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When the dust settled on 2023, the Melbourne Football Club coach Simon Goodwin lamented that the club knew it needed to score more to land a second premiership in the current era. He opined that an average of one more goal per game would have had his charges in football’s stratosphere. Goodwin was right and, based on his team’s scoring opportunities, that extra goal (and more) was well within its grasp if only they had better converted their shots at goal. Take the side’s last six defeats (mainly in the second half of the season) for season 2023:- Rd 11 - Fremantle 12.7.79 defeated Melbourne 10.12.72 Rd 15 - Geelong 11.12.78 defeated Melbourne 8.15.63 Rd 16 - GWS 7.5.47 defeated Melbourne 5.15.45 Rd 22 - Carlton 9.6.60 defeated Melbourne 8.8.56 Qualifying Final - Collingwood 9.6.60 defeated Melbourne 7.11.53 Semi Final Carlton 11.7.73 defeated Melbourne 9.17.71 Incredibly, the Demons amassed 125 scoring shots to 102 in those six losses to net a total score of 47.78.360 against 59.43.397. The figures don’t lie - given a touch more accuracy in front of goal and you’re looking at a premiership but instead, for the second year in a row, it was out of the finals in straight sets. In 2023, the team was by far fitter in body than the one that limped out of 2022. It’s biggest loss was an outlier by 27 points in the Gather Round vs Essendon in Adelaide and the rest were all close losses, many by less than a goal. As a measure of how close Melbourne was to a possible flag in terms of the team’s strength was that in its two matches against the premiers it scored a total of to 15.29.119 to 18.14.122. Let that sink in! Things were different for much of the first half of the season. The Demons were in scintillating form during their two practice/simulation matches with the combination of Max Gawn and Brodie Grundy looking a treat as they dominated in the ruck as well as scoring goals when rested. The club appeared to be in good shape all over the ground as the season approached. The midfield led by Jack Viney, Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver was in electrifying form! The optimism seemed vindicated in Round 1 with a massive 50-point thumping of the Western Bulldogs at the MCG. Ben Brown and Kysaiah Pickett booted four goals apiece but the celebrations were marred by the latter’s two week suspension over his high bump on Bailey Smith. Pickett went on to score 37 goals for the season but was rarely in that electric form displayed in the opening round. Brown scored another four in the team’s loss to Brisbane in the following round but injuries cut him down to a total of only seven games and three more goals for the season. Things went awry in Brisbane when skipper Gawn went down early with what at first appeared to be a season threatening knee injury. His stunned teammates looked dazed in the moments after their leader left the field and it was only after a long delay later in the game, occasioned by the failure of the Gabba lights, that they were stung into action; a flurry of goals left them 11 points away from what would have been a remarkable victory. Gawn’s injury was not as severe as first thought and was well covered by Grundy over most of the following rounds of his absence with one glaring exception in that Gather Round game in the wet at Adelaide against the Bombers when defender Steven May was also sorely missed. Aside from that defeat, the team coasted through most of the first half of the season, putting away some of the competition’s lesser lights until it returned to Adelaide in Round 10 to play in the wet again, this time as Naarm in the Indigenous Round against Port Adelaide. Disaster struck. The home team controlled the first half but the midfield trio of Oliver, Petracca and Viney restored life and clearance dominance to the team which surged with seven goals from a game-high deficit of 25 points to a 17 point lead late in the third quarter. Lachie Hunter was involved in a controversial report which resulted in an after the siren goal to Port which overcame the Demons by four points in the driving rain. It was later revealed that Oliver had badly damaged his hamstring in the final term, possibly a factor in this loss and certainly, a major blow for the team’s 2023 campaign as his absence lingered over the following months interspersed with hospital visits for foot blisters and other ailments as he struggled to regain fitness. The cloud of darkness hovered over him for the remainder of the year and while he did well on his comeback late in the season to be among Melbourne’s best in the finals, it wasn’t the same old Clarry. Suddenly, coach Goodwin was confronted with a series of dilemmas which were spread through the middle and into the run towards the finals. In the first instance, he did well to cover the absence of his champion midfielder. He was fortunate to have Christian Petracca, already in starring form and Jack Viney stepped up to the plate in stunning fashion. The defence was well led by key position stars Steven May and Jake Lever and buttressed by Angus Brayshaw and novice Judd McVee who comfortably took over and remained in the role of a medium defender in the temporary absence of Christian Salem. The forward line however, was just managing although it had found a player of the future in young key forward Jacob van Rooyen. Kade Chandler finally began to make an impact and was kicking goals and Alex Neal-Bullen was quietly and continuously adding energy and grunt to the prime endeavour of keeping the ball in the forward line through the application of pressure. Despite the looming problems with scoring goals, Melbourne brought down the rampant eventual premiers Collingwood in the Kings Birthday match, ending their long run of victories stretching back to Round 4. The result was close but it was comprehensive. After Bayley Fritsch went down with a foot injury in the game against GWS in Alice Springs, Goodwin gave Jake Melksham the opportunity to not just revive his career but also, to turn himself into an important fixture in the forward line. Petracca spent more minutes up forward and Brayshaw moved into the middle for cover. Tom Sparrow was given more responsibility in the midfield and Trent Rivers and Kysaiah Pickett went there at times as well. Some important victories were to follow against potential finals opponents in St Kilda and Brisbane. The Gawn/Grundy connection was sagging and the coach took the difficult decision to omit the dual All-Australian ruckman recruited from Collingwood and leave the ruckwork mainly to his skipper who