Demonland

Demonland Trackwatchers descended upon Gosch's Paddock on a brisk Wednesday Morning to bring you their observations from another Preseason Training session. DEMONLAND'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONSThe present, rehab and absent list for this morning's training session:- PRESENT: 1. Steven May 3. Christian Salem 5. Xavier Lindsay 6. Caleb Windsor 8. Jake Lever 9. Jack Steele 12. Koltyn Tholstrup 13. Jai Culley 14. Changkuoth Jiath 16. Bailey Laurie 19. Xavier Taylor 21. Matt Jefferson 22. Blake Howes 24. Trent Rivers 25. Tom McDonald 26. Jed Adams 27. Max Heath 28. Brody Mihocek 29. Tom Campbell 30. Harry Sharp 31. Bayley Fritsch 32. Tom Sparrow 33. Latrelle Sumner-Pickett 34. Kalani White 35. Harry Petty 36. Kysaiah Pickett 37. Kade Chandler 38. Oscar Berry 40. Riley Onley 42. Aidan Johnson 44. Luker Kentfield REHAB: 4. Harvey Langford (Concussion) 7. Jack Viney (Foot) 10. Daniel Turner (Hamstring) 11. Max Gawn (Hamstring) 15. Ed Langdon (Concussion) 18. Jake Melksham (Unknown) 20. Thomas Matthews (PCL recovery) 23. Shane McAdam (Achilles) 43 Jack Henderson (Groin) 45. Andy Moniz-Wakefield (ACL recovery) ABSENT: 2. Jacob van Rooyen (Unknown) 17. Jake Bowey (Lisfranc) 39. Ricky Mentha Jnr (Unknown) May was doing 100m fast run throughs while other players were doing various pre-warm ups before the actual training warmups stated at 10am. Langford and Langdon running laps as part of rehab. As reported on Monday Langford copped a knock at training last week and is in concussion protocols Not sure what is wrong with Langdon. McAdam is doing work with one of the trainers. Viney, Matthews & Henderson are handballing with a trainer. AMW doing the warm ups with the main group but I am sure he will move back to rehab once the drills commence. Gawn, Turner Melksham and Campbell all doing run throughs at a slower pace separate to the main group. We know that Gawn & Turner both have hammy awareness from last Fridays session but don’t know what injury Melk and Campbell have. Will update what the rehabbers are doing as training progresses. McAdam running laps with Reece Conca. JVR & Mentha not present today. Langdon also copped a knock on the head in a previous session and is in the rehab group as a result. Viney and Henderson are on the bikes Matthews is doing separate rehab with a trainer. McAdam and Langford running laps. Gawn, Turner and Langdon doing some light ball work with a trainer. After some ball warm up drills the players are doing 200m runs in small groups. Forwards and Defenders Drill Forwards: Mihocek, Kentfield, Fritsch, Jefferson & Johnson Defenders Lever, May, TMac, Petty, Adams & Howes Split into two groups with a mix of these players to do 3 vs 3 Rucks Drill Max, Campbell, Heath & White working on ball ups vs each other in the middle of the ground. Sometimes solo against the bag and sometimes 1 vs 1. The Rest Drill Close quarters keepings off handball drill with tackling/contact. Red vs Yellow bibs. Split into 4 groups for 4 separate rotating drills 1 vs 1 marking drill with ball kicked high in the air 4 vs 5 keepings off drill in the 50m arc with kicking and a lot more space to run into. Goal is to get the ball to your goal 6 vs 3 keepings off handball drill up the wing. Goal is for the 6 to handball the ball around quickly up the wing usually ending with a long kick to one of the 6 who is by himself further up the wing. Goal kicking. Set shots and snaps on the run. On angles or straight in front. GHOSTWRITER'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONSAMW is very close to being 100% He’s been told he will be in full training after Xmas. And he’s delighted. Bowser won’t be on the LTI. JT said at this stage they’re hoping to not have to put him on it. Langdon also in concussion protocols. He copped a knock to the head during training. Latrelle Pickett (Trelly) is an absolute joy to watch. He doesn’t just have flashes of brilliance, he’s consistently outstanding. And fast! You blink and he’s moved 10 metres. It’s like there’s two of him out there. Kozzie and Trelly are blood relatives but it’s by no means easy to explain. Trelly’s mum and Kozzie’s dad are first cousins. One of Kozzie’s aunts has children to one of Trelly’s dad’s cousins (Trelly’s second cousin). On Trelly’s dad’s side Kozzie is Trelly’s nephew and on Trelly’s mum’s side Koz and Trelly are second cousins. That’s how Trelly explained it. He must’ve noticed I was battling to keep up so he said I should write it down, and I did. There was no way I’d remember it. Trelly said Koz calls him “Uncle.” I said, “Really?” Trelly said “Yeah definitely, ask him.” So I did. Koz said yes he does call Trelly Uncle. At this point I was confident I understood the whole thing but then Koz said “and I call Trelly’s dad Pop.” Once again I was back to the land of confusion. I said “So, Trelly’s dad is your granddad?” Koz said, “Nah I just like calling him Pop.” He was greatly amused by my confusion. Cheeky bugger. DITCHA'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONSI attended some of this session. I was impressed with the way that Trelly moved, and his great skills. It was good to see the CEO attending most the session. It was good to see Ryan Hoffman formerly of the Melbourne Storm there. Was it Matthew Scarlett working with the defenders? [DEMONLAND - Yes I believe it was] PAULR'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBERVATIONSWent to training as well. One drill they were running was in groups of 6 players about 40 -45 m out from goals. Five players would start with a ball and quickly feed it to the sixth player resulting in them having 5 quick shots on goal. Then rotate to the next player and repeat. It got competitive, and in the group of six players containing Kossie and Trelly they were clearly loving competing to claim 5 goals. Fun to watch and of the new players recruits Pickett and Onley stood out. Latrell’s seems most likely for round one, great hands, feet and movement, wow good. A lot of work on fluid and fast ball movement, rebound and attack. AJ looking trim and AFL body, was in the thick of it and looks at home and at the level. Could break in if the planets align. Another who looked very solid was Steel, just runs to right spots and reliable as expected. CJ also is a real solid talent. Otherwise the team are building into the Xmas break nicely. Was great to come down and check it out in person. Very