mins. He looks fine and seemed to kick the ball with freedom. They then went on to some moderately paced running. When I looked over there about half an hour later Dawes had joined them and all were engaged in tapping/ handballing drills. I watched the main group for about an hour. There was a lot of emphasis on tackling, scrapping and wrestling type contests. Spencer, Cross, Clisby, Jordie and another did some contested marking practice. They seemed to be working on timing the bump/push to gain advantage. Some individuals. I watched Trengove a bit today. He is very fit and maybe a bit lighter. He was quick and elusive and looks like a mid who gets his own ball. I thought Jack W lacked intensity on Friday but today he went at it in tackling drills and hit the bag hard. He also fired off some quick and accurate handballs in those team on team possession drills. I took a reasonable look at JKH today. I dont think he is hard bodied enough yet but he showed good and quick hand and tackling skills. Toumpas was also very impressive in the tackling/possession drills. He was surprisingly strong and was keen to impress. Hogan returned to the main oval and ran about 4 timed 300s. He looks very fit. Long and often sad experience tells me that Melbourne plays good January football. However, this year I like the vibe. The players are competitive but also supportive. They seem to enjoy training.

athan Jones ‏@nathan2jones 12m “@AFLphotos: .@nathan2jones shares a joke with @melbournefc legend Ron #Barassi pic.twitter.com/WL7RyUemNB” always great to see this legend

What we have is better coaching staff, better club administration, Better fitter playing list and from the training last year to this year it is chalk and cheese, the skill levels have improved last year drills were riddled with miss kicks and errors even yesterday with a good wind blowing we can hit targets, the size of our players body's have improved not to many skinny kids. We also have a group of young players hitting 22+ and approaching 100 games plus a few senior heads 26+ with well over 100 games. The balance of the team looks to be a lot better We will be a muched improved no question.

That's if he was actually trying to get right back in the system. As difficult as it was for MFC to have appointed him, it must have been a terrible experience for him. He was a poor choice and he failed in his position. I hope he finds a role thats more fulfilling and that he more suited to. Being an AFL coach was not one of them.

I know what you mean, but IMO he's become quite good in tight spaces. He often restricts his opponent to a handful of possessions, even if we get thrashed, although playing negatively he doesn't get a lot of it himself. I can't recall anybody who's really got away from him. My point is that we drafted him to be a running rebounding defender with very good ball use. But our substandard midfield means the defence is under so much pressure the whole time, so we've never had a chance to see how he goes in that role. We'll never get full value out of Strauss until he can get it in the open as much as Malceski et al. That's partly up to him and partly up to his teammates. The part that's up to him is being able to add his rebounding skills to his defensive game, knowing when, how and where to run off his man; his teammates need to look for him, find him and cover for him when he does. He's got both sides of the game, he's got all the tools, he just needs to put them together. On the other hand, it's entirely possible it's just beyond him. Why can't the coach who developed Malceski do just as well with Strauss? We'll have a very valuable player on our hands if he can.

Viv Richie, isn't he the West Indian batsman bloke?

Who doesn't love Richie

I look at the award as emphasising how much of a nong eddie is... Goodes was just a suitable vehicle for the message (and a brilliant footballer). But seriously racism does exist in Oz, we're not the worst or best, BUT it is a cancer in any society and I don't want it in ours. Sport does happen to be one of the best vehicles for changing hearts and minds. I too am over sports people being held up as character models, it's generally a mistake, however if the prize committee thought this was a good way to address an issue they thought was topical I reckon they got it about right. I don't think it was a call for self-flagellation and sack-cloth or a need for anyone to feel guilty.

