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Hi everyone, this is agent 59 again on Wednesday I had a new mission, my mission impossible was to get a forbidden training report at Casey. I was able to get a skip Bin into the ground, to disguise myself I had my black garbage bag hat, I got there 3 hours before the player where due to come out,at 915 I see 3 players arrive early it's the 3 new draftees, they have a footy with them they form a 3 point triangle and play kick to kick, their kicks are perfect 50 Meter stab passes very impressive, soon 3 others arrive Max trac & Viney they join in with the three others only Trac was nailing those kicks max kicks went straight over their heads, but Viney's kicks are way off. Soon most where there, first they all did 20 laps of the oval, Tmac came in first then ANB in second and Ros came in 3nd very impressive by the new kid, kossie came dead last, he had to do 100 push ups and a 100 sit ups as punishment. They went into 6 groups 2 forwards groups 2 midfield groups and 2 backs groups, Tmac was training in 1 forwards group with the Weed, brown was in the other forward group with the other new draftees. after their drills they made up 2 teams of 20 players playing a 16 on 16, Tmac went to Ben brown at one end, at the other Lever went to the weed. The first bounce was contested by Max and Bradtke, Max won the tap to Viney who handballed it out to trac who kicked it long to Ben brown who took a overhead mark on Tmac. May took 25 marks in the backline and Ben brown kicked 15 goals at the other end, Kobe farmer crumbed a couple of goals, one off his left foot and one on his right foot in the first quarter. kossie and farmer where playing like the kracker Brothers, they knew where the other one was, with about 30 seconds to go Trac kicks to the right side pocket where Fritsch took a leading mark, my skip is on the left side of the point post, he kicks it across goal and can you believe it, it landes in the bin my cover is going to be blown, Tomlinson jumps the fence to get the ball I duck my head with the rest of the rubbish, luckily he doesn't notice me close call, then the truck comes and takes me away maybe I might come back on Friday. I still can't get the smell out of my nose ??.stay tuned for my next training report.

I’ve had my fair share of mental health problems. I take meds everyday that really work for me, but I’ve also ended up in hospital from being in some fairly scary places inside my own head. I’m very upfront about it to anybody, as aside from being a Melbourne supporter, I appear to be a fairly well adjusted, well mannered and ‘in control’ person. I absolutely loathe the confusion that these kind of situations create for the general pubic around mental health issues. It really does come across, as others have noted, as a ‘card played’. I know for a fact that this has been the case in the AFL in regards to recreational drug issues in the passed. If it truly is the case that a player is having a mental health crisis then the AFLPA needs to have an agreement with the media that it doesn’t get reported on. It’s a better outcome for the player involved, and much better for the community - who can understand mental health problems as diverse and unique, but not feel like they are just a PR stunt.

I'm inclined to think the concerns for Patton's mental health are genuine. Sure the 'mental health card' is often played to escape scrutiny or buy time and players 'take a break from football'. This is different. Patton is in hospital. If the concerns were not genuine he wouldn't be there. It has been a humiliating week for him, played out in public and he has been stood down from his job. The mental health concerns don't exonerate him from his actions or the consequences but it is easy to understand that he would be in a very fragile place.

Sorry but I disagree 58er. What most posters on here have done is condemned the act - ie what he did - and what he did on a number of occasions was despicable, and so this act(s) should be called out for what it is. This condemnation would be applied to anyone who did the same thing. Why he did it is a different matter. If he does have mental health issues then of course I hope he gets the treatment he needs. And anyone with mental health issues deserves our "understanding". But we should not be silent on this issue at all just because the mental health card has been raised. We should continue to call out and condemn this type of act in an effort to highlight and acknowledge the standards we expect. The perpetrator is irrelevant. Its the act that is condemned.

Being a footy supporter isn't a tipping contest. Being the first to criticise a first year player is not something to hang your hat on. The thing I look for when considering the views of others is how they sum up their view based on evidence. For the most part, having a strong view (either way) about our club is the first sign that the poster is unlikely to be considering the available evidence as there's usually not a lot of it. Here's an example of a poor post(in my view): Goodwin has lost the players. ...and here's a good one (regardless of whether I like the actual viewpoint): Goodwin may have lost the players. Our contested ball numbers and 1 percenters are down from the start of the year and the players' body language has been poor. It's not about being negative or positive but providing a balanced view based on evidence. Being hyper-critical or overly glowing in praise - without evidence - is to make the same mistake.

Not too sure about progress. At the December 2019 Fan Forum they said a working party had been set up with the State Government to explore site options. Maybe the funding part is new but not the working party. So its hard to tell how much progress has been made this year. Having said that it is understandable if it has been slow because of covid lockdowns.