was starting to put in some Herculean solo efforts. Goodwin also cemented the move of Harry Petty from defence to attack. With the finals a little over a month away, the dream was seemingly about to come true for Demon fans as the team found its forward connection and demolished the Tigers on a Sunday at the MCG in late July. The strong marking Petty kicked six goals from his six shots at goal, while Melksham and van Rooyen booted four goals each without a miss. That’s 14 goals straight from a team that had a reputation of failing to hit the proverbial barn door. It appeared that things were looking up. But … (why is there always a “but”) A week later, Goodwin’s forward line plans were thrown into disarray when his team overcame cellar dwellers North Melbourne after an insipid first half in which they lost Harrison Petty for the remainder of the season with a foot injury. Fortunately, Joel Smith succeeded in partially covering the situation when moved up forward to add two goals in a display that secured him the spot vacated by Petty (and before him, other injured forwards in Tom McDonald and Ben Brown). However, the die was being cast as far as the forward line was concerned. When the team played out its last game in the finals, that entire trio of dead eye forwards who had kicked 14 goals straight against the Tigers was missing and the results were there for all to see. Melbourne stumbled early in its game against Carlton but regrouped to dominate the last half and was arguably robbed of victory when a long bomb from Petracca was controversially called touched by the goal umpire. The subsequent goal review was inconclusive and the umpire’s decision stood. Ironically, the Blues were also the beneficiaries of victory in the semi final after an Alex Neal-Bullen snap was adjudged a goal by the goal umpire was overturned on replay. Such is life. After overcoming an arm wrestle against Hawthorn, Melbourne put on the afterburners in Sydney to smash the Swans but lost Jake Melksham to a torn ACL on a day when Bayley Fritsch marked his return with five goals despite coming off the field in distress during the game. The club’s accuracy woes in the final series referred to above and well documented elsewhere came back to haunt it in September. Things weren’t helped by the hammer blow delivered to Angus Brayshaw by Collingwood’s Brayden Maynard who controversially avoided suspension at the AFL tribunal. Nevertheless, the AFL subsequently sought to make Maynard’s “legal” action “illegal” by amending the rules concerning what is meant by a reasonable attempt to smother, a change that may well make no difference in practice. Nor is this any consolation to either Brayshaw or the club which could easily claim that the hit cost it victory in this game and, along with the defeat, a chance to win the premiership. The club made an unfortunate second consecutive straight sets exit from the finals when it kicked its way out of the semi final against Carlton, a situation compounded by some poorly uncharacteristic defensive play at the death knock. It was season over on a Friday night but the news of the passing of club icon and arguably its greatest ever, Ronald Dale Barassi placed all of us under a dark cloud. The man who was hero to a whole generation of young Demon fans and whose name is synonymous with courage, resilience and integrity and above all, success, had left us forever. Tearfully, we mourned the loss of a true legend. As mentioned above, one of the highlights of the season was the seamless introduction of the talented Judd McVee into the Demons’ defence. He was there throughout the season and blossomed with every passing week. Much the same can be said of fellow Sandgroper Jacob van Rooyen who kicked 28 goals for the year in his 20 games after calls for his debut were answered in Round 3. The youngster fitted in comfortably as a key forward with an occasional run in the ruck with just the right amount of aggression at the ball. It sometimes got him into trouble and he overcame a trying week when exonerated after a marathon hearing of an appeal against a striking suspension incurred as he was attempting to spoil Gold Coast’s Charlie Ballard in Round 8. Van Rooyen was sorely missed due to suspension when the Demons lost their semi final to the Blues. Others to gain AFL experience and show promise were Bailey Laurie and father/son prospect Taj Woewodin while 2021 midseason draftee Daniel Turner looked a key defender prospect for the future at Casey and in his limited appearances with Melbourne. After making a solid start to their VFL premiership defence with wins in their first four matches, the Casey Demons stumbled slightly but remained contenders for a top four finish until the last month of home and away matches. A few close defeats and the same yips in front of goal that were encountered by their senior counterparts left them in the position where they had to beat North Melbourne in a wild card game in order to compete in the finals proper. That was achieved easily but the elimination final against Footscray turned into an embarrassing 79-point loss after the non-selection of several otherwise eligible players just in case they were needed for the AFL finals. The AFLW team also failed in their premiership defence after a solid first half of the season. They were led brilliantly by new skipper Kate Hore but faltered late when the going got rough and injuries and illness hit the group. The Demons still finished second with eight wins and a percentage of 222.9, the ‘points for’ of 653 being the highest in AFLW competition history. Forward stars Hore and Eden Zanker jointly shared the AFLW Goalkicking Award with a record 20 goals for the home and away seasons. Zanker kicked three goals in the final against Geelong to finish with 23 for the season, another league record (equal with Brisbane’s Dakota Davidson). The team’s luck ran out in the finals with losses to North Melbourne and Geelong (narrowly in the end) ending the season in disappointing fashion. Tyla Hanks and Kate Hore tied for the best and fairest with Lauren Pearce in third place ahead of another tie for fourth between Sinead Goldrick and Olivia Purcell. Hore was named as the All Australian captain in her first year as leader taking over from Daisy Pearce. Zanker was named All Australian for the first time. The disappointment of straight sets exits by both the men and women was somewhat offset by a $1 million dollar windfall in becoming the One Club - McLelland Trophy Winners which earned praise from MFC Chair Kate Roffey who noted that the real value of the prize was the “extraordinary commitment it takes across the entire Club to field and support two extremely high performing teams each weekend”. After the disappointing finish to the men’s AFL competition, attention turned to the trade and draft period. Brodie Grundy was traded to the Sydney Swans after the failure of the Gawn/Grundy experiment left him on the outer with one AFL appearance in the run into the business end of the season. That he missed out on playing in a final against his old club Collingwood and again in the semi against Carlton when the club was down in talent, was baffling given that the tactical substitute, Josh Schache was kept off the field completely in the latter game. Many observers felt that the handling of the situation provided poor optics for the club and devalued his trade worth. The Swans took him as cheap bargain for a dual All-Australian and they cashed in on another money ball deal picking up free agent James Jordon for nothing. Michael Hibberd retired with a premiership and several years of solid service under his belt. Luke Dunstan who tore his ACL at Casey late in the season, also retired. Jake Melksham was delisted but redrafted as a rookie while loyal servant James Harmes was traded to the Western Bulldogs. Former NGA recruit Deaykin Smith, who was Casey’s 2023 best and fairest but delisted, found his way to North Melbourne. The Demons traded for needs and picked up former high draft pick Jack Billings from St Kilda, high flying excitement machine Shane McAdam from Adelaide and Brisbane Lions’ ruckman/forward Tom Fullarton (who is now on the injured list). They later redrafted former player Marty Hore, back from Williamstown. In the draft, the club used two first round picks to secure Caleb Windsor (Eastern Ranges) and Koltyn Tholstrup (Subiaco WA) and took father/son prospect Kynan Brown (Oakleigh Chargers) as a rookie. Christian Petracca capped off his finest individual season with a second 'Bluey' Truscott Memorial Trophy as Melbourne's club champion, polling 602 votes to finish 75 votes clear of runner-up Jack Viney, with key defender Jake Lever third on 456 votes. Angus Brayshaw (453) and Steven May (451) rounded out a closely fought top five. Conspicuously missing from that list was four-time 'Bluey' winner Oliver who missed a significant part of the season with a torn hamstring and foot blisters and had post season knee surgery amid some controversy about his recovery from those issues. Soon after the grand final, it was even claimed that the club had put him on the trade table and not long after, he was hospitalised following a seizure that resulted in a head injury. There were also issues with a case of driving while unlicensed. All of this was grist for the media mill. It was becoming clear that Oliver was struggling with mental issues and in late December, he headed home from the Demons’ training camp in Lorne as he continued to deal with ongoing health challenges. He was left to heal and maintain his fitness away from the playing group and rejoined them a month later looking in reasonably good nick and hopeful of a full return to the fold in the last month of the 2024 preseason. Oliver retained the unwavering support of the playing group and the supporters throughout his ordeal and it’s worth reflecting how the club still performed strongly in his absence for most of the last half of 2023. Though he showed some good form on return, it was not reflective of the devastating 40 plus possession performances that he is capable of peeling off with regularity. However, in his absence, others stepped up and those extra midfield minutes of experience not only contributed to Melbourne comfortably finishing in the top four, but the benefits should carry through and hold the club in good stead in the AFL competition in 2024 and beyond. More so, with Clarry’s full return to health in mind and body. We can’t wait! Another controversy erupted in the early post season when forward Joel Smith tested positive for cocaine. Smith was suspended from the Demons' football program while Sport Integrity Australia investigated the circumstances of a positive test after the Demons' win over Hawthorn in Round 23. The matter is still ongoing. There was no shortage of off-field controversy with litigation ongoing in the courts between former president Glen Bartlett and Melbourne Football Club Board members. It was recently reported that mediation talks aimed at ending the long-running dispute had broken down while a separate dispute over the fairness and transparency of the Board’s election process also appears headed for court. Watch these spaces*. On a more positive note, another off-field development that occurred after season’s end was the long-awaited announcement of a feasibility study to identify a location for the Club’s long term home base at a redeveloped Caulfield Racecourse. The $570 million redevelopment would see its in-field, which is Crown land and about 10 times the size of the MCG, opened up as a community precinct, to be known as the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve. It is expected that the Demons would be a key tenant along with local sporting and community organisations and groups. The Melbourne Football Club sits in the premiership window with great playing depth, a healthy culture and excellent leadership both on and off the field. It remains a strong contender as 2023 ends and we look forward to a resurgence in 2024 with a team that has a reputation as one of the hardest to beat in the competition and simply awaits the return of its straight shooters. Bring it on! * in keeping with current Demonland policy, we will not accept discussion on matters being litigated in the courts or on sensitive matters relating to the mental health of our club’s playing group or derogatory comments and language about players and coaching staff. We ask that you please understand that this is partly a result of both medical and legal advice received and that you respect our decision. We are here to support our great club and its players. THANK YOU We take this opportunity to thank the many people who continue to keep Demonland running starting with all of you who contribute to our forums. A special mention to Nasher who is our IT guru and physically looks after the running of the site and to contributors Whispering Jack, George on the Outer, The Oracle, KC from Casey and Meggs as well as Binman who joins George and me on our Demonland podcast. Thanks to anyone I’ve forgotten (please forgive me) and to our great team of footballers and the club and its staff who make it all happen. Go Dees in 2024 - Andy

