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Ran into Harley at the Australian Open yesterday, briefly. Stopped and asked “mate how’s the calf?” And he indicated that he was right, confident and it was nothing major. I told him that Dees fans were behind him and pulling for him. “Cheers” he said. And I was on my way. unlikely tht he would give some random bloke much, but you can digest that as you wish. Although I have a few connections at the MFC, I have no knowledge of Bennell’s situation and had never met him before yesterday.

I’m going to take one for the team here, I don’t do a lot of in depth reporting normally because my time is precious (and I don’t have really fast typing skills). Having said that; I may end up rambling a bit as I enjoy a Merlot at the keyboard. I live in Ballarat but I was house sitting in Emerald for a couple of days and finished up this morning. I had to pick up some stock for our business on the way home (in Moorabbin). I thought I would swing by and see what I could see. (All they could do was ask me to leave) I got there around 1000 (I seriously wish I had got there at 0900). While checking out the parking situation I could see Crossy on another oval putting Hannan and someone else (I couldn’t make out in the distance) through their paces at a serious fast clip. They were running up and down the field handballing to each other. 1hr 30mins later they were still at it. For other track watchers, Hannan can’t be that far away now can he? I just walked in and proceeded around to the side opposite the grandstand. There was a full ground match sim going on Pinks vs Blues and the scores were up on the electronic boards 2.6 to 4.2 as I walked around, the player I noticed the most was Smith. He seemed to be everywhere in defence. There was a family standing outside the fence observing proceedings so I went up and said G’day. Turned out to be the parents and siblings of Tye Hourigan who had been invited along to train today. The family and Tye had no idea that would include 2 x 30 mins full ground sim! Ty is from Traralgon and has been playing defence for Gippy Power. He looks a likely type about 6’2 in the old and around 80kgs. From hips and down looks like a ready-made footballer. Soon after the sim stopped and they moved into a number of drills for the different groups (mids/rucks, fwds and backs that have been largely described before. This was all done at a great pace and with good skill. After about a half hour of this it was back into 30min full ground match sim. Max got on top of Pruess early resulting in a number of centre clearances. One of the early ones ended up with Petty on a great lead and I walked around to stand directly behind him. The wind was blowing around 40km/hr across from right to left and I was muttering aim at the right point post. Standing behind him he looked to be aiming 2m inside the right goal post. It was a lovely kick off the boot and in the last 6m of its flight it went hard left by 5m. This was the only real negative I saw for the day and both teams went on to score around 4.2 so the adjustment to the windy conditions largely improved. In the match sim I could count 4 Casey listed players. Stockdale clearly being one and a couple of others I didn’t recognize. I know that can’t be right and there must have been more but I couldn’t spot them. Having said that it is the most First’s I’ve seen playing in sims, at this intensity, in January EVER After the match sim they went into more position related drills again. I moved around more to a the pocket /half back position on the grandstand side. There were a couple of tackle coaches I haven’t seen before working with all the talls; Max, Preuss, Jackson , Lever, Weid, TMac, Hore, etc . They were working in a 10m circle and the object was to escape with the ball. This went on for 20min and I was exhausted just watching them. To the left of me Goody was controlling a drill where 4 or 5 players would be in a small circle doing quick handballs. When he blew the whistle the last player with the ball had to break away and run and kick the ball 40 m to Greg Stafford. The remaining players would run both sides of the ball carrier in support. Stafford would punch/ tap the ball in the path of the “wave” and they would share the ball around till a leading forward presented or one of the wave was close enough to shoot for goal. Both Tomlinson and Spargo participated in this drill so I would expect them both to be very close to rejoining everything. They didn’t do match sim. Unsighted on the day: Baker, KK, Melksham, Neitzke, Bennell and Chandler. May was there but I didn’t see him do much, however the dressing was missing from the leg (happy face, mine and his) Some general obs. Our older brigade are up and about, Nev is back and handing out lessons to anyone he comes near. Hibby is not handing over his role this year if he stays fit (although Rivers did impress me and looks ready to go if a spot presents). Tmac is also back, leading well, finding space and clunking marks. Jones may surprise a few in the forward line. Lever was outstanding today in the cut off/ intercept role. Viney and AVB will take a lot of teams by surprise if they stay this fit (yes, AVB did everything today including swapping bibs at one stage to even things up). Sparrow was good in the guts at times. To go to another level this year: Max, Clary and Trac (that should put the wind up a few teams). OMac looks to have bulked up and be quicker, is that possible? Jackson was willing but not that effective in the match sim I saw today. The practice matches will be interesting and I can see a difficult decision coming re Cossie. Is the magic he brings enough to play him even if he goes missing sometimes due to fitness? On today’s observations I would play him round one. He will make a lot of defenders nervous and he will have that reputation very quickly. Nibbler however is giving every indication that he wants a spot in that forward line. I’m excited!!! (In a BBO kind of way) They finished around 1215 today so it was a really solid session. I had a great time today and couldn’t get the smile off my face. I also noticed this with Goody and a number of the other coaches. A great way to lead into Maroochydore. Near the end of the session I got Tye Hourigan’s family to come inside the fence near the entry gates and while we were chatting a fella in his 20’s came in with his dog on a lead and asked if it was ok if he came in to have a look. He was wearing Richmond shorts so I told him very sternly, “It’s a closed session and you will have to leave” He was very apologetic and left. Made the day even more worthwhile.

