Leaderboard

Jones and Trengove took training this morning, it was planned, the coaching group turned up about 20 minutes from the end, Roosy told me he forgot to set his alarm (I also asked him at the end if he could get the 3k run on Friday advertised, so supporters can watch if they want to). Only Vandenberg wasn't there, neither was Dave Misson so couldn't check why. McKenzie was back and did whole session. Jones gashed his heel with the fin of his board, drove back so Club Doctor could stitch it up. Asked Jack Trengove where his scooter was, he was on crutches, told me he got rid of it as he will be back on his feet soon. Hogan is fine, I asked him, think he is getting sick of it being an issue, said he is just following his program, light day today. Watts is close to full training, said a week or so. Petracca just had a bit of an issue with his knee, strapping there as a precaution, did the session without a problem, said he is glad he is handling the running a lot better, got absolutely smashed over that initial vision by his so called friends and family, laughs about it now. Alex Neal-Bullen is running with no pain in the knee he dislocated. Other chats from the questions that appear here. Jayden Hunt hoping to play half back, gives him time and space to use speed and kicking. Angus Brayshaw reckons his skills were sloppy today, but feels he is improving something each session, did the right thing by praising Daniel Cross for leading the way, he was sitting next to him when I was talking to him, note because there was no extra running today most players rated it either a 6 and a half or 7, Cross said 5. Spoke to both Matt Jones and Cam Pedersen, both just happy to be getting through the sessions, Matt Jones prefers to be under the radar, Pedo has missed only 1 session and Matt Jones not at all, both said they are both feeling the benefits of the diet. Spoke to everybody's favourite Fitzy, same hasn't missed a session, the diet is working really well,, feeling the best he has been. Any questions feel free, pics will be Twitter Demonpk soon.

Injured leaders took all of training this morning. Jones, Trengrove etc ... Maybe due to "empowerment" and self-driven philosophies, or more likely due to the collective bargaining agreement that can't stop players training if senior coaching staff aren't there. 30 plus degrees for whole session I'd say. Almost 3 hours. As usual, Viney, Cross, and Tyson last to leave the track. As usual, Tom Mc lead them in the 700m 'sprint'. A lot of wind to the freeway end, which as someone else said, may account for the skill errors. JKH and to a lesser extent Gus, aren't clean often enough. Like the sessions pre-Xmas, a lot of focus on switching play, and offensive running. 10 minute full ground scratch match also included. Gus Brayshaw is raw, and I reckon will struggle to get a game for the first half of 2015. His kicking ain't A-grade, and they are also trying to get him used to more contact. Petracca is on modified with a knee I think, is a massive unit, and will play forward with some rotation through the midfield when the heat is off I'd say. Bernie might have tweaked his hammy. Watts did laps basically. Hardly saw Hogan. Nothing much else to say, other than the effort was pretty good on a stinker of a morning.

Just to add a few things, -you can really see that there are a lot more mids out there with the full ground drills. There just seems to be more guys running and demanding the ball and then delivering. It was good to watch Salem, toumpas, Tyson, viney running and demanding, even harmes and hunt. -garlett moved smoothly and is a very good kick, especially to someone leading straight at him. -Lumumba is in everything and seems to get the ball multiple times in every drill. Has great agility and speed off the mark. Also has very fast hands which I haven't really noticed before. -some easy marks were dropped when some players were on their own. Dawes dropped a chest mark under pressure which should have been hands out. i find this very frustrating. to his credit he used his hands for the rest of the session. -The kicking was actually quite good with a few errors. The Brayshaw errors were on his left foot. A couple in a row. They were also when he seemed to be changing direction and with no momentum. His kicking on the right was pretty good. -I have never seen more players doing extra things when training was finished. It was about half the list. It would be interesting to know whether cross is a direct influence on this. -gawn looks awesome. Was leading out of the goal square in some of the drills and he is completing a lot of running. -I also thought watts looked a bit bigger. -I said before last preseason that I thought pederson needed to lose 4 or 5 kgs and he could then contribute. He looks to be fitter again. -For his size frost is very quick. -Tmac is a running machine and looks to have put on a couple on the upper body. He and frost could become pretty good pillars at the back.