The decision not to discuss the Joel Smith case on Demonland stems from several key considerations outlined below: Respect for Privacy: The decision emphasizes the sensitive and private nature of Joel Smith's situation. Out of respect for him and the club, it's inappropriate to speculate about him on a personal level or cast aspersions regarding his circumstances. This highlights a broader ethical concern about respecting individuals' privacy, especially when it involves potentially sensitive or confidential matters. In addition we do not want Demonland to be used as a platform for rumourmongering or to spread misinformation. Ignoring Established Rules: Initially we established some rules to discussing the Joel Smith case and despite a clear set of boundaries some users disregarded these guidelines and engaged in discussions that strayed beyond the permitted topics. Discussion of Serious Topics: We do not take these serious issues effecting the club and this decision to curb discussion of these topics lightly. We of course believe that these serious matters affecting the club that we all love and are all so passionate about are worthy of discussion and debate. I wish we could provide a platform where these matters can be discussed in a civil and respectful manner. Potential Legal Ramifications: Discussions on sensitive topics such as these unfortunately invariably devolve into areas that may be defamatory, libelous, spread unsubstantiated rumours & can effect the mental health of those involved. Even discussion and debate of known facts or media reports can lead to finger pointing, blame and personal attacks. The repercussion is that these discussions can open this website, it’s owners and it’s users to legal action and may result in this website being forced to shutdown. Whether users believe that a website can be held liable for comments posted on them is immaterial to me. I simply do not want to test that out and the threat of litigation stemming from some sensitive topics has had a severe impact on my own mental health and is a very big factor in this decision. Moderation Challenges: Moderators on Demonland are volunteers and cannot monitor discussions around the clock. The inability to consistently and in a timely manner enforce rules and address violations effectively can contribute to an environment where inappropriate discussions proliferate unchecked. This underscores the practical challenges of managing online communities, especially when dealing with sensitive topics. Closure and Reporting: As a result of the above Demonland has decided to close threads and discussions related to the Joel Smith case. Additionally, users are encouraged to report any comments about the case found in other threads so that moderators can take appropriate action. We reserve the right to delete posts that offend against our above policy & indeed, to ban posters who are repeat offenders or who breach our code of conduct. This approach aims to mitigate the spread of unauthorized discussions and maintain the integrity of the platform. WE HAVE BUILT A FANTASTIC ONLINE COMMUNITY AT DEMONLAND OVER THE PAST 24 YEARS & WE WOULD LIKE TO CONTINUE TO BE ABLE TO DISCUSS THE CLUB WE LOVE & ARE SO PASSIONATE ABOUT. We will continue to provide updates on the situation in this thread but please do not engage in discussion about it anywhere else on this website. We understand the desire to discuss such issues but there are other platforms on the internet that can provide that service. Thank you for your continued support & understanding. Go Dees.

