Ruffles

Got there around 9:45ish this morning and it looked like the boys had just finished warming up. You wouldn't think it was February ... almost felt like mid-winter out there! The odd shower and cold, gusty winds didn't really make for fun viewing conditions so I was pretty glad it wasn't a long session in the end. Basically all skills and drills from what I could see. Anyway, I'll note down my thoughts below: Vince and Hunt wearing out the boundary line running laps today. Vince did some non-contact drills as well with Terlich, Watts and Howe on the opposite side. Hunt did a bit of kick to kick with a trainer for awhile, then pounded out the km's again. Dawes, Newton and White were kicking to each other early but they must've left soon after as I didn't see them for most of it. No sign of Trengove or ANB. It must've been a good year for coaches / trainers ... they seem to have multiplied like the rabbits this last spring! They were everywhere - it almost felt like they outnumbered actual players. McCartney was there, instructing some of the younger fellas and also Spencer with marking. Also did some reflex/off-the-ground hand ball drills 1 on 1 with White. Started off with short kicks in groups of 3's then some drills in the middle. The team then broke off into forwards, mids and backs for drills. The forwards consisted of Hogan, Fitzy, Kent, Garlett, JKH, Pederson, Vandenberg and Petracca. This was good to watch, drills included roving marking contest/stoppage and kicking around the body on the run, from different spots inside 50. After a while the drill was changed so half were in high viz and manned up the other forwards. Alternately, each player would be simulating a kick in from the goal square and have to pick one of the other 3 leading players in 1 on 1's, then back to goal kick and repeat. They also practiced dribbling the ball towards goal from either boundary. Garlett appeared to kick the most, more accurate than the rest with the dribble goals. Then probably Hogan, who ended up on the end of the majority of kick outs following good leads etc. Petracca looked pretty comfortable in from of the big sticks. I think I mention it every time, but how are his legs so big?!? Vandenberg looks very solid/big through the upper body, quite a unit. Didn't see much of the backs as they were at the other end, but included the McDonald bros, Dunn, Garland, Frost, Grimes and Jetta. Don't quote me on it but pretty sure I saw Lumumba and in there for at least part of it. Salem was there for the last part as well, though did more time with the mids prior to that. They were a fair way away but was all getting ball out of defence, surprisingly ... The mids trained in 3 groups, rotating through different drills. The one closest to me was led by Goodwin, who also put on a high viz vest for parts to make up numbers. Shame he isn't playing anymore, laid some good tackles! This drill was 2 of Spencer, Gawn and Jamar in the ruck trying to tap to their 'team' (vest or no vest) who would try and clear the ball. This basically involved all players I haven't mentioned above ... Toumpas trained with the mids all session, whereas Salem joined the backs after a while. After these drills everyone practiced their set shots at the Swan St. end. All looked reasonable, considering the gusty conditions, but then again they were under zero pressure. Jones and Brayshaw were keeping score again, trying to put each other off. From what I heard I'm pretty sure Brayshaw actually won today. Career limiting move for him showing up the captain? Jones seems to have taken him under his wing. Jetta, Garlett and JKH seem to stick together a lot of the time. Salem and Viney also kicking with/against each other. Salem didn't miss too many ... O McDonald kicked pretty truly as well, one off his left too. Once again McKenzie and Cross were still there when I left, along with Grimes and Spencer, as the last on ground.