Including all the rookies, up to 20 players (or more) won't be at the club after the completion of the 2021 season ... so have a look at the complete list and see if you can come up with the 20. Of course, a lot has to play out yet but the numbers don't lie. And it is not really about identifying the 20 ... more so about recognising the actual numbers. It's like the bust rate with drafting ... over 40% for first round picks. In baseball the bust rate is 75% for first round draft picks. In the NFL the bust rate is 40%+ for first round picks and the draftees are 21-22 years old with 4 years of College football behind them. Including the rookies, in one 2 year stretch during the Roos era over 25 players were dispensed with. Why? Because there just isn't the available talent available so therefore the lists need to be constantly churned over. So why be so concerned with the equivalent of 1 rookie spot where the impact on the salary cap is negligible anyway? The usual suspects here are jumping at shadows with their over-the-top comments (or perhaps they have a hidden agenda) The value of 1 spot on the list is overrated anyway ... the real issue is getting to a point where the club has 25 bona-fide AFL standard footballers on the list. Bennell is definitely worth the punt as at least we know the bloke has some untapped talent ... the last 10-12 players on the list are often devoid of real talent ... they are often just making up the numbers. How many top players are in the league in totality? 100? 120? And there are close to 900 players in the system. There are hundreds that fall short every season. And hundreds of not-so-good players are kept on lists because there aren't any decent alternatives.

In the case of HB I couldn’t agree the less. The less spotlight on him, the more chance for him to him to just focus on walking laps and kick to kick on a slow build up the better. He’s had enough spotlight at this point of his career to just leave him alone until he makes it or not.

I would imagine it is a done deal and both parties have committed to each other. He wont be on a lot of money this season and he wont be pushed with playing until he is right. If he cant get on the field by the end of the season it would probably be ended. It is worth the risk, as he is a real talent who has a serious injury, that could be overcome and ten you have a very good player for nothing. If it doesn't work, it is like delisting a rookie who didn't make it.

I am in the 'Happy we got him camp". Atm it's a bit hit and miss if his body is up too the rigours of AFL. Time will tell. If he only plays the last six games for Casey, I'd still be happy we gave him a chance.Looking on the bright side, if he can get through this year (If he gets on list to begin with), we can look forward to him doing a full pre season in 2021.Staying fit from there onwards, we get maybe 3 years service from him (be approx 32 yrs). I not at all fussed about HB taking the spot of a rookie, Bennell CAN play when fit, a rookie ... who knows his outcome. Gee what a bonus if he can get himself right, along with Langdon using their pace will be a sight to behold. It's his last chance to play AFL, I hope he succeeds wearing a red and blue jumper. Just give him a go. Lets see how it pans out.

Yeah I'm not trying to imply he was fantastic or his effort was consistent (was anyone's last year?), but I just think criticism of Jeff is sometimes over the top, and comments like 'lost his appetite' seem strange to me when it's about a player who lead our tackles inside 50 and our average goals; both things we were in desperate need of in 2019. Plus, as others have mentioned; injury and personal circumstances had a big impact on him in his last couple of years so I guess that's why I feel the need to comment sometimes.

Despite this set back I still want us to recruit him as a rookie.

Way back on page 1, this used to be an interesting thread about present players doing their training. Pity that another otherwise excellent training thread has been derailed.

Jeffy lost his appetite for the contest. It doesn't sound like that's an issue for Kozzie.