This must be your first preseason 😜

Based on what I have seen at training in regards to his loads I just assumed (based on that report) that he only took part in the drills at the beginning. On Wednesday he did the non contact initial drills and then when they went into contact drills and end to end stuff he did separate one on one stuff and laps.

From BRENNO’S training report

https://www.espn.com.au/afl/story/_/id/33846910/afl-2022-champion-data-deep-dive-ruckman-valuable-overrated-best-rucks-afl-revealed Couldn't find a similar breakdown for 2023. @WheeloRatings do you have some 2023 ruck stats?

Can't speak for other trackwatchers but usually if I don't mention somebody it's not necessarily because they weren't noticed or aren't training well it could just because they are doing exactly what is expected of them by training hard and diligently. Judd is exactly that. He's a kid that trains hard and does all the right things. He is one of our better users of the footy. I haven't been to the Friday Casey match SIMs, which I guess is the closest thing to match conditions at training as opposed to the Wednesday 13 on 13 end to end "circle work", so I haven't had a chance to see Judd the defender in match conditions at training so I can't critique his defending abilities under the closest thing to the pressures of a game. Having said that I have no doubt he will continue on the trajectory we saw him begin last season. We have a good one here in Knuckles.

Live scenes from Casey

Here are all the Hitout Ratings for 2022 as average hitouts don't paint the entire picture. Max played 22 games and Preuss played 10. Jackson also played 22 games (1 or 2 without Max) Rating points 1. Tim English (Western Bulldogs) - 15.7 2. Jarrod Witts (Gold Coast) - 14.8 3. Max Gawn (Melbourne) - 14.5 4. Matt Flynn (GWS) - 13.4 5. Scott Lycett (Port Adelaide) - 13.3 6. Braydon Preuss (GWS) - 13.1 7. Brodie Grundy (Collingwood) - 13.1 8. Peter Ladhams (Sydney) - 12.9 9. Nic Naitanui (West Coast) - 12.9 10. Reilly O'Brien (Adelaide) - 12.5 Score Involvements 1. Tim English (Western Bulldogs) - 7.6 2. Peter Ladhams (Sydney) - 6.5 3. Sean Darcy (Fremantle) - 5.8 4. Rhys Stanley (Geelong) - 5.7 5. Max Gawn (Melbourne) - 5.6 6. Braydon Preuss (GWS) - 5.5 7. Luke Jackson (Melbourne) - 5.2 8. Sam Draper (Essendon) - 5.0 9. Reilly O'Brien (Adelaide) - 4.9 10. Brodie Grundy (Collingwood) - 4.8 10. Rowan Marshall (St Kilda) - 4.8 Clearances 1. Tom Hickey (Sydney) - 6.0 2. Tim English (Western Bulldogs) - 6.0 3. Brodie Grundy (Collingwood) - 5.5 4. Nic Naitanui (West Coast) - 5.3 5. Max Gawn (Melbourne) - 5.0 6. Sean Darcy (Fremantle) - 4.8 7. Peter Ladhams (Sydney) - 4.5 8. Oscar McInerney (Brisbane) - 4.3 9. Braydon Preuss (GWS) - 4.2 10. Scott Lycett (Port Adelaide) - 4.2 Hitouts 1. Jarrod Witts (Gold Coast) - 37.4 2. Braydon Preuss (GWS) - 36.5 3. Reilly O'Brien (Adelaide) - 31.9 4. Brodie Grundy (Collingwood) - 30.3 5. Nic Naitanui (West Coast) - 29.7 6. Peter Ladhams (Sydney) - 27.8 7. Sam Draper (Essendon) - 27.4 8. Max Gawn (Melbourne) - 27.4 9. Sam Hayes (Port Adelaide) - 26.3 10. Toby Nankervis (Richmond) - 25.3 Hitouts Win % 1. Braydon Preuss (GWS) - 56.8 2. Paddy Ryder (St Kilda) - 54.5 3. Max Gawn (Melbourne) - 53.5 4. Nic Naitanui (West Coast) - 53.0 5. Andrew Phillips (Essendon) - 51.2 6. Jarrod Witts (Gold Coast) - 50.7 7. Toby Nankervis (Richmond) - 50.1 8. Todd Goldstein (North Melbourne) - 50.0 9. Ivan Soldo (Richmond) - 49.5 10. Ned Reeves (Hawthorn) - 47.8 Hitouts to Advantage % 1. Marc Pittonet (Carlton) - 44.2 2. Jarrod Witts (Gold Coast) - 38.9 3. Sean Darcy (Fremantle) - 38.4 4. Matt Flynn (GWS) - 37.9 5. Scott Lycett (Port Adelaide) - 36.5 6. Ivan Soldo (Richmond) - 36.0 7. Sam Hayes (Port Adelaide) - 35.4 8. Tom De Koning (Carlton) - 35.4 9. Braydon Preuss (GWS) - 32.9 10. Tom Hickey (Sydney) - 32.9 Sharked Hitouts % 1. Ivan Soldo (Richmond) - 36.0 2. Luke Jackson (Melbourne) - 31.7 3. Sam Draper (Essendon) - 27.6 4, Oscar McInerny (Brisbane) - 26.5 5. Lloyd Meek (Fremantle) - 26.1 6. Rhys Stanley (Geelong) - 26.1 7. Rowan Marshall (St Kilda) - 25.9 8. Brodie Grundy (Collingwood) - 25.3 9. Hugh Dixon (West Coast) - 25 10. Reilly O'Brien (Adelaide) - 24.7 Hitouts to Score % 1. Marc Pittonet (Carlton) - 13.7 2. Peter Ladhams (Sydney) - 12.6 3. Max Lynch (Hawthorn) - 12.5 4. Scott Lycett (Port Adelaide) - 12.5 5. Paddy Ryder (St Kilda) - 12.2 6. Ivan Soldo (Richmond) - 12.0 7. Sean Darcy (Fremantle) - 11.6 8. Rhys Stanley (Geelong) - 11.5 9. Lloyd Meek (Fremantle) - 11.4 10. Tom De Koning (Carlton) - 11.0 10. Braydon Preuss (GWS) - 11.0 Hitouts to Opposition Score % 1. Ivan Soldo (Richmond) - 22.0 2. Sam Draper (Essendon) - 12.0 3. Tom Hickey (Sydney) - 11.0 4. Hugh Dixon (West Coast) - 10.7 5. Nic Naitanui (West Coast) - 10.1 6. Luke Jackson (Melbourne) - 10.0 7. Paddy Ryder (St Kilda) - 9.5 8. Brodie Grundy (Collingwood) - 9.3 9. Max Gawn (Melbourne) - 8.9 10. Oscar McInerny (Brisbane) - 8.0 Clearance to Team Score % (Best teams at converting from clearances) 1. Geelong (29.1) 2. Collingwood (27.8) 3. Hawthorn (27.7) 4. Carlton (26.7) 5. Adelaide (26.0) 6. Melbourne (25.9) 7. Richmond (25.40 8. Sydney (25.3) 9. GWS (25.1) 10. Western Bulldogs (25.0) 11. Essendon (24.5) 12. Brisbane (23.9) 13. St Kilda (23.6) 14. Fremantle (22.9) 15. West Coast (22.5) 16. Port Adelaide (21.8) 17. North Melbourne (20.1) 18. Gold Coast (19.5) Opposition Clearance to Score % (Worst teams at defending clearances) 1. Richmond (31.5) 2. Essendon (27.7) 3. North Melbourne (27.5) 4. West Coast (26.1) 5. Sydney (26.0) 6. Gold Coast (25.4) 7. Adelaide (25.1) 8. Carlton (24.5) 9. Hawthorn (24.4) 10. Fremantle (23.8) 11. Melbourne (23.3) 12. Brisbane (23.3) 13. Collingwood (22.8) 14. Geelong (22.7) 15. GWS (22.7) 16. Western Bulldogs (22.5) 17. Port Adelaide (21.4) 18. St Kilda (21.3)