Just have to buy in on the Dawes debate. So much emphasis on his marking... hardly a sentence on his defensive running. I watched Dawes when he didn't have the ball in 2014 and his willingness to chase and run the other way was inspirational. Little wonder he is highly regarded by a coaching community that demands running both ways. Watch Dawes at training and you will be watching a running machine! Yes, he leads full pace and long leads (hitting the ball at pace makes marking just that little bit more difficult than in yesteryear). I have witnessed Dawes run from wing to wing to try to put pressure on an opposition player who was 50 metres clear when other demons had given it away as an impossible task. Not only did Dawes pass his team mate, but he managed to run the other way when we regained the ball. He'll go alright when we become a more attacking proposition!

Is this a haiku?

Wow. That is something... My personal life is fine thankyou very much, I am constantly let down by my football club but I doubt that I am alone with that punishment. I was referring to the post above about the correlation between clearances and Inside 50s - you decided to do an analysis of the ladder and inside 50s - not me. I am hardly going to dispute the fact that better teams that kick more goals than other teams have a higher number of Inside 50s compared to their opposition... The only reason I mentioned Adelaide's Inside 50 count was because it is an outlier - a little lie - amongst an inherently true correlation between winning and I50s. But, please, overreact. You already hate me, so perhaps a curse on my family/friends/football club.

Although this thread is at risk of being renamed "Chris Dawes 2015 - make or break?", FWIIW, I thought Dawes did well last year, given the circumstances. In the first part of the season, (e.g. Carlton, Adelaide), he was simply inspirational. Yes, he flagged towards the back end of the season (but he certainly wasn't Robinson Crusoe). Coming off an interrupted pre-season and at the same time being asked to do all the power forward work due to the absence of Clark and Hogan meant it was inevitable his form would tail off. Pedersen suffered a similar fate. If Hogan stands up, (and Jamar, Gawn and possibly Fitzpatrick make consistent, rather than occasional, cameo, contributions), then I would hope/expect Dawes to have a more meaningful and productive season given that he will be enjoying some long overdue support & relief.

Michie's kicking is similar to Judd's, I would say. He is ok at stabbing it short to targets but isn't a creative kick, nor a long and accurate kick. He is good enough for an on-baller.

I'd like to see a banner comprising Enyaw, Tonatopia, Ben Hur and Range Rover

i remember when I was younger and writing to the players. I still treasure my hand written letters from Jimmy and glenn lovett and robbo.

BB007?

Maybe we have the cause and effect all wrong. What if BBO is Australia's response to the terrorist threat? What if all the alpaca talk is just to distract us all from his James Bond lifestyle? Romsey would be a good place to hide lots of things, including ASIS operatives ...

Toumpas is fine, was just trailing Tommy Mc in the running and his kicking skills are getting better and better, was trying to talk to Matt Jones and Jimmy was with him and kept interrupting and trying to put me off, so head in a good place as well, was absolutely soaked in sweat If Salem was anymore laid back he would be asleep, Joe Cool personified, just cruised through the training, everything he does is just classy, getting a good solid build on him, seems to have forged a good bond with Jack Viney, silk and steel. I never talk footy with him, today we discussed Everton's lucky draw with West Ham in the FA Cup, West Ham being the team Christian has convinced Jack to follow Forgot for those worried about Viney's running, last 3k he did in 10mins 7secs, looking and feeling like he could better it on Friday, Salem said he did his in 15 minutes Forgot about the ruck, who knows, the way it is going by April we will have the whole ruck division including Pedo and Fitzy fit, when they practice, big Maxy does a lot of work out of the square, but then again so does Jamar. If they manage to get King fit rather than kill him, his kicking is excellent, he could play as a lead up forward

I understand the premise of the post, to try and look at things fresh. However with that said, you can't look forward without knowing where you have come from either. For mine, I'm attempting to read the training reports without too much excitement, ad really hoping that the all the players and the team as a whole improve... Also happy to place faith in the coaching and footy staff to get the team trending upwards. Other thing is... it's the nature of a forum that people come together based upon a common interest to talk, vent, argue, discuss, [censored] and moan with whats going on. Notion of a clean slate kinda sterilizes that for me!

BBO flies out to Indonesia and then a terrorist warning is issued. Just a coincidence DC? I wonder.