The stars aligned for me to attend the practice game at Olympic Park in lovely conditions today. Plenty of fans from both teams in attendance, plus lots of tennis fans in the vicinity, with one American overheard to ask, “Is this rugby?” No doubt the Dees were happy with the lack of travel to the venue and to head back to base at half time and post-game. The game started off with some class shown by the club: The injured: Saw L.Pearce, walking fairly well (no crutches) but she looks a ways off yet. Kat Smith and Shae Sloane were also both in attendance. Jakobsson (sitting out the season to join the police) was also around, which was great after a tough but wise decision. Players who sat out the game: Kate Hore and Tegan Cunningham (slight strapping on a quad but moving fine). By my reckoning, all of the other 24 fit players took to the field at various stages. I was struck immediately in the warm-up by how sharp, focused and well-organised our drills were compared to Collingwood’s whose (in my biased opinion) seemed a little lacklustre and lacking intensity. Some rambling impressions: McEvoy (one of the Irish recruits) is super quick. In fact, her and the other Irish player, Goldrick, were both noticeably pacey. I was impressed by their attack on the footy and involvement with the game, in particular their pressure and movement with ball in hand. There was a classic cross-code moment when Goldrick broke the lines off half back and dashed through the centre square, only to forget to bounce. No running over the mark 50-metre penalties though ;) They’re clearly both excellent athletes who’ve come far already. Goldrick is apparently one of the best ever ladies Gaelic defenders and both are stars at Dublin. Colvin (an ex-Darebin player) is exactly as expected and will hopefully give us some of the physical presence we’ve lacked since Cranston’s departure. I was most impressed with our marking, especially in the backline. Several players (Cordner, Parry or maybe it was Colvin, Birch, Sherriff, Zanker, Downie and Daisy) took strong contested marks or positioned themselves well to intercept. This is the area we’ll most miss Jakobbson, who has some of the best hands in the league, but hopefully others (particularly Birch) will fill that void and others have clearly improved. Collingwood did a fair amount of dump kicking which did help. It seemed like Guerin and Heath were playing negative mid roles against some of Collingwood’s big names. Love it when Emonson’s got the ball in her hands—always got time. Good game by Heath as well. I can see Hanks playing more midfield in the future. Zanker, Scott and Cordner shared the ruck. They went okay up against the taller Collingwood duo. It’s not going to be easy, but all 3 are players that can be relied on to give it a crack and sacrifice their games for the team. Paxman was her usual self. O’Dea looked a little rusty with her disposal. Daisy played about 3 quarters and I might be over-stating it, but it was pretty much like she’d never missed a game. As predicted by many, she played off half back, which suits her ability to read the play and set up others very well. I reckon they all walk a little taller with her out there. *Disclaimer: All of the above opinions are based on possible misidentification of new players and less than focused attention in the second half due to running into friends and several phone call distractions! The goalkickers were Kemp, Sherriff, Heath, Hanks, Cordner and Scott. We controlled the ball better and were able to hit the scoreboard in the second half when play opened up. Collingwood made many more forward entries, especially in quarters 1 and 3, but were inaccurate, their first goal coming in the 3rd. FINAL SCORE Pies 3.6.24 Dees 6.3.39 Considering the absence of Hore and Cunningham, and with Zanker pushed up the ground for ruck duties, it’s not shabby. Most set shots were goals, which should be a major focus this season. Injuries: Mithen – ankle early on, didn’t seem overly concerned. Newman – taken down hard in a tackle as she tried to sprint for goal in typical style. Is wearing a helmet this season so hopefully taken off just as a precaution. Kemp – started off up forward and kicked a nice goal. Later came off (apparently an ankle injury). I believe she’s playing without an ACL after re-doing it early in the 2019 VFLW season…I just hope the injury gods can smile on her for once. Guerin – minor calf complaint. According to Stinear, aside from Kemp, all should be right to go Round 1. All in all, the best 21 is more hotly contested than I'd expected after the player losses, but I’ll have a go at some point before Round 1.

So, who were all these outside player/finishers we were chasing. Since Goodwin has been in charge we've gone after Lever & May...and landed them. This year we went after Langdon and landed him. We had a dip at Elliot and missed, we picked up Tomlinson. None of these are outside player/finisher types. Langdon & Tomlinson give us some outside run no doubt but they are both, particularly Langdon very hard contested players as well. Then if we look at this years draft all 3 are hard at it competitive players.... The coach doesn't like purely outside players, I'm with him there.

Jeepers a training report thread turning in to a defence of Jeff Garlett's hardness. What's next? - 21 reasons why Simon Godfrey was actually a good kick - Brock McLean wasn't slow, just poorly used. - Mark Neeld - underrated. - 7 reasons why you should try the Bat soup in Wuhan

NObody connected with collingwood can be described as "good" or an "authority"

Be that as it may he was not physically competive enough at the end. Which is why they delisted him. And why no other club picked him up.