What I like about a new season is that you know some teams are going to improve, some will go into decline and some will surprise but there's a lot of unknowns about which club will do what and Melbourne, because of its recent history of failure followed by the installation of a coach with a history of success, certainly comes into that last category. So being up here on the Gold Coast, I thought it would be a good idea to discover how an opposition side trains at this stage of the pre-season and to see whether I could learn something from the comparison. After a bit of a false alarm and some crossed wires yesterday, I discovered that the Gold Coast Suns were training this morning at Carrara. I was told that it was an open training session but it was actually closed. However, this didn't stop me because the players were training on a ground next to the main stadium and it was no trouble watching through a wire fence. My handicap was that unlike the Demons where I'm familiar with most of the players and I can work out the newbies pretty quickly, I don't have much of a clue about how to identify the Suns. I can report however, that Gary Ablett is training the proverbial down, Jaeger O'Meara is a big unit for a second year player and if the bloke wearing 28 was really Jack Martin then he could have some issues going forward because he certainly did not resemble the young indigenous kid who burned up the TAC Cup Under 18s a couple of years ago. There was a kid wearing a different number who did look like Jack and if it's him then he could give Jesse Hogan a run for his money in the competition to be the NAB Rising Star. Campbell Brown was definitely one player missing and the Suns look to have lost a bit of punch in his absence. But enough of that. Demonlanders aren't really interested in the individuals at opposition clubs. Did I see anything discernibly different up here to what I saw two weeks ago at Casey Fields? Not really. There were a number of drills involving running with the ball and short passing to both players on the move and stationery targets, some sprints and the standard didn't seem much different to ours. I didn't discern that the Suns were going through a change of style. They're still a young side that moves the ball well and, despite the presence of Ablett and Harley Bennell, they didn't stand out as a group any more than our players did at the session I attended. If there was one point of difference, I think it was that they seemed to have more of their players out on the track and less in rehab than we had but I don't know the specifics. I reckon if our taggers can put the reigning Brownlow Medallist out of business again when next we play, then we're a big chance. POSTSCRIPT: The actual office and gymnasium/indoor facilities are truly substandard for an AFL club. These are situated in huts and sheds at the side of Metricon Stadium and it's reminiscent of the facilities we used to have at the old Junction Oval (they even have what looks like a "vault"). Nevertheless, Gary Ablett came here - puts Chris Judd to shame.

Why open the thread then when it clearly says "Training photos"... simple as that.

I'm also excited to hear my own observations of Strauss before Xmas are similar to what people are still seeing now. I think, barring injury, he'll play 22 games in 2014. In the backline, not on the wing. He's been one I've followed closely since his drafting, and he was definitely lacking in confidence in his first few seasons. BP, in spite of his poor record, did always say that Strauss was the type that would probably take longer. Before breaking his leg he had made strides, but the injury set him back a year or so. I'm excited to see him cement a spot in the 22.

I think you covered it with "I dreamt"

it's a pity you made an impassioned speech against discrimination but had to end it off with an undeserved crack at ita buttrose sociologists indeed

I have to say WJ that I have found the debate on this topic a surprisingly illuminating window into our society. What a rich ground for Sociologists etc. I fear that the more bigoted comments are much more representative of a lot of our society than we would like to admit. I hope and pray I am wrong but I doubt it. Whether Goodes likes it or not. And I am sure he likes it, he became the face of discrimination last year. I can't think of another example, probably in our history, where the issue of discrimination has been brought more to the front of the national consciousness than that event last year. Notwithstanding Nicky Winmar. Why not take the opportunity to build on the saturation press coverage to further the cause for a year. It's not like there is only ever going to be one Australian of the Year. There will be plenty of opportunity for the type of alternative candidates people have mentioned here. Virtually all of those categories have been richly represented in the past. But what Indigenous personalities have and at such a prime moment in time. Where was the debate about last year's Australian of the Year. I mean come on, seriously, Ita Buttrose.

Google Josh Kennedy, the guy the Hawks traded to the Swans for lowly picks and Ben McGlynn, after not being able to break into the Hawks midfield.

If we can break even there, then we'll be alright. We converted pretty well from some horrendous I50 stats over the last couple of years, and it looks like our forward line is better than it was then. A break even will also give our reasonable backline a chance. If the midfield can go a step further and win more than they lose over the next couple of years then we will be in good shape. Not great. Great is a ways off. But good. And that will make me a happy camper.

I'm not sure anyone thinks it will be a strength just yet but it should at least be competitive which is streets ahead of where it has been over the last few seasons.

Great first effort and really impressive.Thanks and welcome aboard.....