Clubs have pared back the staffing resources and media depts were heavily utilised during the hub, earning well-deserved holidays. We may need to recalibrate our expectations.

Nice work, Agent 13.

Looks pretty good to me... Some people might do well to look at what he brings to the team rather than focus on nit picking negatives.

Lord Nev, this information was reported months ago. Someone might be able to confirm but from memory it was discussed in the members forum.

i think a lot of you seem to be looking at through your own moralistic stances, which is fine!. Most normal humans are going to condemn this type of behaviour. To infer that JP had mental health issues before all this smut came out would be somewhat right. I mean the text messages are as damning as the pictures he sent...Does he have a coke issue? If he does it is likely that he has some mental issues. The main point though is after the event. He got called out on front of national papers, following day it was more girls verifying he is a serial offender. Hawthorn told JP to stay away from training as they did not want the circus with media. There would have been discussions that they will go through the due process, but your career as an AFL player is on severe tenderhooks. I would say his career is done and dusted and he is wondering how he fell so fast, his head would be spinning ,a trip to the mental health ward may be not a card played but more fallout due to hugely stressful circumstances. Not condoning the acts at all but the fallout would be real for any human facing similar circumstances.

Great and personally courageous post. Sadly the mental health crisis 'card played' to avoid recreational drug use or to excuse general poor behaviour by AFL players promotes cynicism, which is understandable. As outsiders, it's hard for us supporters to know what's genuine and what's a cover up. My concern is that the way things are currently handled and reported on may further stigmatise those with genuine mental health issues.

He's been doing it for years so i don't have sympathy for him. Its disgusting behaviour especially some of the content that he was displaying. Glad he's been finally caught. Lesson for young footballers all around the country, you're not invincible.

Dees to win the premiership in 2021. Have to believe to receive. There’s no reason to think that we cannot win it. We simply must.

A phone call? I don’t normally bother getting on my high horse but seriously, WTF?! Are you trying to suggest that if a girl gives a guy her phone number she is just getting what she deserves if he sends her pictures of himself jerking off?

In what might be deemed a stroke of good fortune he is now seen as sufficiently flawed enough to be on Collingwood's radar.

Nobody is better at being impeached than Trump. Just ask him. Now lets hope the GOP has the balls to pass his impeachment in the senate and vote to have him barred from ever running again. The sooner this piece of [censored] is in jail and out of the public's eye, the better this world will be.

Cheesy, D., this is probably the most sensible post I have ever read.

This is yesterday training report I posted today had to have a 4 hour shower.

Apologies for getting this conversation onto something training related but I’m starting to get really frustrated at the lack of info coming from the club with training. Pictures are nice but they lack context, there’s also word there was a time trial but is there any article about who performed well? Maybe I’ve been spoilt over the years by D-lands track watchers, and ok I don’t want to hear the usual “boys are flying” but just something about how they are handling training in groups or how Ben Brown is fitting in would be nice.

Well done Fraser you are certainly striving for something special in my mind. Not just here for a good time. Achieving something for yourself and to help our great club to achieve the ultimate would be something special.

I assume most will have recieved this but this bit was most interesting OUR FACILITIES • Finish construction of high-performance facility at Casey Fields • Start construction of new Melbourne home base facility We have finished the construction of our high-performance facility at Casey Fields, including a recent $8 million upgrade of the AFL and AFLW facility, which has been timely given the impact of COVID-19 and training at a shared facility in AAMI Park. Currently our football program is based at AAMI Park, while our administration is based at several points within the MCG. Our vision is to bring together the entire club for the first time in recent history, based within the MCG local precinct. This means the football program, administration and social club are all in the one hub. We need to provide our men’s and women’s teams with the same elite training facilities that every other AFL club currently enjoys. We need to create a Members Social Club within walking distance of the MCG. For the first time, the State Government are funding a feasibility project involving State Government, the AFL and MFC to explore all possible options within the inner-city MCG local precinct. Now I will go back and read it all.

A memo to all males: your penis is for function not form. Nobody cares to see it with the flash on but you.

I received voting forms etc yesterday via post. It has a brief summery about each candidate. Mailed it back this morning.

I'm inclined to make a change on the board. This comes from not knowing any of the current board or the new candidate. I think like he did with the team & coach last season, it's time for Bartlett to get a kick up the a... Now you will not find a more thorough case than that anywhere.

By being impeached for a second time, Trump has set another ignominious record in USA history.

