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Yours or his?

Lovely day down at Casey, blue skies and low 20's. A sharp contrast with the high 30's that we experienced last year with smoke filled skies. Only allowed to watch from outside the fence, so the track-watchers on Monday got it good! Today I was really "on the outer". In rehab: Brayshaw, Petty and Smith. Smith carrying a bandage on his left knee. Most of their work seemed to be strengthening type exercises. All were kicking intermittently, Brayshaw off his right foot ( I can't remember which one was injured).Hibberd was unsighted, but I may be wrong as half the players were wearing fluoro vests, making it difficult to pick them out. In bad news for fashionistas, Luke Jacksons mullet has gone. Nathan Carroll is reportedly heartbroken. A couple of main drills involving full ground transition, which I was told was all about stretching the field to create space in the mid-field. However, Pickett and Lockhart didn't participate, and later Pickett joined the rehab group, but nothing obvious as to why. Perhaps it was about loading, as he was involved with tackling exercises later, meaning he wasn't trying to protect and injury. Watching Rosman one can see the natural athlete and runner. He just glides over the ground effortlessly. But comparing him, Bowey and Laurie, they are obviously the new recruits. Physically they are a step below players like Jordon, Chandler and Rivers who have only had the benefit of barely one season in the system. Ben Brown is one seriously big unit and will be a major target up forward. Fans can be assurred he will be using the same long run technique when kicking for goal. He took a mark in the forward pocket at one stage and started his run up from the wing. Still he put the Sherrin through the big uprights, so you can't complain about that. He did leave the session early after about an hour on the track. Make what you will out of that. Clarrie had a Ronald McDonald look about him. A bright red cap and a face smothered with sun-screen. Good sun sense however for a red-head. The session finished with lots of re-runs of touch type football with what seemed like a focus on evasion skills, and shrugging tackles. Also an emphasis on short accurate passing and quick switching to outside runners. Sorry, not much more to report. Always good to see only 3 or 4 in the rehab. I can remember the sight of a dozen plus in rehab in early 2019, and we all saw what came of that. Even those that are away from the main group don't appear to be too far from joining full training. But then the first game is just 2 months away, and practice matches sooner......

I have just seen this. This one hits a raw nerve.. I am deeply saddened to head Mark has sadly passed away. When he told us of the terrible news that his wife had passed away i PM'd him and told him I was here for a chat if need and was thinking of his children who had just sadly lost their mother. I am now utterly devastated for his kids that they have now lost not only their father, but a beautiful soul. We got talking footy around the period and his biggest wish was to see the Dees back playing finals and hopefully winning a flag in his time. I engaged again a while back when he posted about his health battle and you wouldn't have picked it due to his positivity and just happy that he was still able to spend quality time with his kids. I just seen that he was only logged into demonland last Friday. To @Hell Bent I am deeply sorry for your loss as his close mate. To his family and close friends if they are reading this, my thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time. To Mark, RIP old mate. It was an absolute pleasure that I was able to connect with you even if we never met. Time to be reunited with your darling wife.

Heard Jordan Lewis on sen this evening commenting that Kossie Pickett was displaying attributes that he has only seen before in one Cyril Rioli.

I’m not sure it’s helpful comparing a youngster to a legend. Creates unrealistic expectations and puts unnecessary pressure on the young mans shoulders. Kozzie is very talented for sure but best to avoid the comparisons imo and let the kid develop in his own time.

On SEN, Lewis made the comment that Kossie was comparable to Cyril at the same age ?

Rioli started his career with in a top performing team with experienced players like Hodge, Franklin, Lewis, Mitchell, Roughhead in the team to give him cover and provide him with scope to perform. Kozzie started in a dud season without this experienced core to shield him. If he is good enough we will soon know. The bits I saw last year give me confidence that he has many of the right qualities to progress. Let's all calm own and give him the time and space he needs to develop.

Think it will be the following > Captain: Gawn Vice captain: Viney Leadership group: May, Lever, Petracca Gawn won’t be dumped as captain, but needs to improve. Viney won’t be dumped, despite some players not liking him. Coaches and board love him. May proved himself as a player and leader. Lever is a born leader that needs to improve further as a player. All the talk coming out of the club is Petracca is impressing as a leader the last 6-12 months, especially over the offseason. Seems to have matured, as as a gun player last year will likely be added to the leadership group.

Whether the comparison is appropriate or not, I feel that Lewis: has genuine faith in the quality and ability of this list; and has sufficient knowledge and experience to be able to hold, and express, a credible view on this.

The expectation might be high however he has exquisite talent and a year under his belt will do him good. Lewis is well respected has the knowledge to compare Kossie. I hope Lewis is right because we might be in for an exciting year.