Was down with Rosso and bumped into Webber this morning, my first session for a while. Fantastic to see such a big cross and obviously a lot of demonlanders. Great notes from everyone above, I'll add my two cents: - Rosso was spot on about Jonesy whacking Hunt. We heard it from 70 m away! - the main stand out for me was the second and third efforts. There was a real focus on what the players did after disposal. Players were accelerating after hand balling or kicking. To give a shepherd or to provide support or just to get to the next contest and provide an option. It was really about running in waves. If that is how we play it'll be nice to watch. - I'm impressed with JKH. Does everything 100%, runs hard, very clean hands, and his hair is still perfect at the end of training. I think he is a good chance to get the starting forward pocket spot ahead of Kent or Blease. - I like the general look of Michie and Tyson. Will be great additions. - Salam needs time to come on but looks solid through the hips/glutes.

Here's some more photos for everyone from training this morning. http://mrobertson.smugmug.com/Melbourne-Demons-Training/i-R6nwZRJ

Caught the train down from Ballarat with my 2 daughters this morning. We were there for the first hour or so before heading off to the air conditioned comfort of the museum. The wind was fairly brutal this morning. My first observation was, like the opinion of most, JHK is a little ripper. Surely he's a fair chance for a rd 1 berth. His application and skill were second to none. We haven't really got that many pushing for that crumbing role in the forward line. I would pick him before Byrnes. At the risk of offending a few, one player that didn't really excite me today was Jack Trengove. I know it was reported he was injured last year but if you are injured why are you playing? Can't help but think he got games last year by virtue of being co-captain. I saw several skill errors from him this morning I expect from Nicholson (which I saw anyway). The wind wouldn't have helped but I didn't see others making the same errors. I so much wan't him to succeed so I hope what I saw was an anomaly. Other than that it was great to see the new recruits new and old. It certainly brings a new dimension to our side. I liked Vince when he was at the Crows and I love him now he's a Dee. Silky. Michie is a solid unit. Cross knows no boundaries. And I hope Tyson can live up to the hype.

I'm not worried about the lack of Garland for a short time as long as we have Frawley and Tommy in there. Dunn can go third tall if he has to and is a very good one-on-one competitor. Grimes is also pretty hard to beat, so that takes care of most teams' marking options. Terlich and Strauss go in as small rebounders and it looks fine. Rotate a few other mids through, add in Clisby if necessary. They'll be fine.

I was there and asked a few questions. Viney, knocked himself out last Monday during his first training back from his hip problem; failed a couple of the concussion tests so was put on light work. He feels better now, asked him could he take it down a notch at training, laughed and said he couldn't do it!! Fitzpatrick ... came up with a new one, quote "there is nothing major I am on a tapered preparation". Riley is four weeks away from full training; everything is fine with his leg, just looking forward to playing again. Hogan is getting a bit [censored] off with being restricted at the moment. I told him we wanted to watch him for 10 years, not lose him to a degenerative knee, thankfully instead of hitting me, he agreed. Terlich - asked him and said it was nothing, had his knee taped he left early, seemed to have some relatives watching, demonstrated to them he had twisted leg, i.e when it sticks in turf and twists, love the fact he was pulled out of training when it happened. McKenzie/Cross/Spencer, got a jumper signed by Jordie at the end, they spent an extra 10 minutes at the end, think it was for Spencer's benefit, Cross tapping and Mc Kenzie kicking and vice versa with Spencer leading out of the square to mark in front of his face, nice to see ... Cross is so intense, even when you chat to him, Spencer really wants that no 1 ruck, and Jordie was Jordie, relishing the hard work, think too many on here have him out of the team too early.

As mentioned the highlight is probably how much physical stuff they are doing. At least in the years I've been to trainings I have rarely seen much physical stuff at all and if it is done its usually tackling bags or pads. Almost every session they do a couple of drills that involve picking up a ball along the ground as another player lays a tackle then get the handball out. They then go in to grappling on the ground and today they added a bit of fun for the players. In pairs they'd link hands then have a strength test trying to whack each other in the head. It looked silly but it wasn't done in a silly way. It was just a bit of fun but competitive and interesting. Obviously the new recruits will help (Aidan Riley a big smokey as well if he gets fit and can show his stuff) but Roos seems intent on making sure our guys aren't bullied at the contest. The 3 main rucks were all back on track for some part doing some hit outs and were used as forward targets for a drill. With his long legs, added size and speedy bounds I'm telling you right now Jake Spencer is going to monster a marking contest at some point this year. He's got a heap of work to go in all areas of his game so I'm not predicting anything from him in terms of what improvement he's made overall but at some stage he'll either clunk a mark or break a pack in half and everyone will be surprised.