friendly vibe and great to see the new talent fitting in. Jai Culley, his size and presence in the middle, plus his forward skills bode well for a big impact in 2026. He plays like Bont or Fyfe in his movement through traffic and physicality. SLARTIBARTFAST'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONSJust back from training and I was really impressed by Trelly again. I think he is a different type of player to Kossie. Kossie is the burst type player with, as we know, exceptional X factor and is more a small forward with patches in the midfield. He's the Bobby Hill, Charlie Cameron style of player. I think Trelly is different, more in the mould of NWM. In the training drill he covers so much ground and is continually running. He will link up time and time again in them. He's very quick and evasive and at this point his skills are just good, not exceptional like Kossie. But he looks like he could play as a line breaker of HB, he could play through the midfield and he can clearly play forward. It will be a really interesting watch over the PS. The other to continually impress is Jai Culley. He's going to be a very difficult match up because he's a very strong overhead mark for the position he plays. Midfield or wing? Do those positions exist under King the way they did under Goodwin? There really haven't been any match sims in the last few weeks to know as the players for the main have been in about 3 different groups all doing different things. We will start to get a better idea of where players sit in January. It's also interesting we have guys in rehab with concussion protocols which adds weight to the observation that training is much more physical under King than it was under Goody. WAYNEWUSSELL'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONSMcAdam is still running with a slight limp, but what a lot of running he is doing! Today he broke away for some short kicking and he looked comfortable. Tholstrup is looking fit and was a strong body in breakaway from the centre sims. Heath seemed to struggle with his kicking for goal today, surprisingly, Lever was hitting 75% of his shots. May is getting back to some fitness and is moving a little better than in the latter stages of this season. He is getting back some of the swagger. A fully fit May would be a huge bonus going into 2026. Matthews is recovering well from his op and, purely from my observation, should be joining sims activity after the Christmas break. Campbell is benefitting from an uninterrupted preseason. He may be more than a Max backup in 2026. On training form, I list the following as visible improvers, not in any order... AJ, Langford, Windsor, Culley and Kentfield This group makes us better... Jiath, AMW, Mihocek, L. Pickett, Steele Another positive factor... Lever is fit. Without further serious injury, I am confident we will at least break even in 2026, which would be an improvement on the previous two seasons. AJ is looking good. He seems to have gained a little polish, particularly with his kicking for goal. He is fit and takes some good marks in leading and contesting sims. Has a short chat with Harvey Langford. My friend asked if he had grown since last year. He said he wasn't sure... "maybe a centimetre or two". I snapped those pics and posted them before to give some indication of Langford's size compared to Lingers. He is definitely taller than listed. I told him he better stop growing or they will have him in the ruck next! We were treated to some of the 'magic' Trelly moves as his group worked through some repeat shots at goal, and later some lead up work infront of us. He is lightning, full of confidence, evasive and a sure ball handler. I didn't notice Onley today, but X Taylor has blossomed somewhat since his first hit out. He showed finesse when bursting from defence, was reasonably accurate with his shots for goal and chirpy in general, as he blends into the group dynamic. FRITTA AND TURNER'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONSWhen I arrived Langdon was on the ground by himself, drifting up and down the ground, kicking the ball to himself, and having shots on goal, whilst the staff set up. TMc next to arrive, then Max G, wearing a bucket hat. Last out were Viney and Hendo who spent most of their time on the bikes. Viney was man on the mark for Trelly and was yelling 'Its your first game, and your having a shot.... Ghosty was in fine form Berry looks a footballer but his lack of AFL fitness does show. If the game is in the balance and Max H is kicking for goal look the other way. Disco and Max G running the boundary, with disco looking over his shoulder as if to say Where are you? The gap widened. Btw those running the (boundary) line have right of way so players coming off for a drink have to make way. First time I have seen Trelly and he moves very well in traffic. Was impressed. XT obviously has 'it' and is very energetic. May is a good kick for goal. Lever was yelling encouragement to Tom Matthews as he rehabed. Tom spent most of his time running, under the watchful eye of a trainer. Knee still an issue. Onley led from the front in his groups running. Langford looks colosal. Ran the line then kick to kick with trainer/Jones from 10, 20 then 30m etc. Did a drill where he ran in a straight line, turned left then about turn to the right. Repeat. As I left 4 galahs were watching on from the top of the netting behind the goals. DOT POINTS FROM JOSH BARNES OF THE HERALD SUN FROM HIS ARTICLE ~ “TRACK WATCH NEWS AND SCOUTING NOTES FROM MELBOURNE PRE-SEASON TRAINING” • Steven King may have demonstrated his first significant positional adjustment, with swingman Harry Petty confirmed to defence during a match simulation drill. • Petty played on former Pie Brody Mihocek and alongside Tom McDonald, with Jake Lever positioned at the opposite end playing for the opposing side. • Steven May, who part of a large group of players who completed running during the match sim. • Kozzie Pickett was utilised exclusively through the midfield, while Jack Steele and Caleb Windsor were the most prominent players on the ground. • Tom Sparrow played as a forward but defensively on Changkuoth Jiath, whilst hard runner Harry Sharp played deep forward with his pressure particularly noteworthy. • “While he sat out the match sim, draftee Latrelle Pickett showed flashes of his talent with a couple of exciting moves through traffic during earlier drills”.