Followers of the Demonland training reports will no doubt be aware that Dandenong Stingray Deakyn Smith who was part of Melbourne’s New Generation Academy has been training with the club. Smith is a 179cm half forward/midfielder from South East Juniors. Paul Amy is reporting on Twitter that the Stingrays also have a group of players on the track at Casey Demons, including Clayton Gay, Will Bravo and Bryce Milford.

The biggest knock on Kossie when recruited was his lack of fitness and tendency to fade in and out of games. All I can do is comment on what I actually saw during the season. Some of his end to end running last season creating chains of possessions or creating forward options having run from the backline were phenomenal. Personally I’m not worried about his fitness levels. Lord Nev how do you know he’s in the rehab group because of lack of fitness? Are you guessing or did the coaches tell you that. Fading in and out of games could be a worry or could be a reflection on a completely disfunctional forward line with minimal opportunities for crumbing small forwards. Cyril averaged something like 12 possessions a game. It’s not everything.

It’s January, but i hope Jordan is right

Lewis also thinks the mop of strewn road kill attached to his head is similar to human hair. Kossie might have the best defensive traits since Cyril. His anticipation, closing speed and desire for contact are all great. Time will tell if he has the class and finishing skills with the ball to be a two way star.

I was there for about 2 hours, and because I was outside the fence it was really difficult to pick out individuals, especially when half were in vests. And most of the exercises were in mixed groups, or full length circle type work, with a concentration on kicking and ball movement skills, so there wasn't much done in traditional player roles. Tom was certainly out there, and moving freely, but I really can't add more than that.

Ah, pre-season. At the same age, Cyril had been one of the best afield in a premiership team. Not to take anything away from Kozzie, but geez that's an unhelpful comparison. I never get the 'Cyril was overrated' crowd. If he's overrated, so is every other small forward to ever play the game. Sure it was infuriating listening to BT et al wet their pants with excitement every time he went near it, but he was genuinely one of my favourite all time non-demons to watch, and saved his absolute best for finals. Mark of a true champion.

Fantastic to have another Demonlander making the effort to get to Casey to provide us with a Wednesday training report. Thanks George.

I understand this thread is a future source of reference for the hindsight police, but I’m not writing off players before the season has even begun. Especially the younger ones that should be encouraged.

Its with a very heavy heart I write this tonight. Mark lost his battle with cancer this morning. He fought bravely for around 3 or 4 years and was in quite good health even a few months ago but has been hospitalised the past few weeks. We played cards by his bed with another mate on Saturday night and he was in a happy, positive frame of mind and even gaining physical strength for a few days when out of nowhere he felt really crook so we let him get some rest. Its the last time I heard from him. He was as passionate a Demon as you could find and like many of us, a very nervous unit when watching us play. He would get so nervous when watching at home that he`d get up and fold washing or put dishes away when things got tight in the last qtr. rather than watch the TV. He has been a player sponsor for around 9 years of Jesse Hogan and now Steven May along with having his kids being members for sometime so has made a significant financial contribution to our great club for a long time. Many of you may remember him being quite open about losing his wife to cancer 4 years ago. The only positive I can find from this is that he is now with her, I know he missed her terribly. He leaves behind 3 young kids who will live the rest of their lives without parents, and 2 older kids who need to somehow get on with their own lives and bring up those younger kids. Life can be bloody cruel at times. I told him wherever he ends up that I`ll drink a bottle of his favourite scotch with him when we win the flag, but did joke that I`ll likely be on the other side of hell with him when that happens. I want to add how grateful I am to the MFC, particularly Tamara who I`ve been in close contact with in regards to Marks health. She organised an MFC polo and cap (Mark wore a Mark Neeld era polo nearly every single day since I met him) along with a handwritten card of support from Big Max. It arrived on Friday by express post, any later and he`d never have seen it.The smile on his face was priceless. RIP Mark, I miss you buddy.

It wasn't really a "comparison". He simply said he's seen Kozzy do some things up the field that he hasn't seen since Cyril. He didn't say they play the exact same way. He didn't say Kozzy will be as good as Cyril. He didn't say they do all the same things. Pretty silly to say it's a "woeful comparison" given a) It wasn't a comparison, and b) The bloke giving his opinion has 4 flags and has spent a fair bit of time watching both players in training.

Trac is in

Really? Your gonna go there? Would you like to be held accountable for every statement and or comparison you make? at the time he was right. List isn’t the issue

There's a difference between saying 'he'll be as good as...' and 'he has similar traits to....' I've only read the article, haven't heard the audio, but the quotes in the article make it sound like he's not saying he's as good as Cyril, just that he's doing some things that are 'Cyril-like'. Lewis: “He’s doing stuff up the field that I haven’t seen since Rioli.” https://www.sen.com.au/news/2021/01/20/young-demon-likened-to-hawks-champion/

At the same stage of his career Cyril was a premiership player and went close to a Norm Smith medal. Kozzie has talent, but unrealistic comparisons like this will only heap unnecessary pressure on him. Kozzie needs to get his fitness up before he can make a decent impact and fulfill his talents. He’s dead last on our list for fitness, to the point now where he’s being put into the rehab group at training because he can’t keep up.