I feel your pain, but I think you’ve summed it up in the second paragraph; we never knew how good we’ve had it. Was always a highlight to turn up to work on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday and find 6 pages of demonland training reports waiting for me at my desk. Most footy fans probably haven’t noticed much of a change though. Hopefully preseason 2021-22 will see a return of our track-watchers.

It's because of attitudes like this that people drive their cars into trees rather than confront the reality and seriousness of mental illness and get the help they need.

Rumoured to have run ACROSS the lake in record time. But I'm not expecting any miracles .

The lack of info coming from the club is really starting to bug me, if this is the case I’d love a little write up of them asking him how it feels to beat senior players at the time trial and words from Burgess about how the players performed.

Lol, that's like arguing that the charges against DeGoey aren't serious because hey, who hasn't brought a girl home after a night out. Sexting isn't the issue - it's the lack of consent.

Hahaha. Kossie will be unbelievable. He has every trick a small forward needs, his pressure is brilliant and the only thing stopping him is clearly his tank. He did things last year that nobody in our side can do in terms of creating openings and chances at scores where normally there'd be none. He is unreal.

Wouldn't call Sparrow "slow". I think possibly you and others are getting a little sucked into the cliche of 'slow inside mids' and 'quick skillful outside players' when players aren't always as cut and dry as that. Sparrow has a more than handy burst of speed on him. If you look at how he's managed to break into a midfield most thought was already packed, I don't think it's that surprising he's 'reasonably highly' rated for the stage of his career he's at. I might have missed it, but I haven't seen a lot of people saying Pickett is "about to explode"? I think a few are expecting a pretty decent jump in his output, I'm one of them I suppose, but the whole notion of 'exploding' or having a 'breakout year' is probably the most overdone thing in football. He's got some improvement to do, no doubt, but he lead us for tackles inside 50 and had decent rankings for goal assists, score involvements and goals, so probably a bit early to be basically calling him a bust after 1 season, especially a season FAR from normal preparation and training wise. And personally I don't think Bowey or Laurie are that similar to Kozzy. I would class Kozzy as a crumbing pressure forward with x-factor, whereas I would have both Bowey and Laurie more as higher small forwards, more likely to be looking at the spots of players like Spargo and ANB. Even so, we have been THAT short on creative small forwards that I don't really think drafting those two is a bad sign for Kozzy at all. For mine, I would be placing more effort into queries on players like Brayshaw, vandenBerg, Smith, Melksham, TMac, Tomlinson, ANB, and a few more than I would on young blokes just starting in their careers.

Think people are being a bit harsh on Pickett given that he's just a kid coming off his first year at this level.

Bedford cam 2nd in our first time trial last season, behind ANB. Really would like to see Bedford given a bit more chance this year, has some good skills just needs to get more involved.

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It would appear that General Patton has a Major Problem with his Private Parts. Would Hawthorn consider Corporal Punishment?

Of all the set backs he’s had with his body this is the first groin complaint as far as I know.

Doesn't surprise me in the slightest TBH. Young bloke front page of the paper and all over social media outted for being a serial self flagellator. Long tough road infront of him as he'd be gettng sledged from all directions for years to come. Public humiliation such as this would be tough to deal with. I'd be concerned for his mental wellbeing also.

In other words Hawthorn have sent him there to make out they are doing something about it.

No I haven't. I've pointed out there's serious issues here and the Demonland commentary has revolved around smutty jokes and now apparently pathetic name calling. Grow up.

Back in my youth, long-distance phone calls would expose you to an STD.

Kozzie will be good. Brings a lot to the table but what most pleases me is his kicking. He is near technically perfect on both feet.

Sorry Wellsy. We cant afford to give another year to project players. This is the year it has to come together for finals + or this build is lost. Smith Kozzie Hibberd, TMac and Melk have to start off on the good foot without "a few games " to settle them in.

Way too early to make a cleat call on Kozzie yet imo. Yes, he missed some absolute sitters and slipped over way too much, but then he also did some extraordinary brilliant things also. A raw , talented, 1st year player who’s at least a chance to be a gun... but no guarantee. Let’s talk with more clarity at years end as I’m on the fence.

There's plenty of hate for ANB. He aint our worst

The fella Rosman is generating a good deal of interest and encouragement. We may have a winner in the starting blocks with him and if he has some areas for improvement, I am sure that Yze and Choco will help increase his potentials.

Unless they're what Dr D sees.

Agree, but let us hope that in the coming weeks before the silly trial-out matches and the season proper, we get a whole lot more out of the media department to keep us aware, alert and addicted to the possibilities (we all see) in the year ahead.

I’m not specifically referring to Patton here but the mind numbing stupidity of how people use social media never ceases to astonish me