Unknown at this stage. Reports on his injury indicate he’ll remain on light duties until at least the end of the year. His chances for Round 1 will likely hinge on how he responds after the Christmas break and the level of fitness he can build before the season begins. Right now, he’s not running and is limited to bike work, and he’s presumably spending time in the gym on upper-body training.

Split into 4 groups for 4 separate rotating drills 1 vs 1 marking drill with ball kicked high in the air 4 vs 5 keepings off drill in the 50m arc with kicking and a lot more space to run into. Goal is to get the ball to your goal 6 vs 3 keepings off handball drill up the wing. Goal is for the 6 to handball the ball around quickly up the wing usually ending with a long kick to one of the 6 who is by himself further up the wing. Goal kicking. Set shots and snaps on the run. On angles or straight in front.

Drills: The Rest Close quarters keepings off handball drill with tackling/contact. Red vs Yellow bibs

Drill: Rucks: Max Campbell Heath White working on ball ups vs each other in the middle of the ground. Sometimes solo against the bag and sometimes 1 vs 1.

Drills Forwards and Defenders Forwards: Mihocek Kentfield Fritsch Jefferson Johnson Defenders Lever May TMac Petty Adams Howes Split into two groups with a mix of these players to do 3 vs 3

After some ball warm up drills the players are doing 200m runs in small groups.

Viney and Henderson are on the bikes Matthews is doing separate rehab with a trainer. McAdam and Langford running laps. Gawn, Turner and Langdon doing some light ball work with a trainer.

Langdon also copped a knock on the head in a previous session and is in the rehab group as a result.

JVR & Mentha not present today.

McAdam running laps with Reece Conca.

Langford and Langdon running laps as part of rehab. As reported on Monday Langford copped a knock at training last week and is in concussion protocols Not sure what is wrong with Langdon. McAdam is doing work with one of the trainers. Viney, Matthews & Henderson are handballing with a trainer. AMW doing the warm ups with the main group but I am sure he will move back to rehab once the drills commence. Gawn, Turner Melksham and Campbell all doing run throughs at a slower pace separate to the main group. We know that Gawn & Turner both have hammy awareness from last Fridays session but don’t know what injury Melk and Campbell have. Will update what the rehabbers are doing as training progresses.

May was doing 100m fast run throughs while other players were doing various pre-warm ups before the actual training warmups stated at 10am.

The present, rehab and absent list for this morning's training session:- PRESENT: 1. Steven May 3. Christian Salem 5. Xavier Lindsay 6. Caleb Windsor 8. Jake Lever 9. Jack Steele 12. Koltyn Tholstrup 13. Jai Culley 14. Changkuoth Jiath 16. Bailey Laurie 19. Xavier Taylor 21. Matt Jefferson 22. Blake Howes 24. Trent Rivers 25. Tom McDonald 26. Jed Adams 27. Max Heath 28. Brody Mihocek 29. Tom Campbell 30. Harry Sharp 31. Bayley Fritsch 32. Tom Sparrow 33. Latrelle Sumner-Pickett 34. Kalani White 35. Harry Petty 36. Kysaiah Pickett 37. Kade Chandler 38. Oscar Berry 40. Riley Onley 42. Aidan Johnson 44. Luker Kentfield REHAB: 4. Harvey Langford 7. Jack Viney 10. Daniel Turner 11. Max Gawn 15. Ed Langdon 18. Jake Melksham 20. Thomas Matthews 23. Shane McAdam 43 Jack Henderson 45. Andy Moniz-Wakefield ABSENT: 2. Jacob van Rooyen 17. Jake Bowey 39. Ricky Mentha Jnr