Others have given a pretty good rundown of the session so just a few observations. I like the interaction with the players and coaches, noticed Roos & Stone in discussion with Trengove and Jones then Jones at another time, I'm guessing about the mid set ups as that was what they were previously working on. The communication appears to be good so I think players will be in no doubt about what they are required to do. We now have more than a couple of players who can kick the ball well, hopefully this translates to match day but bringing in Tyson, Michie & Vince with the recruiting of Salem added to Watts, Strauss, Barry and Toumpas the forwards will get some ball to advantage. We need to thank the Doggies for giving us Cross, the guy is a natural on ground leader and sets a great example at training. Adding him with Vince to our midfield along with Tyson and Michie as young guns and hopefully the emergence of Watts and Trengove the opposition should have more than Jones to worry about this year. Terlich seemed to pick up a minor injury in one of the drills where he was tackled pretty hard. Did a few light run throughs then went in. Over all I know some have asked about the game plan. If trainings anything to go by then it's nothing startling. Win the hard contested ball and spread, switch & share the ball and run hard both ways. No evidence of the down the line Malthouse/Neeld approach.

Another BigFooty Report from Tasmanlvr (bolding is mine) It begins again. Another week at Gosch's. Alright, so I'm here now and it seems that they are doing their general stretches/runthroughs. Rehab: Hogan, Jamar, Clark, Fitzpatrick, Gawn, Riley. Dawes and Kent are on the track doing seperate exercises with Miller. Short kicks the order of the day. Split into three, four, five? Huh? One group doing short kicks, one group doing some weird activity with an occasional kick + contests when they do occur. One group doing upper body strength drills and one doing a quick kick or something along the lines. Some lower strength drills now. Pretty much they are doing some grappling/wrestling activities. What is this even. Two groups doing stoppage stuff. Nice. Tappy laying tackles in one group. Yes yes yes. You have blokes you don't expect throwing themselves around at training! Blease, Tapscott, Byrnes etc. I haven't seen this in far too long. Boys called in now. Should be interesting to see what they do now. Alright, split into two now. One group doing pick up/ride bump/handball like they always do and one group doing more stoppage drills. Okay... they seem to be doing this play-fighting thing and I can't even. What the hell. I was speechless for a solid couple of minutes. There is a great crowd here today! Full grounder now, standard switch drill and kick down the line culminating in a goal. They're doing an extension of this drill now. Rehab group doing activities on the sidelines. Fitzy doing work on the sideline with ruckwork, Hogan doing some sprints and the others watching on. Skills are up, a few missed targets here and there (Nicho missed one but in an extremely strong breeze this is impressive. Quick half lap, Grimes and Trenners at the front. Words I thought I'd never say - Tom McDonald at the BACK??? in a running drill??? Wut. A stoppage drill now. Two groups, one on the sideline, one participating. Of the first group, Christian Salem looks solid getting into space and finding the footy. Liking the fact that Chris Dawes is a designated forward. Of the second group, you still notice people using their bodies, people hitting targets. WHERE WAS THIS TWO YEARS AGO? Players are taking this fair dinkum srsly. Three groups now. Defenders/midfielders/forwards. Defenders doing a switch drill, midfielders doing stoppages, forwards doing lead-up work. Another full grounder now. Looks like the match simulation we had on Friday but a tad different. Now a proper full grounder match simulation drill. And there's huddles and spreads coming off the kick in. New recruits looking decent. JKH, Salem finding space; Tyson using the ball efficiently and getting it often Dom Barry using run and carry and then nails a long kick pn the run to the designated full forward whom I can't recognise up the other end. Another bloke who's looking solid is Byrnes. He's having a nice little patch here. Getting the ball and using it well. Somehow I think he'll benefit a bit under Roosy. What I'm liking is hearing Lynden Dunn's voice consistently. He sounds like he wants to be part of the leadership group. Some pushups/running combos. Here's a statement - during one run JKH smokes everyone in a run from the centre circle to the goalsquare and back. The bloke is picking himself for round one. Training finished after that. Wished I had a bit more info but the training sessions are starting to get a tad repetitive. See you Wednesday.