I enjoy it when we win or at least display the skills and effort required to be competitive with better teams. I don't enjoy regular hidings like we've had for the last however many years. If only those on AFL lists could criticise then this message board would be empty and we'd have to reject Brendan McCartney as our soon to be development coaching maestro. I'm not an educator, teacher or coach by any means. But from everything I've tried to learn there seems to be 2 main steps to acquiring a skill. The first is practice. The more you do it the better you are is true of most things. It's probably why what we call 'training' is called practice by other sports around the world, particularly in the US. But the second is method. And when you have a player who has struggled at a skill at AFL level, as Fitzpatrick has with marking, then I want to see him practising the correct method. I'm all for individual techniques where they are proven successful, I'm not suggesting the club spend hours reworking Watts' kicking or trying to teach Jamar a new way to ruck. It's funny how the Irish boys who come to AFL clubs with almost no experience kicking a footy can be modelled in to very good kicks when taught from scratch. Yet you have guys like Fitzpatrick and McKenzie who have poor actions and I don't think the clubs treat them like Irish recruits and give them the education from scratch. I understand we see the open full ground trainings and not the specialist trainings they do on Tuesday/Thursday, but I'm going to continue to harp on because I think we still aren't up to standard in skill development and standards.

Going to post some early updates from someone who is there watching - getting relayed to me so wont be too detailed. It's their first time watching training this year. Hogan only doing running apparently - not in the match simulation that is taking place. (assuming this is due to the issues from Monday) Watts' arms finally looking bigger, still doing rehab Jones is umpiring the practice match Very hot and windy, probably about 50 watching Match sim - starts from wing stoppage, idea is kick to the far wing and spread Skills down due to wind (hopefully) No Roos to be seen HL looking the goods at bursting through packs Hogan receiving the ball at FF at the end of the sim

My PB for a 3km is 11:23 and im probably just borderline at a AFL standard midfielder. Wheres up here in the bush im basically top 3.The fact and reality is 15 minutes in a 3km is very poor especially if your a midfielder at AFL level when they train 6 days a week full time. You seriously need to get with the times if you think that time is acceptable. . Supporters accepting mediocrity at its best.

Love a challenge. You're on. Princes Park, 10am tomorrow. Look for the hairy, sweaty guy in shorts and a singlet and it'll be me.

I know dazzledavey36 from the Demonland/Demonology inter forum games and if he couldn't do 12-13 minutes for a 3k, I'd be surprised. Fifteen minutes is 5 minutes per kilometre pace. I could manage that and I'm 65.Edit: I don't expect to be drafted any time soon.

I was thinking more the BBO Identity ...

For those that didn't know Angus posted a photo on his instagram account on Xmas day doing 100 100m sprints. While many AFL players would be at home letting themselfs go and having a few beers on this day we have a young 18 year old who has just been drafted grinding it out in the heat doing massive amount of gut running. Leaving no stone unturned. This work ethic and drive is the kinda stuff Roosy would be wrapt about. It is an amazing self disciplined and drive to be out doing what he was on Xmas day. This kind of stuff is what makes a champion footballer and leader. I hope a lot of the players took note of this. They will be nervous because now spots are up for grabs and this kid is in my round 1 team. Already showing the way and im loving it. And hows the irony, our number 3 draft pick is already more expensive in supercoach then a former number 3 draft pick who is cruising around in Freo. Fantastic isn't it.

Nothing wrong with having a team of 22 Robbie Flowers on the field!

Dom tyson with his first full pre season will be clearly our best player by the end of 2015

Michie, is going ok, was in the 'rehab' group today, been there a couple of times since beginning, can't get anything out of him as to why, could be an issue with something they are keeping an eye on, he says there is no issue so I don't push it, when he does the full session, like a lot we have now, just does everything with the minimum of fuss Spoke to Ben Newton today as well, again another one who is just doing everything, enjoying it and feeling really fit, not much difference between MFC and Port training except Port train on a Saturday as well. Also spoke to Oscar McDonald, really cool guy, has absolutely no idea what weight he is or height he is now, thinks he may have grown in last six months, absolutely loving the hard work, looks bigger across the chest and shoulders already

Thanks for reports saty, it's great being a country supporter and still being able to keep up with the going on's at the club. How is Viv Michie going? I've heard very little about him since the season ended last year.