Went along today at about 10am and it was a beautiful morning... not too cold, not too hot. Fun session to watch today, pretty much all skills and match sim stuff. So much more interesting than fitness work! Got breezy towards the end, which did affect some kicking. Jake Lovett hey? I was wondering who was in the #50, seriously stocky and solid in the legs / glutes! Took me awhile to work out who was in the 2nd #9 as well (not Dawes), pretty sure it was Vandenberg As TDI mentioned, it's hard to remember everything so I'll just list comments below: A lot of full and half ground drills with real hard running. One was clearing the ball from defence to the other end and then clearing it from that end and so on and so forth, with a few defenders in harry high viz. Then some clearing defence and finishing with kick on goal or trying to pick a forwards who are in 1 on 1's with defenders. HL stood out to me in these drills, as did Garlett, N Jones and Newton. Garlett has some serious speed spears off kicks barely breaking stride. Frost has great closing speed and was congratulated on a few efforts punching the ball out from a leading forward. Lots of voice today from many players. The usual's Dunn, Dawes and also Jamar and McDonald barking out directions when watching drills or technique advice. During a couple of the drills Salem was put in deep defense, usually against one of the rucks, and instructed on continuously making body on body contact to keep the taller defender off balance. Praised for his work. Jamar, Spencer, Gawn, Watts and Hogan did some 1 on 1 key forward wrestling drills where a coach would kick inside 50 they'd alternate between defending/spoiling and being the forward. Hogan through Jamar to the ground early, made me chuckle. Jamar did well though, out-muscled most of the others. Watts got onto a few engaging defender then breaking away at speed. Spencer didn't make many early but made up for it by clunking a few towards the end. Miller instructing the boys here on body contact and pushing off. While this was going on the rest were doing ball movement drills. Vince did laps early then left. Pedo was also doing laps. Grimes also wasn't there that long - he was kicking with O McDonald when I arrived then both must have left. Terlich and Kent took part in drills but also spent some time doing laps. A few times during the ball drills Most players all seemed fairly solid throughout. The session finished with basically all players practicing set shots from various spots around the 50. So many balls flying in it was hard to keep track of who kicked them! If only game day felt like that... Jones and Brayshaw got into bit of a 1 for 1 goal kicking comp, which Jones won and made sure Brayshaw knew all about it. Until Brayshaw called out "what are you laughing at, you're 27 and bald!"... touche! Had the crowd laughing. On Brayshaw, he's definitely looking fitter / more defined. I've said it before but I'll say it again.. Petracca is so solid through the upper legs / hips! Did well in the drills today too. Hunt linked up pretty well in the ball movement drills. Someone mentioned M Jones - a bit like game day, he was racking up the possessions in the drills - a lot of run and carry. He's not slow! Garlett has that laconic sort movement, a bit like Watts, but he looks like such a natural when kicking at goal. They all seem to go through no matter where he's kicking them from! Quite excited by him, but I've always been a fan having a Blue bagger for a bro... Newton seemed to do everything well, really like the look of him. Reckon he'll slot straight in. To me Jamar looks the #1 ruck. Now that I think about it I didn't see much of Garland, he was there early but must have left..? Toumpas zipped around and he's handballs were all accurate bullets. Unsurprisingly Cross and McKenzie were 2 of the last 3 out (can't remember the 3rd). Jones and a few others obliged some young fans by having photos taken and signing autographs. I remember not really be impressed by Harmes in previous sessions, but today he seemed good! Quick and some good kicks on goal too.

Tyson could be a unique cheaper premium, but personally I'd rather spend a bit more on a proven premium (more years) or on someone like a Daniel Rich this year who's $348,300. Lumumba could actually be a reasonable pick, if he spends more time in the midfield as Roos has indicated. It's looking harder to choose premium defenders this year so if he can pump out 85 - 95 avg he could be a keeper! I'll be watching Salem, Newton, Grimes, Lumumba and Gawn closely in the NAB cup. You're right on Grimes, it's easy to forget that he has averaged around 90 in previous season.

I was reading reports from the pre-season camp and they got me thinking about which Dees players might actually be supercoach relevant this season. A few possibilities include: Defenders $458,100 - Lynden Dunn $398,100 - Jack Grimes $417,000 - Heritier Lumumba (mid/def) Midfielders $581,200 - Nathan Jones $506,200 - Dom Tyson $399,600 - Jack Viney $215,000 - Ben Newton $212,300 - Angus Brayshaw $127,900 - Aaron Vandenberg $123,900 - Jayden Hunt $123,900 - James Harmes $117,300 - Alex Neal-Bullen Rucks $339,700 - Max Gawn (ruc/fwd) Forwards $286,900 - Dean Kent $217,300 - Christian Petracca (fwd/mid) $185,000 - Christian Salem $130,400 - Jesse Hogan Apart from Hogan, who everyone will have, I can't see that many being chosen. Jones could be a reasonable POD, especially if he lifts even further. Unfortunately, apart from those two I can't see many others being relevant. I'm half considering Salem or Kent but don't think I have the stones to do it.... Grimes has reportedly had a great pre-season, so could be one to consider at that price. Can Dunn maintain his avg or keep improving? Too hard to say, 2014 was his 1st real consistent year. Ben Newton could be quite a good pick, bit of a smokey! Few years in the system, good preseason... might see how he goes in the NAB cup before picking at that price. Dom Tyson is expensive and I need more than good year to spend that much, though I do think he'll be even better. Break out year for Viney?? Petracca and Brayshaw are too expensive for my liking and I don't think they'll get enough un-vested game time to be worthwhile. Of the new draftees/rookies Vandenberg could be good, being mature age, if he gets promoted to senior list. ANB maybe if he gets games and adjusts well. I can't see any of the others getting many games in the seniors. I'm interested in other people thoughts... Are you gamer than I am?!