Why so early? Is there a banner for practice games or will there be a BBQ?

In fairness to Tom he just returned to the main group after a couple of weeks in rehab. It might take some time to hit his stride.

Veteran Demonland Trackwatcher Picket Fence made his way down to Casey Fields on Friday to bring you his observations from Preseason Training and the Match SIM. PICKET FENCE'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS NO SHOWS & REHAB Petty, Melks, Hunter, Fullarton, Jefferson. Not sure I saw Salem Clarry and Verrell both doing a POWER OF RUNNING and [censored] does CLARRY look mean, fit and PUMPED MATCH SIMULATION NOTES Full match simulation of 4 quarters of which I saw 3 quarters Windsor ... an abslute LOCK for round one, really surprised me with his turn of speed, precision set ps and pin piont disposal, might become our best ball user and Wow has he got some X FACTOR Disco Turner ... probably the best I have seen him in match sims, deft movements, a turn of speed and makes very sound decisions Jack Billings ... another LOCK for ROUND 1 just uses it so well, makes excellent position and his decision making was fantastic Shane McAdam … took not 1 not 2 but 3 MARKS OF THE DAY, will complement Fritta magnificently, just knows where to position himself, very very dangerous around goal and will be an absolute SURPRISE packet Ed Langdon ... HAD IT ON A STRING , Elusive, quick, precise and typical Langdon run all day Andy Moniz-Wakefield ... Again I mention him and although quieter later was heavily involved of the back flank, wing and anywhere else, CAN PLAY Spargo … The Salt and Pepper man was in everything, played very well and bobbed up all day Taj Woewodin … A lot to like, gets involved is fearless and sets up the play very very well. One to definitely keep an eye on Kynan Brown ... Just NEVER GIVES IN, just gives and Gives with second and third efforts, good skill set and elusiveness Schache Did some very good things took some marks, was very competetive with Max and although overshadowed, I can ALMOST see him playing round 1 based on today ONE WORD SUMMATIONS Max Outstanding Kozzy Freakish Tomlinson Belongs Viney Beast May Fearless Lever Methodical Tracc Superstar A lot going right, very high standard game and one which should give the selectors plenty to think about in the coming weeks. BRENNO'S PRESEASON TRAINING OBSERVATIONS I headed down to Casey for a few hours this morning whilst I was “out seeing a client” 😉. It was hard to tell who was who on occasion as a lot of them didn't have numbers on the jumpers and were wearing caps. So go easy if I botch a few things here. I’ll do my best to share my observations. I arrived around 9.40 and the drills were underway. Clarry was running at a solid pace for most of the session and according to the man himself he thinks he is a “couple of weeks away” from joining the main group. Will Verrall did quite a solid amount of running along the boundary with Clarry and didn’t look far off. Viney wasn’t participating in the drills when I first arrived but joined shortly after and played through the entire match sim later in the session. Whatever he limped off with the other day clearly is no issue. Fullarton also jogged for about an hour and didn’t seem to be uncomfortable but was at minimal pace. Salem was hanging around near the interchange bench for a while during match sim, but he did not train at all to my knowledge. I didn’t see Petty, Bowey, BB, Hunter, Melky, or Smith at all. They may have been on the far side of the ground from me or inside on the bikes, but as far as I can tell none of them participated today. Jefferson participated in a few drills, but I didn’t notice him after the first 20 minutes. There were about 30 mins or so of ball movement drills before the good stuff started! Match Sim was made up of 3, 20 minutes “quarters” and there was AFL Umpires there to officiate. The teams started off with what seemed to be a mix of the best 22 and depth players on both sides, with the starting backs lined up on the starting fwds. Having said that the blue team was clearly stronger through the middle, even with Gawny and a few others on team white. After the first 2 “quarters” there was a changeup in teams and the blue team was stacked with our likely best 22. Interestingly ANB, Billings and Thommo all lined up in for the white team. Some interesting inclusions on team blue included Windsor on the wing and Howes and Macca playing down back. Macca looks fit and held his own today. Thommo and Disco might be stuck in Casey for a while longer it seems, although both did some nice things. Our key defensive depth looks great … The key forwards on the other hand look very thin. Roo was quiet today but is a great focal point when moving the ball forward. However as good as he is as a target, we really need another Key Fwd to step up or it might be much of the same in 2024. There seemed to be a focus on scoring quickly and coming from behind in this period, The white team were given a 30 odd point lead for the blues to hunt down, which they did comfortably. At one point during match sim Laurie received the ball during a center square stoppage and blasted it forward in a hurry. Chappy then