Cyril could mark, kick, handball, evade, tackle, so can kosssie, Kossie only needs to be the best HE CAN BE.

I also remember him saying our young list was comparable to Hawthorns at the similar stage when he come over.

Not sure how anyone could have any real reasonings or predictions on delisting or players to be moved on when the 2021 season is still to play out....

That sounds familiar. Those impatient folk writing off Kozzie might wanna hold off for a few more seasons yet.

RIP Mark. The psychological battle is taken to a new level when when younger children are involved. To have both parents suffer and be taken is an enormous burden for for the entire family especially for those left behind with the trauma. So gut wrenching and so tragic. I am certain there are many here at Demonland who, like myself, have been somehow fortunate enough to survive this illness, or at least be able to manage it. Thank you Hell Bent for your post Your friendship and support to Mark and his family would have been most valuable and certainly cherished. Demon fans to the end, this story and the many others like it, should provide us with some measure of perspective and an equal measure of the hope that our sport and our club provides. l sincerely hope you get to savour that scotch and toast Mark, in the not too distant future.

I met Mark at his video store many years ago to pick up a copy of a Robbie Flower compilation video that was put together by Ash29 (an Essendon supporter who posts rarely now). A truly gentle man and a lovely chat. RIP Mark. Condolences to his family.

Brown back in full training and moving well on the back of last year’s nightmare knee injury. He’s doing at least 2 full sessions a week and on track for the preseason. Melbourne looking to improve forward conversion after failing to captalise on the midfield stocks. Brown is expected to take pressure off young forwards in Weideman, Jackson and Pickett. Tom McDonald training well and could be used on a wing alternating with Luke Jackson and others such as Fritsch, Petracca, Spargo and Gawn can be dangerous around goal.

It would be a bit of a tall ask (pardon the pun) given his short tenure at the ckub, but I think Big Ben Brown would be someone worth considering. We could then have leaders at all major parts of the ground: May back Brown forward Max & Viney on ball Asides from Brown, the forward line is a bit devoid of experienced leadership. There is possibly Melksham, but he hasn't necessarily impressed on me as a leader from my observations in the stands. Jones is also the other obvious leader who could spend a lot of time forward, but he might not play all games and I think somewhat by virtue of the position, the full forward should carry the mantle that end of the ground.

Gawn, Viney and May clearly our 3 best leaders. 2020 proved melksham shouldn’t be anywhere near the LG. Favourite or not he needs to play at the level and chase, then think about leading

I like the simplicity of a single Captain, Vice-Captain and a deputy Vice-Captain. I don't like Leadership Groups because I believe it alienates all those who aren't chosen to be in it thereby causing more harm than good. I know that's how I felt as a schoolboy many, many years ago. (I realise that says more about me and my then fragile ego.)

He's a 19 yo kid who has had one very different season as an introduction to an AFL career. He's still learning habits that will shape his professionalism to elite. Personally I'm much more worried about Aaron Nietschke's knees than Kossie, who has a massive ceiling and I'm sure will be an absolute gun in a year or two if he learns and adopts good habits.

Geez that's concerning if true. I'd have hoped he's in rehab with a slight niggle, not because he can't keep up with the others. He's a well paid professional athlete FCS! And the COVID breach with his mate Charles was less than professional. His lack of fitness might explain some of his poor shots on goal last year. He really did miss some sitters that other small forwards eat up for breakfast. With respect to the Rioli comparison, I can see where he's coming from. Kozzie can def do some things that 99% of the league can't with his awareness and cleverness. But he obviously needs to start nailing the shots on goal that Cyril would kick in his sleep.

Generally, comparisons are odious. Lewis is an accomplished media performer and knows how to sell hope at this time of the year. Last season Kozzie showed glimpses but nothing more. I understand the need to play him, but for many games last year he was bog ordinary. Tackles didn't stick, sitters were missed and he often found himself out of the action. Has a long, long way to go.

He almost always bought it defensively and Richmond have shown those players are more and more valuable. Cyril had quiet games on the stat sheet but was also making an impact on the advanced stat sheet that measures pressure. This issue with Cyril was he enjoyed a good offseason and would often come back in poor shape. Which led to hamstring injuries and missing games. And early retirement. Plus he never reached his midfield potential which is really unfortunate as he could’ve done special things in the centre. Aaron Davey was a better field kick but otherwise a lesser player and had great midfield seasons due to doing the work and necessity at a less talented club. It’s a shame Cyril never did. Kossie can have 8 disposals, 4 effective, 1 behind but make a good impact with 4 tackles. But I’m not sure he’s on Cyril’s level of missing 10 weeks with a hammy and then turning it on. So it’s important they build his body and work ethic up the right way.