If Harley cant get back he will be the first to admit it. He is leaving no stone unturned to get it right, and I admire that. He is now under the direct care and instruction of our fitness team and he is doing everything that has been advised. I believe this "set back' is minor given his long road to date. Get behind him... he is a rare talent and, if he ever gets on the field, he will bring the kind of razzle dazzle that we have rarely witnessed since our Golden Era.

You sound like s sports administrator.

Well said D3 there are a lot on here who look for the negative in everything Melbourne and for some only a Premiership will stop that. (Actually the first one will be called a flash in the pan and there will be a lot of negativity about winning another one ). I thought a lot of comments on here were very old school and quick to criticize. I don't think this promo is saying we are back, it's more about the road to redemption and what is needed to get back. Sure we could do something like this after the fact but that doesn't sell belief or memberships now. I also like it because it requires buy in from the players, we want them to bust a gut and go to another level. This promo is not about them being there yet, but it is about the journey.

This is where Peter Brukners’ experience will be invaluable. He will guide the club towards making the right decision. None of us can really know what this latest niggle means in the long term.

He’s had completely different treatment since leaving Freo. They cut the area out of his calf that was rubbing on his nerve. It might work it might not but a minor setback should not be make or brake it should be expected.

I could not agree more. I can't speak for other clubs (because I don't have any interest) but our fan engagement is woeful. And i think it is real issue in terms of engaging younger supporters and building a strong supporter base. The content you suggest is exactly the collateral they should develop. Shareable videos (eg on snapchat, dischord and insta) that are intersting (eg diet, traingin, interests) and build connection. Kids love content. Tv dead and such content is practically free. Great for sponsors too. A good example was the trade day videos the club posted. Good stuff and so so easy (credit wmwhete it is due). Build an awareness of Bedford, swallow, neita etc etc. My 17 year old son knows more about RJ Hampton than any young demon player. If it were not for demonland so would I. In this day an age it is a complete own goal not to be doing way more in this space.

With the interest this guy draws, it would be great from the club to offer more insight into the journey, more regular updates, little clips etc. Involve the fans. Picture how NFL clubs do it with the interaction and transparency. Those little things can suck people into the club and raise membership numbers. Not just HB, they need to be better at it with everyone. How many people would click on a vid of inside Jackson's first couple months at the club, or a short doc on Jones going through his last pre season.

I'd still give him a 1 year contract.

I'm always intrigued when someone asks this question. What does that mean? Is it a document that sets out what we are going to do and how we are going to do it? If you mean have we thrown away the old one? Then the answer is no. Don't make me do all the work, if you tell me what your looking for I may be able to answer the question better. As far as plans are concerned though, I think any of the regular watchers will tell you the Club has had a plan for the pre season. That is to be meticulous, highly organised and focused on improvements in the skills and behaviors of the players. The overall strategy hasn't changed and is based on contested, combative football. If you are looking for specific strategies and tactics for game day then that is a bigger question and I think some of the more astute on here may be better equipped to answer. Training is about being able to implement everything under pressure and without hesitation when the time comes. I've never seen so many of them this ready at this time of year. So to me the plan is working

The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games opening ceremony is now precisely six months away. This is a highly significant fact for Melbourne fans because the last time that the games were held in Tokyo was in 1964 and we know what happened in that year, don’t we?'

The Dees were the disappointment of 2019. Can they turn it round in 2020?

Again with the personal stuff. Why? If you have a personal problem with me (someone on the internet you've never met) you're welcome to message me to work it out, but this forum is for talking footy, and that's what I'm here for.

But clubs need both types of players don't they? I realise it's not as simple as that, even 'outside' players need to go when it's their turn. But are we criticising an outside type player, in a team all but void of them, for not taking on someone else's role, or cleaning up after someone that failed?

There are any number of other Hail Mary 'Shots' every season old dee. Even a top 10 pick is a speculative pick as there are any number of high school age kids who just can't make the transition to AFL football. And trading for established talent can often be problematic too in terms of injury (or otherwise) Clark, Lumumba, Lever & May have all had their issues. And that's just our club. Can anyone guarantee that Weideman, Jackson & Pickett won't be busts? Now, I am not at all intimating that any of the 3 are going to be busts but the possibility is definitely there. It's draft them and then hold your breath. By comparison, Bennell is just another (in a long line) speculative pick. I just don't see the big deal (at all)

He has always been a "Hail Mary" shot, taking the punt at little cost was probably worth it. We will know shortly if it has been worth it.