yelled out, “Connect Bill, Connect!” I liked this as it shows they are working on a major issue we have had for the past 2 seasons. A work in progress but at least a sign they are addressing it. I was pleasantly surprised with our game style today, I thought the ball movement looked much faster then previous years and they used the corridor quite often too, this had mixed results but that's to be expected. Although Blue dominated the session, I must say there were some good signs from our younger brigade and depth players. All the draftees took part in the match Sim and showed signs of what they could become. Really liked Kolts energy and attitude, a future leader in the making IMO. Kynan had some very nice moments and looks like an absolute work horse, just goes, and goes. And Windsor…. Ill get back to this lad. Taj lined up in quite a few CBAs and did some nice things when faced up against our starting Mids, He really stood out to me today, as did Laurie. Positive signs aside, Gawn, Track, Viney & Gus were our starring 4 for blue at this point, and they looked levels above the opposition. Overall, the standard was to good watch and I left with optimism for the season and our future with our youngins all showing a bit. Just some notes on individuals: ANB - Undoubtably starting 22, he was BOG for white by a country mile IMO. Great player for our young players to watch and learn from. Kosi – Everything he touches turns to gold. He really stands out with everything he does. He does stuff that no one else on the list can. Track - looks to be in extremely good nick and was just a powerful beast all day. Viney - Seemed completely unhindered to me and at times untouchable. Kicked a very nice goal during match Sim. Gus – Looks to be fine after his big knock. Played a mix of halfback and midfield. I really like the look of him in the guts and should stay there until Clarry is back IMO. Track, Oliver, Viney, Gus should be our priority mids in 2024. Elite! Windsor – I will be shocked if he doesn’t play round 1. It’s the first time I have seen him play live in any form and he looks like a ripper. Used the ball well, ran hard to give and receive, competed better than expected in the contest and just looked like he belongs. I may have just caught him on a good day and his consistency might not be there yet, but I am a fan already. A shoe in to take Hunters role, just a matter of when. Sparrow – I know some on here are big Tommy fans, but from what I saw today he is in danger of losing his spot to one of the young and hungry up and comers if he doesn’t improve. He just seems to have stagnated. Taj, Kynan, Kolt, Lauire could all push him out if he is not careful. Schache – Never been a fan of this bloke, however I must admit he impressed me today. Got bullied a tad in the ruck Vs Gawn but that’s to be expected. He shouldn’t have to go up against many starting rucks at AFL level and from what I saw today he may well be our backup ruck/fwd this year. He had a great moment when he competed in the ruck with Gawn, smothered an attempted clearance kick then followed up with a big tackle locking it in. The boys and coaches loved it! Laurie – Thought he was a mile off the pace in his AFL games last year but looks to have stepped it up bigtime. He found a lot of the ball and looked clean, calm, and effective. Howes – Not sure if he will play down back in the AFL but during the drills and match sim he had moments that made you take notice. The kid can play, just not sure how he gets a look in. McAdam – Took a few BIG marks, one on poor old Gawnys back. He must be getting sick of that! McAdam will add to our forward line potency for sure. He didn’t get a huge amount of it but he was impactful. Looks the goods. Spargo – Looks super fit and was his creative self. Big fan! Lever – Loved his voice and leadership, I still think he will be our captain one day. Gawn – Dominated the ruck and was never out marked as expected. Today did highlight how badly we need to ruck depth ASAP though. Anywho, it was a great morning, and I am excited for the season to start! I’ll do my best to answer Any questions you lot may have! GO DEES! WALKING CIVIL WAR'S UPDATES FROM THE DEMON ARMY Maysie and Vines are training with the main group.👍🏽 Schache attack going really well up against Maxy. Caleb Windsor will play in opening round (that’s a lock-in 😂) Clarrie has been running all morning. Looking good but still has a ways to go. The match sim is underway right now, after which the boys have a “HUGE running session” lined up, according to one of the training staff. (They’re gonna just luuuurve that! 😅 especially Maysie who recently told me he [censored] HATES running) It seems it’s the ‘A’ team vs the ‘B’ team. B team actually holding their own. Caleb is in the A team. Kolt is in the B team. TMac in the A team. Apparently it’s a case of “Windsor… Wow. Just wow.” He and Tracc together = amazing A QUICK OBSERVATION FROM MATT DEMON Steven May (who left the main group on Wednesday due to general soreness and ran the rest of the session) came off late and didn't look comfortable. Tried a couple of run throughs and shook his head. He spoke to the trainer and went inside. What this space I reckon.