Fair enough, thanks mate. Very much looking forward to seeing his work, especially a couple years down the track!

Has anyone seen Brendan McCartney there? Looking forward to him getting stuck into it with all the young fellas!

Hear what you're saying mate, but I see them as more important to our long-term future, not as more important individual players in 2015. I agree 'best players' might not always be most important players to the team / structure, but I think it would be a fair expectation that the best would also be among the most important. There's a reason they're the best! I would say the absence of one of the players you listed there would be felt less than the absence of say N Jones, TMac, Dunn or Dawes.

Most important players for MFC in 2015 I would have, in no particular order, as: 1. Tom McDonald - key pillar in defence, if he can keep is man quiet it would be a big impact for the team (both on the scoreboard and mentally). 2. Mark Jamar - with the reports on his fitness, a bigger impact around the ground in addition to his work at stoppages would be great. 3. Nathan Jones - clearly still the most influential midfielder, not to mention el capitan. Hopefully we'll see a few more captains goals! 4. Dom Tyson - Also super important in terms of clearances, like Jones, but links up well and geez we need goal scoring mids... 5. Jesse Hogan / Chris Dawes - not sure which, Dawes probably more effective due to experience and mature body, but Hogan with his talent alongside could be super important. Honorable mentions to Dunn, Vince, Cross and Jetta, who all had big impacts on games last year. Also Lumumba, who's run and carry I'm hoping will translate into more forward entries and meters gained.

Drove past Gosch's paddock this morning on the way to work and saw that the club was out there training again. Did anyone get along?

Dawes is suspended round 1 so you might get lucky and catch a few out! A bit depends on how Watts, Garland and Vince go recovering from ops/niggles/fitness for round 1. I'm also not sure about Michie and few newer players like Newton, if they'll slot in. Also reckon Toump and Salem will see more game time, especially early if their preseason continues the way it's going. Best of luck mate. FB: Dunn Frost Jetta HB: Garland McDonald Grimes C: Lumumba Vince Cross HF: Watts Hogan Kent FF: Garlett Pederson Salem R: N Jones Jamar Tyson Int: Viney, Howe, Toumpas Sub: JKH

Love your work DV! The Ruffnuts will be lining up again in 2015!

I've recently been thinking about who our leading goal kickers might be in 2015, with a hope that we'll see an increase in attacking style play (shouldn't be hard...). Our top goal kickers from 2014 were: 20 - Chris Dawes 16 - Dom Tyson 15 - James Frawley 14 - Cam Pedersen 13 - Bernie Vince & Jack Watts 12 - Dean Kent 10 - Rohan Bail 9 - JKH 7 - Nathan Jones & Mark Jamar Quite depressing numbers really, though pretty impressive from Tyson and also Kent (having only played 13 games). Anyway, I figured I may as well throw it out to the community and see what your ideas are! I'll kick things off with who I reckon will be our top 5 and with how many goals (perhaps a bit wishful...). 35 - Jesse Hogan 29 - Jeff Garlett 26 - Chris Dawes 20 - Dean Kent 17 - Cam Pedersen Depending on how/where they're played I think JKH, Salem, Watts and Vince could also be around the #5 mark. I'm also assuming Howe will be playing back again.

The pies on Queens Birthday for sure as my office is full of Collingwood supporters. Though I do want the team to get a win at Etihad.

Michie was there and in everything, reasonably solid I think. Didn't stand out in either a good or bad way to me!