Great job little tack

That's fair enough. I loved jeffy. He was terrific for us. And had a bad run with injury (his shoulder injury in rhe preseason game ladt year was terrible timing and really knocked him oof his axis) and as you say had to deal with some personal stuff. I definitely don't want to denigrate him or tarnish his legacy.

Yes there is because he nominated us to train with. We would have a financial commitment with him at the moment but not a contract.

The problem is, Bennell isn't officially an MFC player at this stage, so to use him for media coverage and fan engagement would be seen as exploitative. You can't really benefit from someone who is not on your payroll. As for Jackson (and any other first year players) it could be that the club is trying to minimize the pressure and exposure on them. They're 18 year old kids after all, and if you read through the recent article by Jackson you get an insight into how intense the experience is right from the start. MFC of all places have learned the hard way about not diffusing the expectations on young players. In saying that, 100% agree they need to do more with the rest. It's the characters that get the kids in. They all love Maxy, he has some personality, some defining traits, but aside from him it's all a bit vanilla as far as what we see. Even doing something like giving Trac a GoPro for a week (maybe at Maroochydore?) would be a start. He's a big personality as well, so he's another one the kids could get around. It's a tough balance, and the weird bit is the actual quality of our content and visual identity has drastically improved over the last 5 years, but more innovation is needed for sure.

Great training report. As a track watcher through most of last season I think the biggest challenge will be for the team to play how they train. Last year my opinion was that we consistently failed to play in a style that did not resemble how we trained. At training we moved the ball quickly but judiciously to a free target, switched across the ground to change the angle of attack, hand balled to advantage just like we all did at training in our suburban careers. However all I saw in most of our games was see ball, get ball and kick long to a contest and just keep bombing it long etc. we all saw it but as I said repeatedly last year that is not how we were training. Maybe that was all about lack of personnel, lack of faith in a constantly changing line up due to injury and form? May this season be totally different and we play how we train and bring some subtle finesse added to a physical and brutal game plan.

I'd be surprised if he didn't have a number of setbacks. That's the nature of his injury. As long as he gets there in the end...

The practice matches will be interesting and I can see a difficult decision coming re Cossie. Is the magic he brings enough to play him even if he goes missing sometimes due to fitness? I did say it will be interesting, I don't have to make the decision so I can vote with the magic factor. It's a long season so maybe you give a few games to him early and then back to Casey to continue building his fitness so he knows how hard he has to work, without burning him out. We know Bedford has a serious engine and can hopefully come in and create havoc also.

When I think of an injured calf I think of Veal scallopini. It's a cruel world.

Not at all

Top job dworship !!!!!!!!! You are hereby ordered to give up your day job, family and anything else that restricts you and report on all future training sessions

Same one I had the last two years who keeps denying it with injury. Joel Smith. Outside of my standard above, Dunkley to play most of the year.

With regards to athletes I’d be more inclined to go with physical capability than age.

It's really good to see we finally have a real list to build onto, in future. This is the most complete list of talent I've seen. in a log time. Since the 90's, but with more discipline, I think. In saying that these boys are still very green mostly, but imo, we now have and even spread of talent across all positions and across age brackets. Our more senior list players, and our up'n'coming list players. The now and the future under one roof, at the same time, and on the same list. Our future trade and drafts will be key plusses for us, from the end of this season. impact wise.

Well done, LIAM.! And thanks to you for bringing the Deez action into my life.

Your version of “prime” is a little different to mine.

This was never going to a straight line to playing. You could keep him training and have a punt at him mid year if he gets going but then anyone else would get a shot at him first. It’s a base payment spend with our last spot on list for a player who pre injuries was on track to be a top 10 player in the league. If it is minor and would still see potential for him playing back half of the year then as long as his application and attitude has been top notch I would take the punt on him over an untried kid with a low likelihood of success and definitely unlikely to get any shot in 2020.

Having been there when Harley sustained the injury, I reckon this is nothing more than a Grade 1 calf strain which generally takes 1 - 2 weeks of recovery. He had a tight spot in the fat of his calf. Obviously in Harley's case, they'll be ultra cautious with this. Harley was at training yesterday from all reports so I guess they'll continue to re-hab him, build him up and see how they go.

Mitch Brown, just a feeling he will be playing in the early rounds.

Just three things. Viney to be the animal we know he can be consistently Weideman to arrive as a power forward clunking marks and kicking goals . Petracca to arrive as an elite player and rip games apart.