2024 FREE AGENTS *qualifies as previously delisted player ^qualifies as previously having changed clubs as a free agent ADELAIDE Will Hamill* Elliott Himmelberg Ben Keays* Rory Sloane Brodie Smith Taylor Walker James Borlase* BRISBANE Jarrod Berry Hugh McCluggage Darragh Joyce* Ryan Lester Jarryd Lyons* Dayne Zorko CARLTON David Cuningham Sam Durdin* Jack Martin* Matt Cottrell* Caleb Marchbank COLLINGWOOD Will Hoskin-Elliott Jeremy Howe Scott Pendlebury Steele Sidebottom Oleg Markov* ESSENDON Dyson Heppell Andrew McGrath Todd Goldstein^ Jake Kelly^ FREMANTLE Ethan Hughes Matt Taberner Corey Wagner* Bailey Banfield* GEELONG Jed Bews Patrick Dangerfield Mitch Duncan Zach Guthrie Tom Hawkins Jack Henry Jake Kolodjashnij Mark O'Connor Brandan Parfitt Rhys Stanley Tyson Stengle* Emerson Jeka* Zach Tuohy GOLD COAST Ben Ainsworth Sam Day Brandon Ellis^ Nick Holman* Sean Lemmens Darcy Macpherson Jarrod Witts Levi Casboult* Jack Mahony* GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY Isaac Cumming Nick Haynes Lachie Keeffe* Adam Kennedy Harry Perryman Callan Ward HAWTHORN Luke Breust Blake Hardwick Harry Morrison Conor Nash Cooper Stephens* Chad Wingard* MELBOURNE Tom McDonald Jake Melksham Adam Tomlinson^ Marty Hore* Joel Smith NORTH MELBOURNE Hugh Greenwood* Bigoa Nyuon* Toby Pink* Liam Shiels* Cam Zurhaar PORT ADELAIDE Travis Boak Charlie Dixon Francis Evans* Trent McKenzie* Todd Marshall Quinton Narkle* RICHMOND Jack Graham Noah Cumberland* Dylan Grimes Dustin Martin Kamdyn McIntosh Toby Nankervis Dion Prestia Ben Miller* Sam Naismith* ST KILDA Josh Battle Riley Bonner* Tom Campbell* Tim Membrey*^ Seb Ross Jimmy Webster Mason Wood* Liam Stocker* SYDNEY Harry Cunningham Ollie Florent Will Hayward Lewis Melican Sam Reid Robbie Fox* WEST COAST Liam Duggan Andrew Gaff Jamaine Jones* Josh Rotham Elliot Yeo Zane Trew* WESTERN BULLDOGS Taylor Duryea* Tim English Jason Johannisen Tom Liberatore Lachie McNeil* Lachie Bramble*

I would assume that most welcome backs were done in the change rooms. The Goody interaction might have occurred on the field because Goody might not have been in the change rooms with the players.

In case you are wondering, here are the other Match Simulation Practice Matches that are scheduled. Match simulations (live on Kayo) Sunday, February 18 Melbourne v Richmond, Casey Fields, 10am AEDT Wednesday, February 21 North Melbourne v Collingwood, TBC, 10am AEDT Thursday, February 22 Sydney v Greater Western Sydney, Tramway Oval, 10am AEDT Carlton v Geelong, Ikon Park, 11am AEDT Brisbane v Gold Coast, Brighton Homes Arena, 5pm AEST Friday, February 23 Western Bulldogs v Hawthorn, Whitten Oval, 11am AEDT St Kilda v Essendon, RSEA Park, 2pm AEDT Port Adelaide v Adelaide, Alberton Oval, 5pm ACDT Saturday, February 24 West Coast v Fremantle, Mineral Resources Park, 4.45pm AWST

I would assume that any of the sessions not listed would be considered "Closed" or at the very least unadvertised in order to not encourage attendance.

Gosch's Paddock Wednesday 7 Feb | Gosch's | 9.30am - 11.45am approx. Casey Fields Friday 2 Feb | Casey | 9.30am - 11.45am approx. Friday 9 Feb | Casey | 9.30am - 11.45am approx.