That, alone, is a very strong recommendation to keep him learning and improving on our training list for as long as it may reasonably take. This may not be a widespread view amongst Dees' supporters but in my mind, an oracle has spoken and Yze, Chocko and Lewis have the skills and intellects to bring out from such potentials another Farmer champion. If we can punt on players with limited extended success like the Weed, OMac and several others across season after season of hope and expectation, a more singular development of one is common sense.

A wonderful day.

Thanks for the report @george_on_the_outer - halfway through, I realised I was reading it in your voice, after hearing you on the DL podcast recently!

Yes he was, but while I was there, the players didn’t separate into groups as they have done before.

I just can’t work out why he hasn’t gotten to the finals stages of Australian of the year let alone winning it. His achievements for fighting MND are incredible.

The only place it can be is the current training oval with an indoor facility/offices and Social space over the existing outside carpark. The greens will not let us develop any land in the park lands surrounding the MCG. The club won't want to move outside the Olympic Park/MCG precinct, the study will be the best location at Gosch's paddock , that is why the clubs line has been that the oval is smaller than MCG.

doesnt push ahead of Oliver/Viney/Brayshaw/Harmes/Trac in our starting side and you'd think sparrow/jordon will get opportunities ahead of him too and jones to get to 300. doesn't really do enough anywhere else on the ground to justify selection when we are already heavy on bullocking tacklers who can't kick

I assume all the people bashing Trump and celebrating Biden will be putting their hand up to join the military to fight in the new wars that are inevitably coming?

It's not the mid 90s anymore - they don't need to waste an interchange rotation just so the coach can give someone a spray over the phone.

I like the quick switching to outside runners. The next step.

Indeed 640MD it may be a fairy tale and most of us are dreamers at heart but it would be outlandishly great for us all if Kobe showed a glimpse of the Wiz in the Red and Blue - The ball is in your court Kobe, you might only get one crack at this thing.!!!!

I arrived down at Casey (God's Country) around 9.15am and stayed until 11.30am. The players began with forward 50 entries, they were about 60 out and delivering it to leads near the goal square and forward pocket focusing on low bullet entries and then switched play to kicking out of forward line. Chocco was leading these drills and lead most of the drills all morning for the main group. Rehab we had Hibberd, Pickett, Brayshaw and Lockhart. Hibberd did the least of the group so he seems a fair way off, whatever his injury may be. Vanders and May joined the rehab group later in the session and conducted individual programs. Mostly repeat running. As mentioned by Tough Kent Petty is fully training with the main group which is encouraging. From what I've seen with the new recruits, Rosman is training with the mids, Bowey with defenders and Laurie with forwards. Rosman was the standout for me of the new recruits. He is fast, athletic and runs all day. Bowey is lighter than I expected he definitely needs a few pre seasons in the gym but I loved his kicking. Laurie has strong legs but small upper body and shoulders he also impressed me with his repeat running and endurance which was conducted towards the end of the session. The second drill it was a keepings off scenario 8 (yellow bibs) vs 6 (no bibs) starting from the back 50 and using handball receive to clear space and then go through the corridor with run and carry and hitting up a free player inside the 50. The third drill, forwards and backs were playing on each other while the mids played on each other. Lewis and Yze were coaching the midfield group. From what I saw Sparrow, Jordon, Nietschke, Vanders, Melksham all training with the mids. Viney and Trac the standouts for me and Clarry also sharp. I also made my way across the other side of the ground and Ben Gibson came over to me and told me to vacate back to the entrance area due to Covid precautions. I had a brief chat with him and I voiced the issue with him that not enough content is being put on the MFC website and encouraged him to do more interviews and podcasts to which he said they'll bring out a podcast tomorrow. But IMO I believe MFC should be doing a lot more to provide content for their supporters. They finished the session with interval training i.e run 50 metres, jog 30 metres and walk 10 metres and repeat continually around the boundary for about 10 - 15 minutes. Rosman and the new kid Smith were the standouts. They just ran all day basically lapping players. Poor Ben Brown was in a world of pain, i'm sure he would be thanking Burgess later for that session. Jeff Farmer was in attendance and chatted away with Matty Whelan the entire time. Yze and Goody came over later and had a good 30 minute chat with them. Farmer was impressed with training and mentioned it was like nothing they did back in the day. Farmer has lost a lot of weight and credits it to being off the booze... he's sitting on about 85kgs. I got some very good information that Lachie Ash (Pick 4 from 2019 draft) won't be renewing his contract from GWS and wants to be back in Victoria. His preferences are Melbourne and Geelong. My source said he heard it from two of people. That's about all the news I have for today. I hope you all appreciate the report. Cheers!