Delivery for Mr Beer. Sorry they're a little late. The truck broke down.

I dont milk foriegners. Biff seems to be the one for that.

Agreed, watch Viney's time and finish position for the 3k, he is in the leading groups at Goschs GRRM, gee you must really enjoy the footy, you remind me of David Cross who, when he left King Crimson, stopped listening to music coz he kept analysing it, I don't care if they catch the mark between their head and arm as long as they mark it, same as kicking, if it hits the target that will do me, wobble, grubber, helicopter etc. Yes I would like to see 100% perfection in the skills but it ain't gonna happen, as long as we kick more goals than the opposition going forward, I really don't care how we do it I am not too soft on the players, I am not on an AFL list, so I feel I can't carp about anybody that is, get frustrated yes, but carp no Ps I hope u have the number of kids you want, you may be listing to one side come June

wow and it is only 6th Jan

I'll bet my left nut that Fitzpatrick and Dawes are both dropping marks come the season proper, except Fitzy might be at Casey. Body in line with the ball, fingers pointing out and thumbs together, jump from one leg with the other knee raised, soft hands and mark it out in front of your eyes. It's pretty basic stuff. All you need to do is to watch Hogan who is a marking machine and has perfect technique. Or Howe for that matter, who does some crazy things but besides from his freak aerial ability the reason a lot of them stick is his has sound technique. You are way too soft on the players. My concern is that the coaches are as well.

Yep, that's a reflex we're all going to have to learn to suppress!

Pretty sure Toumpas was a half forward wingman for the eagles. While Salem played a lot of his TAC cup as an on baller he was only rotating off half and midfield in the championships. So maybe his exposure there might be limited but I did call for Salem to rather be used off a half back then a forward last year. Get the ball into his hands as much as possible. Seriously think he was wasted up forward. I too would love to see Toumpas off half back. Again get the ball into his hands as much as possible. Seriously the last couple of years our main distributers of half back has been Grimes Terlich and Garland.. Doesn't fill anyone with a lot of excitement. I think Viv can be quite versatile his game against North off a half back quite exceptional and I was really impressed.

I think this is the thing that will kill off his career if he can't address it. Not so sure about this the only games I watched (senior finals in his first year) he was playing as a half forward.

We may see them in the NAB games but PR has always maintained that newbies need to spend some time developing in the "2"s although we may see them for an occasional game during the year. Don't throw them in the deep end and make them swim to the shallow end and then wonder why their confidence is shattered. Let them play at Casey, be BOGS, develop their bodies and football brains, giving them a taste occasionally and then 2016 bring in two big, strong bodied footballers capable of playing out their roles. Then again it would be extremely uplifting to see Hogan and his mini-me Petracca roaming around causing havoc.

Roughhead as a 2nd forward was just an example I wasn't comparing the teams as a whole, but there are numerous examples of teams with two or even one key forward with midfields on par with ours that have delivered more output. Our midfield improved last year, maybe just slightly but still an improvement, and we will improve again this year. And as I said in my previous post in which you chose to carefully ignore, "the backline was also under the pump" but that didn't stop the likes of Dunn and Jetta standing up in their respective roles. Standing up against a constant bombardment from teams with elite users of the football. There are numerous ways you can be a leader. You go on to say Dawes has done all that was asked of him and more, bring a new attitude/leadership/and setting the tone. As we know Roos is big on people playing their role, I would of though part of his role would have included taking the occasional grab? And don't give me the he's always outnumbered speel because we all know that's not the case. No one is doubting his on field/ off field leadership, I love his crunching tackles, I love when he loads up from outside fitty but he is in the side primarily as a key forward and if he can't do his job more often than not he needs to dropped until he regains some touch. Unfortunately for us because of where we sit on the ladder and the need to remain competitive and lack of options we have two sets of rules. The days of automatic selection need to end. Some people on here would have you believe -Dawes dropped marks are all the midfields fault. Watts inability to win his own ball is due to his debut game. Grimes shite disposal is due to being made the captain to early. It's all crap, no one should be an automatic selection. People think that offering constructive criticism is automatically bagging the player or the club. I would like to think the coaches are more scathing than we'll ever be. And as for your "can't we just give him some support" and other posters with similar lines, do you know what levels some of us go to to support our club or do you just pretend?