I went along today and arrived during the beep test. On the whole quite a long training day with some pretty entertaining contact/tackling and ball movement drills. Most went pretty hard in the contact drills - it was great to see the competitiveness, though I did cringe with some of the tackles as we don't want any injuries yet..! Jetta got up cradling his arm after one but shook it off thankfully. Other things I noticed include: Garlett struggled in the beep test and some of the running, however in the full length 5 vs 5 (I think?) he burnt off Bail and kicked a beauty inside 50. Hogan's just good at everything ... Gawn did tap to rover work with Harmes for a while, then lots of laps and bike. Also did some running, kicking, marking drills with Kent. Watts, Dawes and Kent also did lots of laps and bike work Trengove was there today with his cast, pushing himself around on some kneeling tricycle contraption. He was shouting encouragement to all the boys out there. Vandenberg is quite a tall, solid unit but being first day might've done half the drills. Too early to tell much. Didn't see White. Dawes looks very fit and lean, probably that diet but I wouldn't want him losing much too much more! Running well though. Petracca is so solid through the legs and hips. In one of the full length drills he had the ball and busted through one tackle and stood up in the second to pass to a team mate. Didn't see much of Brayshaw today, did some laps with Kent early. Hogan, King and Jamar did some speccie marks over a pad. Jamar is also looking in great shape, had a bit of spring, though he did tire during the running. Spencer was there early but then disappeared. Terlich and Vince were continuing rehabbing. McKenzie ran a lot of laps and then did time on the bikes. Bail seemed to be on lighter duties today, not joining in all drills. Neal-Bullen has been impressive with his running. Kept up with all our better runners during the beep test, only beaten by M Jones and Grimes. Toump pushed himself pretty hard. Salem lay some good tackles during contact drills. You can't hold Jones and Viney back either, it's like they're out to hurt their opponents. Garland was struggling to keep up, he's clearly still building up from his low base but hopefully gets a good run at it. There was also a drill involving a ruckman trying to tap to a team mate while another midfielder was tagging/defensive. Tyson was a class above in this drill, read the ball beautifully. Cross hasn't lost any speed, constantly running through all drills. Lumumba also impressive, leading and pushing people. JKH has definitely put on muscle but running really well too. Hopefully we'll see much more of him next season! The new fellas did some ball pick up drills towards the end with Byrnes, who would randomly pass a ball on the ground, low or high around the semi circle. I think the idea was if you fumble you go to the end. Neal-Bullen spent a bit of time at the end ... Stretch looked good as did Petracca.

It was bit of a weird morning with gusty winds and on-off light showers. Today was largely a fitness session and it was great to see the new boys out there looking good in the red and blue! My observations from today, in no particular order: Awesome to see the new guys out there. They mostly did light fitness work and some skills led by Byrnes in his new role. There were also two other medium to tall but quite skinny young guys there who I didn't recognise.. presume either Casey players or rookie list prospects. Petracca and Brayshaw are solid units! Petracca particularly through the legs and hips and probably more toned. Unsurprisingly though they didn't keep up to the other midfielders when they joined in some runs though. Very exciting prospects! Neal-Bullen didn't look out of place but would need to see more. Young Oscar looks a good height, just needs to fill out. Brayshaw's kicking looked the sharpest out of the new lot I'd say and Stretch is already looking reasonably toned / fit. One poor physio giving Jamar a back rub copped a falcon in the face from an errant Petracca kick. Watts did some hand balls drills with McKenzie and Riley early but didn't hang around for long. Dawes disappeared after awhile as well. Terlich, Spencer, Gawn and Vince did mainly runs around the oval with a few running and kicking drills. Kent also appeared on light duties and did some hand balling with the new guys. The main group did some repeat sprints up the middle of the oval. Players that were generally in front included Garlett, Hunt and Grimes. JKH is looking good, beat Bail in one of the earlier lap running drills. Vince has an absolutely sublime kick, so natural.. also made one young fella's day but coming up and saying gday as the kid was wearing a #23 guernsey. As others mentioned Toump has a more aerodynamic hairstyle... might be why he's doing so well in the running! There was a big set-shot goal kicking session involving everyone in rotating groups from different angles. It was hard to keep track of who was kicking true but Vince, Jones, Howe, Tyson and Salem stood out to me. Viney sprayed a few but conditions were windy and a bit wet. Dunn seemed the most vocal, keeping everyone going through pretty grueling running sessions. Garland looked fitter but still catching up. The main group headed off to the tan and eventually returned looking pretty spent... Some laggers in the oval laps included King (still has a lot of work to do), Pederson, Fitzy, Frost and Garland. At this stage of the preseason most are looking very fit and capable!