Just back from training; left early because the young feller had had enough and the dog was starting to whine a bit! I will leave training notes to others but a few random observations: Good turn out - about 200 by my count. I walked half a lap with Shannon Byrnes. He seems like a really affable and outgoing guy. We talked about the changes he has seen over the last 14 months; the new faces and challenges that he has had to meet. He said that he felt like he had seen footy from both ends now. Agreed that bad drafting in the early 2000s had caused a lot of the problems that we have found ourselves in. His most interesting comment was that the team were great runners but now they just need to learn how to play footy! I suggested that we could not be worse than last year to which he replied ruefully as he wandered off ... "we couldn't be worse ..." Later on we watched Tappy, Blease and Bail practice their goal kicking. The difference between the 3 was interesting to see. Sammy and Tappy rarely missed on either foot. They practised set shots and snaps and were pretty impressive; Bail not so much. I presume these guys are being assessed for small forward role; at the moment I reckon the choices were pretty obvious. Any questions please feel free to ask away; I will be on and off for a while.

As Gilchrist said, people may debate whether he is the right person for the award - but no one could honestly argue that he's the wrong person for it.

Australia Day was over almost twenty two and a half hours ago; feel free to make it go away any time you like.

i flunked hyperbole 101 doc but i did get a credit in devils advocacy

Yeah I'm just so sick of hearing 'victims' complain about the dispossession of their traditional lands, the destruction of their culture, their marginalisation from modern society and the genocide of their people. I really wish they would just get over it, I'm all burnt out on compassion fatigue. Haven't we been made to feel bad for long enough??

Wow! You really should give this post a try out in the Adam Goodes thread. On second thought, better you don't.

I went for the third view this pre-season. Ball handling and intent were good but kicking was poor with some blame on the blustery conditions. Big focus on in close hands, tackling and two way running. Tyson and Grimes really stood out to me today for their hard run and clean handling and skills. Trengove will never be a jet but is clearly moving better than anytime in the last 2 years. Session went a good 2.5 hours and overall mood among the group was excellent. The guys in rehab have been mentioned but they are definitely doing a lot more than when I saw them 3 weeks ago and are building toward round 1.

For a so called dead eye d*ick, Tappy has a goal kicking accuracy of 11.13 over his career.Needs work in that area.

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein

This happened yesterday and sums it up well from my professional point of view:

To the contrary Bob.A footballer who has been playing quality football since the last century wins a prestigious national award is very much a football topic and the reaction here sadly reflects what many people in this community think about his award and in some cases reveals that we're not as tolerant a society as we would like to be. What's there to moderate among this? Rather than ban bad thought I would rather that the inane comments be kept up on the site to demonstrate how stupid and unthinking some people can be and hopefully to help us all learn something more about hatred and prejudice. (However, there is a line and if it gets crossed, the poster won't be around for a long time). The person who I quote below was not without his human frailties and did wrong things in his lifetime. Neither is Adam Goodes perfect, yet nevertheless, the debate here convinces me more than ever that he's the perfect choice for this year's Australian of the Year.

DL keyboard warriors at their finest; someone does more community service than most people on this forum combined but still find the nerve to criticise. The award as a whole is flawed, it's silly to appoint one person Australian of the year over others. All should receive an order and that's it. But as for comments such as he does it part time in a sense it's half arsed are inane. As for the 13 year old girls comments... It was the indigenous round, emotions were high, what she said was wrong, and FFS he wasn't trying to shame her in front of the nation he was trying to show the security guard who said the comment so they could deal with it - it was the president of the club she supported which shamed her and went overboard.

For example Scully went home to Boganville!