Things that annoy me when discussing pre seasons, people who say that missing significant time off a pre season does not hinder performance throughout the year. Anyone who has played football could understand that completing a full pre season allows for much better conditioning rather than missing 6 or so weeks of the pre season as from that point you are just trying to make up ground.With that said, it does not mean that you can not play good games as there are obviously players who are naturally better footballers, but completing a full pre season is the first step to being able to play 22 consistent games of football. Chris Dawes is never going to be the solution to our forward problems, but rather a vital cog that will help provide the backbone of our forwardline. I think he had a par season for himself last year, and the problem was more midfield than anything else. When he was able to find one on one match ups he would win but due to the lack of depth in our forward line he was often found with two opponents. if the ball use is good into our forward line and he is able to use his workrate to move up and down the ground with a single opponent he will be able to deliver us a 40 goal season. (hopefully Hogan and Pedo/Gawn/fitz can play most of the year meaning he will get much less defensive attention)

Frawley you are a terrible terrible person how dare you do....what r we getting angry about again?

I believe that cap is mine.

Salem for mine. Though I'm impressed by the welcome return of Toump's running ability, based on the training reports.

Salem for me. Will benefit from another premiership season and will have added some conditioning in preparation for more senior footy.

I know it's been said... But the significance of early season wins for our club cannot be underestimated. And by that I mean winning rounds 1, 2 and 3 against beatable opposition. There will come a time in which our longest serving players will have a mind-shift and an enormous shot of confidence and adrenalin. That will come from early wins, because they've been starved of them for so long. The players I'm speaking of are Jones, Grimes, Dunn, Howe, Watts, Jamar etc. If these guys get a taste early on, many of them will look like completely different players. You'll notice the shift, and they'll be riding a wave. Much of our list has been turned over, but winning consecutive games at the start of a campaign could be the catalyst for the rebirth of the Melbourne Football Club. The belief will return. The younger players will play with greater confidence. It becomes a snowball effect for the entire club. Players, staff and supporters. It's our time. Imagine the feeling at the G in round 4 against the tiges having come off three straight wins at the start of the home and away season. Get it done Dees.

I seriously feel sick reading that (Thanks for the report BTW)

Same for me on Matt Jones. Wildly underrated on here.

I agree we have really struggled with a centre bounce setup or strategy if you like over the past 10 years. The Cats and the Hawks not only have elite players in the middle but also a setup and set play as you elude to. The Hawks setup will have an insider like Sewell get first touch out to Mitchell who will have it for a nano second before it is passed off to Burgoyne, Hodge, Lewis etc, etc. they have a set up and set plays. I note Ratten is one of their coaches and the last time we had any idea of midfield play was when he was at MFC. The norm for MFC is to have nothing more at the centre bounce than see ball, get ball and kick.? Maybe we started to see some semblance of a midfield setup last year. I think Bailey tried to emulate Geelong in 2010/11 but didn't have the cattle or the strategic knowledge and help to make it work. In 2010 with Maloney, Junior, Jones, and help from Bruce, Green, Scully, Trengove and Sylvia and Jamar dominating the ruck we managed to rag doll some interstate sides and hold our own against the better sides in the midfield. After that we turned to Shyte in the middle,no system that I could see, just barge through, pick it and kick if possible. Can we poach Ratten back? I note our midfield coach is Ben Mathews. is he any good because as you say it is not just about elite players, it is about a stoppage setup and strategy! Maybe with our new talent it starts to happen. Fingers crossed because if we start to dominate clearances everything else will fall into place. Suddenly forwards will play better because the ball is being delivered better and more often.

Post of the week for newbies gets a night out on the town with some of my associates from Fitzroy St. When i say the town i mean a coupla beers and a game of darts. That's it.

More ENYAW.

It is abundantly clear that in football it is a far bigger crime to lose matches, than it is to reign over a program of pharmacological experimentation on your team.

I had 100 100ml shots of egg nog. It sounds like a lot but achievable over a whole day. Sprinted to the toilet a few times. Dedication.

Reminds me of boxing day 2012. Tom McDonald was working hard in the gym. Rivers, Frawley and Howe were creating a long snake out of beer cups at the cricket. Spot the difference in professionalism.