Beautiful morning to (watch other people) train! Others have covered lots of the drills so I'll just add a few comments: Garlett was busting out some nice bullet passes and lot's of snaps for goal later on. Hopefully we see a lot of that during the season! Heaps of running drills today. Apart from the rehab group that mainly ran, lots of others ran in groups, pairs or alone and some stage. Watts did some pretty hard laps towards the end and was absolutely knackered.. drenched in sweat. Great to see the new faces out there and getting amongst it, like Stretch who I like the look of. JKH and Bail ran some pretty hard laps too. Pigdog really started to lag behind during lap running. Fitzy finally shaved off that facial fluff of his! Some people should just remain beardless.. The drills to maintain possession were good, bit more decision making under pressure and learning to do the quick switch. Not finding many players to single out, either in a good or bad way. Quite a solid session! Actually in saying that, there were a few sloppy kicks in the drills from some of the usual suspects. Hogan did some goal kicking practice. The rucks spent a bit of time working on taps with a coach, while Viney, Tyson and Garlett spent a little time roving simulation taps on the run from another coach. This while the main group was doing the big drills. Gotta run to work now but if I think of anything else I'll post later on.

I drove past Gosch's on the way to work this morning and saw Jones running around the oval.. this was about 7:30am.

1. Premiership - Port Adelaide 2. Brownlow medal - Nathan Fyfe 3. Coleman medal - Buddy 4. Keith Bluey - Nathan Jones 5. Rising star - Nathan Freeman (though I'm quietly thinking Brayshaw is a chance!) 6. Wooden Spoon - Saints

And Jesse Hogan was in the top 5!

The AFL's twitter showed Darcy Moore training with the Pies so it may be quite common for father-son selections, considering Viney too.

Spent a little time there from 10am on the way to the shops. There were a couple of groups at that stage, one of senior players kicking and marking and a large group of presumably the 1 - 4 year players doing boxing among other things. Among the senior group were N Jones, Dawes, Dunn, Garland, Bail, Cross, Tyson, Fitzpatrick. Terlich did laps and Watts rocked up later on and also did mainly laps. Among the large group were McDonald, Frost, King, Hogan, Hunt, Salem, JKH, Michie, Evans, Howe, Harmes, Kent, M Jones, Pederson, Toumpas and Viney. I think I saw Gawn across the oval at one stage but no sign later on. There were three players I didn't recognise though. I'm assuming one was Ben Newton but have no idea who the other two were. I'm pretty confident neither was Stretch but perhaps one was Tyler Roos? Garland, Dunn, Fitzpatrick and Dawes spent some time doing 1 on 1 marking and later on did laps and timed runs at a good pace. The main group also spent some time doing drills like ground ball gets, marking while being hit by a pad and just mark then kick rotations. Actually I saw Barry at one stage too, though I don't think he was out training most of the time. Roos was there with Goodwin along with most of the other coaches. The best thing was seeing Hogan getting amongst it!

I reckon the team will looks something like this: B: Jetta Frost Garland HB: Dunn McDonald Grimes C: Lumumba Cross Vince HF: Garlett Dawes Kent F: Howe Hogan JKH Foll: Jamar N Jones Tyson I/C: Viney Watts Bail Toumpas Sub: Salem Emergency: M Jones Michie Riley This is dependent on a few factors though, being: 1. Frost comes straight in. If not I'd see Howe back in defence and Pederson up forward. 2. Toumpas improves and shows good form. If not then one of the listed emergencies replace him. 3. I am expecting Pederson to play forward, probably instead of Howe (if in defence) or JKH, but I just love watching JKH! 4. Garlett returning to somewhat pre-Malthouse form. If he doesn't then replaced by Bail or Viney at HF. 5. Not expecting to see much of this years draftees apart from a few strings of games when earnt via Casey and the odd sub cameo. 6. They've been good, honest servicemen but I'm hoping improvement of a couple youngsters and the traded in recruits will see Terlich, M Jones and McKenzie be phased out of the senior side (not because I don't like them, just hope more talent emerges). 7. Garland returning to 2013 form if he gets in a full preseason. 8. Expecting Jamar, Gawn and Spencer to rotate through the seniors depending on form and injuries. 9. If he wasn't go-captain I would probably have replaced Grimes with Lumumba in HB but can't see him slipping out of the team at this stage. A few things I'm looking forward to are Hunt getting a good pre-season and injury free to see what he can do with his speed (not necessarily in senior side). Also Barry and Stretch for that matter. Riley might surprise if he gets a good run. But most of all I hope Hogan is over his back issue and gets a full preseason and 20+ games! Bring on 2015!

Would love Garlett at the dees! My brother's a blues supporter so I've watched quite a few Carlton games over the years and Garlett was one of my favourite AFL players to watch around 2010 - 2012 when they were around top 8. Has blistering pace and love to tackle, remember some great run-down tackles. Very exciting news!

Great result! Welcome to the dees Billy!